10 Questions with ... Vinnie Ferguson

NAME:Vinnie Ferguson TITLE:MD/nights STATIONS:WXDX MARKET:Pittsburgh COMPANY:Clear Channel BORN:Columbus, OH RAISED:Dayton, OH

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

In May 1997, then-PD Jeff Stevens and then-morning show host Sandy Collins & Todd Hollst hired a dorky, music-obsessed college freshman to be WXEG's morning show intern/weekend overnight jock. In November 2001, one year and change removed from college graduation while hosting afternoons and covering promotions for 'XEG's PD Steve Kramer, I received a call from PD John Moschitta asking me if I'd be interested in being Music Director of WXDX in Pittsburgh replacing Lenny Diana. One ulcer, two office chairs, three computers, four phones, and almost six years later...here I am. Also, nights at WXEG.

LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:

Grocery store clerk.

FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:

Oak Ridge Boys "Elvira" on 45. My brother and I wore that bastard out.

FIRST CONCERT:

Pantera/Sacred Reich at Veterans Memorial in Columbus in March 1993.

FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:

It's different from week to week.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

It was the records that attracted me to radio. I believed that there were two ways by which I could be exposed to a vast world of music and amass a sizeable collection of music: radio or working in a record store. Radio hired first. I've never really thought of myself as a radio jock. I see myself more as a semi-blank music encyclopedia seeking a series of authors.

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

Q-FM 96 (WLVQ), Z-Rock's Columbus affiliate (WRZR), and The Blitz (WBZX).

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

I just bought my first suit about a week ago.

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

In spite of my perceived devolution of the industry, the conversations about and the acquisition of music are still the magnets that keep me showing up for work.

The least desirable aspects of the job? There are a few, but the answers are a bit too complicated and personal to reveal here.

5. What would an outsider find most surprising about the Pittsburgh radio market?

There is a market stereotype-occasionally perpetuated by me-of a homogenous rock audience. In spite of that, there really is quite a bit of diversity offered between the market's two rock stations.

6. What makes WXDX unique?

Johnny Cash into Metallica into Modest Mouse.

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

Checking my EBay watch list and a series of music-related message boards and websites. Swearing at something inanimate.

8. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

F2 saves everything. Everything.

9. Of all the things you have done at WXDX, what are you most proud of?

There are a couple things:
1) Being twice named FMQB's Music Director of The Year for the Alternative format.
2) The talent bookings I pulled off for our three Christmas shows in 2002 and X-Fest in 2003.

10. What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?

Had I not been attracted to radio through my greed for records I'd have ended up teaching high school English.

What are your hobbies?

I collect hard to find music of all kinds, read a lot, and have been obsessively planning out the next two years of my life.