INSTEAD OF BLOWING his first paycheque from MuchMusic on frivolous goods, Bill Welychka did the responsible thing and put the money towards rent, bills and an RRSP. That’s not exactly the wild “I-blew-it-all-in-one-night-on-a-crazy-party” ending you might expect, but coming from the man who built his reputation as the station’s longest running VJ it makes sense.
As a student at Thornlea Secondary School, Welychka had no idea he would one day get paid to interview his favourite bands, such as Led Zeppelin and the Cure, whose photos adorned his locker. He says the biggest influence that high school had on his career was the circle of friends with whom he shared an interest in music. A school project in his last year also wound up having a lasting effect.
“I rented a video camera for a project. I had so much fun with it, I thought, ‘this would be a fun career,’” he says. With the goal of becoming a cameraman, Welychka enrolled in Radio & TV Arts at Seneca College, where he “fell in love with editing,” he says.
REPORT CARD
STUDENT Bill Welychka
GRADUATED Thornlea Secondary School, 1985
BEST SUBJECT Geography
WORST SUBJECT Calculus
CURRENT JOB Weather Anchor for ‘A’ Morning Ottawa
He landed the job at MuchMusic as an editor just one week after graduation. Then, in 1992, he moved in front of the camera for the first time, taking over for someone on maternity leave. He did so well that they kept him on the show as a co-host when she returned. Over the next few months he was given more hosting duties, and he eventually become an on air-fixture.
In 2000 he moved over to MuchMoreMusic to focus more on the journalism side of the VJ role.
By 2005 he needed a change. He felt like he had already interviewed everyone he’d ever wanted to meet and had traveled to over 30 different countries along the way.
“I was done with entertainment and didn’t want to do it any more,” he says. “It became less about music and much more tabloid: who’s screwing who and everything had to be about that.”
That dissatisfaction prompted him to relocate to Edmonton, where he spent a year anchoring Breakfast Television, before making the move to Ottawa. Since 2006 he’s been working for ‘A’ Channel as a weather anchor and host of the weekly segment show, Bill’s Excellent Adventure.
This past March he started working on the ‘A’ morning show, when the evenings news casts were cancelled.
“I’m used to be going to bed at 3:30 a.m.,” he says. “Now I’m getting up at 3:30 a.m.”
