10 Questions with ... Larry Mac

1) What was your first job in radio and early influences?

My first job was at an AM Daytimer Country Gospel Station in Phoenix. In 1985, I interned at KSTM "The Storm," before getting hired overnights and weekends at KSLX, and then onto KUPD a year after that. My early influences include Curtiss Johnson and Jonathan L.

2) Was there a defining moment that led you to a career in radio and made you realize "this is it?"

When Curtiss Johnson hired me at KUPD. I realized it could be more than just a fun weekend gig to help me get through college.

3) How long have you been rocking on KLPX and what makes this station so special?

I have been the PD for six years, and at the station doing middays nine years now. Time flies! This is a heritage station with a very loyal audience. The people in this city remind us all the time that they were listening to us when we signed on the air back on July 4th, 1979. I have a great staff with The Frank Show in the Morning, Beth Simmons in the afternoon, Alice Cooper at night, and Razor overnights. Plus, I have an incredible weekend staff. For the most part, we are live and local 24/7, except for Alice, but he does a lot of stuff for us since he is an Arizona resident, and we are one of his original affiliates.

4) You have the dual role as PD and Midday host on KLPX, not to mention your OM/PD duties with Alternative sister station KFMA. How do you balance your time so all these roles are effective?

Lots of long days and lots of hard work (and a home office helps)! Plus a passion for both stations! I have an incredible APD for both stations with Razor, and a fantastic GM (Ken Kwilosz), who gives us the tools we need to succeed. I love this job, these radio stations and this city. I have been a fan of both stations prior to even working here, as I could catch KLPX in Phoenix when I lived there, and would listen to KFMA when I visited the city prior to ever living here. In this day and age, wearing multiple hats seems to be the norm when I talk to my friends in similar positions in other markets across the country.

5) Do you do any special music features during your midday show on KLPX?

I do a show called the "Larry Mac Music Grill" – Classic Rock in 3 Courses." Every day at noon, depending on the day I could be doing from one to three musical themes during the hour, and giving away a prize in the To-Go Box at the end of the hour. It’s a fun break; I get to throw in deeper cuts, highlights artists or themes, and play the Last Letter Game on Wednesdays. Different every day! A lot of fun!

6) Now let’s talk about the music on KLPX. Many Classic Rock stations have evolved into playing harder rock and ‘90s titles. How is KLPX positioned musically and what’s your take on the Classic Rock format today?

We have been there for the past six years. Our core artists are AC/DC, Van Halen, Zeppelin, Floyd, Rush and now Metallica is creeping into the format. We play very little Beatles and tunes from the ‘60s now. The Tucson audience has told us they want to rock, so we do! We have also started sliding in some early ‘90s acts like Nirvana, Green Day, Chili Peppers as well.

7) One of the programming challenges of the Classic Rock format has always been how to keep the station sounding fresh and relevant while it’s playing Rock music that’s sometimes 30 or 40 years old. What have you done to keep KLPX sounding relevant as we head into 2017?

We have given the station a new "paint job" with a new voiceover person in the last few months to give it a fresh feel. Another thing we have that keeps it that way is good full-time and part-time on-air staff who keep their breaks fresh and local. We are also always looking at what songs can now be considered "classic," and what songs need to be rested. We look for tunes that suddenly become cool again because of a TV show, film, commercial or even video game. We do a lot of special weekends to keep it fresh. We also do some special weekend programming such as Saturday Night Loud, our ‘80s headbanger show that we run along with House Of Hair and theme weekends! We also program a HD Sub channel (96.1 HD-2) called Deep Cuts, which highlights those deep Classic Rock tunes you don’t hear anymore from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Lots of long tunes. We also use the HD station to remember an artist who passed away. Last year we turned it into Glenn Frey and David Bowie radio after they passed. We also run a lot of locally produced specials on Deep Cuts hosted by our jocks highlighting specific artists.

8) Let’s talk briefly about sister station KFMA. It’s been an Alternative station for years and yet the station is positioned as Rock 102.1. How would you describe the music on KFMA?

It is an Active leaning Alternative station. Tucson does like to rock, but also likes its Alternative. Our heritage is as an Alternative station, and as the Alternative format morphs, we do too, but we still want to hold on to the Gold library that is so much part of our past. So some of the newer Alt stuff doesn’t fit or test well in the Tucson landscape. We will play the pure Alternative pop stuff on the HD Sub channel, KFMA-2: Pure Alt. (96.1 HD-3)

9) Are there any shared artists, if any, with KFMA and KLPX?

Yes. Metallica, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, among others.

10) Finally, with all of the radio roles you have, what do you like to do for fun and relaxation when you’re not in "work" mode?

That’s an easy answer. Spend time with my family (wife and two little girls), and I love to hike!