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10 Questions with ... Matt Murray
September 4, 2007
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NAME:Matt MurrayTITLE:MD/Host Murray til MidnightSTATIONS:WHTG/WBBOMARKET:Monmouth/Ocean in the Dirty Jerzey (#51)COMPANY:Press Communications, LLC.BORN:Mountainside, NJRAISED:Vernon, NJ
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Intern at WZZR/Pt. St. Lucie, FL; overnights/Asst. Promo Dir./ morning show producer; WGMG/Athens, GA (Go Dawgs); a lil bit of everything at WNNJ/Newton, NJ; The Tour Bus syndicated '80s rock show; and MD/mornings at WDHA.
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
While "in-between jobs" drove for FEDEX (not afraid to get a lil dirty and do real work).
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
Men at Work's Cargo! Still love that band.
FIRST CONCERT:
Duran Duran with Glass Tiger at the Meadowlands I was in 6th grade and told my folks I was going camping. (LOL)
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
The Police, Ra, and Goldfinger.
1. How did you become interested in radio?
Well living in North West Jersey in the Mountains, there wasn't much to do but listen to radio. I would make mix tapes off the radio all the time (old school downloading), something was always in the back of my head, but it was listening to the Love Doctors at WZZR (back in '92) that got me hooked! These guys had such an awesome show, and one day I met the producer who had his own Sunday night show and I would go there to visit and run the board when he went for a smoke. So, if you read this Dr. Rich, it's all your fault. (LOL)
2. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
WPDH in Poughkeepsie, NY. And the original Z-Morning Zoo with Scott Shannon and Ross Britain and that Mr. Leonard (damn that's the early '80s).
3. What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?
That I played minor league baseball for the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos for about five years.
4. What part of your job do you like best? Least?
The best part is working for and with Terrie Carr, a PD that always fights for what she believes in and always has her staffs back. Been working with her the better part of seven years now and I know what she has to go through sometimes. She should be PD of the year every year! It's so much fun coming up with promotions, going through new music, whatever it is at the end of the day she gets the job done, and to be around that everyday is the best!
Least? Well, there could always be more money (HA HA), but I'm now at a place where everyone from ownership, GM, OM, down the line wants to win! And are finding ways to do it, but I haven't always been at a station that cares so much. So I guess least would be some of the people in management from past jobs that made it much harder than it needed to be.
5. What would an outsider find most surprising about Monmouth-Ocean?
That the people who live here ARE NOT LIKE TOMMY!! What I mean by that is MTV True Life did a show about a guy at his shore house, fist pumping, wanna be gangsta, yellin' at everybody, Guido from hell. I went to Utah last summer and when people saw the Jersey plates they expected me to act like that. THERE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE IN NJ!
Also we have the BEST beaches in the world. Nobody can touch our boardwalks!
6. How has the station changed over the past year?
A LOT. We have a new morning show (The Morning G With Kramer & Erin), PD/middays (Terrie Carr), and I am the new MD/night jock. The station has been through a huge overhaul, and we are all in place to take it to the next level and make it the MONSTER that it WILL become.
7. What do you do to keep up with all the new music coming across your desk?
I try to pop everything in the CD player I can. I talk with the labels all the time (even though my call times are Thursday, 3-5), check the industry sites, FUSE, M2, word of mouth, plus I listen to my audience.. If they keep calling for something I need to get on it! Perfect example is Paramore, the listeners won me over on that tune more than anything.
8. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Milk Duds. Chocolate and carmel, who can resist that?
9. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
I've never been fake to people, I always make the best of everything, I've been myself on and off the air.
10. What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
After baseball didn't work out, it was either painting cars at a body shop (done that in the past) or work for FEDEX. I come from a blue collar family. I always feel that is why I related to my listeners because, I know exactly what their day has been like and feel their pain of doing a job that they have to do. I'm lucky now I get to do something I want to do.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
I'm into downhill and cross-country mountain biking. People think I'm nuts to ride my bike off a cliff, but it's fun! (except for the seven stitches I got last month). Down hilling is the sport that gets the least amount of coverage, and I'm trying to bring it to the mainstream. You can catch me riding at Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, NJ. Go to www.myspace.com/murraynhl to see pictures of me riding.
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