Rob Christie
Rob
Christie
- CFOX Pointe Claire QC; Calgary; CKGM Montreal 1976; morning drive host CHED
Edmonton late 1980s; CKFM-FM Toronto 1994-99; CKKS-FM/CKLG-FM Vancouver morning
co-host 1999-2003; BC CTV Vancouver weekend weather 2001-03; a.m. drive CISS-FM
Toronto 2003-05; morning host CHMC-FM Edmonton 2005-current
*****
It's easy to fall under Rob Christie's spell.
As the morning man for Magic 99.3 FM, his warm, golden voice
is a welcome antidote to the jokey or airheaded hosts cluttering
In person, the award-winning DJ is just as enchanting.
Even after years of early mornings -- he wakes up at
With the launch of Magic in early December, Christie sees a
similar opportunity. Owners of the jazz, blues and soft-rock station, Rawlco Radio, call it the first of its kind in
"It's given me hope for radio again," he says.
"And the fact that I would be part of it is pretty damn exciting. It's
probably one of the most enviable positions in Canadian radio right now."
Unlike most commercial stations, Christie and his colleagues
aren't following any tested formulas. Nor are they relying on charts, focus
groups or radio consultants to tell them what songs to play. Instead, he has an
active hand in programming the station's playlist --
which includes a cross-section of international notables and local acts.
Tune in to Magic and you're apt to hear
So far, he says listener response has been overwhelming. The
station will get the results of its first ratings in April.
"Right now, all we have to measure it is e-mails, faxes
and phone calls and guys in Home Depot parking lots," he says. "But
it's been 99-per-cent positive. It's like we've struck a chord. We get 17-
year-olds and 25-year-olds and 50-year-olds. All we've given voice to is a
movement that was already underway -- people were buying the records and going
to the concerts. And for me, I really like this stuff. It fits our lifestyle.
But I still have my Led Zeppelin."
For those who woke up with Christie in the '80s and early
'90s, his metamorphosis into a Magic man seems like the work of sorcery.
He used to be one of those aforementioned jokesters --
faking his own assassination, putting on a tutu and dancing with Alberta
Ballet, making prank calls, even winning a gold medal at the New York Festivals
International Radio Competition with his Power 92 partner, Audie
Lynds, in 1992.
What's even funnier is the fact that Christie needed a bit
of maternal prodding to apply for his first gig at
As a teen, he always knew he wanted to be a DJ, but like
most budding public personalities, he was incredibly shy.
"I would spend hours in my basement," he says.
"I would rig up a microphone, hang it from the ceiling and then I started
doing different voices. I even created a radio station with call letters and
all -- we were CMIF, after
After nearly two decades as one of the city's top-rated DJs,
Christie was wooed by a
Actually, it was a call from station manager Susan Reade, formerly known as CHED personality Janet From Another Planet.
"I never thought I'd move back to
At Magic, he doesn't run the risk of being slapped with any
more public mischief charges. (The result of his little assassination stunt at
630 CHED in the '70s. Oops.) He won't be making any goofy calls nor will he try
to give away $25,000 to win the fickle affections of listeners. (The station
doesn't do contests.)
Instead, Christie chats about politics, wine, movies and
"I don't feel like I'm passe
or taking the exit freeway," he says. "What I didn't want to be doing
at this point in my career is playing old top-40 music. I still want to be
cutting edge. For me, this was the right thing at the right time. My wife says
I've been blessed -- call it Christie luck. Here's this refreshing format and
great company. Who knew it would be out of
Sandra Sperounes.
****
Radio farewells go on forever. Just consider Wally Crouter's
months of leave-taking from CFRB. Consider, too, Peter Gzowski's recent
farewell tour, which has been over-shadowing the Pope's - either Karol Wojtyla's or Carole's.
But this is a short stroll down easy street compared with
being the Big New Voice in a big new town - and making it seem as if it has
been there forever.
Just ask Rob Christie, The Mix's morning mouth on 99.9 FM.
By any criteria, Christie is a hit - at least, last week's
ratings say he's a hit.
In the 2 1/2 years since he was imported from Edmonton's
Power 92, where he was a morning fixture for 14 years, The Mix morning show has
been narrowing the lead held by such morning heavy-hitters as Roger, Rick &
Marilyn at CHUM-FM and Don Daynard and Erin Davis at
CHFI-FM.
After bouncing from concept to concept through four
different morning shows in the four years before Christie arrived, The Mix now
figures it has a formula that works, particularly the way Christie works with
sports guy Bruce Barker and Maureen Holloway, the traffic/weather-person who
has emerged as the Queen Of Snide.
Other sets of figures look pretty good, too, like the one
that says Christie reaches almost 284,000 people a week, up nearly 80,000 from
when he started. But ratings are one thing and feel is another. Christie knows
how to go after the numbers and makes no bones about wanting the big-time.
He's 46 and he still figures he has a shot at
Around Standard Broadcasting, Christie is known as something
of a workaholic. Up by
Yet it's not all there, Christie feels. He hasn't ``bonded''
with
On TV, when a new pre-packaged celeb
arrives, it's as if a new neighbor moved in next door.With
radio, it's as if the new neighbor moved into your spare room.
Even so, there's a lot to learn about Christie. One thing is
that he doesn't act on air like a guy who uses the word ``bonded'' a lot. On
air, he can be a bit of a goof. In person, he's anything but.
Rather, he comes across as almost aggressively bright, a
In trying to explain how emotion works on radio, he told me
that ``radio is not rocket science, but it is heart surgery.''
He stopped to stare a second or two into the glass of crisp Orvietto we were drinking, editing his thinking, making the
line crisper.
``No,'' he said, ditching the space reference. ``Radio is
not brain surgery, but it is heart surgery.''
That's only the beginning of what the city doesn't know
about him.
For Rob Lowe, as he was called when he was born near
In fact, he and wife Diane - they've been married 20 years -
often speak French at home (she's from an
Christie is careful about how much of this he allows himself
to reveal. Yet, for as guarded a guy as he can be, he has a passion for getting
his listeners to reveal themselves.
But is
Christie is surprised by the city's conservatism. After
stints in
Instead, he has found it to be in a mad rush for more and
more business.
``I'm always looking to educate myself on this city,'' he
says, ``on its people and how they think. What are their hot buttons.
What are their taboos? What really jazzes them?''
In turn, he wants the city to discover him. Maybe radio is a
matter of focus groups, research figures and print-outs, but it all comes down
to personality.
Crouter proved that. Gzowski, too.
``Who do you gravitate to when you go to a party?'' asks
Christie.
``An interesting person.''
Peter Goddard