Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 8, 1993 TAG: 9304070280
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
K92 DJ HAS A WORLD OF EXPERIENCE
K92's newest nighttime DJ has a radio show in China and another in New Zealand.Impossible, you say? In fact, he tapes his show while most of us are sleeping and sends it to Texas. From there, copies are sent to the other side of the world, in both directions.
Monty Foster, or Mofo, as he's known on the air, joined WXLK (92.3 FM) last month, replacing Mark Anthony from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Foster had worked with ABC Radio Satellite Music Network in Dallas for six years and continues to free-lance for ABC Radio International.
In China, he hosts the one-hour lunch-time "Pop Train" during the week. In New Zealand, he can be heard on an evening show playing Top 40 hits for five hours.
How does he do it?
Foster arrives at K92's radio station about 3 or 4 p.m. and does K92 production work until he begins his show at 7. At midnight, he heads back into the production room to tape his international shows.
"By midnight my day is barely half over," he said. He gets home about 5 or 6 a.m.
Foster writes his own show, lays down his voice on a reel-to-reel and sends it to Dallas, where someone else puts his voice with the music. Using computers, ABC International sends the show to China and New Zealand.
It's not easy trying to remember who he is and which station he's working for: in China he's Monty Foster on 105.7 FM and in New Zealand he's Mofo on 91.7 FM. He's also Mofo in Roanoke, but on 92.3 FM. On occasion, he's had to re-record his announcement after telling his Chinese audience that they were listening to K92.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mofo - a nickname given him by a former boss - started his career in his early teens as a DJ at a skating rink. He then went to a small station 20 miles outside Dallas. After a short stint cleaning swimming pools, he went back to radio and joined ABC International. He has never been to either China nor New Zealand.
Mofo arrived in Roanoke during the Blizzard of '93, and spent a night stranded on Interstate 81 in his car. He hit the Roanoke airwaves March 15.
"Now I'm really getting settled," he said of his evening shift. He's planning to get listeners on the air and give it a party atmosphere, he said.
Assuming, of course, he still has the energy after working on both sides of the globe.