Christopher Daher, aka “Peapod”, is a radio personality in Toledo, Ohio who has an extensive background and experience in the music industry. In 2017, after some minor setbacks, Peapod started On The Radar podcast with recording engineer Steve Warstler (Mat Kerekes, Citizen, Shortly). Apparent in his love for music, Peapod has “an eclectic range” of taste from top 40 hits to post-hardcore. His mission with the podcast was to highlight upcoming artists who want to breakthrough in the industry.
“I come from corporate radio with a lot of structure,” Peapod said. “I thought bringing the structure of radio with the freedom of topics, time and guests is why I formed the podcast.”
Some of his favorite labels lately, In Vogue Records, Head To Wall Records and Take This To Heart Records, have had their artists on the show. However, taking a minute to explain how he can’t pick a band as his “favorite”, Peapod said he is always open to new music. A fan of the Midwestern scene, he believes Toledo, Ohio gets passed over when there are a lot of “underground gems” to be found.
Wanting to focus more on “rising acts, more labels and more traveling acts,” Peapod is ready to dive into 2020 with his podcast mimicking a live show performance. Keeping things fresh and captivating, On The Radar takes short breaks during the episode and has plenty of playback worthy moments. Each episode is unique and plays true to the artist on the segment focusing on the artist’s life, “apex of success” or why an audience should listen to the guest more. From some more well-known bands like Secret Space to local favorites like American Spirits, Peapod has guests who range from house show aficionados to label darlings. At the end of the day, he showcases the Midwest scene the way it was intended to be: strong.
That may sound bad, but when you think of solid music, you don’t think of the midwest,” Peapod said. “You think of LA, New York or Chicago. You don’t think of these middle of the road or in-between cities. They just need to find some platforms. Toledo has a lot of great men and women who want to bust out and show off what they have.”
Listen to the podcast on Spotify here.
