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!  

By Emma Peterson. 

A look at how this radio station combines music, entertainment and industry storytelling to create a one-of-a-kind experience for the metal fabricator community. 

In a new MetalCast™, Heidi J. Ellsworth had the chance to sit down with two members of the team behind Fabrication Nation Radio – Rod “The Rodman” Cochran and Kerri Gregory. Rod is the main host of the radio show and gets his monicker from decades of experience working with various stations such as CBS and WNXC. As for Kerri, she’s the producer keeping everything running behind-the-scenes at the radio when she’s not working as the president of Carell Industrial Solutions. 

The idea for the radio came from Rod’s background as a DJ and his father’s fabrication career. As he put it:  

My dad was a fabricator his entire life and because of that I knew that all the guys in fabrication shops were listening to the radio all day. And, as I had followed my dreams to become a radio DJ, I realized there was something there – we could make a station specifically for these guys working in the shop that keeps them going with comedy, good music and content centered around their lives. 

And from there, it just began growing. Kerri described the experience, sharing, “We didn’t know it was going to take off and blow up. We had started it and obviously we thought it was neat, but then we started hearing people's stories like behind how they got into fabricating or machine sales or whatever. And it was mind-blowing.” Rod added, “Hearing those stories really hit home that being a part of this industry is more than a job. It’s a lifestyle...That's why we call it Fabrication Nation, because this community feels like its own nation or world.”  

Even with all this success, Rod and Kerri are constantly looking for ways to grow and better serve fabricators in their “nation.” To learn more about how they are doing this, Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording!