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10 Questions with ... Jeff Stacey
March 10, 2009
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NAME:Jeff StaceyTITLE:Head Of Modern Rock PromotionCOMPANY:Interscope-Geffen-A&M-DGCBORN:Cambridge, MARAISED:Suburbs of Boston
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Station Manager/Jock at WIQH (High School station); Intern at WBCN 1987-1992 (You didn't have to get college credit back then), Intern at Island Records (88-89), Station Mgr. at WERS ('91-'92), Intern at Geffen Records ('89-'95), Promotion at Geffen Records ('95-'99, and Interscope/Geffen/A&M/DGC (99-Present).
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
Health Food Store Manager/Personal Trainer
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
Def Leppard "Pyromania" (on cassette)
FIRST CONCERT:
Up With People (seriously). The first purchased ticket concert was Motley Crue -- Theatre Of Pain Tour at The Worcester Centrum
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
The Eagles
1. What got you interested in the record business?
I started in High School as a jock at our 300-watt blowtorch WIQH. If you were signing on you had to show up 20 minutes prior to your shift so you could turn on the transmitter and let it warm up before you actually started broadcasting. We were on from 8a-10p. I got my first executive experience during my year as Station Manager. At Emerson College I was on WERS and one day the local Island rep Paul Barrette came in and I saw him put a 3'x5" card on the station bulletin board looking for an intern. When nobody was around I promptly took it down and called the next day. For some reason he hadn't gotten any other calls so I got hired by default, though the fact I was interning in the WBCN music department didn't hurt either. Coming out of college I felt I had to make a choice on which direction to focus on and picked the record side. It was the best of both worlds; you were working with the artists and still working directly with radio stations.
2. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
I made the big switch from News/Talk WBZ radio to WBCN at age 14. I was obsessed with radio in all forms so over the years I would cycle through WFNX, WAAF, WCLZ even after they switched to WZOU (Top 40) and of course Kiss 108. I would tape Casey Kasem's AT40 every week and listen to the entire broadcast. The big thing was finding jocks I liked, taping them and then trying to talk like them as I played all of the breaks back. I eventually settled on Rock and from the ages of 14-21 the only thing I wanted to be when I grew up was the overnight jock on 'BCN.
3. What may surprise people the most about Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records?
There should be a DGC listed on there now as well.
4. Where do you get your greatest pleasure in doing record promotion?
There's more than one answer to that question. Getting a new album from huge artists and getting to bring that music to people is great. Taking a new artist and getting them exposed and turning people on to them is amazing. But at the end of the day I have to say the greatest moments are the ones that involve the listeners. Spending years out in the field running meet & greets, roadie for a day, fan interviews, etc. and most recently the Weezer Hootenanny experiences, seeing the excitement of listeners/winners as they get an opportunity to do something unique. It's something they will be talking about to their friends, family, and grandkids for years.
Obviously not all of your promotions are going to be dramatic, but when you hit one of the great ones and you get a true fan...you know that photo of them on-stage with the band playing a solo during a Weezer song with 9,000 people cheering them on or sandwiched between the members of No Doubt or posing with the members of Rise Against after spending a few hours working in a local soup kitchen and giving back to the Community is going to sit up on the mantle, be put on their Facebook, and kept on their iPhone forever. To us in the business it's compliance paperwork, cutting the right imaging. What can we get for website content? How much time and exposure are we going to get on air? To the listeners/fans it still really means something and playing a role in providing that experience really fires up the passion batteries for me every time I hear about it from a programmer, one of my staff members or get the chance to see it in person.
5. Do you have a favorite market you like to visit and why?
No particular favorite. I love the travel aspect of the job, doesn't matter where you go. Getting the feel for a market by spending some time there is one of the great benefits of this line of work.
6. What is the toughest part of your job?
Aside from avoiding your calls to book more advertising? After all of these years in the business I still can't get my parents to understand exactly what my job is.
7. What would surprise people most about you?
For those who may not have heard the story, I was an exotic dancer in college for several months.
8. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without __________?
Coffee, Realtime, Radio, Whiskey in the Fall/Winter, Spring/Summer a random rotation of Vodka (Tito's), Gin (Hendricks), and Tequila (Don Julio 1942).
9. What has been your biggest career highlight?
Aside from being asked to do this Q&A? There are too many things to try and single out. Being given the opportunity with my current position is right up there. The most formative experience early on was getting to run the board at WBCN when I was 18. The jock went out for an extended smoke break and I was in "The Chair" doing segues (they still did them then), firing off spots (carts!), and picking the sweepers into and out of the spot break. I was in charge of the station me and all of my friends listened to, the biggest rock station in Boston for a quarter hour. The Power... I was hooked from that moment on.
10. If you were to leave the record business today and you could choose any other occupation, what would it be?
The Los Angeles Police Department. I would want to work my way up to Homicide Detective.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
Watching Realtime, ignoring call times, verbally assaulting Lenny Diana as often as possible, SCUBA Diving and a related PSA: Our Fisheries both nationally and internationally are in severely depleted conditions. You can make a difference, please choose sustain ably harvested seafood.
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