About What's Out Next!


The show is the brain child of Mitch Santell and Danny Nicolas. The show originally started out as an idea on a napkin over 3 years ago by Bruce Singer and was originally titled "Yours For A Song!" For over 24 months Mitch and Bruce searched for an on air host for the show. Everyone from Paul Williams ("We've Only Just Begun) to Mark Stephen's (Arranger for Diana Ross and Chaka Kahn) to Marty Rikfin (Established player with Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Dwight Yoakum, Jewel and a world class producer).

After careful consideration and after searching all around locally and nationally, Mitch Santell decided to return to the microphone to host the show. Mitch had shifted from hosting radio, to producing radio and then syndicating radio.

We asked Mitch why and he had two specific items to share. One was that he had a personal fascination with the music industry. Richard Santell (Mitch's Dad and his grandfather Martin Santell had owned 3 small retail record stores from 1956 to 1975) and the second reason was his mentorship by Nik Venet and his partnership with Bruce Singer of 30+ years, having started L.A. Music Publishing (ASCAP) back in 1977.

"Over the years I had started a number of record labels but what inspired me was the talent!" Mitch said. Now with this new technology called podcasting, Mitch realized that he could take the quality of his work directly to his audience without having to deal with the politics of radio stations.

"I love radio and especially talk radio." Mitch says, "I am not only a producer and host, I am also a consumer of radio and I don't want to listen to 18 minutes of commercials on a 60 minute talk show."


Having produced and syndicated over 30+ talk shows over the past 12 years Mitch realized he needed a world class team. "Yes, I said yes" was the response to each person Mitch approached. "The past two months have been most amazing for me" Mitch said. Why? "Because while I had this idea for a number of years.....because of this amazing technology called podcasting, we started working on this in February 2005 and now we are in May and ready to launch!"

The Team

Scott Higby
Executive Producer

A world class veteran of radio, television and the owner of Studio C in San Diego Scott Higby knew exactly what Mitch wanted to create. "Yeah, it's Kool, I had been working with Mitch for years with both established and new talk show hosts and I just wanted to be a part of this.
Scott is a master in his own right having worked and produced veterans like Tony Robbins, Brian Tracey and Ken Blanchard and dozens more. Scott also produces for various radio and television stations and has won dozens of prestigious awards over the past 20+ years. Plus Mr. Higby has worked on dozens of music projects as well and as Mitch like's to say "Scott is the fastest editor I ever worked with and is to me, Mr. Audio!"

Quinton Carlson
Associate Producer

Not only a veteran of music production and audio, Quinton has a real passion for cutting edge projects. "I just had to do this one because it was like being a kid again and doing a radio show.....but this time it's real and I can bring all of my producing, mixing and production skills to the table.

Quinton has worked at numerous recording studios and dozens of projects over the years. "I am new to the talk radio thing" Quinton openly admits, "but with all my yeas of studio and music experience...What's out next just seemed like a natural extension of everything I did before," Mr. Carlson said.

Danny Nicolas
Web Guru, Internet Time Traveler

Daniel Nicolas was born and raised in Southern California, growing up with a family of strong musical differences. Classic rock, jazz, classical music, soft rock, acoustic, alternative, techno, world, DJ remixes, live performance bootlegs, and rap (to name a few) all tried to dominate the family stereo.

At age 18, Daniel took his love for music, the internet, and technology to a whole new level by working with What's Out Next, which takes the idea of podcasting to a professional level and sets the industry standard. He has been on the internet for over 8 years, taking part in the culture that lives and breathes technology, and learning the ins and outs of website design and aesthetics.
One new interest of Daniel's is digital photography. He currently shoots with a Cannon S50 and will soon migrate to the professional DSLR, the Nikon D100. He is currently designing his personal website, wants to own the world, and strongly dislikes writing in the third person.

We asked Danny what he thought of the project. His response to us...."Hey I am been living on the net since 1995 and I knew that a shift was coming." According to Danny, "The shift came this year!" What was that shift? According to Danny it was a number of things...."The speed of the net and broadband is ever expanding and the technology is finally HERE!"

Lawrence Tanter
Show Announcer

His story is rooted in two of America’s originals - Basketball & Jazz. As a young man growing up in Chicago, Lawrence pursued both. His skills on the hardwood earned him a scholarship to The University of Dubuque in Iowa, while his love for music landed him a position on the student radio station - which became a strategic launching pad for future success in the broadcast arena.

In the early 70’s …L.T. moved to Los Angeles. There was a 12-year contribution at Stevie Wonder’s radio facility KJLH, and a groundbreaking tenure with the Quiet Storm at KUTE, where he helped popularize the ‘Smooth Jazz’ format in America. He has been filling the airwaves with his cool personality, soulful style, and rich tone for over three decades in Southern California. There have been additional contributions along the way at other facilities…KACE - KLIT- KJAZ & JAZZFM. Currently - he’s a member of the airstaff at KTWV (The Wave). This veteran of commercial radio has become one of the most recognizable voices in America.

"My father told me some years ago, ‘if you have to work, do something you enjoy, because it becomes your craft versus work.’ You get compensated for something you enjoy and then you can give something more than just putting in time on the clock . . . you can provide a little bit of your own heart and soul."

What's Out Next! is a presentation of Studio C and New Broadcast, Inc. and is a joint venture between Danny-Co and MovieCapital.com and Amato Media Trust Group.
Copyright © 2005. All Rights Reserved.

If you would like to be a guest on the show or are looking for sponsorship opportunities, simply write to msantell@mac.com

(Remember the about page will be ever expanding and changing so check back here soon).......