Video didn’t kill this radio star

By Emma Peterson. 

Defying those that call live radio a dying art, Fabrication Nation Radio is bringing energy, connection and fun to fabrication shops across the country.  

While the Buggles declared that “Video Killed the Radio Star” in 1979, radio and its stars are most certainly still with us today. In fact, Statista reports that while radio is declining in comparison to the ‘70s, it still reaches 80% of Americans on a weekly basis! And when you think about how many people are working with their hands all day, it makes sense that this audio format has survived! To learn more about the radio and its stars that are still on the air today, Fabrication Nation Radio host Rod “The Rodman” Cochran and producer Kerri Gregory stopped by The Coffee Shops® for an episode of MetalCast.  

Fabrication Nation Radio was designed specifically with those hands-on workers in mind. Rod explained, “My dad was a fabricator his entire life and because of that I know that all the people in the fabrication industry are really authentic, they want things that are real. And we want to give them that by actually doing live radio.” He went on, “I’m in the studio live, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., keeping these crews company, taking their requests, etc.” 

And, while some might assume the main audience for this radio station are those that saw that iconic Buggles video on MTV live, it’s actually reaching fabricators of all ages! Kerri, who is the president of Carell Industrial Solutions when she’s not keeping Fabrication Nation running, recalled, “We have two machine shops and it always makes me smile to hear them jamming out to Fabrication Nation... There are these really young guys that are listening to all the songs from when I was young and singing together and it’s amazing.”  

And at the end of the day, it’s the moments like what Kerri described that are the whole reason Fabrication Nation exists. As Rod put it, “It’s all about encouraging new people to get into the trades and bringing some excitement and fun to the day-to-day of workers.” 

Looking for something to listen to during your workday? Listen to the whole episode of this podcast or tune into the Fabrication Nation Radio!