{"id":24331,"date":"2020-01-31T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=24331"},"modified":"2020-01-31T06:00:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T12:00:18","slug":"new-morning-host-richard-milne-loves-wxrt-everything-stands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2020\/01\/31\/new-morning-host-richard-milne-loves-wxrt-everything-stands\/","title":{"rendered":"Why new morning host Richard Milne loves WXRT 'and everything it stands for'"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Richard Milne<\/p><\/div>\n

Thirty-four years after Richard Milne joined WXRT 93.1-FM<\/a> as weekend overnight host, he's about to become the face and the voice of morning drive at \"Chicago's Finest Rock.\"<\/p>\n

As dawn breaks on Monday, he'll follow Chicago radio icons Lin Brehmer and Terri Hemmert as only the third morning personality at the Entercom adult album alternative station since 1981.<\/p>\n

\"We are blessed to have someone of Richard\u2019s character, charm, music knowledge and wit to take over for Lin,\" said Greg Solk, operations manager and program director of WXRT. \"It\u2019s Richard\u2019s turn to get in early and rock Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Solk who promoted Milne from part-time status to afternoon drive in 2018, then to middays in place of Hemmert last July, and now to the station's top job in mornings. (Brehmer is moving to middays \u2014 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. \u2014 effective Monday.)<\/p>\n

For Milne, 60, a lifelong Chicagoan and music aficionado who \"fell head over heels\" for WXRT as a kid, this all must seem like a proverbial dream come true.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

93 XRT<\/p><\/div>\n

The Addison Trail High School alum, who started in college radio at Southern Illinois University and worked at the former WDEK in DeKalb, joined WXRT in 1986. For 26 years, Milne hosted and produced \u201cLocal Anesthetic,\u201d a weekly new music showcase. On the side, he and his wife, Charlene, have operated Rank Entertainment,<\/a> a booking agency for corporate and private events, since 1999.<\/p>\n

On the eve of his morning debut, Milne shared his thoughts on the two legends he is succeeding, the music he treasures, and his vision for the show:<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> So let me get this straight: It took three decades for you to go from part-time to full-time at XRT, and in the last two years you\u2019ve been in afternoon drive, middays and now morning drive. That\u2019s quite a career trajectory, wouldn\u2019t you say?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> When Greg Solk joined us, he heard in me what I always had heard in me \u2014\u00a0 that I might be able to play a bigger role within these hallowed halls. So in 2018, I rejoined the air staff as a full-time jock for the first time since 1991. From there it was a matter of re-finding my \u201cvoice\u201d and building upon the foundation that had been left dormant for a quarter century. Here\u2019s a tip for budding radio personalities: Focus on the raps you do right instead of dwelling on what might have gone awry. The former will clear up the latter.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> What inspired you to get into radio?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> I\u2019ve long loved radio. I grew up at the tail end of the WLS vs. WCFL wars.\u00a0I had an WMET lightning bolt on the bumper of my \u201972 Nova, and hip sisters that turned the volume up when WSDM played \u201cWhipping Post\u201d from\u00a0 Fillmore East.\u00a0In the late '70s, though, I fell head over heels for the music and personalities of WXRT.\u00a0Man, it was love at first listen.\u00a0I enrolled in Radio and Television at SIU-Carbondale, worked at WIDB and WSIU, interned at XRT twice, and eventually got hired for weekend overnights in 1986.\u00a0Just like Greg, [former program director] Norm Winer heard something that others didn\u2019t, and I\u2019m eternally grateful for that.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Which do you consider more intimidating: Following Terri Hemmert or following Lin Brehmer?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Terri is the great communicator with an unmatched ability to connect with listeners one-to-one. There\u2019s a presidential exploratory committee getting ready to knock on her door.\u00a0I just know it. Then there\u2019s Brehmer.\u00a0Smart, affable, wise.\u00a0Able to transmit those traits to an audience with such apparent ease. I sat in with Terri a few years back and saw how she was better prepared for one break than I was for my entire show at the time. That was a valuable lesson.\u00a0Lin, meanwhile, just turns on the mic and out flows all this stuff I wish I had said first. Let me call it a tie. I remain in awe of both their peerless acumen.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> How are you preparing for your new morning show?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> All those skills I just attributed to Terri and Lin?\u00a0I\u2019ve got none of those! I\u2019m still just crazy for all this music we play on XRT.\u00a0It\u2019s all about the music for me. Look, I\u2019m an XRT DJ through and through. My particular skill set doesn\u2019t translate to any other point on the dial.\u00a0I show up for work to spin great music and I go after it.\u00a0Every day, every show, every break. It\u2019s what\u2019s expected of me and it\u2019s what I expect from myself.\u00a0 Passionate?\u00a0You bet. I simply love WXRT and everything it stands for and everything it has meant to me and countless others over the years. It\u2019s TBD whether I\u2019ll add anything to the enduring mystique of this radio institution, but I guarantee I\u2019ll do nothing to diminish it.
\nWhat was the question?\u00a0Oh. I\u2019ve been an early riser for years. Getting up at an ungodly hour won\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> What makes XRT listeners unique?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Jocks at WXRT are empowered to string together sets of music spanning decades and then deliver it with an intelligence that for the last 48 years we\u2019ve conditioned listeners to expect. We\u2019ve got a hard-won trust with our audience that has crossed over generations.\u00a0You listen to WXRT and it\u2019s easy to tell what you\u2019re hearing is from the heart. That\u2019s a heck of a bond and one that none of us takes lightly.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> I\u2019m sure a lot of people think of you as the \u201cLocal Anesthetic\u201d guy. Do you miss doing that show?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> I just can\u2019t find it within myself to half-ass anything. The time required to keep \"Anesthetic\" at the level I had originally committed to and felt obligated to provide just wasn\u2019t there anymore. After giving thousands of bands their first and often only radio exposure and having interviewed everybody from Curtis Mayfield to the Jesus Lizard, I was OK with letting go.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Are you and your wife still running Rank Entertainment? Does that help keep you in the loop on the Chicago music scene and local bands?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Rank Entertainment is still doing fine although I\u2019ve strategically scaled back the last few years. I\u2019ve got clients I like and who like me.\u00a0I\u2019m good with that.\u00a0My priorities now are my immediate family, first and foremost, with my XRT family close behind.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Greatest album of all time? Greatest concert you ever attended? Greatest musician you ever met?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Brian Eno\u2019s \u201cBefore and After Science,\u201d any show I\u2019ve seen of Jeff Beck\u2019s, and the above-mentioned Curtis Mayfield.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> If you hadn\u2019t joined XRT in 1986, what do you think you\u2019d be doing now?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> I\u2019d be working with musicians in some capacity \u00a0Even the sanest among them is still somewhat bent.\u00a0Whether I identify with that or it\u2019s my utmost respect for the art they bring to this world, we connect.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> A parting thought?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Radio remains a magical medium. When I hear it done right, when I do it right, when the music and the vibe and the delivery all connect, it\u2019s mighty powerful. If anybody reading this is still interested in that sort of thing they might want to wander over to 93.1-FM in Chicago. It\u2019s not always possible to hit that kind of high, but please know we\u2019re always trying. From the heart.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s comment of the day: <\/a>Eric Lorenz:<\/strong> Robert, thank you for giving the upcoming WMTH 60th anniversary celebration [at Maine Township High Schools] space in your column. Looking forward to looking back on 60 years of \"Maine's Exclusive FM Radio\" as well as many others. Even though I ended up *not* going into broadcast (although I really wanted to) the four years I spent working at the station I wouldn't have traded for anything. A lot of valuable lessons were learned.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thirty-four years after Richard Milne joined WXRT 93.1-FM as weekend overnight host, he's about to become the face and the voice of morning drive at \"Chicago's Finest Rock.\" As dawn breaks on Monday, he'll follow Chicago radio icons Lin Brehmer and Terri Hemmert as only the third morning personality at the Entercom adult album alternative... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24331"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24339,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24331\/revisions\/24339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}