10 Questions with ... J. Evans 'The RED Head'

NAME:J. Evans 'The RED Head' TITLE:PD STATION:KEZP MARKET:Alexandria/Pineville, LA COMPANY:Opus Broadcasting BORN:Alexandria, LA RAISED:Alexandria/Pineville

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Started as production assistant in TV when I was 18, then moved to producer for TV/radio commercials for advertising agency in Baton Rouge, LA. First stint in radio was in 2002 for KLAA and KHFX, Now, I'm back again, the saga continues...

LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:

Making plastic bottles in a factory...it was totally not for me.

FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:

Metallica's Black Album (on cassette tape)

FIRST CONCERT:

Deftones, Pantera, original Black Sabbath... one word, AWESOME!

FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:

Toss-up between Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

It's always been a dream of mine to be on the radio, and when I finally had the opportunity to, I jumped at the chance. I started in television production, which helped me crossover to radio, because what is radio other than TV without the pictures!

2. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?

Well, there weren't many to choose from around where I grew up, especially ones that played my kind of music, so most of my musical influence and exposure was from my older brother... and growing up in the '80s, I got a healthy dose of hair metal.

3. Why did KEZP flip to Alternative?

I think it was about time. This market has never had a radio station like this before, and people were starving for something new, exciting, and fun. Now we're here to satisfy that hunger with heavy doses of new music that they've never heard on radio before. That and I think I pestered the busman enough to let me take over the station and play cool new music.

4. How did the station get its name?

Not quite sure about that one actually... One day the boss called me into his office and said we were flipping formats and I was going be in charge, and we're going to call it RED. At first, I thought because of our close proximity to the Red River here in Louisiana. Then I started thinking it might be once again because of me... I've got red hair...Long red hair, and a big red, bushy beard. Just my theory, but only the boss man can truly answer that one.

5. How would you describe the music and imaging on the station?

AWESOME!!! Of course I'm biased, but I think we play some of the coolest music ever heard on the radio. I call it the "whoa, no way!!" factor. That's where someone's listening to the station, and all of a sudden they hear a song that makes them say, "Whoa, no way!! They're playing THAT on the radio?!?!" The imaging is another great part of the station. It's not your usual cookie cutter stuff. It's a driving force behind us being new, hip and totally cool. My favorite liner so far? "Going back to music beats going back to jail."

6. What would surprise people most about the station?

The mix of music you can hear on RED 104-3. One minute you'll hear Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", and the next you'll hear Killswitch Engage's "Arms of Sorrow." From MIA to Slipknot... I love it!

7. What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?

That's a hard one. I had a caller the other day say they were surprised to learn that I play World Of Warcraft. I'm a bit of a gamer, and that game is totally addictive! But to anybody who knows me, that's not really surprising.

8. What part of your job do you like best? Least?

Best: All the calls from people saying "Thank You" and how much they appreciate what we're doing for this area by playing all this cool new music.

Least: Getting up at 4am to do a Morning show at 6am. I'm such a night-owl it's a struggle every morning but I love what I do, so I'm willing to do whatever it takes!

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

My Powerade sports drinks. People always pick on me because every time they see me, I've got one in my hand... That and cigarettes... Yeah, I know I need to quit, but I just don't want to right now!! Maybe one of these days.

10. What do you like best about working in this format?

I actually want to listen to the radio again. Before RED 104-3, I listened to nothing but my CDs, because nobody played my kind of music on a regular basis... Now like everyone else around here, we have a reason to turn on the radio once again. I've actually found myself saying "Whoa, I can't believe we're playing this on the radio!"

What are your hobbies?

Playing my bass guitar, video games, massive amounts of television, and plotting on how to take over the world.