10 Questions with ... Scott Kaye

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

My first gig was KDLS-A/F in Perry, IA. After working there for a while, I got a gig DJing in a local night club in West Des Moines. There I met a guy who worked at KIOA in Des Moines. He also worked at KDLS and introduced me to PD Steve Mathews. Steve was the guy who really took me under his wing, sat through numerous aircheck sessions I requested and learned the craft of radio. Next gig. KIOA Good Guy!

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

I was at the Iowa State Fair when I was eight years sold and saw one of the radio stations doing a live broadcast. Ended up watching the guy for an hour or so and decided "that's what I want to do!" After that I never really wanted to anything else for a living.

3) How long have you been rocking on KTGL (92.9 The Eagle) and what makes this station so special?

I have been in Lincoln since 2000! Seventeen years. One thing that makes us special is that The Eagle is Southeast Nebraska's heritage Classic Rock station. Nice to have name recognition but heritage doesn't really mean ratings success. That comes with staying on top of what Classic Rock songs matter to listeners "today." I believe in "playing the hits" and researching our titles at least twice a year, too. I enhance the hit songs with deep cuts and lost classics from our core artists and their big albums.

I also make sure my imaging points out those and why they are special. CONTENT - CONTENT - CONTENT is the big one! I keep sweepers and liners simple. Gone are the days of the incessant drops from cartoons. They should talk directly to the listener and not yell at them about how cool you are. Some are fun and a bit goofy as well for entertainment value.

We also produce content. The Ten@10 runs daily at 10a and 10p and is nothing but a content show! Content, keeping jock talk focused on the audiences needs and last but not least, have fun doing it. Specialty weekends I try to do once or twice a month. One example is "Time Warp Weekends." They run twice a year when we spring forward or fall back for daylight savings time. Like at Ten@10 all weekend long! Finally, Classic Rock songs are fun and your jocks should sound like you are having fun playing the greatest music ever recorded.

4) You have the dual role as PD and morning host ("Morning Show That Rocks") on The Eagle. How do you balance your time so both roles are effective?

I hate to say I rely on my 35 years on-air to take care of the radio show but some days you have to. I do however take time every day to prep the show's content. It's easy really to filter out all the stuff your audience doesn't care about when going through your show prep service. Once the show is done it's lunch time and then I spend the afternoon working on the music logs. I take as much time as I need to make sure I craft the next day and watch my song rotations. I do logs only for the next day. The only time I do multiple days is on Thursday when I do Friday through Monday. But I budget my time on Thursday's to accomplish that so my weekends are just as strong as our weekdays.

5) Do you do any special features during your morning show on KTGL?

You mention the morning features in your next question but the morning show is music intensive. My morning partner who also tracks middays, Timmo does local news headlines at the breaks from 6-8a only. There's Basement Tapes, "the boss let's me bring in albums from home every day and play deep cuts, lost classics and forgotten hits." Rock Notes is music news, tour information and such but only from Classic Rock artists. The Ten@10 is 10 songs from a particular year as well as themed shows.

6) I also understand you produce the daily one-hour feature "Ten@10" as well as a feature called "Rock Notes" and "Scott Kaye's Basement Tapes," and then, of course, I heard you do voice work for other stations. How do you make all this work?

With a show prep service and the internet and the fact the classic rock artists are still pretty active even today, content is pretty easy to find. You just have to compile what matters, edit it down, edit down again and then produce it and put it on the radio. I always write and produce the Basement Tapes the day before. Same with Ten@10. Songs are scheduled the day before in the hour and then I get my notes and drops from that particular year (history never changes) and then just do it! It's a matter of time management.

7) Now let's talk about the music on 92.9 The Eagle. There are many ways to program a Classic Rock station today. How is KTGL positioned musically?

We have a strong position. I never stray from playing the hits and doing one thing, and then doing it right. Every listener should know they are listening to a Classic Rock station whether it's 7a or 3a in the morning. I use Mediabase to see what's going on in other markets. You may not have access to their music research but in markets you know research, their playlists more often than not reflect that research. I also try to occasionally pop in a deep cut for variety and a few big classic hits titles to flank the competition.

8) There have been some recent success stories with the Classic Rock format from stations like KFMB (KFM-BFM)/San Diego and the legendary KLOS/Los Angeles. What's your take on the Classic Rock format?

I have believed in the Classic Rock format for many, many years. It's hard for anyone to come up with a name of a rock band that has made real lasting impact on music and radio much after the gunge movement of the early '90s. No can or does make the kind of music we got from bands like Eagles, Aerosmith, Van Halen and the like in the '60s, '70s and '80s. Younger people are coming to format discovering for them new music. Heck, some kids are even getting in vinyl. Again, like the growing popularity of podcasting, it's content that people are looking for. Classic Rock is tailor-made for content radio.

9) One of the programming challenges of the Classic Rock format has always been how do you keep the station sounding fresh and relevant while it's playing Rock music that's sometimes 30 or 40 years old. Your thoughts?

That dovetails right from the above point I made. Doing shows like the Ten@10 as well as specialty weekends repackages that song you've played 6 times this week and presents to listeners in a different way. "Dream On," "Stairway To Heaven," "Sweet Home Alabama" all sound fresh when presented with content wrapped around them. A news clip or a famous commercial jingle wrapped around these songs make them relevant again when doing say a "Time Warp Weekend." Plus, our jocks make a point to stay in "today's world. We talk about new technology, apps and stuff like that on the morning show. We post multiple times daily on Facebook and our website as well as other digital elements to keep up with how listeners consume music. We also have a station app for iPhone and Android and plug the heck out it as a way to get free Classic Rock music.

10) Finally, all this being said about Classic Rock, Congrats on being the #1 overall Radio station 12+ in your market. That's quite an accomplishment. How did you do it?

Simply, with all the elements I touched on above as far as keeping your station relevant amongst the competition. Watch your music rotations. You can still have an image with listeners of "the station that plays everything" while keeping your playlist at a reasonable count and consistently playing the hits/high testing songs. Keep your imaging fresh, fun and easy to listen to. Get your jocks to consistently do what needs to be done like recycling listeners to other dayparts, keeping spot breaks and speed breaks focused and to the point with content your audience cares about. And act like you are having fun! People still like to be entertained, so provide them a channel to always be entertained by. Keep your promotions geared toward your target demographic. We are fortunate enough to offer a cash contest during the book! That, along with event/concert tickets. Those are big on classic rock especially as ticket prices have soared.