10 Questions with ... Kurt Gilchrist

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started in Odessa-Midland at KRIG and KWE, then KRLB (FM99)/Lubbock while attending Texas Tech, and KAPT/Austin. I got my first PD gig at KLTO/El Paso. I was OM/APD/nights at KHMX (Mix 96.5)/Houston, then OM at KLVI-A, KYKR, KKMY and KIOC/Beaumont. For the past nine years at XM Satellite Radio as Sr. PD over the six-decade channels from the '40s thru ;90s and moderator of a weekly sports show with Democratic strategist James Carville and NBC's Luke Russert.

1) What have you learned about yourself, others, or life in general in your downtime?

Make sure you have your priorities in order. Appreciate life and spend it with those who truly care about you. I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with a dear friend before he lost his battle with cancer, George Taylor Morris. He and I worked together at XM and about six years ago; we were sort of thrown together when we spent a couple days with Elton John in Las Vegas for an interview and music project we did for XM.

While he knew when we left XM that his time was limited, he had such a great attitude and love of life. His last few months, we'd e-mail, text, drive around and talk about a variety of subjects from life, books, music, love, relationships and good wine. I've used a lot of my down time to reconnect with quite a few people from my past and quite frankly, this time off has put me in a good place personally.

2) What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude and stay motivated?

I have an 11 year-old-son and a 15-year-old daughter who keep me grounded. They both have fairly busy schedules. I've been helping out with coaching and spending time doing a lot of the things I didn't do when I was working 70-80 hours a week. I also have a friend who plays with Jimmy Buffett and he's working on an idea/project, we've been bouncing stuff off each other hoping to get his project off the ground. That keeps me going. My daughter has her learners permit and so 'learning to drive' has dad and the entire neighborhood on edge. I'm trying to stay 'positive' that my car will remain in one piece.

3) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?

While at XM, I lived about 25 miles outside DC in Northern Virginia and would ride my bike to work two or three times a week to keep in shape. A couple of hundred miles a week keeps the legs in shape. I was once a pretty decent triathlete who also dabbled in running marathons (8) and actually qualified for the Hawaiian Ironman and the Boston Marathon a few years back. I've been trying to get back to into a regular workout routine, though I'm currently battling some injuries and a couple of bike crashes. I also decided to strip the finish, sand and re-finish a couple of pieces of old furniture. I had no clue as to what I was doing but, they actually came out pretty darn good. I may have a new career!

4) What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

Wow! I've been truly blessed to work with some amazing people through my career and I've done some pretty incredible and creative things. At XM, I came up with this idea and created this special called 'IT' which was a chronological replay of every song that charted from the early 1930s through 2008. With the help of some very talented and dedicated people and an insane number of hours of research and production, we pulled off a 24/7 seven-plus week special. The response was pretty incredible and it turned into an annual event.

I was also co-producer for the radio broadcast "Live-8" and I co-hosted the Katrina relief concert "Big Apple for the Big Easy" from Madison Square Garden. I've interviewed an incredible and lengthy list of artists, but the thing I'm probably most proud of was the tribute show that we did for the late Tim Russert. I recently came across the CD .... Wow ... that's why I wanted to do radio! It was the first time I had listened to it since we did it live. I was moderator for a weekly sports show with Democratic strategist James Carville and Tim's son Luke. The week Tim passed away ... I figured we'd just do a 'best of show' because of everything that was going on with Luke and his family ... the Memorial service and the funeral but ...Luke decided he HAD to do a tribute show to his fathers' love of sports.

With only a couple of days to work with, we put together an amazing show. With the help of the production team and the help of the staff at "Meet the Press," we scrambled through hours of audio from guests with sports ties for production. We booked a "who's who" of guests that included some of Tim's favorites, such as Yogi Berra, Lance Armstrong, Senator Bill Bradley and Bill Russell (who came on together), Bud Selig and more. While it was a sad week, it reminded me of why I got into radio. For me, it was pretty special, and personally rewarding.

5) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.

I saw a couple of months ago an ad for staffing of a radio station. Three days later the lineup for the station was announced. You have to be 'enlightened' with a PD who can move like that. This guy not only was able to do his daily job, but he was able to review all the packages that came in, contact prospective candidates, interview each candidate, make offers, have offers accepted, moved and have staff in place all within three days. That's impressive. The old saying is "Don't BS a BSer." Integrity and honesty seem to have also been victims of the cutbacks in 2009.

6) What's the best way to get your foot in the door?

Simply hang out in the lobby of the radio station and ask to see the Public File and tell them you'll be there a while as you have several areas that you'll be looking through. I almost guarantee you'll have an opportunity to talk to a manager. Of course, that may not be the best first impression ... but you will get to meet them!

Seriously, you have to network and make a positive impression with people you come in touch with. There are soooo many people looking that it's really all about 'who you know' or 'who knows about you.' I get it. There are very few positions and way too many people looking.

7) How are you finding the "courtesy level" at places you've applied? (Callbacks, e-mails, rejection letters, etc.)

Sad. I'd like to think I'd do better if I were doing the hiring, but because of the huge volume of people looking, it's tough. But since you asked, it's pretty lousy. I don't know that I have enough responses to even make an accurate general statement about courtesy or politeness.

8) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?

One with paychecks! That's interesting phrasing. I always thought I had a "career in radio" and sadly I think the question sort of sums it up these days. While I'm looking for a 'career,' 'position' or 'an opportunity,' there seems to be only 'jobs' out there ...and very few of those... though I'm hearing a few rumblings here and there.

9) Do you plan on sticking with the music/radio industry?

I'm beginning to wonder if the music/radio industry is planning on sticking with me? I still have the passion, resume and credentials to get results and generate revenue in any size market but, here I am.

10) Are you spending as much time listening to radio as you used to?

The press releases tell me I am!. Every time I hear someone speak on behalf of a radio group, they promote the many choices I have and I continue to read the 'diversity' and 'more variety' reports ... so it must be true, right?

I love content and I'm still getting content ... probably more than ever before. I just seem to be getting it from other places besides AM, FM or Satellite.

Any books you can recommend to people who need something inspirational to read?

I don't know about inspirational, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book "Down and Dirty Pictures - Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film," which takes a look at the movie industry in the 1990s. Scott Greenstein, who now runs the programming for Sirius XM, had a fairly significant and successful role in the movie industry during this time. He's mentioned throughout the entire book so I checked it out for a little insight into the programming leader of the combined satellite radio company ... wow. Also, I enjoy Mitch Albom. 'Have A Little Faith' is a great read!