10 Questions with ... Tina Smash

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

There was a defining moment for me. I was at a local club back home hanging with my girlfriends and one of the local DJs (I won't say who because he's still in radio and syndicated now) was doing a live broadcast. I watched him all night and couldn't believe he was getting paid to do this! He must of thought I was watching him because I liked him or something. He ended up asking me out and I thought ... why not? It'll give me a chance to pick his brain about radio. The date was not good but I did get a tour of the station and that night I went home and Googled "broadcasting schools," and here I am. So I guess a really bad date got me into radio ... LOL!

2) Can you give us your basic radio background with call letters and positions before you took on this new morning gig with KOZZ?

• WNCD - middays/afternoons,
• WAKZ-nights
• WRQR - middays/PD;
• WAZO-mornings
• WXQR-afternoons/mornings-PD

3) Now let's talk about KOZZ. You've done mornings before and are coming in to replace Jave Patterson who had been doing mornings for KOZZ the past couple years. How has that transition been for you?

The transitions has been very smooth. Jave and I did the show together for two weeks to let the listeners know that Jave wasn't getting canned or anything and that I was taking over. They have embraced me with open arms ... so far.

4) You're also doing mornings in the same Lotus Radio cluster group with Active Rock KDOT, who have morning monsters Rob, Anybody & Dawn syndicating from Sacramento. How would you describe the type of "Locals Only" morning show you'll be doing compared to RAD and the other morning shows in the market?

RAD is a monster show, which has been around for a long time with a solid, loyal audience. If they (the RAD listeners) even tune in for a half of a second to my show, I would be happy. Their show is all talk; mine is all music. So, it really is going to be the choice of the listener, music or talk in the morning? I love that we, Lotus Radio Corp., have two incredible Rock stations to listen to in this market.

5) You've had a successful run programming Active Rock stations in the past. Now that you're working on a Classic Rock station, what's your take on the Classic Rock format as a whole?

I love Classic Rock; that's where I got my feet wet! Back to my roots! Classic Rock is just that ... "classic." It's hit after hit. I find myself singing along to so many of the tunes.

6) Reno is an interesting market because of the entertainment that is always performing at the casinos. It's like Las Vegas on a smaller scale. How do you plan to tap into all that music and comedy talent coming to your market on a weekly basis?

Very carefully ... LOL. It's a good problem to have, if I was in my 20s and didn't need sleep to function, I would be out every night. But alas, I am not. I will catch a late-night show once a week; that's my limit! I can't handle more then that. Weekends are wide open! There is so much to do here and I am loving every second of it.

7) Reno is also an awesome area for the outdoors with Lake Tahoe just down the road. How do you plan to take advantage of the winter and summer sporting activities in the area?

I have already taken advantage of Lake Tahoe. What a beautiful place. We have already rafted down the Truckee River, toured the town and I plan on skiing when the season comes around. I was told not to snowboard; that is for knuckle draggers ?? (Thank Jave for that one)

8) How interactive is KOZZ and your morning show with its audience via your web site or social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?

We are very active on website/Facebook. KOZZ doesn't have Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat. I'm going to look into those social platforms to see if they make sense for our station. I use Instagram and Snap; I'm sure a majority of our listeners do, too.

9) Outside of KOZZ, you are also involved with Kilpop Radio. What can you tell us about this weekly radio show?

Kilpop Radio is special, and I don't mean helmet special ... although sometimes I question that. ?? It's a two-hour show filled with new music -- and I mean all-new music. I really enjoy programming it. It's a specialty show that stations can run on a Friday night, Saturday or Sunday morning, or whenever ... it has features like the Kilpop minute that talks about the 411 in music news, a feature artist of the week, stage left (artist interviews) and one of the most talented, frickin' hilarious hosts I have ever met. His name is Gooch; I call him A-hole a lot. He answers to pretty much anything. No seriously, this dude is great. He is the afternoon guy on KOMP/Vegas and he is also a stand-up comedian. Everyone should get to know him.

10) Finally, I'm assuming that Smash isn't your real last name. What's the origin of that handle?

Doesn't Smash sound Italian enough? Ha! The name came from a baby band that came to the studio;, they were opening up for a national act that night and I let them come play radio with me that afternoon before the show. They were so grateful for giving them some airplay. They announced on stage that night that I was part of the "Atom Smash" family ... hence, Tina Smash ... it just stuck! Thanks mostly to Wes Styles, who was PD at the time. He took it and ran with it! Besides, it's a lot easier to spell then Eduardo!