10 Questions with ... Rob Clement

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Promotions Assistant for Cox Media Group in Athens, GA. Graduated from the University Of Georgia, was hired by Tod Tucker in Oklahoma City as a Promotions Director. Replaced Tod Tucker as PD of KOMA-HD2 & KOMA-HD3 in July 2018.

1. Christmas 2019 marks 92.9 The Edge's 4th Birthday. Tell us about how the station has been growing as HD2 station on an FM translator?

It's hard to believe it's already been 4 years! This has been a great year for The Edge, with plenty of touring acts stopping through OKC, which has given us exciting opportunities to do promotions to grow our audience. Every day we hit the streets, more and more people tell us they love our station, a big change from a couple years ago when we were teaching people about it!

2. What is the station's coverage area and biggest challenges?

Honestly, our coverage area IS our biggest challenge. Our signal covers the central part of Oklahoma City very effectively, reaching out into metro suburbs like Edmond, Moore and Midwest City, but signal issues start to hit our audience in North Norman. Our biggest complaint from listeners is that our signal is too weak (and if that's the only complaint I'm getting, then I'm doing my job right!) So we encourage them to listen on our free mobile app, on our website, or on the 92.5-2 HD signal.

3. Give us the 411 on 92.9 The Edge. How the station positioned musically and what is most important to you when deciding what new music to play?

The Edge is an aggressively current alternative station. We're competing against a heritage active rock station, so I tend to avoid the more active rock tracks (I like to say "we aren't going to out-rock the KATT"). We also evaluate data from streaming services to see what our OKC alternative music fans are actively consuming, which has tipped me off to be early on some of my favorite current songs like "Dance Monkey" and "Cradles." We decided in 2019 to cut-off the Gold library to only 2000's and newer music. If you're trying to appeal to a 30 year-old today, they have virtually no memories of Nirvana as a current artist.

4. Tell us about your on-air lineup on 92.9 The Edge.

We have an all-music morning, to counter-program everyone else's talk-heavy morning shows. Ally Miller is our midday host from 10am-3pm, she started as an intern last year and has become an exciting, engaging on-air talent under my mentorship. I handle afternoon drive, and then it's back to music until the following morning!

5. How would you describe yourself as a programmer?

I'm only 28, so I still feel like a student of the art of programming, and fortunately I work for a great company that lets me try out new ideas. But I use my age to my advantage because I'm living in the middle of the target demographic for an alternative station. I get to use my own ears, and those of my friends to test new music and ideas.

6. What is your favorite part of your job?

Music is such a cool universal experience, and I love getting to share that with my audience. Whether it's as simple as a tweet saying "I love that new Joywave song you're playing," or it's a chance to give a listener a once-in-a-lifetime experience of meeting their favorite artist and tickets to the show.

7. What makes the station unique?

That's a great question! I love the fact that we're owned by a local, established company. I'm confident saying I have the full support of our owners because they see me in the hall daily and comment on the stations!

8. What may surprise people about 92.9 The Edge?

Since you know we run on a translator, it might not really surprise programmers to know this, but the average fan doesn't know The Edge doesn't have its own dedicated studio. We run 9 radio stations in a building that was made for just one, so space is at a premium! We use a production room to voice-track, and run remotes when needed.

9. How do you use social media?

Social media is the best way to connect with listeners! The feedback I get through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are vitally important to let me know if we're doing things right or not. I started out doing social media as a promotions manager, so I learned a lot about what gets engagement and what doesn't. I still admit I'm not the greatest at using social media, but coming up with creative content for all platforms and on-air is the name of the game, especially going into 2020.

10. What do you like best about living in Oklahoma City?

Oh, Oklahoma City is a fantastic place to live! It's just big enough that there are always great entertainment options, from community theatres that put on off Broadway-caliber productions, to a professional basketball team. And since The Edge has signed on, three new music venues have opened ranging in capacity from about 1,000-5,000 which is perfect for most of our artists. And despite all these options, this city never feels crowded. I don't typically run into traffic on my daily commute, a far cry from growing up in Atlanta where people budgeted an extra hour into their routine if they needed to get into the city.

I hear you make an amazing salsa. Can you share your recipe?

Of course! The key is using as many fresh ingredients as possible. My typical batch has 1 jalapeno, half bunch of cilantro, a medium red onion, two cloves of garlic, lime juice, and three cans of diced tomatoes. Throw it all in a blender until the desired consistency and you're done. If you can resist eating it all right then, put it in the fridge because it's best on the second day once all the flavors have had a chance to soak together.

What are your favorite places to eat in the area?

So many great options! If you love a traditional steak dinner, I'd send you to Cattlemen's. There's a delicious Guatemalan brunch restaurant in my neighborhood called Cafe Kacao. And the best pizza in Oklahoma City is definitely at Empire Slice House in the plaza district!

Favorite food?

Tacos! I will almost never turn down an opportunity to eat at a Mexican restaurant.

Favorite drink?

I've been cutting down on my alcohol consumption, but when I do imbibe, it's a Jack & Coke. Otherwise I live off of Bang energy drinks.

How often do you get back home and what are your top priorities when you get back to Georgia?

I make the trek home about once a year now. My top priorities are of course catching up with my friends & family out there, and my mom lives in the North Georgia Mountains, so I typically like to get in a good hike with her. The other big priority is eating at my favorite restaurants I can't get in Oklahoma like Mellow Mushroom and Bojangles.

Rank your sports teams in order of passion.

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. OKC Thunder
3. Atlanta Braves

Favorite new band over the past year?

Have you heard of this group, Panic! At The Disco? They're pretty good. In all seriousness, Winnetka Bowling League is a band I first heard about this time last year and they quickly became one of my favorites!

Favorite song of 2019?

"Dance Monkey" by Tones & I. Her entire "The Kids Are Coming" EP is great. She's an artist I'm watching closely next year, I feel exactly about her the way I felt about Billie Eilish this time last year.

Anything else you would like to add?

I'm just excited to see what 2020 will bring! We've been blessed with great music, a fantastic mix of crossover hits and excellent songs we get to own at Alternative the past few years, and I really hope that trend continues.