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10 Questions with ... Brandon Bell
March 20, 2007
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NAME:Brandon BellTITLE:MD/Imaging DirectorSTATIONS:KMXB - MIX 94.1MARKET:Las VegasCOMPANY:CBS RadioBORN:NebraskaRAISED:Nebraska
Please outline your radio career so far:
'96-'00 - KDNE - Doane College Radio - Crete, NE
'00-'04 - KFRX/KRKR - Lincoln, NE
'04-'05 - KIBZ/KZKX/KLMY/KTGL - Clear Channel - Lincoln, NE
'05-Present - KMXB MIX 94.1 - CBS Radio - Las Vegas1) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize "this is it"?
Oddly enough it was while I was working the drive through at a local McDonald's that a friend of mine drove through and said I had a good voice. He said that magic line we've all heard, "You should be in radio." And the rest is history. He helped me get my first job in radio playing legal IDs for Rockies radio broadcasts.
2) What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
Accountant...seriously. I started college working on an accounting degree. After a year of that I was bored out of mind and realized I needed to switch my major. Although I did finish college with a business degree, I spent all of my free time at the college station.
3) What makes your station or market unique? How does this compare to other markets or stations you have worked at?
A) Being live 24/7.
B) Events. No other station I've worked for comes close to doing the amount of NTR events we do. We have a hard working and talented staff that successfully does these events from booking the artists and selling vendor booths, to securing the land and organizing sound and lighting. Being able to draw upwards of 18,000 people to one of our events is far more effective than just passing out bumper stickers on the street.
4) Have you explored launching an HD Radio channel?
Yup. But I really can't get into that now.
5) What can we be doing with our station web sites to better our stations as a whole?
We have a very talented web master who besides being a master of "Dance Dance Revolution" is also pretty good at doing video editing. We are looking at incorporating more video features to our site.
6) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?
The biggest issue is having radio fade into a passive medium. I really think we need to do a better job of two things: A) developing appointment listening B) and being "on-demand". Sure it's a tough dichotomy of programming philosophy, but I really am convinced we need to do both.
First, we need to convince people to set aside time to plan on listening to radio, similar to the way people "make" time for TV. Then secondly, we need to follow that up with allowing listeners to re-experience or find programming they may have missed and find it online through our site.
7) Tell us what music we would find on your car or home CD player (or turntable) right now and what is it you enjoy about that particular selection?
Years ago, I was classic rock jock and I had a feature called "The 501 Blues". It fit the format well, since 90% of all Classic Rock is based on early Blues. I dove right in and fell in love with the Blues. It was amazing to peel back the layers of music and really discover where it all came from. Favorites artists: Joe Bonamassa, BB King, SRV, Jonny Lang, John Lee Hooker, and of course since I'm livin' in Vegas "The King," ELVIS!
8) What's been your biggest disappointment in Radio today?
Hawaiin shirts, and people who still haven't figured out how to speak to listeners without using their "radio voice."
9) What is your favorite radio station outside of the market and why?
With out a doubt it has to be KBPI in Denver. They are just great to listen too. I'm also a big fan of KBCO in Denver, Star in LA, and 99X in Atlanta.
10) As you look back over your career ... any regrets? Missed opportunities?
I don't have a single regret. I count my blessings and honestly love going to work every single day.
Bonus Questions
1) What do you do in your spare time?
Most people would be surprised to know that I'm an avid dart enthusiast. I'm a "card carrying" member of the National Dart Association (N.D.A.)! You can find me throwing league darts every Sunday in dive bars all over Vegas. Look for me to make my debut at the nationals this Spring here in Vegas!
2) Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Dr. Pepper. I'm on a life long pursuit to see if I could get it delivered to my office via kegs.
3) Is there any freelance website you'd like to pimp to the world of AllAccess?
Since you asked, yes! I do voice over and freelance imaging through www.bellboyaudio.com.
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