10 Questions with ... Kyle Tajima

NAME:Kyle Tajima TITLE:Co-Music Director COMPANY:Brown Broadcasting Service, Inc. STATION:WBRU MARKET:Providence (#34) BORN:10/4/1983 RAISED:Altadena, CA

LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:

Brown Univ. Dining Service

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started working in the Promotions department at WBRU during my freshman year. The next year, I was elected Business Manager and began training as a DJ and learned production. Now I am co-Music Director at the station.

FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:

Green Day - Insomniac

FIRST CONCERT:

Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage at the Great Western Forum

FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:

Green Day

1. How did you become interested in radio?

After first hearing Green Day and Nirvana from my older brother, I began listening to mostly KROQ in L.A. for about two hours a day. I instantly loved most of the music I heard especially when bands like Green Day, Offspring, and Rancid broke to mainstream rock. I soon had a passion for going to concerts.

2. What do you like best about your job?

I love so many aspects about being Music Director including listening to new music all the time, building relationships with record label representatives, selecting the music to play, checking out up and coming bands at concerts, and receiving mail. Unlike personal mail where you receive bills and advertisements all the time, receiving mail at WBRU is like Christmas every business day.

3. What is your biggest challenge at the station?

My biggest challenge would definitely be managing my time between Music Director work and being a fulltime student at Brown Univ. I want to spend as much time as I can at WBRU, but I also have to go to class and get my work done.

4. Of all the things you learned working at BRU, what do you value most?

Of the many things I've learned at WBRU, I value everything I learned as Music Director including the programming process and how the radio industry works. This is what I enjoy and wish to do after I graduate, so I value these items a lot.

5. What would surprise people most about the station?

Without a doubt, the most surprising thing about WBRU would be that it is the Modern Rock radio station of Rhode Island, which is completely run by Brown Univ. students with exception of about 9 fulltime professionals. Every year all the positions including General Manager, Music Director, and Promotions Director changes. It is a fascinating educational workshop and commercial radio station that will be celebrating its 36th birthday this December as a rock radio station.

6. Most surprising record of 2005 and why?

I would say Green Day "American Idiot" because of its amazing success and great songs, but that came out in 2004. Also I thought the Killers debut album was amazing, but that also came out in 2004. I can't pick out one surprising record this year because no single record was way more exceptional from all the others. What did surprise me in 2005, was the number of good records that came from your aging '90s rock bands, which I listened to when I first turned on the radio. I definitely loved the new release this year by Foo Fighters, Weezer, Garbage, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, and others.

7. Other than BRU, what is your favorite radio station and why?

My favorite station other than BRU is KROQ because I grew up on this station. They were at almost every concert I went to in L.A. and I look up to them. Aside from the music, I enjoy the Kevin & Bean Show as well as Loveline. Also punk rock does quite better in So-Cal than it does in the Northeast.

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

Haha, probably a nap after 4 or 5pm. Though I do need a computer and Internet. A day without access to email is like a day without electricity.

9. Where do want to be working after you graduate from Brown University in May '06?

My dream would be to be working in the music industry, more so on the record company side, in California or NY soon after I graduate. Having a job, period, would be most excellent. Are you hiring early next year?

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

This question is like the dreaded question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or more so, "What are you doing after you graduate?" All I can say is I want to have a job in an urban city so I can go to concerts. Though I am interested in the media industry and advertising.

What are your hobbies?

I enjoy soccer, going to rock shows, viewing television (Arrest Development=best show on TV), listening to music, traveling, and other things to stay active.