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10 Questions with ... Skeery Jones
March 19, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Brody suffers from only child syndrome. Yes it's a thing. I looked it up. He never had a brother or sister, so he never had to compromise or share. Never lost an argument because he was the only sibling. 100% of all attention was on him. And as the focal point, the world revolves around you. That's not me. I am perfectly comfortable losing an argument or learning a lesson. Meanwhile Brody will debate you to the death. He has to be right. He might as well have been a lawyer. Smart guy. Just stubborn. That's too stressful for me. I like to relax and enjoy low blood pressure. High intensity situations are too much work and put mileage on your mind body and soul. I hope it means I'll live longer
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Started my career at WBCR, Brooklyn College Radio in 1992 and interned for 101.1 WCBS-FM in NYC in 1994. Got hired as a phone operator for Elvis Duran while he was doing afternoons on Z100 in 1995. Moved to Elvis, Elliot & the Z Morning Zoo at its inception as assistant producer in 1996. Got promoted to producer, then executive producer as Elvis Duran & The Morning Show rolled out nationally over the course of the next 23 years.
1. The standard question: How and why did you get into radio? What was it about radio that attracted you to it as a career?
I was always enamored with radio’s ability to connect 1:1 with its listeners. It’s a relationship you can’t get anywhere else. I enjoyed its local focus, entertaining people, putting smiles on faces, and giving them something to reflect on. Radio also has the power to help and heal, and the intimate feedback loop of communication between hosts and the listener is unique. You say something; You get INSTANT phone calls, email, tweets, etc as a reaction to what you just said. You don’t get that with TV, film, or prerecorded content. Radio can be raw, real, honest and unrehearsed -- and that’s what originally lured me in.
2. Having done the podcast for a while (first with Greg T, then the grand reboot with Brody), how much overlap do you perceive that your podcast listenership and Elvis' audience have? Are the Slices all people who came over because they know you from the radio, or have you seen growth among people who aren't fans of the radio show?
I’ve always viewed Z100 and Elvis Duran & The Morning Show as the mothership. I’ve built my brand and found my identity there. The podcasts I do are not only an extension of that, but a chance to elaborate on thoughts and ideas there are no time for on the big show. People also get to see different sides of my personally on my podcasts. The big show is a major platform and the jump off point, so an overwhelming majority of our “Slices” are Elvis listeners. However, over the past 6 months, we have received email and tweets from people who randomly found us on iTunes or iHeartRadio, and have not heard of the big show. Kind of hard to believe, honestly.
In contrast, on my other podcast, “Speaking Volumes,” my co-host Cher Cosenza brings in a largely different audience, as she has an existing base of followers from her world of acting, modeling, and her life as a private investigator. So on that series, people know her but are just being introduced to me.
3. You and David are Brooklynites, hence the name of the show, but "Brooklyn" means something very different to the rest of the world today than it did 30 years ago; whereas before, the borough had a rougher image, today it's synonymous with hipster chic, to the point of self-parody. What does "Brooklyn" mean to you, as someone who grew up there?
My Brooklyn was growing up on a block with attached row houses, spending summers opening fire hydrants because nobody had a pool, sitting on my friend's stoop (a concrete staircase that leads to a porch/front door of a house), listening to cassettes of freestyle dance music along with 80’s and 90’s hip hop on a boom box, eating pizza by the slice in an Italian neighborhood. In my Brooklyn, the highlight of the day was when the ice cream truck would show up after dinner. We had block parties in the summer where we would get a permit to block off a road to vehicular traffic and we could ride our bikes in the street. We’d play games like “manhunt” (fancy hide-n-seek) and punchball (running the bases after punching a blue rubber ball with your fist instead of a bat). There were crews and clicks and gangs (none of which I was a part of), and most people who lived there always stayed local, worked basic jobs and never got out of Brooklyn. And the ones who did either went to jail or moved to Staten Island. Taking the train into Manhattan was a stretch for most. Moving to Long Island or New Jersey was a goal! Occasionally you’d hear of someone hitting the lottery or landing a big job.
But I’m elated that it has changed. More ideas, experiences, cultures, diverse foods, festivals and art all make for a more well rounded experience, and I’d be more than happy to trade my version of Brooklyn to what it offers today. I’m actually kinda envious.
4. You and Brody have several things obviously in common, including jobs and where you grew up. But what are your biggest differences? And what are the things he does that drive you crazy?
Brody suffers from “only child syndrome.” Yes it’s a thing. I looked it up. He never had a brother or sister, so he never had to compromise or share. Never lost an argument because he was the only sibling. 100% of all attention was on him. And as the focal point, the world revolves around you.
That’s not me. I am perfectly comfortable losing an argument or learning a lesson. Meanwhile Brody will debate you to the death. He has to be right. He might as well have been a lawyer. Smart guy. Just stubborn. That’s too stressful for me. I like to relax and enjoy low blood pressure. High intensity situations are too much work and put mileage on your mind body and soul. I hope it means I’ll live longer.
Also, Brody is a non-drinker and enjoys his time at home. I like to go out. I enjoy a few cocktails. I spend money frivolously, attempt to live lavishly, and sometimes behave recklessly. I have FOMO. I’m somewhat lazy on weekends, and would rather pay someone to do my chores and run my errands for me. I love to travel and fly, and Brody is the opposite. He’ll take the train, I’ll call an Uber. He’ll tell the waiter he burned his steak. I’ll suffer in silence and eat what I’m given.
But ya gotta love the guy. None of this is personal, by the way. But it’s also why I think our podcast works. The friction, the disagreements, the occasional arguments and the respectfully different viewpoints.
5. What's the funniest phone tap you've ever done/heard?
I do a relentless telephone telemarketer character named Mr. Michael Oppenheimer. He gets yelled at, hung up on, verbally abused, and threatened, and keeps calling back and reads his product pitch in an even keel, monotone deadpan manner. And I’ve done over 50 of them. But one time the guy on the other end cracked me up as he started mimicking everything I said and began farting into the phone.
6. The podcast has several running bits, one of which is "Free Dessert," essentially what you can get from a business when you complain. What's the best Free Dessert you've ever gotten, and what's the best among the ones you've heard others get?
One time I loaded up a shopping cart with a ton of groceries at Target, and they were having computer issues at checkout. Scanned my items. Lost the data. Rescanned them. Lost the data again. I was there over a half an hour. I enlisted the help of the free dessert king Brody, who helped me craft a letter to corporate, including the fact they wasted my time and caused me to be late for an appointment and my ice cream to melt. And voila! They emailed me back a huge apology and a $100 gift card!
As for our podcast listeners, one of our “Slices” told us about how they got screwed by Directv, threatened to cancel service, and was then offered a free one year subscription and two Genie boxes.
7. Who have been your influences and inspirations in the business?
When I was 8, my dad would play the oldies station (WCBS-FM- at which I later ended up interning), and I would call into radio legend Cousin Brucie’s Saturday night show. And he’d put me on the air every time! And I’d sit and wait for my pretaped call in to come on the radio and record it! I guess it was a cute novelty to air a prepubescent kid doing doo wop dedications to his family. And that’s where my obsession with the medium started. He would paint the picture with words -- a super-genuine guy who made you feel he was your friend. I wanted to have that connection with people over a medium.
Also, Scott Shannon and the Z Morning Zoo on Z100. I grew up listening. Now I am fortunate enough to work at the station with which i grew up. I would listen on my way to school and I would laugh so hard at their bits, routines, parodies and wacky radio antics....you know, that 80’s and 90’s sound. I had never heard that kind of fast-paced, top 40 style to that point. Of course, Howard Stern broke down barriers and paved the way for all of us. He gave us permission to be real with the audience. Elvis Duran continues to inspire me with his compassion for our listeners and his vulnerability. He puts himself out there for all to see every morning. And he’s as generous as he is transparent. A true philanthropist, using the airwaves for a greater good and to give people advice and incentive to make changes and adjustments to live their happiest lives. He checks off all the boxes. That’s rare in a radio host.
I also have to give a huge shoutout to Steve Kingston (the former OM/PD of Z100), who allowed a junior in college to join the AFTRA union and run the board, and then of course, Tom Poleman, who gave me my first regular Z100 on air jock shift, 12am-6am Saturday and Sunday mornings while I was still pulling shifts on my college radio station in 1996!
8. Of what are you most proud?
I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to turn a childhood dream into a reality. I am still humbled to be able to work for some of the greatest collection of radio stations in the world (including the crown jewel Z100), on the biggest syndicated Top 40 morning show, in NYC and working with some of the most talented individuals in broadcasting. And I’ve somehow managed to stay here 24 years. That’s unheard of. I never take it for granted. I’m legit the luckiest guy in the world.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ____________
...posting on Instagram.
10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in the business?
Always work out your differences in person or on a phone call. A lot can get misconstrued and forwarded in an email. Also, always be kind and respectful to EVERYONE... your managers, co workers, and ESPECIALLY the people who work FOR you, including the interns, because the people you meet on your climb up the ladder are the same people you will see on your way down the ladder. And believe me, in this industry, you’re gonna need someone to catch your falling ass someday.
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