10 Questions with ... James Lowe

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Started a radio show in 1993 and eventually worked in all aspects of the radio biz, except advertising. I even had some experience in the operations of a radio tower when I interned at 99.9 KSKG in Salina, Kansas in 2007. I worked for KSKU/KXKU/KGGG in Hutchinson, Kansas in 2000, KSKG-KINA in 2007, and my last mainstream radio stint was 2007-2009 with Rocking M Radio (KVOB/KZUH). Broadcasting online since 2000; interviewed everyone from Mary Higgins Clark to Dean Koontz to adult film star Tyler Faith. Now doing things with TV and radio and making a lot of people unhappy. Recently completed interviews for my cable access TV program with Eddie Money and legendary pool player Mike Massey.

1. First, the obvious question: Where did the name "Jiggy Jaguar" come from?

I was known back in high school for doing odd dances and saying things. One day, I saw someone in class sign his nickname. I wanted a nickname. Jaguar was the only thing that went with my first name, James. Eventually, a classmate called me "Jiggy Motherf'ing Jaguar"; I liked the Jiggy part and kept it, and then, months later, Will Smith's "Getting Jiggy With It" came out and I told everyone I was planning a copyright infringement suit against him. Since 1993, it has been a brand name, a radio show, and a cable access program, and I was recently in the book "Talk Radio Wants You." I am known all over the world, and evwen when I was forced to change my on-air name to Crash Davis (at 92.7 The Zoo}, I eventually turned it into a running joke with bands and personalities making reference to Jiggy Jag on the air. The Jiggy Jaguar name has become something I never thought it would become; Recently, when I interviewed Eddie Money, he used it in a song before we got into the interview (that was a cool charge for me).

2. You've been hosting a show on Internet radio for a while now. What have you learned so far about doing shows on the Net; what are the pros and cons of doing it this way? How important are video and other online elements to the show; how are you using them?

WOW, it has been a long time. I went on the air in 2000, and I have seen all of them come and go. A lot of the mainstream guys came in and then bolted once they got a job back "on-air".

What I have learned is that doing shows on the Net really ticks a lot of the mainstream radio guys off. It's also so much fun to know that people are listening and we can get the listeners and the guests. The cons are the money -- I have not made much money on the Internet, I know there are broadcasters who say they are breaking even or rolling in the money, but I have not made much. I always thought it would become a springboard to get back into regular brick-and-mortar radio. However, another con to this game is sometimes guests do not want to come on an "Internet station," so they miss a chance to get their message out.

Pros: Freedom. I can go live from anywhere I want. Recently, we did a show from a local concert venue with Evil J from Otep, who were in town for a concert. We went live and within my social network and their social network, we had our chat room full and the listeners and viewers were off the page. Another pro: I have gotten to meet and interview a hell of a lot of people, like adult film stars, best selling authors, TV personalities, sports stars, etc., and I would not trade that for a truckload of money.

The video and online elements to the show are so important; I know a lot of local internet stations do not go live, but we do that all the time. You never know when we may be live. I have built a social network and online portal so that when I say, "Going live with Scary Cherry and The Bang Bangs in 20 minutes," we get people to tune in and watch the show and if not, they watch the archive. We have brought in Skype video (when I first discovered Skype, no one knew what it was); however, now that E! and others use it, I can bring in the movers and the shakers into the show. We also use a service called Livestream. We can produce a high quality video show to go along with the radio show. I am not sure what the obession is with people watching people do "talk radio"; However, we jumped on the bandwagon. We bring in Skype and people can see the person or listen to the Podcast and get the audio. We are also doing this whole thing on a shoestring budget; when your local IT guy says, "We can get you set up to do what he is doing for thousands of dollars," don't believe a word he says... we are doing it on much less.

3. You started out doing "shock jock"-style talk and you've incorporated more political commentary now; what prompted the transition? Why have you moved towards political talk? And are you favoring talking about national issues over local Kansas issues, the other way around, or neither?

Yes, when I started, I wanted to be the next Mancow; however, I talked to all the porn stars I could get in touch with. I ended up taking a big interest in news and public affairs, and I wanted to do a live call in show on my local Cable Access channel. They ended up kicking me out of the company over issues of not wanting me to give me a live show (believe me, I am in process of getting my free speech rights back). So I wanted to have guests from all sides of the coin on the radio program. We had EXTREME right wing guys like Texe Mars (who is actually one of my good friends), we had on the most liberal people such as internet bloggers from the Huffington Post, and I have talked to poltical people who are from out of state or out of the country on the broadcast.

Another thing that prompted me is I wanted to take a little edge off the internet show and eventually get picked up by a mainstream station and actually make some money, or be one of those "came out of nowhere" people you hear about on TV all the time. I have moved toward political talk because a lot of people are getting involved and watching the public affairs scene, I am not sure why, but people are engaged and people are getting involved in one form or another. I actually cannot get locals to do my program; Just recently, we were able to get some local Republicans on the show (I have also had a program called Sampletext.info for about 2 years now; we have never been able to get local Conservatives or the right on the show... it's like pulling teeth. I can get liberals and Democrats on like crazy, but the people I most side with on issues cannot stand me. However, with Skype, we can bring in representatives to do battle with me and our liberals). I have had best-selling authors and people like Joesph Farah from Worldnetdaily on the broadcast, because I have a reach and, personally, I would rather talk to a national or world figure over a local yokel.

4. What makes you different from other hosts out there; what's your hook? What's special about you?

I guess you could say I get numbers. I was the only guy back in the day to bring stuff I learned from mainstream to the Internet and help all these slugs out here along. I brought in the idea of syndication, booking high profile guests, having people call in via things other than Skype. I can get guests and can get listeners. I have worked in both areas and can bring new ideas to mainstream and new ideas to the internet scene.

My hook? Besides being the only guy online to be included in the same breath as Savage, Stern, 'Cow (due to my book mention in "Talk Radio Wants You"), I have built an internet station and idea into competing with the big boys. The local stations try to keep me out of local concert venues, local events and places that "internet radio" people should not be; However, I always find a way in.

The special thing about me is that I can get into an event and not have to spend a dime to do it. Great example: Recently, when Junction City, Kansas brought in Eddie Money, the major station in town tried to have me and my crew tossed out of a public park event. Their operations manager was heard yelling, "We paid a lot of money to get in here!" I am so sorry that you guys paid money to the event's organizer so you could park your van and have a booth and get on stage and introduce him and never -- and I mean never -- ask for an interview. I started working on that months before with record labels, promoters,etc. I got an interview (10 minutes), got to tape 3 songs and get the audio feed from the board, and did not pay anyone anything excpet the gas to get to JC. I cannot get in the front door and cannot get in the back; I come down from the roof like Santa Claus.

5. What prompted you to go into radio in the first place? Why radio? What makes you want to do a show?

I have always loved radio, much like the other radio people in the biz. They listened to their local station and thought WOW, I gotta do this. I listened to my local DJ's who I referred to as "circus clowns," and thought I can do better than that.

I have always been mesmerized by the radio industry. At one time, I had a general manager by the name of Danny Havel who told me, "The radio industry is a powerful thing," and, man, oh, man, was he right. I don't smoke or do drugs or drink -- I am not fun at parties -- so radio is the closest thing to a drug that I could be addicted to. I have used my radio show in the past as therapy; wWhen I went through a HUGE loss in my romatic life back in 2004, my show was the only thing I had. One of my idols, Tom Leykis, said once, "My career is the only thing that will never let me down." I feel that way about doing a show. This is something I enjoy doing, and by the numbers and the guests we have attracted, I am in the biz. The reason I do radio over any other form of media is simple, it's fun. I have worked in print, television, etc. I currently have my own online magazine called "the MIC" (mic.info) and I enjoy doing interviews and writing my weekly column called "The Weekly Rant"; However, print has never held the luster that radio does. For my TV show, "Jiggy Jag TV," we've filmed performances and did interviews with people like 2 Live Crew, Texas Hippie Coalition, and every local and unsigned band in the world. But radio is something I can do and do well, TV takes way too much time to edit and make look good, and radio is an audio medium. Radio has also always been something I wanted to do and get paid for it.

6. Who are your mentors, influences, and heroes?

My mentors range from Frank Cotolo, former writer for Wolfman Jack and host of his own Internet talk show; Greg Jordan, former PD of KSKU in Hutchinson, Kansas; and my first PD at Rocking M Radio in Salina, Kansas, Brother Ken Scates, who has gone on to become a Internet broadcaster himself. These guys seem to always keep me focused on doing what I need to do, and are always there to offer advice to help me get through the storms I have run up against.

My influences range from Tom Leykis, Rush Limbaugh, Mancow, Opie and Anthony, Michael Savage{ (dude hates everyone, and I love him for it), and Jim Rome. I listen to and have always listened to many shows from out of state and never listened to many local radio stations. My influence for the Crash Davis character when i was on 92.7 The Zoo and later on 95.5 Jack FM was The Greaseman. My influence for the internet radio show has to be a cross between the names i mentioned earlier. I have always worked well in combos or more, back in the day I had co-hosts and loved having someone to play off like Opie and Anthony. My views on what kind of world we live in have to be influenced by Leykis and 'Cow. Rush (and his ego and entertainment value) has influenced my show in the last few years. My interview style has been patterned after Jim Rome, and Rome can interview anyone about anything and, afterwards, you really think he is a HUGE powerboat racing guy and realize that, nope, he fooled us once again.

Heroes have to be Howard Stern (however, he has vastly changed from his K-Rock and NBC days to pretty much phoning it in), Mancow (because I always wanted to do his show; I have tried on several occassions to figure it out. It's one of the most unique shows on radio and no one has ever been able to copy it), and Savage (because he stands up to everyone and calls everyone on their BS).

7. What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

The most embarrassing thing to happen to me has to be a tie:

One, when I was just starting into Internet radio, people did not know how to book guests, everyone had a show, and lots of fools were playing Beatles records out of their basement. Somehow, I nailed a interview on the phone with Bill Leverty from Firehouse, way before i understood the concept of recording audio from the PC. I am a radio guy, not an engineer. We did a great interview, and we had a lot of listeners, and it was a bang-up thing. Guess what happened to the tape of it. I always talk about it and wish I had a copy of it.

The second most embarrassing moment has to be when I was working at KSKU in Hutchinson Kansas back in 2000 and I did a phone call flirting with a chick who had called the station. I was supposed to be voicetracking at the same time. I ended up finding out later that I was being broadcast over the air. The PD at the time, Tom Norris, heard it and did not say much, but he hoped the boss did not hear it. The audience heard it but no one complained, so I guess it was cool.

8. Of what are you most proud?

I am most proud of the fact that I have taken a Internet station and Internet TV show and have interviwed a lot of cool people -- my heroes -- and gotten to talk to adult film stars. I took a small idea I had in 1993 and sprung that into a brand name, a tv show, and a radio show. I am proud that we took a simple Internet radio show and made it a destination for all of the world to be on or be interviewed by, and make it appointment viewing on a Sunday afternoon. I have lots of downloads of the podcast (or, as I used to call them, audio archives); I have been able to tick off all the local media by doing things they will not do and cannot do or have given up doing. My program is what I am proud of. I used to tell people that I work damn hard to make it sound that bad.

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______________.

...a Mt. Dew Code Red. Funny story here: When I was covering the first Salina Tea Party for my cable show, the local news was there at the time. My old boss at KSKG, Scott Woodson, was there with his new Flip camera, and they were filming the event for the website. At one point, I made a mention of the fact he was drinking a Code Red. We got into a conversation about the new flavors that were out; Scotty would then take the Flip and film his Mt. Dew can and himself in the shot. I am not sure, but i think that did not make it to the site. However, yes, a Mt. Dew Code Red is something I have to have once a day.

10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?

The best advice I got was from my former PD Brother Ken and Past Foster, former Rocking M Radio GM, when they told me to go on the air and be myself.

The worst advice was from my former PD Brother Ken and Past Foster, former Rocking M Radio GM, when they told me to go on air and be myself. Which, I believe, is one reason why I am still doing Internet radio and not working in the brick-and-mortar radio world, i often think about making a video like Howard Stern did when he, I believe, was in Washington before going to NYC, begging his next boss to hire him. Hell, if Justin Bieber can get discovered on Myspace, i think maybe I could get a spot back in regular radio by doing something on YouTube.