10 Questions with former WKSC (vt) talent, Kasper

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: NAME: Kasper : POSITION: APD/MD/afternoons : STATION: WAKS (also voicetracking 10a-12p EST - KISS-XM21/XM Satellite Radio, Nights - WFMF/Baton Rouge, Afternoons - WAKZ/Youngstown) : MARKET: Cleveland : OWNER: Clear Channel : WEB: www.kisscleveland.com : : WHOT/Youngstown -- from intern to full-time overnights : WBZZ/Pittsburgh -- weekends/swing : WRTS/Erie -- APD/MD/nights : WXLK/Roanoke -- MD/afternoons : WAKS/Cleveland -- MD/nights to APD/MD/afternoons : WIOQ/Philadelphia - afternoons : WAKS/Cleveland - APD/MD/afternoons : Previous voicetracking experience: WKSC/Chicago, WHYI/Miami, KKRZ/Portland, WKST/Pittsburgh, WQEN/Birmingham, WDCG/Raleigh, WZKF/Louisville, and WKKF/Albany. Right now I'm on KISS-XM21/XM Satellite Radio, WFMF/Baton Rouge and WAKZ/Youngstown daily. : 1) How would you describe your first radio gig? : It was FUN. When I was 17; I got my foot in the door with an internship at WHOT (Hot 101) in my hometown of Youngstown, OH, which led to running the board for pretty much anything and everything. There was an all-Spanish show on Hot's AM sister station that I would run on the weekend called "Voices Latina." There were three hosts who would talk entirely in Spanish for the entire hour, play nothing but Spanish music ... even the commercials were in Spanish. They would have to point to me when it was time to go into a stopset because I had no idea what they were saying. To this day I think I corrupted their show by bringing in Spanish versions of big Top 40 hits for them to play. They got a big kick out of Boyz II Men singing "End Of The Road" entirely in (what was probably badly broken) Spanish, but since their show didn't last much longer after that I'm not sure their listeners did. Oops. : 2) What led you to a career in radio? : My grandpa. Music was his hobby. He had like thousands of records and all kinds of stereo equipment. He'd let me play around with all of it whenever I was over. This is when I was around 9 or 10; I'd basically mimic what I would hear on the radio. It was bedroom radio with some pretty sick equipment and lots and lots of Elvis on vinyl. : 3) What is your favorite part of the job? : When you know you've connected with a listener ... truly entertained them. Whether it's getting an e-mail from someone asking for a link to what you were talking about, or a call from someone who just HAS to tell their story when it comes to your topic. Knowing that you were able to make an impact in between the songs they're listening for is such a rush. That's my goal with the show every day -- connect and entertain. : 4) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past? : Oh yeah definitely. A lot of duties fall under the APD/MD umbrella, and when you combine that with the live show and outside market voicetracking, there's a lot to be done. You know what, though? I like it that way. I love having a hand in everything -- programming, on-air, promotions, web, etc. : 5) What artist would we be surprised to find on your iPod? : The glorious trainwreck segues would be most surprising. Rammstein to Lil' Suzy the other day, wow. : 6) If you could add one full-time position to your budget right now, what would it be? : A Starbucks barista who brews nothing but the Sumatra blend in our cafeteria daily. : 7) What were some of your favorite stations to listen to when you were a kid? : Growing up right in between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it was all about Power 108/Cleveland, B94/Pittburgh, Hot 101/Youngstown and Mix Jamz 100.7/Pittsburgh for me. Also every summer, we'd do the family vacation in Ocean City, MD, so WAVA/Washington, B104/Baltimore, Q107/Washington and 100KHI/Ocean City all had a big impact on me as well. : 8) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio? : Over the past year I've gotten into running. My wife runs marathons, so I guess it rubbed off on me. I'm more of a 5k guy though ... so as for a marathon, no wayyy! I'll hang at the finish line and cheer for her. : 9) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career? : Nothing ventured, nothing gained. : 10) What advice you would give people new to the business? : Learn how to do EVERYTHING. It's good to have a goal and work towards that goal, but in this day and age of ultra-multitasking, the more you know how to do, the more valuable and better off you'll be. Also ... network, network, network! It seems like (almost) everyone in radio is on Facebook and/or Twitter. Reach out, introduce yourself and interact. Send an e-mail. Shoot over an IM. Get yourself and your name out there and make your presence known. : Bonus Questions : What's the best sweeper/liner you've ever heard? : Channel 955 in Detroit had a funny one a few years back when they were the underdog in the market: "Arbitron rated #8 in Detroit! Well ... at least we're trying!"

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