10 Questions with ... Buckethead

NAME:Jason"Buckethead" Bailey POSITION:Afternoon Drive Host COMPANY:Clear Channel STATION:WJRR - Real Rock 101-One MARKET:Orlando, FL (#39) BORN:6/7/75 RAISED:Yes, but it was rough...

LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:

Counselor at the YMCA (I think)

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS

I've been lucky enough to spend all 10 years of my radio career in Orlando, FL. Started as an intern at our sister station XL 1067 with The Doc and Johnny Morning Show. A year after getting into the business, I was hired as their producer. I was able to get ample air time leading into doing co-hosting a Saturday night show then in 2002 was asked to come to WJRR. There I started out in nights, had a brief stint in morning drive, then found a home in afternoons. Also, in the past couple of years I voice tracked for The Buzz in Sarasota, FL and the Real Rock 97.3 in Albany, GA.

FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:

Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell (8 track)

FIRST CONCERT:

Frankie Goes To Hollywood. It's not what you think. It was a free ticket. I was young. Gimmie a break.

FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:

Poison. Go ahead and laugh. You know you like them.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

I had a year left in college (UCF) and I needed an internship. At the time my roommate was about 6 months into an internship with ironically enough WJRR. I heard him on the air and thought, WOW, how cool is that. I applied for an internship at WJRR and at XL 1067 the same time. At the time the person running the JRR promotions department wasn't the coolest person I'd ever met so I took the internship at XL. The promo people at XL were very eager to help some young stupid kid like me out (Dave Demer and Angela Gooslin). After about a month I got in good with The Doc and Johnny Morning Show. After the first week with them I was "bitten by the bug."

2. How did you get the name Buckethead?

Doc and Johnny gave it to me the first day I was in their studio. Thinking, dumb college kid. He has a big head, kind of cocky, even though I like to say confident. Let's call him Buckethead. As soon as I said no, they said yes probably not thinking that I'd actually be using it 10 years later. I think a bucket of beers comes into play somewhere there too.

3. Who are your mentors?

Doc Holliday, Johnny Magic, Alex Diaz, and Adam Cook

4. What do you like best about your job?

The ability to bring out emotion in people. I love how the human mind works and to play with that is a high like no drug can do.

5. How would you describe your show?

Intellectually immature nonsense. (Editor's note: Check out www.thebucketheadshow.com.)

6. How do you prep for your show each day?

Being a former producer I'm big on show prep. I get into work three hours before my show and visit every website known to man looking for something good to talk about. Even though a lot of my material comes from my wife and life. Being married isn't only a great tax right off, but one can get some great radio out of it as well.

7. What would surprise people most about your afternoon show?

How unique it is, especially in the market. Being a big fan of talk radio I've been able to, and with the support of my PD Pat Lynch, mix music with talk. It's a nice marriage. People say that at times my show can be a bit edgy, but with all of the fun that goes on the public service stuff would probably be the most satisfying. There's nothing like setting up a broadcast in two days to raise money for say Hurricane victims and then pull in over $25,000 on that kind of notice. All in all, I try not to be too serious. It's a fun show.

8. Most memorable moment on-air?

LOL, when my batteries ran out in my mini disc player while interviewing James Hetfield of Metallica. "Alright James, we're going to let you go now...(like four minutes into the interview when I had 10 minutes left with him) Not really on-air, but close enough.

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

taking a dip of Skoal.

10. If you decided to completely change careers today, what would you do?

I'd want to stay in the entertainment business. I'd probably try to get into TV or the record industry. That is of course, if my pro wrestling career doesn't work out.

What are your hobbies?

Working out, watching football, playing on the computer (doing show prep most of the time), and spending time with my family and friends.