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10 Questions with ... Violet
October 31, 2006
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NAME:VioletTITLE:Nights/Local 108 HostSTATION:KVGSMARKET:Las Vegas (#32)COMPANY:Riviera Broadcast GroupBORN:Rochester, NYRAISED:Rochester, NY
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
'95-'98 WBER/Rochester, '98-'99 WNVE/Rochester, '01-'03 WZNE/Rochester MD/afternoons/Public Affairs Director/specialty host/production, '03-'05 KWOD/Sacramento MD/Nights/Specialty Host/Expert Breakdancer, and KVGS/Las Vegas nights/Local 108 Host.
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
Worked at an amusement park called Seabreeze in the games department, where I got paid to play with toys -- life has been rough.
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
Whatever that first Aerosmith one was when they got back together. It was a gift for my mom, she's um was "mildly" obsessed.
FIRST CONCERT:
Technically Tesla but the first I went to of my own volition was Spin Doctors, Soul Asylum, and Screaming Trees.
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
Five-way tie -- Less Than Jake, Soul Coughing, Pulp, The Doors, and Placebo.
1. What part of your job do you like best?
Being able to work at a real Alternative station nowadays. It seems< like a lot of people are giving up and jumping ship, which is sad. I love that I get to play everything from Nine Inch Nails to Muse to Shiny Toy Guns to Oingo Boingo to Pennywise. Next to that -- the local show I do. There are so many more bands here besides just the Killers and Panic! At the Disco that are amazing that people don't know about yet, but they will! Mr. Kane, The Utmost, Escape the Fate, The Day After, Run About the Streets, Lydia Vance. Ok, I'll stop gushing or this'll be wicked long (she laughs).
2. How much input do you have on new music?
We have an open door music meeting, which is awesome. Especially since it's full of music enthusiasts going "what do you MEAN you don't like THAT one?!?!?" followed by some punches thrown and an occasional wrestling match. We're also given quite a bit of freedom on our shows where we can throw new or older stuff in.
3. What makes Area 108 unique?
Riviera Broadcast Group. It's a local company that Tim Pohlman and Chris Maguire started up. I was really struck when Tim called me after I had been hired to tell me how excited he is to have me on board. That really spoke volumes to me as to what the station and the company were about before I even stepped foot into the studio. I work with amazing people that "get it" and actually want to win. It sounds simple, but there are really a lot of people out there that just stopped caring. Those people don't work here.
4. What makes your night show special?
The city. It's a really interesting market. There's 37 million visitors a year, but none of them get Arbitron books. It's strange to think about at first because on one side you immediately think "It's Vegas," but on the other side you have the people that live here and it's just another regular day to them. So it's about cutting through and being there for them. It's also weird thinking anyone could be listening at any time. I'm pretty sure Celine Dion listens every night on her way home from Caesar's Palace.
5. How do you prepare for your show each evening?
Well besides trolling the Internet AllAccess (duh, LOL), MTV, MTV2, VH1, Fuse, Karrang, Spin, Yahoo, Youtube, CNN, Foxnews, ESPN, MSNBC, MySpace, Pollstar, Purevolume, AOL, MSN, Area108.com, other radio websites, CNET, and some other sites I'd prefer to keep secret for fears of being shot (LOL), I always run next door for a 2 liter bottle of Diet Pepsi that I down before 8pm every night.
6. What are the benchmarks of your shift?
Only one at the moment. At 11pm I do a thing called, "Alien Nation Shuffle." It's like an all-request hour - callers request a song where the title begins with the last letter of the previous song title. Especially amusing on Friday nights when I think people in Vegas start drinking five minutes after they wake up. "A p song??? puh....puh...penjoy the silence? Depeche Mode? What do you mean that won't work?"
7. What is your goal each day on-air?
To be better than the day before.
8. What would surprise people most about Violet?
Hmmm, that's a tough one. If it's someone that doesn't know me That well I'd probably say my passion for the business. I think I come across pretty easy going, but I have a fight in me that is constantly analyzing, thinking, researching, plotting out, and acting on. Some people judge you before they really know you. I think it's been my strongest tool against my competition any place I've been so far.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Is it sad the answer is still Diet Pepsi?
10. What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
I'd launch an info-mercial program that teaches how to make millions of dollars making info-mercials.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
Video games and beer pong -- emphasis on the video games and the beer pong.
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