10 Questions with ... Dave Levora  

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Started working at WDBQ-A and KLYV-FM in Dubuque while attending Loras College. I left Dubuque for KORB-FM (Planet 93.5) in the Quad Cities in 1995 with a Five-Year Plan. Year One of my plan was to spend "no more than one year in the Quad Cities." It's 25 years later and I'm still here.

1. You had some great news in 2021 being promoted to Director of Rock Formats at Regional Media and launching another Alternative station. Let’s talk about new station you launched KVVL “97.1 Real Alternative Radio.” In Maryville, MO and the decision behind flipping the station from Classic Rock to Alternative?

It IS a fancy sounding title, isn't it? I'm excited for this opportunity to apply what I've learned over the years to more stations across Regional Media. KVVL is the first of a handful of stations we're planning on making some adjustments to. Maryville is an ideal market to prove our concept in. So far, so good.

2. Two years ago, you launched KQCJ (Planet 93.9)/Quad Cities, IA with four decades of alternative music with a larger playlist than most stations. Explain.

The significantly larger playlist is our secret sauce. Audiences can access any song they want at any time they want to hear it. Some will argue that limitless musical availability makes all of us obsolete but that's only true if we insist on adhering to a playbook that was written DECADES before the advent of streaming music. It doesn't hurt that Alternative has for the most part remained a consistent product over 40 years. It's not odd to see a teenager wearing a Ramones t-shirt. A New Wave song from the '80s doesn't sound all that different from something an Indie band just released. Going from The Cars debut album to the latest Weezer song isn't as jarring a transition as going from Glenn Miller to Madonna would have been 40 years ago. No one's complaining when we play David Bowie. Or Wet Leg.

Look at Steve Aoki's set at last year's Lollapalooza and watch how NUTS those kids go when he plays a Eurythmics tune. Discovering new music is thrilling and will always be an important part of what we do but there's something to be said for Old Music Discovery or Music Rediscovery.

When a listener complains that they're spending more money than they'd like downloading songs they've either never heard before or had completely forgotten about, that goes in the win column.

3. Your slogan is “Real Alternative Radio.” How would you describe “Real Alternative Radio?”

We went with "Real Alternative" because "Authentic Alternative" would've sounded pretentious. It doesn't look great on a bumper sticker. “Alternative" is a format but at its core, alternative means another possibility. We're providing a genuine alternative not only to the Premium Choice Alternative station we're directly competing with but to the way music radio stations sound in general. Our audience has picked up on how different we are from stations here in the Quad Cities but also almost everywhere else. They deserve a real alternative. Honoring their need to hear something different and being of service to the segment of our community who thought they'd given up on FM radio altogether is our raison d'etre.

You can say you play more music, or you can actually play more music. Today on my midday show, along with the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Keys, I played "Gigantor" by The Dickies. It feels good to be weird! Authentically weird.

4. How were you able to convince Regional Media owner Fletcher M. Ford to be so bullish on the Alternative format?

When I was fired along with a thousand other people in January of 2020, I swore I was done with radio. My mantra was that I was done loving something that was incapable of loving me back. Fletcher reached out while I was "on the beach" and asked me if I could build a radio station on my own terms, what would it sound like? I gave him my vision for The Planet, certain he'd say no thanks and I could get to work selling widgets, delivering pizzas or maybe finally find the courage to go into modeling.

Of course, I'm thrilled he said "Okay. Let's do it!" but if I'm being honest, whenever I see all those middle aged dad bod models strutting their stuff on the catwalk, I wonder about what might have been.

5. Give us the 411 and what like working for Regional Media.

It's the smallest company I've ever worked for. We're able to focus on things on a local level in a way that just isn't as doable for the larger radio conglomerate. We can call more audibles and I really enjoy that flexibility. Are there things about working for larger companies that I miss? Sure. But having the freedom to do what I want with my stations without running it past seven other people is everything.

6. How would you describe yourself as a programmer?

It's NEVER done, is it? Ever. I'll never be able to listen to the station and say, "Yep. That's as good as it can be." There's always a What If We? looming around the corner. That's not a complaint. It's exciting, and at times exhilarating!

We were getting a ton of really positive feedback on 2000s Emo tunes, so I put together an Emo Breakfast feature for Saturday mornings. It's on before our Saturday Morning Alt-Manac, a show that plays music for an hour from a chosen year in Alternative music. Here's two ideas our audience came up with. We delivered and everyone is happy.

I've been passionate about this format since I was old enough to ride a bike to my local record store to buy cassettes from R.E.M, The Cure and The Replacements. I have convinced myself that the secret to success is to continually build the exact sort of radio station I would listen to (and unapologetically advocate for) if through some manner of tragic circumstances, I had ended up getting a "real job".

7. How do you discover new music and what stations do you like to follow?

There's a handful of alternative/indie blogs I look at and playlists I follow but the stations I spend the most time following are WWCD/Columbus, WEQX/Manchester and 91x/San Diego. Those three are the gold standard. Oh, also Radio X in London!

8. What is your favorite part of your job?

Connection. That's everything. Getting a text that says, "I can't believe I just heard THAT song on the radio" or meeting a listener at a station event and they're sharing something from the morning show that really made them laugh, I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to make these connections every day. It's why I've wanted to do this since the 3rd Grade.

9. Tell us about your morning show and how it meshes with 40 years of Alternative music.

Darren and I recently celebrated our 18th year together as a morning show team. I'll circle back to how important authenticity is to what we're trying to get done with the radio station. Our show has always worked because Darren and I are really good friends who genuinely enjoy each other's company and legitimately make each other laugh.

As for how we mesh with the music, we've always been a show that plays music. We enjoyed a lot of success as a morning show on an Active Rock station but the music we're playing these days is far more in line with our actual tastes.

10. What would surprise people most about you?

After 25+ years of blabbing on and on about all of my eccentricities on the air, I'm not sure that there's anything I can reveal here that would surprise anyone. Apart from the fact that I'm actually three little boys stacked ontop of each other in a trench coat.

What are weekends like for you?

I try my best to unplug on the weekend, although I find that working on the stations is sometimes the most fun, I have because I tend to do the kind of maintenance on it that I can't during the work week.

Now that it's baseball season, I will watch at least one (likely more) White Sox game on TV and go for a family bike ride.

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

I try to get back for at least one or two weekends a year. Chicago is a great place to be from. Reconnecting with old friends is good for my soul.

Favorite food?

Freshly picked blueberries

Favorite drink?

I host a Craft Beer TV show (brewedtv.com) for our local ABC affiliate so any Craft Beer will work. Except for Saison’s. Not my favorite style. Too floral for my palate. But if you're buying...

Rank your sports teams in order of passion.

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Chicago Bears
3. Iowa Hawkeyes

Favorite new band over the past year?

Inhaler

Anything else you would like to add?

What I love about the All Access Alternative community is looking at the amazing work everyone else is doing across the country and I'm so proud to be included here. Thanks!