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10 Questions with ... Nik Carter
August 21, 2012
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1. What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
I had an odd trajectory, my first actual radio JOB was in high school for PBS. I was a kid reporter for a national children's program called "The Spider's Web." I remember being 14 and interviewing Wynton Marsalis about Charlie Parker and not really FULLY comprehending exactly who either of them were in historical context. My first on-air position as a jock was at WFNX Boston (RIP), and I did the traditional climb up the ranks from part-time, to full-time overnights, nights, and finally middays. Boston in the late '70s and the '80s in particular was a bastion of personality radio.
Charles Laquidara on WBCN was a HUGE influence on me; his morning show "The Big Mattress" was music, comedy, social commentary -- the likes of which the world will not see again. The Late J.J Jackson was a mentor of mine, and an enormous influence. Sunny Joe White was a LUNATIC showman who programmed probably the most ambitious Top 40 in history. Kiss 108 played everything from Madonna to the Sisters of Mercy; it was unreal to listen to. Jojo "Cookin" Kincaid was another stellar jock there who made an impression on me: that radio was the soundtrack to the party, even if it was a party just for one. Jed the Fish was a huge influence ... and Greg Thunder... The latter two I borrowed from liberally when I was first starting out and had not yet found a way to channel my own personality on air.
2. What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment that made you realize "this is it"?
I was always a music dork. The way guys my age knew sports stats, I knew music: who produced which album, who was in which band, etc. I studied acting at NYU and while I always thought that would be my calling, when I was almost thrown out of the drama program because I had cut class so much to hang out at WNYU the radio station ... that seemed to be the fairly clear "this is it" scenario.
3. What makes "On Tap with VH1, presented by VH1 Classic" unique? How does this compare to other network shows you've hosted?
The VH1 and MTV brands have been at the center of musical and cultural happenings forever! The vaults are filled with once-in-a-lifetime performances from the "Video Music Awards," "Unplugged," "Behind the Music" segments,and "Storytellers," to interviews with virtually anyone who has ever picked up a guitar or held a microphone - and they have given me access to ALL OF IT. IT'S NUTS!
Things I remember sitting home watching in awe: Axl Rose and Tom Petty doing "Free Fallin" at the 1989 VMA's, interview segments from "Behind the Music" etc. NO OTHER SHOW will have access to that sort of thing. Probably most importantly, the show (unlike this interview) is very PPM-centric because it's hosted by a radio person. I've been on air in NYC since PPM got to the market and I get the importance of operating in a PPM-friendly manner. I also think it is a slightly younger approach to the format in that the show sounds kind of big; we like to think it jumps out of your speakers, or at least that is the goal. I've listened to shows that we are essentially in competition with and what I've heard always sounds so canned. Once the novelty of "Hey, there's a rock star on the station" wears off, I would think you would want a well-structured show.
4. Who is your favorite air personality?
Being the radio dork that I am, I can't pick just one. "Broadway" Bill Lee on WCBS New York is an ARTIST; I nearly went broke when I was young buying tapes of him from California Aircheck. He's also unbelievably generous of spirit. Maria Milito at WAXQ NYC is the epitome of the solid classic rock radio entertainer, so much more than a "DJ" -- an entertainer. "Sluggo" KROQ Los Angeles is one of the last true "alternative" personalities whose breaks make me shake my head and laugh like a mental patient. Kat Corbett at KROQ Los Angeles I've known since she was an intern at WFNX, now she's an Alternative legend. I have never heard her do a bad break, not one.
5. If you were just starting out in radio, knowing now what you didn't know then, would you still do it?
Yes I would; however I don't know exactly HOW I would get into radio. Budgets have been slashed so much that some stations no longer have jocks on weekends, and when most have been without a live overnighter, there is no place for young jocks to cut their teeth. I honestly wonder where management thinks the next generation of air personalities will come from.
6. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Personality always wins, even in the PPM era.
7. Why do you think Classic Rock is so exciting and relevant to younger demos as well as baby boomers?
The easy answer for its relevance to younger demos is exposure through games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. But I've asked my interns at most stations I've been at because I was surprised to see how many were into Classic Rock. These are kids in their early 20s and even younger, and a lot of it comes from exposure to it by their parents who listen at home, or a lot of times in the car on long road trips, etc. They discover it that way, and can often hear the lineage between what Zeppelin and Hendrix were doing decades ago and what bands like the Black Keys, Foo Fighters, etc. happen to be doing today.
Kids also live for what they perceive as authenticity; they recognize the substantive and in a world where people can put Pro Tools on a cheap laptop, make a song in their bedroom and get a million views on YouTube, they recognize the effort it took to actually write and record songs and be an artist back in the day. Plus so many of the songs of that era, even if they're just about partying, have an undercurrent of "F the man," a message that will always resonate with what I like to call the angry suburban youth.
8. Favorite artist you have met?
Steven Tyler: modest, hilarious, self-deprecating; he really still is a hippie who happens to be a rock god, but still so gracious and thoughtful.
David Bowie: I think the first and only time that I met someone famous where I had little composure and became an idiot fan boy.
9. What is a typical day like in your position?
I'm kind of in a perpetual state of prep because from the minute I get up in the morning: I'm constantly looking at everything from music news sites, to TMZ, to ESPN, Deadline Hollywood, to CNN, apart from the job, just out of my own interest. If I succeed in navigating the sea of tourists in Times Square without committing murder in the process, I get to VH1 and meet with my producer Pam Landry and my engineer Ed Robinson to discuss and lay out the show based on what's going on that particular day, what's happened on that day in history. We decide which interview clips we're going to use, which exclusive songs from the MTV or VH1 vaults. Both Pam and Ed are on air in the NYC area themselves, so they both think in terms of what makes a show stand out -- not to mention that they are even bigger music dorks than I am. We sometimes sit and argue about music and I think "This is like the comic con of rock ... we're hopeless." Once we're prepped, Ed makes an obligatory comment about how great the band Rush is and we do the show.
10. Why should a program director carry your show?
Not to be a total "company man" but VH1 and MTV are 500-pound industry gorillas with this motherlode of content, four decades' worth of archival material from mind-blowing musical performances to interviews with people who are either inaccessible for one reason or another or simply won't talk to radio anymore.
We want this to be the kind of show that Classic Rock PDs would air themselves if they had the money, time, and people to do it. It's funny ... in a time where PDs are juggling a billion things with ever-shrinking budgets ... sadly I know of some pretty big stations these days that have had to cut back on their night shows entirely. In addition to taking an entire daypart off your hands, we'll have lots of exclusive content on the "On Tap" website and our social media pages which will include audio, photos, video and more! I think the biggest thing is this: Every station I have been at for the past 10 years or so has been desperate for marketing support or materials when there's no money in the budget for it! So this is big: Our affiliates' call letters will be featured on VH1 Classic, which is right in line with your station's demo. VH1 Classic is currently in over 61 million households -- that is a lot of eyeballs. To be honest, even I'm a little freaked out by that number! The music is as solid as it gets -- you're never going to tune in and think, "WTF is this going on my air?" Finally you're getting a little bit of personality in ratings-friendly chunks. We're not arrogant enough to think that we're reinventing the Classic Rock format, but we're definitely going to give it a kick in the hind quarters!
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