16 illinoisentertainer . com june 2017
THE BOY ON BELMONT
W
hen WXRT night jock Ryan Arnold says he grew up on WXRT , he doesn ’ t just mean that he listened to the station . His mom Marge Arnold worked there when he was growing up , and he spent a lot of time in the hallways .
“ I literally grew up in the bowels of WXRT back when it was the Bunker on Belmont on the Northwest side ,” he admits . “ Take Your Kid to Work Day was the best day of the year for me and it happened pretty often . Mom started off as a sales assistant there , and became a salesperson , and I was the kid who was always around tugging on the pants leg of Lin Brehmer and Terry Hemmert saying ‘ Hey , tell me what you ’ re doin ’. The end result is that some of these people became life-long family friends , and became mentors to me . We kept in touch during the early stages of my career .”
It wasn ’ t just the connection to WXRT that led Arnold into the radio business . He also had the good fortune of going to the right high school to get that radio career kickstarted . “ I went to Lyons Township High School in LaGrange , and their radio station facilities are nicer than the station I worked at out of college ,” he says . “ I really was a child of radio and was so fortunate to get exposure to all these folks through mom , and then directly through high school and college , and ultimately through the post college juggernaut that radio can be .”
And now he ’ s part of the lineup at WXRT , a reality that was beyond his wildest dreams . “ It is humbling ,” he says . “ I recognize that listeners really don ’ t come to XRT for Ryan Arnold . They come to XRT for Chicago ’ s Finest Rock , and when they get there it is my responsibility to not give them a reason to leave . I think that all of us at XRT are cut from that same cloth . I make sure to follow that formula .”
Though that formula has been in place for decades , WXRT went through a pretty dramatic change recently . They hired a new program director , Greg Solk . While some XRT listeners wondered how that would work , Arnold had the advantage of having worked for Solk before at the Drive ( 97.1FM ), and he had no doubts . “ When I read that Greg was coming over , I was at my desk at my day job , and someone was walking by my desk as I raised my hand in the air and yelled ‘ fuck yes ! This makes perfect sense .’ I was actually excited because I had already worked with him at the Drive and knew it was going to work . You put a bunch of radio nerds in a room and we can be unstoppable . We believe in the power of radio . Greg Solk is the perfect fit – in that he has that same attitude . How we can best serve the people who choose to spend their time with us ? It ’ s not about us . That ’ s pretty much Greg ’ s mantra , and he happened to step into a culture that was uniquely prepared to accept that attitude , because we already felt the same way .”
Ryan Arnold
By Rick Kaempfer
When he ’ s asked what the best part of working at WXRT is Ryan Arnold doesn ’ t need much time to come up with an answer . “ I obviously love the music . It ’ s a passion of mine . [ The new music show ] New Noise at Nine gives me the opportunity to hear things that no one else has heard before , and the responsibility of having the ear to recognize what is worth sharing . Maybe something is only worth sharing once , but it ’ s worth sharing . In general , the jocks program our own shows , but during New Noise at Nine we do spend some time a few days beforehand putting that show together . We ’ ve had a few instances the last few months where we say ‘ We should hold
open a slot for this song that may be coming ’ or it might not get there in time . There ’ s a lot more prep and advanced scheduling . John Farneda is the interim music director , and he plays a big part in that show too .”
But Arnold doesn ’ t just work at WXRT . As he mentioned earlier , he has a day job too . “ I like to work all day and all night because it helps my Irish tan ,” he says with a chuckle . “ I ’ ve always been a night owl , but I did find when I got the night slot , that I had lots of time during the day . I had worked in advertising and marketing in between my radio gigs , and I had this notion that I wanted to be able to use my skills as a marketer , communicator , and writer for companies that didn ’ t need someone full-time – just needed someone here and there . I got involved in writing for afew not-for-profits , and I enjoyed being able to be a force for good . Soon I had a chance to start my own company Desoto & State Communications . I focus on organizations that bring together the music world and the not-for-profit world , and it ’ s been an incredibly rewarding experience . It ’ s allowed me to do some of the best creative work I ’ ve ever done .”
Whether he ’ s working at his childhood home ( WXRT ) or his own company , Arnold is out there spreading the word through his love of music . Follow him online at Twitter , Facebook and Instagram @ RyanArnoldRocks .