INTERVIEW: Arkansas Emcee, Blake Woodson, or Lunchbox, or Santa Blake or Arkansas Hangover Alan or whatever you want to call him

It’s no secret that the field of radio has changed significantly. Just in my time on the radio, it went from there needing to be someone at the station 24/7 to satellite and automation. On-Air shifts became less and less, and unless you were a household name (and ultimately that didn’t really matter either), staying on-air seemed impossible, especially when ratings came out. Do I sound bitter? I’m not, but I have a lot of dear friends who have been sacrificed by this trade.

So, what do ex-radio people do after we go off the air? Some go sideways... as in television, videography, public relations for businesses, social media managers, writers, and so on. Some leave the media field all together. For the die-hard, old-school fans, this leaves a giant radio-sized hole in our hearts. Therefore, when we hear a familiar voice at a super cool music festival such as Knobstock, which happened Saturday, May 27, at Grayson Farms in Bald Knob, the excitement goes from ‘Wow! That was a great band!’ to ‘OMG! No Way! I can’t believe it’s...it’s.... BLAKE WOODSON!’ The fans go wild, girls throw underwear on the stage, and the bands get nervous playing for such an icon.

Don’t believe me? Were you there? Well, for my first show to watch Blake be the Master of Ceremonies or MC, I may not have witnessed all of that, but who’s to say that doesn’t happen at other events?

What I did see was confidence on stage and control of the situation as band after band came on and off the stage throughout the day.

“The truth is you will NOT find a better MC in Arkansas than Blake Woodson,” CEO/Founder of ArtBeat Entertainment Dean Agus said. “He does a superb job at every event. He’s very funny and a very likable guy.”

I agree. I am definitely a Blake Woodson fan. So, what led him to this point in his career?

Blake began his radio career in 2004.

Blake Woodson: I went from a short time in Radio Sales to the NTR Director at Clear Channel. I ran all the events and concerts, and we had a ton back then. I would go on KSSN and Magic 105 and talk about upcoming events. That was about the extent of being “on the radio” until I became “Lunchbox” and then an actual “On-Air Personality.”

BWW: How did you get your nickname Lunchbox?

Blake: Corey and Jay would see me, Matt Cruz and Adam walking around the halls all the time together and gave us nicknames- hot dog, lunchbox, and cupcake from The Night at the Museum. My nickname stuck, theirs didn’t. I was Lunchbox. So when I started doing the stage announcements, even before I was ever on the air, I was Lunchbox.

BWW: How did you become an On-Air Personality?

Blake:I did small stuff like talk about upcoming events on a couple of the stations and voiced some commercials occasionally. Sharpe Dunaway even tried to get me on his Gonzo Rock show but the one show we recorded never made in on the air because Magic 105 went off the air 2 days before it was set to air. Terri England pulled me into her studio on Classic Country one night, and I started being on that station once a week with her. Corey and Jay would have me come in once a week and do the "Lunchbox show." I even had a theme song they had produced. Then, one afternoon while Sonny Victory was on a remote and I was running the board, a tornado came through Central Arkansas. I was the only person at the Stations. Sonny had me go to all the control rooms and do the weather until the bad weather was gone.

BWW: I love Sonny Victory!! He’s the best!

Blake: Sonny loved it when I did the severe weather reports that day, and when he took over as the PD at Crain Media, he hired me on as a full-time DJ and Promotions Director. I started on a pop station during middays. I am a Rock guy so being on a Pop Station was a bit out of my comfort zone. But I did it. Lucky for me, Mother Nature would have my back and help put me on the station where I belonged. A flood came through Nashville. Our middays DJs on the Crain Media Rock Station, Big Rock 93.3, syndicated out of Nashville. Because of the Nashville flood, they could not get to their studio to do their show for at least two weeks, maybe longer, so I took over doing their shows on Big Rock 93.3. At one point I was on middays on two stations at the same time, kHits 96.5 and Big Rock 93.3. The powers that be at Crain Media then just gave me the midday spot on the rock station and hired someone else for the pop station. I did middays and Kevin Clay did Mornings.

BWW: I love Kevin Clay too!

Blake: Kevin is awesome. We had a lot of fun together. We decided that I would come in at 7am every morning and do 7 to 10 with Kevin and then 10 to 3 for my show. We had a great show. We went from no ratings in the market to being number 6 right behind The Edge, our competition. I was the 2011 Arkansas Times Best of Radio Personality of the Year Runner Up. I also did a weekend Local Show called Rock in The Rock. I loved that. I loved showcasing the Arkansas Local bands.

Once the station took a different direction, Blake took one more gig in radio before finally calling it quits.

Blake: Tanya Smith talked me into cohosting a weekend show with her called Singles and Exes. I did that for a year. When she decided to leave, that was it for me.

BWW: So, when did your MCing begin?

Blake: I took over Edgefest from the previous NTR Director at Clear Channel. He left for the same position on the Clear Channel TV Stations. He actually started Edgefest but because he left before the first one and I took over, I was known as the person who started it. I also did the Magic 105 Mardi Gras Parade which is still the biggest Parade ever in Little Rock. I did a ton of concerts with the Edge Concert series and a lot of other stuff. But doing stage announcements, MCing, Emceeing, or whatever you want to call it, all started basically because of a Rock band from Los Angeles, California called “The Exies”. In 2006, I was the NTR/Promotions director for 100.3 The Edge. We were putting together the bands for the first Edgefest. We had a couple more bands than could really fit on the lineup so we decided to have a pre concert the night before at the Rev Room in the River Market. The headlining band for that pre party was the Exies, I had been hanging out with them all night. Right before they were going on stage, I got a phone call and had to go outside and take it. Someone came running out and told me that the band was refusing to go on stage unless I brought them on. I said to the person, I am just in promotions, I am not a DJ, I have never been on stage before. I dont know what to do. They told me to just go up, say who I was, mention the station, mention the other bands that had played, and then introduce the band. I did, I walked up on stage and yelled, "What's up, I am Lunchbox for the Edge" Everyone went nuts. I was hooked from then on. Most of the other DJs didnt want to go to the shows after they had worked all day so I began to do almost all the stage announcements for most of Clear Channel’s 5 radio stations. I loved it. That and interacting with our listeners was my favorite part of being in radio. Best on Stage experience? That would be Rocklahoma 2007....I got to help introduce RATT with two guys from the Tulsa Radio Station. In front of over 40,000 people. When that many people yell, you can totally feel it. It is an amazing feeling. I was REALLY hooked after that.

“Blake Woodson is like butter...he makes everything better,” Dean Agus said. “You won't find anyone more passionate and helpful- that's for sure! He will spend all his time and efforts promoting. We've done several shows together including 40 weeks of battle of the band events in Hot Springs and three Rocktober Music Festivals amongst other things, not to mention some special showcases and benefits/fundraisers.”

Which leads us back to working with Barth Grayson and Knobstock. With COVID finally allowing time for music lovers to gather the way we were meant to do, Grayson Farms has aspirations of hosting four festivals a year.

“My plan is to have multistage festivals at my farm for the next ten years,” longtime farmer and ex-Bald Knob Mayor Grayson said. So, I'm building a new facility and hopefully debut it during Arkansas Jam over Labor Day. My immediate goal is to get the other stage situation ready for the Arkansas Jam, even though we may bring in a hydraulic stage. Also, we'll have the barn built by then.”

How does Blake fit into this picture?

“I had a guy that was an entertainer and MC like Blake is doing for me and my graphic guru like Blake is doing for me, and he died three years ago. So, there's a void right there that Blake has filled. He's a Godsend. He just stepped right out of nowhere and helps me tremendously, and I appreciate that,” Grayson said.

A Godsend? That is high praise indeed, and if that isn’t enough to give you starry-heart eyes, Blake also does a Hangover Alan impression that keeps him in demand, and then can be seen during the Christmas holidays as Santa Blake. Also, sometimes he ghost hunts and hangs out with the animals at Cockrills Country Critters Mobile Petting Zoo & Pony Rides.

If you want to catch the dashing and very entertaining Blake, he will be Co-Emceeing The Artbeat Entertainment's Last Band Standing Battle of the Bands Finale on Sunday, June 18, Emceeing as Hangover Alan for The Almas show at Vapors Live on June 25th, and Emceeing the Testical Festival in Bentonville Aug 24-27 (testyfest.us).

That all sounds like fun to me!

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