MILNE IN THE MORNING
W
hen Richard Milne was told he was replacing Lin Brehmer as the WXRT morning host in February , he knew the implications . “ I ’ m the 5th ever XRT morning man in 48 years ,” he says , ticking off the others , Scott McConnell , Garry Lee Wright , Terri Hemmert , and Lin Brehmer . “ I ’ ve admired all of those people , but I said to ( WXRT Program Director ) Greg Solk , should I be nervous about this ? Because I really wasn ’ t . It ’ s surprising and a place I ’ d never thought I find myself , but I was not daunted .”
The listeners knew him because he had been on staff for more than 30 years ( mostly as a part-timer ), so that certainly helped
By Rick Kaempfer
Richard Milne
smooth the transition . “ If I had come in as this outsider ,” he admits , “ the backlash probably would have been extraordinary . But I have been a part of the team here for a long time . I credit my years with ( his Sunday night local music show ) Local Anesthetic . That gave me the feeling of playing a larger role at WXRT . It had my heart , but it also allowed me to expand my skillset . For instance , my interview skills improved dramatically . And ultimately , it is still paying off for me . It led me to this job .” His lifestyle didn ’ t even change that much . He owned his own business during the part-time years at WXRT , and he has always been an early riser .
“ I had been getting up without an alarm at 4:50 for years ,” he says . “ It took about a month to make the adjustment to the pre- 4:00am wake up , but I was getting up to go play records , and I really looked forward to it .” But just as he was getting used to the new schedule , the whole world shut down . “ There were pros and cons with the timing of the pandemic , no question about it ,” Milne admits . “ It would have been easier to keep going into work , but the company made the correct call to shut down the studio , and it wasn ’ t as much fun doing it at home .”
But Milne had paid his dues during his 30 + years at the station , so he told himself not to forget the opportunity that was now his . “ If you want to be a full-time on-air music personality , with the ability to choose not all , but a significant amount of what you play , WXRT is the pinnacle of this business . To have been granted permission to turn on that microphone and say those call letters is a great honor . All that time I was waiting in the wings , I would have given an eye-tooth to be given a full-time slot , and yes I felt I deserved it , but I realized how great that full-time lineup was , and I understood the situation perfectly .”
He had been a heavy XRT listener for years , and he credits some of the greats for influencing his own style on the air . “ All of them had an impact on me ,” he says , “ but I don ’ t think I ’ ve ever given proper credit or attribution to Bobby Skafish . He created the most marvelous radio in the late ’ 70s / early ’ 80s , which was an impressionable time for me . I was a hard core WXRT listener beginning in ’ 78 or ’ 79 and Bobby Skafish was on fire in those days . His personality leapt through the speakers . Those Skafish years at WXRT are as responsible for me getting into radio as anything .”
Since arriving at the 93.1 dial position himself , Milne has had some of his own shining moments . “ I remember talking to Curtis Mayfield in 1996 . He had just released his first LP since an on-stage lighting accident in 1991 . You have to admire all that Curtis brought to music , but for the majority of his life — by this time he was living in Atlanta — he was a Chicago guy . I have always taken great pride in that . When I left the studio that day having just interviewed Curtis Mayfield , albeit it that he was literally laying on his back talking into a telephone , I felt like I was walking on air . Surviving an interview with Lou Reed live , with his personality , while witnessing his on-stage performance , was another highlight . He played songs four feet away from me that I was engineering . It ’ s hard to top that .”
Milne isn ’ t the same disc jockey he was when he first cracked the microphone in the ' 80s . His on-air style has evolved over time , and he credits his attention to detail . “ I have a path I follow every break ,” he says . “ That ’ s the way I do my best work . I have to know what my ‘ in ’ is and what my ‘ out ’ is , and what my content is . I don ’ t just whip these things out . I have given thought to everything I say , and everything I play . It is important to me . I don ’ t have a problem with other people who can crack a mike and let the stream of consciousness flow , but I ’ m not that guy .”
He is , he admits , a very lucky guy . “ I wish everyone in radio had the kind of outlet and the kind of freedom we have on WXRT . That ’ s why listeners respond to it . As far as I ’ m concerned , the future remains bright for Chicago ’ s Finest Rock and I ’ m glad to be a part of it .”
Richard Milne can be heard every weekday morning from 5:30am — 10am .
16 illinoisentertainer . com october 2020