"Party" Marti Ryan

A native of Washington, D.C. Born on September 11th on Pennsylvania Avenue NW (just down the street from that big white house). My only sister is 16 years my senior, and I had four big brothers between us. I grew up sneaking their 45's onto kiddie turntable when they all left for school.

-- I spent many hours on the Potomac as Captain of my high school crew team. There was an experimental career center with classes on bricklaying, cosmetology and (of all things) TV Production where I was only one of two female students.

-- B.A. in Communications from The American University and George Mason University. I also was a cheerleader in college... had a PERFECT POSTERIOR back in those days! Took an economics class at G.M.U. from that great African-American teacher turned radio host, Dr. Williams (who I much prefer to the Rush Limbaugh show). I spun records in bars to pay the bills, and I was also a lifeguard at the officer's pool inside the Pentagon while putting myself through school.

-- Worked for WMAL-AM's "Harden & Weaver," and sister top-40 Q107, then onto WAVA-FM under it's album rock and CHR formats (now a Christian station). My early mentor was a guy named Cerphe Colwell (who practically broke Springsteen and is the Little Feat announcer on the live "Waiting For Columbus" album). I also worked briefly with Howard Stern doing Rosanne Rosanna Danna bits before he left D.C. for N.Y.C. Also worked at a very urban FM downtown called WDJY "the sound of chocolate city" where I was treated with great love and respect in spite of my pale pigmentation. I was offered mornings just as I'd signed a deal to move to Tampa Bay for nights on WMGG Magic 96 under Scott Robbins and Jon Pinch. Earned the nickname "queen of adversity" for surviving many format changes at that frequency (along with Marvin Boone): W-Lite, Lite Rock 95.7, and Mix 96. Most of all, I got the radio name "Party Marti"...which I now own the service mark. Note: radio consultants (people who must find a problem to diagnose to justify their own existence) decided at one point that "party" Marti and "marvelous" Marvin were not acceptable to the valuable adult 25-54 demographic. We were told to stop calling ourselves by the handles we'd been using for years... which ultimately backfired, causing the audience to think we were snobs. My good friend and percussionist, Gumbi Ortiz, then nicknamed us "Activity Marti" and "Just Okay Marvin!"

-- Spent a year or two in film production working for the company that produced "Baywatch," a shoot on Honeymoon Island for a Brian DePalma movie, and several others.

-- Gave a decade of loyal service to Cox Broadcasting under WARM 107, WARM 94.9, COAST 107.3 (got to work for the late Big Paul Franklin), and lastly at JO 101.5 I reported live from my father's home in Arlington, Virginia during the week of September 11, 2001. I was scheduled to fly back to Tampa that day, my birthday, and heard the plane hit the Pentagon from my dad's kitchen window. A couple of months later, they automated 101.5 and fired all of us 9 days before Christmas! I ran into Jack Harris at the NY Diamond Center and we sat around laughing for an hour during his gig... I pulled a D.C. subway schedule out of my purse for his kid right on the spot -- he got a kick out of that.

-- A couple of months later, I was recruited by Clear Channel for MIX 100.7 on a team with a bunch of pro's I'd only competed against for years: Nancy, Mike, Bobby. INCREDIBLE. The atmosphere in our building is VERY creative and uplifting. The 'FLA people are the coolest -- and it is BEYOND gratifying when people there, like Tedd Webb, tell me they listened to me on the radio at one of my old stations. Sue Trecasse called me "a Tampa Bay Radio Icon", and I didn't even know what to say, except "OH STOP IT NOW!"

Presently, I'm perfectly comfortable sharing the stage with both children and animals. I love SANTANA, SPRINGSTEEN, blues and jazz. I now turn down diet endorsements on a regular basis. I see this as at least some level of career control and satisfaction, and my greatest work-in-progress is my young son. Thanks to my family and greyhounds for putting up with me.

Marti is now doing voice over work in Tampa Bay and nationally. She was part of the Clear Channel purge in November of 2003.