By Rick Kaempfer
LINMANIA
W
XRT morning man Lin Brehmer is
more than just a friendly voice on
93.1 FM every day, he is your
“best friend in the whole world,” a moniker
he has used now for several years. “But I
usually say it in a pathetic ‘why don’t I have
any friends at all’ whine,” he points out.
Don’t let his humility fool you. Brehmer
is beloved by the 93XRT audience. They feel
like they know him, because, they probably
literally do. Brehmer is everywhere. We
spoke a few days after Lollapalooza, and
Brehmer had been burning the candle at
both ends for four or five days in a row -
Lolla by day, and private parties and addi-
tional concerts at night (including a Jack
White party at Metro). It may have been an
extreme example, but it wasn’t unusual for
periods of time with Pete Townshend. Met
Bob Dylan when he did a show at the Metro
a few years ago.” I asked if there was anyone
still on the list that he never got the chance
to meet or interview. “The only one I can
think of that I’ve never met--and I wish I had
– was Tom Petty. I was in the same room as
him a few times, but I never got the oppor-
tunity to chat with him. That’s a regret. He
was very important to me. The first record I
ever played on the radio was a Tom Petty
record.”
Part of Brehmer’s appeal is his knowl-
edge of music (he was once known as “The
Reverend of Rock and Roll”), but his show is
much more than that. He is a rare combina-
tion. There have been some great ad-libbers
in music radio history, and there have been a
Lin Brehmer
him. He makes many charity appearances,
seems to be at every concert, every Cubs
game, and yet there is one thing waiting for
him every time that he cannot escape. “The
alarm goes off at 4:00, or 4:30,” he says.
How is he still alive after maintaining a
schedule like that all these years? “Everyone
asks me that. I’m not sure. I’m naturally a
night person I guess,” he explains. “Even
when I don’t go out at night, I stay up until
10:30 or 11 or later if the Cubs are on the
West Coast. I’m just wired that way. In the
afternoons I take a nap, and that’s usually
enough. But to be honest, I’m often a walk-
ing zombie.”
If you’ve ever seen Brehmer in public,
you know that he is not one of those guys
who sits in the corner and doesn’t want to be
bothered. Even in his zombified state, he’s
very approachable, like most of the XRT
jocks. And the listeners aren’t shy about
approaching. He thinks he has an explana-
tion for why XRT listeners feel the way they
do about the station’s air talent.
“We’re not stars,” he says. “We didn’t get
into this for the attention or to say ‘look at
me!’ We got into this for the music. We don’t
sound like DJs. We sound like normal
human beings. We sound just like the people
who are listening, and we share a common
bond. We like the same music.”
Brehmer started at WXRT as the music
director. At the time, he wasn’t known for
his on-air performance at all. But ever since
a one-year stint in Minnesota, after which he
came back to XRT to replace Terri Hemmert,
he has been the morning guy. That’s a very
impressive 27-year streak, nearly unheard of
these days. “I’ve been very fortunate,” he
admits. “This is a very cool job. I’ve met just
about everyone I’ve ever wanted to meet. I
met Robert Plant five or six times, spent long
16 illinoisentertainer.com september 2018
few who have had the writer’s heart. Very
few can do both. Brehmer manages to walk
that line. Go to his live remotes (like the one
he and sidekick/newscaster Mary Dixon do
every year on Opening Day at Wrigley
Field), and you’ll see a guy who can impro-
vise and think on his feet. Then listen to his
regular feature Lin’s Bin and hear his other
side. It’s essentially an elaborate written
essay answer to a listener’s question, com-
plete with sound effects, movie quotes, and
musical tie-ins. And it’s not done on a whim.
Brehmer spends a lot of time and effort on
this feature.
“I’ve probably done a thousand of them
or so by now,” he says. “But it is a lot of
work. I usually spend a day or two letting it
ruminate in my brain. Then we go through
several drafts until I think I have it right. I
send audio tracks to my old producer Pete
Crozier, who lives in the Columbus area
now, and he helps put it together. He was
my producer the first ten years, so I really
trust him with it. He does it as a labor of
love. My current producer Chris Cwiak also
helps out. By the time it airs, it’s been
through the ringer, and I’m really proud of
it.”
Lin’s Bin isn't on as frequently as it once
was, but it still airs weekly. To say it’s one of
a kind is an understatement. “It’s not exact-
ly the way a program director would draw it
up,” he concedes. “There aren’t a lot of PDs
out there saying ‘Hey, we should have the
morning guy do a four-minute written
essay!’ I’m appreciative to XRT for allowing
me to do it all these years.”
Lin Brehmer can be heard on the radio
from 5:30-10am, Monday through Friday on
WXRT 93.1 FM. He can also be seen at night
at a concert venue, ballpark, restaurant, or
charity event near you.