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10 Questions with ... Dayna Steele
October 31, 2017
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1) What your first job in radio and what led you to do radio in the first place?
KAMU Texas A&M University, March 30th, 1977. Board of Regents would only let us play classical music. I was part of the station's first staff. I auditioned because I had a crush on a local popular Top 40 DJ in Bryan, TX. I thought he would be impressed and ask me out. He didn't (your loss Jeff Lowe - ha - we are still friends) but once I put on those headphones, I knew I had found home.
2) Who were some of your early mentors then and today?
Molly Smyth, the local Broadway show publicist (I love live musical theatre) and Ed Leffler, Sammy Hagar then Van Halen's manager. Both are gone now but I keep both of their pictures on my desk. They shaped who I am today and helped launch me to places I never would have imagined. Now it would be Wonder Husband Charlie Justiz - he's so smart and my best friend. And the beloved former mayor of Houston Annise Parker. She's the one I asked right after Charlie when I decided to run for the US Congress.
3) You spent many years at KLOL/Houston and established yourself as "The First Lady of Rock n' Roll" in the market. What are some of the highlights of your time at that legendary Rock station?
You of course! There are SO many high points over 16 years, which is what made KLOL special. Every day was another unbelievable opportunity to do something, meet someone, go somewhere, try something, etc. The Rock and Roll auctions for charity, the live broadcasts from the Grammys, the concerts, and now the lifelong friends from you and other PDs to artists such as Earl Slick (David Bowie), Gary Pihl (Boston), and so many others.
Dayna Steele on KLOL in 19904) In 1995 you launched your first retail business called thespacestore.com, which you eventually sold to SPACEHAB, a NASA aerospace contractor. Tell us about that experience.
Wonder Husband flew for NASA for 30 years. He was the captain of the 747 Shuttle Carrier among other NASA aircraft. There was nowhere to buy NASA things unless you had access to one of the official centers. I did as a spouse. One day my agent, Troy Blakely, called and asked where he could buy some NASA things. I told him I would have to do it for him. He said, "That's crazy; someone should create an online store." I never stopped thinking about that. A year later when someone still hadn't done it, I bought "HTML For Dummies" and taught myself to code. Found a banker freelancing as an online shopping cart builder and The Space Store was born. I discovered my business side...
5) You've also written quite a few books, starting with your first book "Rock to The Top," and morphing into a series of books about "101 Ways To Rock Your World." Tell us about your experience as an author??
I love writing. That's the one thing I miss while I run for Congress. I have so many titles roaming around my head. You write a book because you can't imagine not writing it. It's fun, hard, frustrating, motivating, inspiring, the worst thing ever, the best thing ever, all rolled into one. At some point it always becomes "the fucking book" for a while but then you get that first copy in your hands. I always compare it to pregnancy and giving birth ... and just as much work once it comes out.
Dayna Steele and Texas Rock Legend Stevie Ray Vaughn6) You've also established yourself as a powerful motivational speaker. How did that aspect of your career start and can you share some speaking highlights with us?
Someone asked me how much I charged to speak! Really, I was stunned I had just found another way to get paid for talking. I was good because I was passionate about success. My mantra is "The more you do to make someone else successful, the more successful you will be." That and I had great rock and roll pictures and true stories to go with them I really did learn about success from the world's greatest rock stars!
7) Before we jump into your run for Congress, now that you've been away from the day to day world of radio, what kind of perspective do you have on radio today?
Sucks. No personality. You can pick up a station in one town, drop in another and no one would notice. Also some of the morning bits just cross the line into mean for me.
8) Earlier this year, you announced your candidacy as a Democrat for the 36th Congressional District of Texas. Of all the things you've taken on in your career, why did you decide to run for Congress?
November 8th, 2016 and January 20th, 2017. Enough was enough and my Congress rep is just in lock step with the hate, division, racism, etc. No one ran against him and I just thought that was not a true democracy. So I talked to a few folks in the biz (as we said in radio), then spent a week with a citizens' space lobby in Washington, D.C. What I saw was a job I knew I could do and could do well.
Dayna's Run For Congress9) There's a primary election next March again fellow Democrat Jon Powell. If you win that, what's the next step in the race for Congress?
Fundraising. Fundraising. Fundraising. Millions. Literally. And then when I win, we need to change this process. Money rules Washington; it's all any of the Congress people and Senators really do during the day. It's why so many votes are at night. By the way, each individual can donate up to $2,700 to me for the primary and another $2,700 for the general. Just sayin'... www.daynasteele36.com. Did I say I need to fundraise? Who wants to throw a party for me in Los Angeles???
10) Finally, I have known you for years and applaud your courage and conviction for taking on this run for Congress. What are the major issues you are trying to address with your platform?
A simple formula to begin with: Healthcare + Education = Jobs. Healthy, educated people work and create funding the infrastructure and country.
Bonus Questions
You're stuck on a deserted island and you only have five CDs with you. What are they?
- Something classical and soothing that I could enjoy and meditate with
- Bill Hicks Philosophy
- Come From Away Broadway soundtrack
- Michael Feinstein Pure Gershwin
- Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ___________?
Oh gosh, I can make it through anything anywhere anytime but if I had to pick - the thing I miss the most when traveling is family.
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