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10 Questions with ... Nate Deaton
May 26, 2008
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NAME:Nate DeatonTITLE:General ManagerSTATION:KRTYMARKET:San Jose, CACOMPANY:Empire BroadcastingBORN:El Centro, CA 1961RAISED:San Jose, CA
Please outline your radio career so far:
Only two: KSJO/San Jose Promotion Director 1984-1986
KRTY Promotion Director 1994-2000, Marketing Director 2000-2004, General Manager 2004-Present
1. You are probably one of the few GMs that we have featured on here. But you are also a lot more passionate about the music and more involved in putting it on your station than most GMs are. Have you always had a passion for music? What or who started that fire?
I don't know about always, but certainly since high school. I grew up here in the region where we had the World's Greatest Concert Promoter Bill Graham. I have great parents who let me go to every show there was and in the late '70s early '80s there were a lot of shows. So every since then I have loved live shows and music in general.
2. Since you are so involved in the music process at your station, how do you and your PD, Julie Stevens, handle that? Is the music chosen by committee or does one of you have the final say?
No one has the final say. There are three of us (including GSM Tina Ferguson) that make decisions specifically and another five to seven people that are involved with opinions. In order to go on the station at least the three of us have to agree. Now we have been know to state our case and lobby for a song here and there but one of the great things is no one pulls rank. (Those two might argue that a little, but they are wrong.)
3. One of the great things about your station is that you are not afraid to step out on new music and new artists. Is that a conscious decision on your part to break new songs/acts or do you just go with your gut and play what sounds good?
Sure, it has to be conscious, but I prefer to look at it different than breaking new acts. It is transferring our enthusiasm for great material to our audience. With the internet, there in no such thing as an unfamiliar artist anymore. If we play a compelling song then the listener can go to their site and learn all about them. Every single act in this format started as a "new" act. In the iPod world it is all about the songs, and if I am playing the best song at any given time KRTY wins!
4. Tell us about three songs that have really made a profound impact on the life of Nate Deaton.
Wow, I would have to think about that for a minute. "Hotel California" was probably the coolest thing I had ever heard at the time with both a sound and lyric. Then came AC/DC and anyone who went to high school and college in the late '70s or early '80s would never have been the same without any number of those songs. "Guitars and Cadillacs," my best man was a huge country fan and played this cassette over and over on the way to my wedding ceremony and I had never heard it before and look at what I am doing 21 years later.
5. In addition to the day-to-day business at the station and the music, you are very involved with your son and sports. How do you find time to do it all?
You just make the time. It is not rocket science or curing cancer we are in the entertainment business. So whatever you have that is pressing, it will still be there in the morning, but the 11-year-olds on your team will soon be 13 and not give a damn about you any more.
6. No doubt you have been to your fair share of concerts in your life. What stands out in your mind as the best ever? What made it so memorable?
It would be impossible to pick one. So I will pick four - Queen, circa 1980, Springsteen in 1986, Keith Urban the last two years and Garth in Kansas City last November. Queen was just spectacular live. I have been to thousands of shows and I have seen them five or six times and they were always the best showmen. Springsteen was still doing three hours shows in 1986, and that one was at the Oakland Coliseum and a spectacular show. Keith Urban's last two tours have just been the most enjoyable, best sounding most unbelievable shows I have seen in the Country format. To do it once could have been the night, but I felt the same way after seeing it again this year. Garth in Kansas City was as special of a crowd at any concert I have ever been to. Just phenomenal crowd response to his every move.
7. If we were coming to San Jose for one day and you were our tour guide, where would you take us?
Well the first thing would be to tell you that you are in the 10th largest city in the US and basically in the heart of Silicon Valley. Considering I was a tour guide at the Winchester Mystery House in College, that would be the first stop. Then a little outdoor coffee at Santana Row, perhaps a short tour of San Jose State, lunch at Original Joe's and an afternoon tour of pretty much every technology headquarters you could name-Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Adobe, Cisco, Apple, HP, Etc. Then a night show or Sharks game at the San Jose Arena or even better, a new Country artist at the Rodeo Club and drop off at the Fairmont Hotel.
8. What, in your memory, has been the coolest moment during your career in radio?
This one. Writing the answers to the 10 questions. No, seriously every day I come to work I get to work with a great team. Julie Stevens, Tina Ferguson and I have been together as a team for 13 years and everyday has its challenges, but no matter what happens we still have each other to celebrate our successes and a shoulder to cry on during our failures.
Other than that, when I first started back in 1984 I wrote a promo card and on my way home I heard a jock read it, that was pretty fricken cool at the time.
9. There's a lot of new artists and new music coming out of Nashville these days. What are you hearing that really excites you?
The list of what doesn't excite me would be much shorter.
But if I had to pick a couple I would list Lady A, James Otto, Jake Owen and Eric Church all as artists to watch. We were one of the first stations in the country on Lady A and James Otto and have been big supporters on the other two. Plus, I really like the sound of the new Chris Young CD and Darius Rucker's project is very exciting for Country Radio. Heidi Newfield has always been a great performer, and I think Emily West has a great voice. I could go on and on - see what you started?
10. What kind of music is on your iPod or in your CD player that might surprise us?
Actually what might surprise you is I don't have an iPod and my CD player has pretty much the current Country singles and albums in it. Nothing strange- in the car and at home I listen to the station, in the office I listen to the new stuff that comes in. Yes, all of it.
Bonus Questions
1. When you are not working or coaching on of your son's teams, what do you like to do in your spare time?
I used to be a good golfer and play a lot of competitive events. I really don't have the time to practice much so I mostly play recreational now.
2. If you had not chosen radio as a career, what would you be doing for a living?
Who the hell knows. My degree is PR but I have been involved in some sort of entertainment business since 1984.
3. How is that award winning golf game of yours, and what are some of your favorite courses?
My game as mentioned above is not very good. Favorite courses ever played in no order: Pebble Beach, Pasatiempo, Golden Horseshoe-Gold, Olympic Club-Lake, Tradition in La Quinta and my home course Almaden CC.
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