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10 Questions with ... Corey O'Brien
September 12, 2017
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I was hired by Todd Nuke'em in 1998, the day I graduated high school to work the weekend overnight shift and produce imaging for X96 -- cart decks and Denon cases as far as the eye could see. I took some time off from X96 during the 2012 Winter Olympics to work for NBC and a stint at the Sundance Film Festival. After the Olympics and the fest ended I came back to an offer of full-time overnights. Eventually, that gig rolled into evenings and a Music Director position just as I was starting work on my second degree -- I'm addicted to school. In 2013 I worked at Seattle's infamous KNDD, eventually returning to Salt Lake to the gig I currently occupy.
1. You joined X96 almost 20 years ago and recently became Digital Content Director for the entire Broadway Salt Lake City cluster. Tell us about your new Digital role.
Website management, content, interaction, new sales initiatives and products, video...it's very hands on and very different than holding down an evening show, but in a great way. It's given me the opportunity to learn about audiences and programming from very different perspectives than just a modern rock mentality. From the sales side, I have a new appreciation for the hustle and effort it takes to close a deal and what works to have satisfied advertisers and what we can offer them outside of :30 spots to get their message out. It's an education.
2. What has been the biggest change at X96 since you first stated working at the station in 1998?
PPM and all that came with it - good and bad.
3. What is a typical workday like for you?
I come in, meet with sales and programming to find out what they need, but there is little that's typical after that. We have an amazing video broadcast facility here, so somedays we're shooting bands. We love to do events across our cluster, so there's a lot of planning on the marketing to make these events successful. Other days I'm researching new ways to interact with our audience and develop new products for advertisers. Other days, I am working on websites and trying to improve them and other days I off to meetings with potential clients. Oh, at some point I manage to make it into the studio for a music show.
4. How would you describe your on-air style?
Music forward. Locally focused. Lifestyle relevant.
5. What do you love most about being on-air?
It's still exciting playing new music and giving new bands some space to be heard. That's pretty much what's always been the most exciting about being on the air.
6. Give us the 411 on your long-time running Xposed New Music feature weeknights at 8p. How do put this 3 song feature together and gauge audience reaction?
10 to 12 years of playing all the music that's fit to hear. It's a mix of upcoming records we know have a good shot of making rotation and that sprinkle of the weird stuff, 3 in a row, every weeknight.
7. I love the name of your New Alternative Sundays, "Initial Public Offering." Tell us about this show and how much cross-promoting you do with your Xposed feature.
It was just an itch to play more new music that needed to be scratched and Sunday evenings are always ripe for experimentation (we also do a full hour of punk, ska, and hardcore right after Initial Public Offering called SLC Punx). IPO is its own thing. We don't do any cross promotion between the two. Most promotion is done via promo, liner, and social media. I think it's important that people know that those playing the music are fans and radio is still a great way to find new artists.
8. What is it like working for Todd Nuke'Em?
Todd gives me a good amount of flexibly on the creative end of things and we talk about music quite a bit. He doesn't micromanage, but will tell you when you're getting off track. It's a good back and forth discussion about what it is that we do and what's good for the brand. It's crazy that we've been arguing about radio for nearly 20 years and how fast it has gone by.
9. What is your favorite part of your job?
I still love going to concerts. I thought that would have worn off years ago, but I still find it exciting.
10. What would surprise people most about you?
I was planning on law school before this whole radio thing happened. At least my student loans are a whole lot less than they would be.
Bonus Questions
What are weekends like for you?
I live in a place where I can snowboard, hike, kayak, and golf all in the same day at places all 20 minutes away from my front door. Weekends are for getting out and doing anything that involves me not sitting in front of a screen.
What are your hobbies?
Lately, reading, pickleball, and hiking.
Favorite book over the past year?
"Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari." It's a look at where technology reveals, through our habits, on how we're basically equations and extremely predictable beings. Heavy, right?
Best concert this year?
I expect it to be Spoon tonight, but until I see Royal Blood with Queens Of The Stone age next month, I can't definitively answer this question.
Favorite new bands?
I Don't Know How But They Found Me is a new project from Dallon Weekes. He plays bass for Panic! At The Disco and was in a Salt Lake Band called The Brobecks (two of whom are in this new band) before embarking with Panic! Their track "Modern Day Cain" is great!
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