Welcome to JJ-365 Salutes. Over 2018, we pay tribute daily to one of “The Good Ones”. Today we are shining the light on Howard Kroeger.

October of 1983, during CITI-FM’s Home-Grown finale is where we basically first met. Howard was in the band 'Slipstream' and we said a pretty quick hi. Later when he got into the radio business I would see him around more often in the ‘Peg. 

You can see that brightness shining in the eyes of this dude when you meet him, and while he has become uber successful, he is still a down to earth lad operating his huge business out of Winnipeg. 

I started my company JJIMS INC. five years ago and have talked to Howard a number of times picking his brain. He has been very generous with his time, helpful and inspiring which has really helped me move things forward.

Howard always had a love for radio but it was the “law of three” that started him on the path he says: ”1- I saw the movie FM as a teenager in 1978, 2- CITI-FM launched that same year and 3- That same year I was asked to take a “voice test” during career week at high school in grade 11. It was either small engine repair or radio...I took radio.”

He grew up in a very musical family, and initially had his sights set on a career in music. He joined up with what he called a “serious band” in Morden Manitoba and moved out there to be closer to the rest of the guys Dennis Kehler guitar, Howard Demke Guitar, Ray Buhr Bass, and Gil Dudgeon drums. 

The only other thing he wanted to do was be on the radio, so he basically camped out at 1530 CISV in Morden, MB until they gave him a job. He started out on-air on the all-night show, and eventually moved up to afternoon drive.

In the meantime, their band was getting pretty busy with more and more gigs. They had this great practice/party place in Morden MB in which they spent most of their time rehearsing and writing songs. 

During CITI-FM’s Home-Grown finale in October of 1983, ‘Slipstream’ blew us all away and they won the grand prize of studio time at Century 21 studios (legend has it..that impressive place was built brick for brick the same as the Record Plant in Los Angeles..), a thousand singles of their song ‘Don’t Wanna Wise Up’, and agent representation from the Hungry I Talent Agency.

It was during this time they got to know the late and great Steve Young who was then the PD at CITI-FM. Steve and 365’er Terry DiMonte (who was dividing his time between CITI and Pressure Records) would show up at some of their gigs, which always made them a bit nervous, but made them better he says.

During the time they were recording their first single with Steve and engineer Ralph ‘the Blade” Watts, Steve asked them to drop by the studio to hear a new mix of their single ‘Don’t Wanna Wise Up’ and discuss an idea that he felt could really kick start things for them.

Howard recalls: “So all five of us converged in the recording studio control room with Steve and he proceeded to ask us all to take a seat, keep an open mind, and listen to this ‘new’ mix as Ralph rolled the tape. As we were listening to our song boom out over the studio monitors, I remember looking out at the other guys smiling with pride at how good it sounded. Suddenly however at about the 3:15 mark in the song we started hearing what we swore were.... cows mooing? When the song faded out Steve asked, 'Okay guys what do you think?'

Dead silence.....Well....I said...it sounds great, but towards the end there...I swear I heard cow moos...Steve not breaking a smile said ...’That is correct ...and that leads to another part of the discussion. We think adding the cow moos in the mix can be part of a brilliant marketing push, which would also involve a name change for the band. Seeing that you guys all come from the country and four out of the five of you have a Mennonite background......we would like to change your band’s name from ‘Slipstream’ to ‘Mennonites with Hats!!’ Dead silence...

What do you think??? 

Again...dead silence ....we all looked at each other .....’Like....really?’ 

Steve and Ralph both nodded their heads.... 

...more dead silence...

Finally, Steve and Ralph started breaking up....’nah...we were just screwing with ya!

...Slipstream is a good name.”

After that they all quit their jobs and went at the band full time. It was a great experience and they got to play some great places, and some bad ones. The Live music scene in Winnipeg in the early 80's was amazing with lots of great venues to play like the Norlander, The Zoo, The Curtis, Broadways, and The Montcalm. Lots of great bands too. Besides the big guns like Harlequin, the Pumps, and Streetheart, there were some great young bands too like the Cheer, Monuments Galore, 417, and the Chocolate Bunnies from Hell to name a few.

Along the way the band forgot about the vow of poverty most bands have to make on the way to the big stage, and eventually dreams of rocking stadiums, ended with them rocking the Big A on Portage avenue for one last time. That wasn’t the last band Howard was in but it was the last touring one.

After the band broke up Howard was newly married without a gig. In November of 1984 the Winnipeg Pat Holiday hired him as the all-night guy for Q-94FM which was then owned by CHUM LTD. From all night guy, he worked his way through the ranks to swing, music director and eventually PD in 1991.

Along the way he got to work with some really great people. In the early days he shared lots of laughs and good times with guys like 365’er Tod Fryfogle aka Ron Reynolds, aka Lamont Hollywood who gave him a brief glimpse into his future when after their first meeting he told him in no uncertain terms that his goal was to do a morning show in the U.S.

Alan Cross worked the shift before him and as Music Director told him that he definitely should pick up a copy of the Rolling Stone Rock Encyclopedia for all those foreground artist features we had to do back then (CRTC regulations), and besides...it was great reading anyway.

Howard says the late and great Patty Cardinal took him out for breakfast the first week he was there and then tried to get him to sign a union card (...ha ha pure Pat he says). They became close friends and over the years they always had a “Pat’s room” wherever they lived.

In the early 90's Howard got to join forces with Chris Brooke who he calls his “brother from another mother". Chris came from Montreal to head up the marketing department, they hit it off immediately and went on to make an awesome team. Q-94 was a monster station throughout the entire 90's and they were able to take up to an astounding 21 share in 1998 (back when radio had more robust marketing budgets). Working with the morning team of Buster Beau Dean, Tom Milroy, Frazier and eventually Dez was a fantastic learning experience for him that turned out great for all involved. Other people he worked with that became great friends and co-workers were Andy Ross, Andrew “Science” Long, & Cam Clark. They all worked closely together on programming side in the trenches and learned a lot from one another. On the sales side he says he was very fortunate to be able to work with some uber talented sales managers. Scott Bodnarchuk and Cory Mospanchuk taught him about the importance of keeping his eye on the revenue side as well as the ratings. GM Bryan Stone let them do their thing under the umbrella of accountability. It was the perfect storm for creativity and success.

In 2001 CHUM purchased Magic 99.9 and seeing as they already had a successful HOT AC in Q-94 they were looking for something else that wouldn’t eat into their success on Q. 

In May of that year he went to a buddy’s 40th birthday party outside a hockey rink in Sanford Manitoba where they had had these huge speakers sitting on a flatbed blaring out CITI-FM. Everyone there knew that he worked in radio and told him in no uncertain terms on that night they were going to rock to the music they grew up with, not the top 40 stuff of the day Q-94 played. Howard says: “When I asked what songs in particular they wanted to hear...they came back with a mix of stuff that definitely was not on CITI at the time...nor anywhere else for the matter. We were talking Boston, Tom Petty, Meatloaf, The Cars and the Police, with a little Three Dog Night on the side.. To make a long story short, after the party I took my bonfire experience back to the station and cracked open my Joel Whitburn book of hits and started putting together a playlist. Once I had a playlist together, we presented the idea to Ross Davies, Jimmy Waters and Mike Dorn our consultant at the time. We proceeded to put a montage together of what this station would sound like, threw it out in the field in the form of a research study, and eventually found a hole was so big you could fly 2 747’s through it. Shortly there after on March 4 2002 BOB was born and another exciting chapter of my programming career began.”

Working at Q94 and for CHUM in general was an experience like no other for him he says. It was like going to Radio University. Learning was encouraged. They had access to research and all the tools they needed to make successful decisions and do great radio. The CHUM PD’S across the country all talked to one another and got along. Murray Brookshaw, Pete Travers, Rob Farina, Neil Gallagher, Wendy Duff, Chris Gordon, Ian McClean and 365’er Charlie O'Brien...He says: "Not only great programmers...but great people too."

They were encouraged to think outside the box and given a lot of autonomy, with the understanding of course that along with the autonomy came great responsibility. The education, and the mentor-ship from those higher in the food chain at the time was second to none. “My mentors included VP of Programming Ross Davies, and from the Research Group Mike Dorn and Mike Anthony (two of the smartest radio guys I have ever worked with.) Between 2001 and 2006 Mike Anthony and I talked on the phone every day for as he made his commute to work from Palo Alto to San Jose, about the business of radio. A lot of his wisdom gave me the courage and confidence to eventually start my own company.”

In July of 2006 Howard decided to leave CHUM to start his own company. The timing was impeccable as CHUM was sold to Bell Globemedia just a few months later.

Eventually he took his BOB experience to the U.S. and began his own consultancy that focuses on research, licensing and branding for radio. 

Today Kroeger Media Inc is repped by Envision Radio Networks who sells their BOB, HANK and DUKE format brands across the U.S where they currently provide their products and format expertise to over 60 markets (including the Cayman Islands). 

And his sons are in the business now along side him. Two years ago after finishing up their audio engineering studies his Travis and Lucas joined the company and now look after all the imaging for their HANK and DUKE country brands, plus they also provide their imaging and production services to another 40 markets across the US. 

Daughter Alexandra, who is the curator for the Dalnavert Museum in Winnipeg also has a hand in the family business doing local market research for client stations and their imaging needs. Howard's wife and better half Jane is the CFO, the ‘real boss’ he says. 

Music continues to be a family passion and spare time has Howard, Travis and Lucas hunkering down in their home recording studios laying down the beats.

Howard sums up: “The business of radio has always been changing and it will continue to change as the years go by. There will always be opportunities in this business - you just have to know where to look and be prepared to zig while the majority are zagging. If you are either just starting to get into radio, or thinking about your next move, my advice would be this: If you think you have a great idea, have done your research and still think its a great idea, do it! While it is true that yes, there very well could be a million other people with the same idea... in reality only a handful are really ever crazy enough to pull the trigger on it.“

One of the nicest and smartest people out there who has carved a great career and future for himself and his family. He continues to be a terrific friend and influence on many in the industry. Howard had the courage to step out there and try his own thing and since then has taken his business to so many levels. I admire him for who he is, what he has done (and doing) and for being a consummate family man. 

From one Howard to another: “The guy has stock!” as 365’er “H” Howard Mandshein would say.

Thank you, Howard Kroeger, for being one of “The Good Ones”. Feel free to like and share Howard’s positive story. Who is the subject of tomorrow’s JJ-365 Salutes? As they say, stay tuned.

Jim JJ Johnston is the CEO, President and Chief Talent/Content Coach for JJIMS INC. and works with talent in many different industries worldwide. He can be reached at JJ-IMS.COM.