Shoboy in the Morning, Positively Fun!
Shoboy in the Morning at 923 Amp Radio is making a major impact on morning radio in NY. Authenticity, vulnerability and the humor of the cast – Shoboy, Nina, Micho, DJ Majestic and Kristen – make this show stand out.
Here’s Part One of my conversation with Shoboy.
Randy
SHOBOY IN THE MORNING, POSITIVELY FUN!
R: Your show is successful because of your unique cast of characters. Let’s talk about them.
S: Nina is a hunter at heart. She goes out and hunts for her prey. She’s looking for the right man in her life.
R: You’re talking about Nina, your cohost and go-to player on the show.
S: Yes. Nina’s a hopeless romantic; a strong, independent, single woman. It’s empowering to Nina and the female target for her to bring relationship drama to the show. She’s open and vulnerable.
She’s not afraid to go up to a guy and tell him that she likes him. Nina talks about the great things in her life as well as her heartbreaks and frustrations.
R: Micho sounds like your lightning rod character.
S: Micho is a Latino guy who’s a ladies man – in his own eyes. He’s unfiltered, and he will say what everybody is thinking, but doesn’t dare say. He goes right up to the line without crossing over. He’s comical and playful with a lot of double entendres.
The last time he saw his father was when they were playing Hide & Go Seek when he was a child. In his mind, his father is the best at playing Hide & Go Seek because he’s yet to find him. He has powerful perceptions of life in a comical sense.
(Check out Micho’s Spanglish Juan Oh Juan segment )
R: Describe your character.
S: I’m the optimistic and hopeful character on the show. I’m extremely open and vulnerable, too. My wife is pregnant with our first baby, and I’ve gotten more sentimental and emotional than my wife! I’m watching the pre-Olympics and there’s this girl who made the Olympics. She ran up to the stand and hugged her dad. I cried like a baby.
R: Your show is known for innovative artist interviews. What makes them stand out?
S: We have two goals with artist interviews, one is to disarm them, make them human to the audience. Our second goal is to get stories from artists, because listeners love them. We often get great stories and information that’s not online. You have to actively listen rather than think about your next question, or you’ll miss amazing opportunities.
The Riki Taka Dance Challenge is common in the Caribbean countries. We call it #ShoboyDanceChallenge. Huge artists like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Iggy Azalea have done the challenge. We’ve gotten millions of views.
(Follow this link for some great interviews by Shoboy)
R: Can you share a funny off-air story?
S: The most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done in public happened at this huge event at the San Jose Convention Center. A big family recognized me and started yelling “Shoboy! Shoboy!” So I go over to where they’re standing. I’m going down the line trying to go above and beyond, showing love. I see this woman wearing a blouse that was really tight under her breasts and tight jeans with her stomach sticking straight out, and she looks nine months pregnant. And Randy, I would have bet my left and my right arm that this woman was pregnant.
So here I am going above and beyond, and as I go to say hi to her, I put my hand on her belly to say hi to the baby first. I actually start baby-talking to her belly. Then I feel her sucking in her stomach. I think to myself, “OMG, that’s not a pregnant belly, that is boobage!”. She’s like “Oh no, Shoboy, I’m not pregnant.” Her face was tomato red, and I was mortified. Talk about a Southwest commercial – I wanted to get away!
NEXT WEEK: In Part Two of my interview, Shoboy shares his views on the importance of episodic content and how to handle election coverage and tragedies on a music station.
SEE YOU AT MORNING SHOW BOOT CAMP
Randy and Laura will be in Atlanta next week for Morning Show Boot Camp. If you ever find yourself staring at a video camera for social media, television or online content, don’t miss their class on Thursday.
This year’s MSBC has a great lineup. Check it out here and we hope to see you there.
Photo Credit: Flickr.com/photos/calliope/
