10 Questions with ... Rick Moxley

NAME:Rick Moxley TITLE:VP/Promotion LABEL:Show Dog BORN:Fresno RAISED:San Joaquin Valley

Editor's note: We sat down with Rick before he announced that he would be going to Toby Keith's Show Dog- we had a chat after he left his position as VP/Promotion at BNA Records recently after 10-years with the label. It was his first career break since he started in the business so he was just getting to know his children's names again. Rick lives in Brentwood, TN, just outside of Nashville with his wife Donna and two children- Laura (10) and James (8).

1) This is your first break in a very, very long time. Okay, so tell us what your schedule is like?

Here's my big decisions I have to make, Kroger or Publix- by the way, Costco's rocks on Tuesday mornings. Also, Home Depot or Lowes, the Tin Roof II or Longhorn's. By the way, why can't anyone do happy hour at 2:30pm? Forget Oprah, Dr. Phil or Rachel Ray--Sponge Bob Squarepants is must see TV, it's hilarious.

PS-Cold Beer fun fact on Lower Broadway during the daytime: Bud Light $3.75; Miller High Life and PBR $2.00.

2) After 24-years of Monday Charts, what was it like to not have to worry about spins?

Well to paraphrase a recent song, you really do "Find Out Who Your Friends Are?" Seriously, when you're on the sidelines you really get a fresh perspective of what the outside world goes through. Believe me, just 14 miles south of Music City there is a big, big majority of folks who couldn't give a nickel about what we do! I think a lot of people in our industry have an over-inflated sense of self-importance. Come on people---it's music. It's not cancer, home foreclosures, food or gasoline prices!

3) After all this time, I hope you took a vacation with that lovely family of yours. After all, it may be years before you get another break- so what did you do?

Camping , camping and camping. I feel like I'm Daniel Boone now. Mix in daily bicycling and in-line skating and I might be ready for next year's X Games. We also had a great trip to the West Coast over 4th of July. Having spent some of my "Wonder Bread" years in the Bay Area; I had really forgotten how cool, fun and hip San Francisco really is---even for the family. However, has anyone discovered that airline travel still SUCKS?

4) So, on your break, we hear you investigated a few new career paths, is that true?

I actually worked for three weeks with a fence construction company-loved it. Also took a community college class to brush up on my conversational Espanol and just started the process of getting my bus drivers license. You never know.

5) What were the coolest, most memorable experiences of the summer?

Actually two: Being able to celebrate my grandmother's 97th birthday and being a substitute teacher for my 10-year-old daughter's Sunday School class. Trust me brother, I can quote you a scripture or two; and nobody got struck by lightning.

6) You have a pretty varied background- give us a few Rick Moxley 'fun facts' that people may not know about you?

That I have a journalism/public relations degree from San Jose State University (home of Stevie Nicks, the Doobie Brothers and the world famous KRTY GM Nate Deaton). I also worked nine seasons in professional sports as a PR director with the Oakland A's, Golden State Warriors and Seattle SuperSonics. When we have more time, I'll tell about my job interview with Al Davis when he offered me the PR job for the Raiders the first year they left Oakland for Los Angeles.

7) Tell us about your tenure- your mentors- some of the artists that you worked with- accomplishments etc.

If I decide to jump back in, this will be my 24th year in this crazy biz and it hasn't been just Chesney and Lonestar. I was actually part of Nick Hunter's original dream team lineup at Warner Bros which included: Bob Saporitti, Bill Mayne, Bruce Adelman, Denny Mosesman, George Briner, Rick Baumgartner and Jack Purcell. That regime was instrumental in developing and breaking some fairly big acts that you might be familiar with such as Hank Jr., the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Highway 101, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt and Faith Hill. In fact I rolled into my last gig with 65 #1 singles under my belt. I think that's pretty good even though some of it occurred in the "steroid era!"

8) You've been 'on the beach' for the first time in many years, what are some of your revelations?

Alan Jackson recently had a quote which really hit home for me. He said, "no matter how many albums or tickets me or anybody that does real country music has sold or awards they've won, it seems like you are always secondary, or Nashville is always apologizing for real country music- that has always bugged me." Amen Brother.

9) Final Thoughts?

I have no complaints. Having the summer off with my family really is priceless. This business has been really good to me. I still get a thrill out of hearing new music and having a hand in helping make dreams come true- and somehow affecting lives in a positive way. Come to think of it Jimmy Buffett might have said it best: "If it suddenly ended tomorrow, I could somehow adjust to the fall; the good times and riches and SON OF A BITCHES, I've seen more than I can recall."

10) The last question is a bit 'self serving,' but may be interesting to some folks. When you started your career, I was actually the first radio guy you ever visited, when I was in Virginia, or maybe it was Kevin Mason, who was then at WCMS/Virginia Beach.

You were the first radio guy I ever went to see in VA Beach in August of 1985, for a concert your station was doing with the Forester Sisters. Kevin Mason was the second. And by the way, my run at BNA is partially because of you too- it was your event in 1996 at WMJC/Long Island that led to the breakup of the Buffalo Club; which in turn sunk Rising Tide which eventually leading to my job at BNA.

Editor's note - The concert that Rick was talking about in 1996 was a free show that we did on Long Island with the Buffalo Club. Like a lot of the free-shows that we did there, it was interrupted by Biblical style torrential rains, sending the several thousand concert-goers home. A sales person had the brilliant idea to have them play at a client location, move it inside, which was a very tacky Mexican restaurant- it was a WKRP style disaster and I think that one of the band guys wouldn't even come in and they broke up right there- then the label collapsed shortly after- I like to think of it that I am basically responsible for helping Rick's career that night.