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10 Questions with ... Dex Mitchell
July 23, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I love talking to the people that call in with their stories! No matter how crazy the story is in the world, chances are we have a listener that can beat it and they just call in. I love that! I love the energy in the room and how fast things move in mornings. It's like the next thing you know, you're doing the last break of the show and it feels like it just started
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started in Knoxville, TN where I got my BA in broadcasting at UTK and worked part time with B 97.5 (AC), 94.3 The X (Active Rock) and Oldies 106.7 while I was in school. I learned so much from that group and moved to Greenville, SC to produce a morning show on Magic 98.9 and do nights on 93.3 The Planet. Then I did mornings in Syracuse, NY, and Utica, NY on KROCK. Then it was four years doing mornings on Mix 96.5 in Asheville, NC for Saga. Now I do mornings on WHZT (Hot 98.1)/Greenville and I track middays in Birmingham on 93.7 and middays on KPHW (Power 104.3 )/Honolulu.
1. What got you into radio?
At 14, my friend got me a job at the local skating rink and they gave me a choice, I could either work the skate shop handing out skates or be the DJ. The skate shop worker had to vacuum the whole place at the end of the night and the DJ only had a 15 minute job at the end of the night. I fell in love with DJ'ing after that. It's all thanks to my hatred of vacuuming.
2. What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?
I wanted to be in the Olympics for speed skating. Which was crazy since it never snows in Cleveland, TN. We had no ice rinks but somehow, I felt like I was going to make It happen.
3. As a Southerner, how was it living in Syracuse, particularly in the winter?
I was freaked out by the snow! I went to REI and spent 700 bucks on cold weather gear before I moved up there. I was about to buy snowshoes when the lady at REI said I should probably hold off on those. I loved the people in CNY and the listeners there are awesome. I got use to the weather and loved doing remotes at the ski slopes! Moving in two feet of snow was still a pain in ass, though.
4. This is your second "tour" in Greenville, what has changed the most in the five years between tours?
Clemson football has really turned around but outside of that it's pretty much the same. It's great coming back to a place to build a new show. You can get a better feel for what works and doesn't. Summit Media has been really great helping me with tools and getting the show a good start.
5. What dirty little secret would your morning partner, Barbie share about you?
This is bad... and we have talked about this on the show but my mom and dad got a divorce a couple of years ago. It was not pretty and she moved to Tokyo to be with family. I send some money over for living expenses every month and I go and visit her once a year to make sure she is doing well. She doesn't know that to help my dad out he moved to Greenville and stays with me so I can make sure he is doing well and has a place. She would flip if she found out! People still call in and tell me that I need to tell her. So happy that she can't stream the show in Japan!
6. What would probably surprise most people about living and working in Greenville?
This is a market of small towns and cities and you have to really get out and show every place some love and show them you're there! Greenville is great, though. We are in the center of everything. You can drive up to the mountains or the beach or go to Atlanta or Charlotte and make any of those a day trip.
7. What's your favorite thing about doing mornings?
I love talking to the people that call in with their stories! No matter how crazy the story is in the world, chances are we have a listener that can beat it and they just call in. I love that! I love the energy in the room and how fast things move in mornings. It's like the next thing you know, you're doing the last break of the show and it feels like it just started.
8. If you weren't in radio, what do you think you'd be doing professionally?
Probably teaching. I love coaching up new talent and taking on interns and showing them how we do what we do.
9. What do you like to do in your spare time?
I really like traveling! I try to do two big trips a year. Japan has been my favorite place to go but I'm looking forward to checking out Petra and Switzerland.
10. You are on the air in other markets, too. Which markets and how do you manage your time?
I track out mid days at 97.3 Play in Birmingham AL and in Honolulu, HI at Power 104.3. After our end of show meeting, I try and get my tracks out to those stations before planning out the next day or getting into any other meetings. I usually end up calling the crew in Hawaii at least once a week to get help with local words and places. Outside of that, it's pretty smooth. I use a lot of the morning show prep and add the local stories and station content. Shout out to Dr Dave's prep. They have a local section in their prep that I can add cities and it pulls stories from the local tv and news sites.
Bonus Questions
If you had to eat one type of meal every day for a month, what would it be?
I have to go with my peeps! Sushi or Japanese food in general! Love it! That's one of the big pluses about being back in Greenville. They have a great half price sushi place. This way, I don't have to worry about going broke!
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