WAVERADIO BOSTON – AN INTERVIEW WITH PETE HUDSON

WaveRadio Boston was conceived as a vision by two high school friends. Pete Hudson and John Anthony Laudate always had a yearning to become broadcasters. They grew up listening on the formidable FM radio giant WBCN.. As they grew older, they became disillusioned in the formatted regimen of the current radio industry. Same songs and same playlists, day after day. But when internet radio reared its enticing head, John and Pete saw an opening. In the uncharted waters of the internet, radio stations are pioneering a whole new arena. It’s like the “wild wild west” all over. No rules and no regulations. These two compadres decided this was the right time to follow their dream and start WaveRadio Boston.

Now approaching its fifth year in existence, WaveRadio Boston has become a major player in the New England music scene. Even though they play both major international and national artists, WRB‘s claim to fame is catering to the upstart young bands and record labels. They are fostering a whole new ballgame where exciting new acts get a place to shine. Fresh shows and enthused DJs are rocking the airwaves with all breeds of dynamic genres and more importantly, no setlists. WaveRadio Boston is radio heaven.

Founder Pete Hudson and DJ Rick Fleck (who happens to be my cousin) speaks with AMP about the history, the impact and the aspirations of WaveRadio Boston.

AMP: John Anthony Laudate and yourself started WRB. What drove you do create such a mindblowing endeavor?

Pete: Honestly, it started as a vanity project. John and I were doing radio to tape for years. We were contemplating on-air careers but we saw the direction radio was heading in…highly programmed and corporate. We weren’t interested in doing that kind of broadcasting. All through the 90’s we produced DJ tapes that we passed around to friends and got played at parties.

In the meantime, technology caught up with our aspirations as we never could have rounded up $50,000 for an FM license. When internet radio began to flourish, we looked into the possibility if we could do this. We took up the challenge. After a few attempts of doing it the wrong way, we stumbled on a winning combination. What we found out was there were a lot more people like us. Then the real work began. Our previous experiences gave us the expertise on how to produce a decent show but building up the station became our main priority.

AMP: Rick, how did your DJ career begin and why do you think people should listen to your show?

RICK: Career! I’m a little uncomfortable with that! When I was in college back in the 80’s, I had a radio show on campus. I really enjoyed it. Recently, I went out to see a band in Salem and Pete was there with his wife. Sometimes I just begin to talk to people. Pete and I started a conversation between acts.

After the show we continued to talk about music. Pete asked me if I would be interested in hosting a show. I was a little nervous at first but I went to check out their studio. I loved it! It blossomed from there. It brought me back some fond memories. I couldn’t imagine I would have another radio show again.

I think someone should listen to me for the same reason someone should listen to any show on the station. We are all different. We are not formatted or burdened with restrictions. Everyone plays what they want. I don’t have to run my playlist by Pete and he doesn’t ask either. I think I know a lot of good music. I’m pretty good at making a list of artists that are engaging and people may get a chance to hear music they may not have been exposed to before.

AMP: How much impact do you believe internet radio has on the music industry?

PETE: I’d say on the music industry on a whole…very little. Fortunately, in the independent arena, I believe it has a great effect. The major acts in the music scene, like Ariana Grande, don’t get played on WRB because they get played everywhere. Where we make a difference is with the independent labels and acts. Locally there are some fantastic small labels like Rum Bar Records and Red On Red. There are a ton in the New England area. Without internet radio or college stations those records don’t get played. Our goal is to find the good music that the 75 FM stations aren’t going to play.

RICK: I agree with Pete. The one thing he didn’t say is that there’s a really nice studio space for live music. So a lot of the bands on these label and other local artists, come in to play live and get interviewed. In addition, they get filmed and Pete does his editing magic and then they get posted on Youtube which offers the bands an immense amount of exposure.

AMP: How have the station’s demographics grown and who is your target audience?

PETE: They have grown. Initially it was a lot of people who looked like me. What we found out was there was a whole slew of great younger bands. The more we played their music, the more our demo shifted to a younger listenership. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still solid in the 35-55 age group but we have been sneaking down to the 25-35 strata. Our younger demo used to be around 10% and now it’s tracking around 30%. It’s all about finding the new bands out there.

AMP: What do you think WRB brings specifically to the table and how does it strengthen the New England music scene?

PETE: Variety! All the shows are unique. They may all have rock as a common denominator but each DJ approaches it from a different perspective. It’s the fact that each DJ is allowed to play whatever they want to play and the music means something to them. Our show on Friday nights is heavier and harder than the shows that are on earlier in the week. We are adding three new shows that are on the pop side. Variety is our strongest point.

We also have the ability to play bands on the whim. There are amazing bands everywhere that FM stations won’t play. WRB is open to all good music. We enhance the Boston and New England music scene by catering to the smaller bands. WRB doesn’t bow down to stagnant playlists. We want to expand our audience’s musical horizons.

AMP: Rick, how much time do you devote to constructing your weekly shows?

RICK: Way too much! I had no idea how long it was going to take but I love music. I’m a metalhead and, like what Pete said, variety drives the station. There’s a metal show on Friday nights and the DJ is awesome. I didn’t want my show to be repetitive. So, I thought what else could I do? I always loved surf rock, garage rock and psychobilly. On most metal albums I can run off the songs and players by heart but on my show I really have to do my research, which means time.

There are certain garage bands I really enjoy but I didn’t want to play the same bands over and over. I used these acts to find other artists to expand the playlist. I recently began reading books on the incredible genres to mine new material. Between the research, listening to music and setting up my notecards, it turns into a hell of a lot of hours. Surely a lot more than my two hour slot.

AMP: Looking at your website, your studio looks quite professional. How long did it take?

PETE: It’s been a process. It does look impressive. We figured out a lot of ways on how not to do it right. It’s been an evolution. It’s coming up to 5 years since we have been on the air. The one thing we really focused on since you mentioned the studio is the ability to sound as professional as our budget allows. The one thing I remembered about radio growing up was the DJ’s booming voices. So we focused on having high quality mics for our hosts.

Even within the internet radio community, that’s what sets us apart. We have a competitor in the market but they don’t have a studio. Their DJs broadcast from their homes on whatever equipment they have. What you get is varying degrees of professional sounding audio. From the outset we needed to sound polished. Through a lot of experimentation we found the right combination of mics and boards. Would we like a $5,000 Neumann mic.. sure! Can we afford that..definitely not. We are just as happy with our EV-320s. We have really focused on the sound quality of the studio through a lot of trial and error.

AMP: If someone was interested in hosting a show, what would they need to do?

PETE: We have an email dedicated to just that. It’s ShareTheAir@waveradioboston.com. We will reach out and find out what you are interested in. Rarely will we ask your experience. We want to understand what’s your passion, what kind of show you’re interested in and how much time you are willing to give. It goes from there.

AMP: Rick, if you could interview any artist for your show, who would it be?

RICK: I would love to interview Rick Miller. He’s the lead singer and guitar player for Southern Culture on the Skids. SCOTS and Old 97’s were the inspiration for my show. They were my foundations. Miller is a fascinating person. He puts out videos from his home and he’s also an amazing record producer. His label is Kudzu Records.

AMP: Hey cuz are you famous yet?

RICK: No, I don’t think so! The one thing that’s really cool is the fact that I’m getting a lot of feedback. People are saying’ “I heard your show and really enjoyed it”. I also get a lot of constructive criticism like “turn your mic up!” which I use to make my show better. I get quite a bit of positive responses from the listeners which makes it exciting. Most of it is from people I never met. It passed on to me second hand. My brother, Shawn, mentioned his boss listened to the show and commented how professional I sounded. I later found out he produced a Lynyrd Skynyrd and several Blackfoot albums. I found that humbling.

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To learn more about WaveRadio Boston, Check out their Website!

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