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10 Questions with ... Alisa Ali
May 22, 2023
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1. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
I actually listened to a lot of different radio stations when I was a kid. I listened to the R&B stations: 98.7Kiss FM, WBLS, I also listened to the pop stations, Z100 and WPLJ, the oldies station, WCBS which I believe was actually the first station to put me on air. I called in to request a song, but I didn't know what song it was, so I sang the lyrics to it. The DJ laughed and said the request made him happy. Then he played it for me! It was Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy." My favorite station though was probably WLIR/WDRE. I taped so many songs from them! Confessions of a young Pirate!
2. What got you interested in the radio business?
Listening to WFUV got me interested in radio. I was really digging the music and then an interview with an artist came on and I thought to myself, "Could a girl like me ever do something like this?" I thought it was so cool that they were playing music AND interviews.
3. How did you get started at WFUV?
I was listening to Rita Houston's amazing show, The Whole Wide World and she said that she would be giving a talk at the museum of television and radio. Naively, I thought to myself, well I'll just go down there and ask her for a job, and she'll give me an entry level position. Turns out No. She explained that since I had no experience and I wasn't even a Fordham University student, she couldn't hire me. So, the following week I enrolled at Fordham and then went back to Rita and said, "Ok I'm a student now. Can I have a job please?" She laughed and said, "I like your style, kid. OK!" I started work shortly after as a production assistant on the morning show, arriving at 5:30 am on weekdays and working till 10am, then going to class, then my real job & finally home to eat and sleep before doing it all over again. At some point I weaseled my way into a full-time gig at the station & never looked back.
4. How long have you been at the station?
I've been at the station for 17 years now. So much has changed since I started. We started off in a very modest studio. It was so small that sometimes the bands couldn't all fit in! Soon after I got there though, we upgraded to a much bigger space that had room for everyone. Also, our format has slowly changed over the years from a more folk-based station to more modern rock. And perhaps like many other places, since the pandemic, a lot of our staff are now on a hybrid in studio / work from home schedule. I (like most other weekday DJs at WFUV) am still live, so it does feel a lot different at the station now.
5. Who was your first interview with?
My first interview was with Beck! When Rita assigned me the interview, I said to her, "You know I've never done this before, right?" She said, "Oh don't worry. You'll do fine." Also, the interview was going to be the next day, so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare or perhaps more importantly stress out about it. I did stress out though. Of course! It was Beck! He was (and still is) one of my all-time favorite artists. It was a remote interview too, so I had to bring my own recording gear and record it myself, which I had also never done. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. But it actually went really well. Beck was super friendly and nice, and I returned to the station with a good enough recording; the levels were a little hot, but nothing that couldn't have been fixed in post. It was a surreal experience to actually hear it on the radio. I was really proud of myself.
6. Tell us about your adventurous SXSW Experiences:
Another situation where my naivety kind of helped me but also worked me half to death. I had signed up for over a dozen interviews at different venues. I didn't think this would be a problem because at CMJ in NY, which is what I was used to, most of the venues were really close by. I figured I'd do an interview and then just pop next door to do the next. Turns out the venues are actually really far away, and you couldn't just hop on a subway or catch a cab to the next place. You had to walk! So, I walked (sometimes ran) to get to the interviews on time, carrying my recording and gear while listening on headphones to the band that I was about to interview. It was physically and mentally exhausting, but it did give me the confidence in myself to know that I could be ready to radio (& I'm using this as a verb;) at any time. By 2011 our station had a video budget, so we had more resources and crew, so things got easier. But I still think fondly of those early days when things were just audio.
7. You participated on a panel Non-Commvention where you talked about listener experiences. Can you share one that sparks your memory most?
I remember getting an email from a listener who told me he got covid and was recovering at home. He asked me to play some Clash for him to cheer him up, so I did and said this one is for Jiro who is at home with Covid. He emails me back like 20 minutes later telling me that a bunch of people texted him saying "Oh My God, I heard on the radio that you got Covid! Are you ok?" He's fine now, btw. Oh, another great memory was the day before I left for maternity leave. We had an air baby shower, where listeners were asked to dedicate a song to me and give me some parenting advice. I was overwhelmed by the number of requests that came in. I got a lot of great advice that I still think about today and some of the songs that the listeners requested actually made it onto my delivery room mix. I still tear up every time I hear "This is the Day" by The The.
8. Tell us about your local new music feature, NY Slice.
This feature is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I get submissions from artists who are just starting out alongside artists who have been making music for years and are still trying to break through. I get messages from bands saying they were thinking of quitting, but this airplay has put the wind back in their sails. Sometimes bands send videos of themselves listening to their own song on the radio. Oftentimes they are crying tears of joy, dancing around the room, or just screaming with excitement. It's really heartwarming. It's also a word-of-mouth thing too. Because although I announce on air that we are taking submissions, a lot of submissions come through referrals from the bands that have been on NY Slice. So, it's become a community of local artists helping each other.
9. If you were to leave the music business today and you could choose any other occupation, what would it be?
That's a tough question. It makes me think of that scene in Say Anything where Diane Court's dad asks Lloyd Dobler what his plans are for the future. He doesn't really have any plans aside from spending as much time with Diane as possible before she leaves for college. That's kinda my plan for the future. I just wanna do this for as long as I can. If by some tragedy I can't do it anymore then I guess maybe a band psychologist. Is that a thing? I feel like I could be good at helping bands have a good relationship with one another. Some kind of music therapist job I'd like that.
10. Fill in the blank:
I can't make it through the day without…My Baby Boy. He is the absolute joy of my life. He's only three now so he is still young, but he will always be my baby. No matter how old he gets, I can't see myself not talking to him or hugging and kissing him every day. I know there will come a day when I don't have access to him the way I do now. But like the career question, I just want to spend as much time with him as I possibly can until I have to let go.
Bonus Questions
Last non-industry job:
Manager of Do Not Call / Do Not Mail lists at the DMA (Direct Marketing Association)
First record ever purchased:
"Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil
First concert:
Kool & The Gang
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