10 Questions with ... Alex Valentine

NAME:Alex Valentine TITLE:Muse LABEL:Columbia BORN:Gary, IN RAISED:Gary, IN - Macedonia, Yugoslavia

Please outline your radio career so far:

WGN / WQXA / WPST / KISF / KDGE / KKZN / KRBV / Sanctuary Music Group / Arista-Nashville

1. First of all, congrats on the new gig with Columbia! You took the job after two years with Arista - how hard was it to leave the artists that you spent so much time building relationships with?

Very! That's what I love about the Country format; you make real connections with the artists, real relationships with their management and staffs and lasting bonds with the radio folks you bother every day. So when you do make a move, it's like changing high schools in the middle of senior year.

2. You grew up in Gary, IN, an area well known as the home of the musical Jackson family. You have a story about seeing them perform; tell us about that and what sort of impact it had on young Alex.

My father worked in a steel mill along side Joseph Jackson (Michael's father). We lived blocks away from 2300 Jackson St. According to my pop, Joe was always trying to get the guys in the mill to see the boys perform and he took us out to see an early Jackson 5 performance at a mall in Gary. I was about 3 or 4 years old & it remains one of my earliest life memories.

3. You have very eclectic tastes in music that range from traditional Macedonian/Serbian to Jazz and 80s. Tell us about your musical preferences and how an appreciation for such an array of styles affects your life and work.

Music is everything to me so I try to never over-think it. That way I can always hear it like a fan and use it for the reasons I believe it was created.

4. You spent many years in the Top 40/Alternative world before moving to the Country format in 2006. What prompted the change, and how hard was it to switch gears after all that time?

I can't claim that I was a closeted Country music fan, but I have always been into singer/songwriters. Combined with my move to Dallas, TX in the early 90s, the gears had a lot of time & priming to learn and understand the genre before I was ever approached with an opportunity to be a part of it.

5. What has been the biggest surprise for you since joining the Country world as far as the music, listeners, industry and artists? Did you have any pre-conceived notions about the format that you learned were incorrect?

A trusted programming mentor once told me that the Country format was closest to the Urban format and a lot of that had to do with the core values of the fan base. It's true! Both are firmly planted with roots of God, family and community and a common musical taste that helps to bring it all together.

6. You live with your wife and two children in a wonderful area, New Braunfels, TX (Schlitterbahn!). If we were coming to visit for a day with you as our tour guide, what would be on the itinerary?

New Braunfels is great! A small Texas town in the "hill country," where you'll find all sorts of culture and a ton of fun. The Texas country music mecca of Gruene Hall (pronounced GREEN) and the resort vacation destination of the Schlitterbahn (a gigantic water park), makes this a great place to raise a family. However, my one-day tour would start and end at our house. My wife and kids are truly a blast to hang with and it doesn't suck that she is the best "chef" in Texas. Oh yeah, having a lake in my backyard is hard to deny, too.

7. You have a very unique background in that you are a first generation American, born to Yugoslavian immigrants. What was it like growing up in Gary, IN with such a strong Eastern European influence at home?

Confusing. I learned English as a 1st/2nd grader, which didn't quite help me become the most popular kid in school. However, Gary & Northwest Indiana has an extensive amount of Eastern European (Greeks, Italians, Macedonians, Serbians, etc) families because of the opportunities the steel industry gave my father & grandfather's generations. It was like growing up in "Little Europe."

8. Name three songs that had a profound affect on your life and tell us why.

The questions get real tough now! That's like asking which of my children I love more. Its just music that has made the profound affect. Everything that really matters in my life was delivered to me through music. As a kid, I was a touring musician, which led me to radio where I met my wife who was a radio salesperson. The songs that have impacted me most are far too many to list. Come down to New Braunfels & we'll talk.

9. How does your radio background affect the way you do your job?

A working understanding of how your client's decision-making processes operate as well as what their days consist of is vital to succeed in any business. I'm just lucky enough to have spent all those years working at the level I was allowed to in an industry that I love.

10. On the rare occasion that you have spare time, what do you do? What are your favorite activities outside of the music industry?

Fill the boat with gas, put some bait on a hook and fill the cooler with liquids.

1. What was the first concert you ever attended?

Besides the Jackson 5 thing, the first ticketed concert I remember seeing was the Charlie Daniels Band circa 1979.

2. What five albums would be in the Alex Valentine Album Hall of Fame? Tell us why these five are so important to you.

Can anyone really feel like they can give a complete answer?? I have a great deal of respect for artists/bands that helped create their individual genres. Beatles, U2/R.E.M., Sugar Hill Gang, Dr. Dre, Hank Sr., Robert Johnson, James Brown, Miles Davis, ELVIS!

3. What is up with David Friedman's new facial hair?

He was raised by a pack of wolves, and that is his animal nature.

4. Have you learned to avoid using big words around Jimmy Rector, bless his heart?

You may not know this about Jimmy, but his personal literary canon includes books with no pictures. You must respect!!!