10 Questions with ... Jason Stephens & Nicole Andrews

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Jason: We started working together as a team just over two years ago - But I started doing overnights on Q back in 1997.

Nicole: I got into radio in 2001 at KVOX-FM in Fargo, ND then worked at KSTP-FM in Minneapolis, MN for a year before I moved to Madison and joined the Q!

1) Congrats on recently celebrating two years together as a morning team! How have you enjoyed working together so far?

Jason: Thanks, you don't know how good you can have it until you've got someone you can really depend on. We've had some great opportunities together as a team and it's been a lot of fun so far.

Nicole: It works out really well because I'm more type-A, plan everything out and Jason always has something crazy & creative brewing in his brain. Put those two together and it's really fun radio!

2) Jason, you've been with Q106 in some capacity since 1997. That's probably a record these days, as much as everyone changes jobs in radio. What has it been like to witness the Q's growth over the years?

When I came to Q, it was the top of the food chain. Since then, there have been competitive struggles - and now, the growth has been really exciting - but nothing beats working for a heritage station with an audience you know personally.

3) What makes your morning show unique from your competition?

Jason: We play a lot of music and when we do a talk-break or a bit, we've planned it to stay under two minutes. And we're funny sometimes.

Nicole: Funny looking? Oh, just funny I see. Yeah, we try to be fun and topical and give the listener something they can take to work and use to impress their co-workers. Somebody said anything that's funny in three minutes will be even funnier in two minutes - we plan our show around that motto.

4) What role do you each play on the show? Jason, we hear you do some great characters and celebrity impersonations.

Jason: Yeah, I've got about 25 celebrities I can do right now - I also use them in the "Celebrity Bric-A-Brac" internet series - over a million views on the first few episodes on YouTube.

Nicole: Jason's too modest - his impersonations of Kermit the Frog, Christopher Walken, Matthew McConaughey, Bill Cosby and Larry the Cable Guy are so spot on you would swear they're standing in the room next to you! It's a great asset to our show and when we go out in the community and work with kids, Jason has them rolling on the floor laughing with his Elmo.

5) What made you both decide that you wanted a career in radio? Did you always know growing up that radio was in your blood?

Jason: I took an "aptitude test" in high school and they said I could be an attorney, a psychologist or a radio broadcaster. I picked the one with the least schooling required. And sadly, the lowest income.

Nicole: I was a dance teacher promoting our spring recital on KVOX-FM in Fargo, ND. Before I left they asked if I'd ever considered radio and by the end of the week I started a part-time job. Growing up, I was the girl who would hide in a clothing store just so they'd have to broadcast my name over the loudspeaker. My mom knew I needed to be in some sort of attention-seeking profession!

6) Madison is known as a very progressive city-how does the Country audience differentiate from other cities in your opinion?

Jason: To be honest, I'm ill-equipped to answer that. I haven't worked in other cities. Nicole can probably answer that better.

Nicole: It's interesting to compare where I started my career, at a country station in Fargo, ND to where I am now, a country station in Madison. The audience in Madison may be a little more receptive to newer country and newer ideas but I've found that country listeners all over the U.S. are really looking for the same recipe: a big scoop of family-friendliness, a cup of patriotism, a dash of God and a keg of beer :-)

7) What time do you get in every morning, and do you prep before the show?

Jason: I get to the studios at 3:30am and I prep everything I can.

Nicole: I'm at my desk at 4:30am working on the show-sheet for that day, setting up the morning schedule and preparing our stories and bits. There isn't a whole lot we do on the fly - almost everything is prepared beforehand.

8) Tell us about the chemistry between you guys and PD John Sebastian.

Jason: He tells us what he wants, we execute his plan.

Nicole: John has an amazing amount of experience in radio and has a clear idea of what Q and his on-air talent should sound like. Under his direction, Jason & I have beaten our competition for the first time since we became a team!

9) You play a lot of music for a morning show, correct? Does that put a lot of pressure to make the things that you talk about extra solid?

Nicole: Absolutely - we're consistently playing the most music in the market except for the station without jocks. We have to make sure every word we say means something, is entertaining and matters to our listener.

10) What job would you be doing if you weren't on the radio?

Jason: I live to entertain. Whether that's improv comedy, which I also do - or acting, or writing, etc. I'd be doing something in that vein.

Nicole: I've been in radio since I was in college so it's hard to imagine a different career, but I love watching the Travel Channel so I pick Samantha Brown's job. I'd love to be able to travel all year round instead of only Winter and Summer book!

1) Favorite junk food?

Jason: wasabi and soy almonds

Nicole: candy corn - I had to make an agreement with my husband that I wouldn't eat it until the month of October and then I destroyed Walgreen's supply for the next 30 days. Now I'm off the stuff until next Halloween and thinking about entering a treatment program. Maybe one Lindsay Lohan opens.

2) Who is messier in the studio?

Jason: I'm okay in the studio but my desk looks like a hobo sleeps on it.

Nicole: Jason said it best. Sometimes I'm afraid of what might crawl out from under the piles on his desk.

3) What artist would you love to interview next year?

Jason: Willie Nelson - but I have to do it on his bus.

Nicole: Blake Shelton - I don't think I've ever laughed harder during an interview or had an artist ignore every question I asked and still love him when it's done.