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10 Questions with ... Nicole Alvarez
June 23, 2020
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I spent the earlier part of my career in Jacksonville at WPLA and then moved back home to Miami and did nights at WZTA. Soon after, I was summoned to Los Angeles, was asked to audition for KROQ, and I have been here ever since.
1. Let’s go down memory lane. What do you remember most when you first started working at KROQ 17 years ago?
I have to kind of set it up first for the full scope of why the moment meant so much to me. I was a really rebellious kid growing up in Miami. I got in trouble ALL the time, but I always knew I wanted to work in radio. I got suspended from school, then expelled, then I dropped out and spent a summer in Paris, then when everyone I knew had given up on me and tossed whatever faith they may have had in my future out to sea, I got an internship in radio.
KROQ was the holy grail of radio. I heard people talk about it like they spoke of Greek gods and ancient mystics. It was the stuff of legends. I watched one particular boss I had cringe with envy any time anyone ever so much as mentioned the first three letters. It was Mecca.
I was a high school dropout, but boy did I love music, and somehow, I know, that would lead me straight to Mecca. I didn't ever think I was KROQ material, but someone did and after being fired from where I was, one fabulous miracle led to another and that led to my favorite memory of KROQ ever: driving in for the first time. I pulled up to the gate in my rental, Outkast "Hey Ya" was playing, and I sat in the parking lot with my heart beating out of my chest, glaring at this amazing view, and even if I hadn't gotten the job, that moment would have been enough.
2. You recently moved from nights to middays, 10-3p. How big of a change was that for you and how much different is it doing middays on the World Famous KROQ?
Moving to days was the greatest feeling ever. For so long I had felt that I had graduated nights and I never complained about doing them, but I also never went to shows or if I did, I would either have to take the night off or get there at the tail end of the band playing. I finally get to go to shows, for someone who has based her entire life on going to shows, that was everything to me. I never dreamt of the picket fence or the soul mate or anything like that, I never wanted fame or fortune, I wanted to be in the pit. I still want to be in the pit.
3. Tell us about The Fix.
The Fix is my baby. I always wanted a feature where I can attempt to "read the room" if you will, connect to the vibe of L.A. or the world, help orchestrate a mood, capture an emotion...so The Fix is my way of doing that. For example, the week after Kobe died is an example of what I mean. It was one of the hardest weeks to be on air. What do you even say to your city that is heartbroken and gutted? One thing I was seeing was L.A. pride everywhere I went. Los Angeles came together in such a beautiful and meaningful way. On the Wednesday after, it was time to start lifting people up with music, but the music had to represent the solidarity. I played "California Love" by 2Pac and Dre. on KROQ mind you, and I still get goose bumps thinking about the energy it projected. That is The Fix.
4. What has it been like working from home during this crazy pandemic?
Working from home has its perks, but it sucks for the most part. I need my studio, I need my callers, I need my people, I need my co-workers, I need the equipment, the engineers...I need a reason to not work in my pajamas whilst Post Mating Krispy Kreme Donuts at 10:15am. I mostly need my neighbors to shut the f**k up and if I hear another leaf blower, so help me God. But I am grateful. I swear.
5. What do you love most about being on-air?
I could never answer that question properly. Now I can. I love having a voice. I love that when I speak, I know where it comes from, mostly from the heart, from a genuine mood I am in, and if what I say pisses someone off, good. If it inspires someone, great. If it just makes you feel like you have a buddy in your car, awesome. I love affecting the atmosphere and mostly, the connection is priceless. If you are looking to connect with your listeners, the opportunity is there, and it is life changing.
6. How are you using social media to augment what you’re doing on-air?
Social media is an extension of who I am and a more fully realized form of expression. I basically have more time and space to say all the things I want to say, to stand for the things I want to stand for, to flesh out my character. I get to show you the world through my eyes and to me, that is a valuable tool and a gift. My turf, my rules.
7. Tell us about your Podcast, Full Disclosure with Nicole Alvarez.
I started that podcast with a friend of mine because he pushed me actually. I never wanted to commit to it. The level of transparency that it requires is emotionally draining. However, it was TRUTH. I love to talk, but more importantly, I love conversation and I love getting into the heads of people and letting people get into mine. I find the concept of a full disclosure endlessly fascinating. I've been asked to do it again; I don't know though. It's basically just me talking about life and who the hell wants to hear that.
8. Why are interviews one of your favorite parts of your job
Interviews are my favorite thing to do but they are by far, the most challenging and terrifying part of my job. I can't tell you how many I have turned down and made up an excuse to get out of doing based on fear. To really do an interview properly, in my opinion, not only do you have to study and know your shit, because you owe that to all parties involved, specifically the people watching, but you have to let your own guard down, you have to listen in ways you aren't accustomed to, and you have to not concern yourself with the room, meaning what people might think or say, including the artist or band. You also have to reinvent the wheel, or at least try every time. It's too easy to ask an artist who their influences are. Too easy. Now, I hunger for the opportunity to dive into conversations with these strangers. I want Oprah to hire me just to interview people. I got this lady! Here is my number! I'll be waiting. It's worth noting that I still want to throw up every time I am asked to do one. Nothing a shot of Whiskey can't remedy.
9. What is a typical workday like for you?
A typical workday is never typical and rarely duplicated. It depends on what version of myself I wake up as that day. Am I crazy today? Am I angry? Am I levelheaded? Am I hung-over? Am I on a crusade? Am I blissful? Fair enough?
10. What do you love most about living in L.A.?
Everything. Absolutely EVERY F**KING THING. To be more specific, the fact that I am surrounded by dreamers and there is no expiration date on dreams here. It is a city of broken hearts and broken people, with soft souls, wild imaginations, and balls of steel. It's home. Oh, and Pacific Coast Highway. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Bonus Questions
What are weekends like for you?
My weekends, typically, are spent with my munchkin, at a show, jumping out of something, wandering some foreign country, waiting for my bags at LAX, watching the sun set or rise high on conversation and a little tilted on some whiskey, helping out down at Skid Row which is a big passion for me, riding my bike, exploring, dancing, finding more questionable situations to insert myself in, and then finally, watching Law and Order: SVU.
Tell us about all your tattoos.
I have numerous tattoos and they are all mostly musical. I have 2 Pearl Jam tattoos, 1 Nine Inch Nails tattoo, 1 Bob Marley tattoo, 1 Foo Fighters tattoo I got after running with the bulls in Pamplona, 1 asinine tattoo I got for free at a 30 Seconds to Mars record release party, 1 huge one that says, "Rock N Roll" across my back in very very bold letters, and then my most recent one, I got in Thailand and it is called a Sak Yant which is sacred, blessed, and an Ajarn tapped it into my skin, down my spine, with a metal rod. I think I am missing one.
Favorite food?
Cuban food at El Floridita on Vine.
Favorite drink?
Jack and Sunkist but not together.
What are your favorite places to eat in L.A.?
Crossroads on Melrose is my absolute favorite spot but also pizza at the Rainbow Room. Yum.
How often do you get back to Miami and what are your top priorities when you get back home?
I never go to Miami and If I do, I go straight to the Florida Keys with my family. I don't love Miami the way people think I should. My grandma and my uncle, who mostly raised me, they passed away, and Miami reminds me too much of them and it hurts.
Favorite new band over the past year?
Gang of Youths, The Glorious Sons, Arkells, Mt. Joy, Hirsch, and they aren't new, but I am obsessed with Run the Jewels.
Anything else you would like to add?
I want to add one last thing. There are people who still believe in radio. There are people who stay in radio because they know no other world. Most of us do it to get to the show. We do it because we love music. We do it despite people criticizing our choices, our words, our future...We stand there and listen to friends and strangers tell us we play too much of this, not enough of that; they think it's ok to tell us in front of a crowded room, how they never listen to radio anymore, how it's dead in the water. Some of us have to stomach a daily barrage of insults so generously handed to us by listeners whose only goal that day is to be the loudest troll in the building, the one that shouts from the rooftops how annoying they find your voice or how stupid your thoughts are. We, in radio, take punches left and right, but we, in radio, lay our hearts out on the table without hesitation every single day, because we love what we do and it is all in an effort to play the songs that make a difference to at least one person. We do it to connect. We are the most resilient and passionate of people and so far, nothing has proven otherwise. Radio is not dead; it is your constant. It is the one thing you can count on.
I love what I do.
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