10 Questions with ... Jave Patterson

1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?

I was an intern at KISS, working in Promotions and shadowing on-air talent as often as possible. I learned a lot from (then PD) Tim Parker, promotions folks Richard Smith and Dave Madiol and jocks like the late Joe Anthony 'The Godfather,' Debbie Alcocer and Tom Scheppke. I always admired John Lisle and Steve Hahn for their ability to be on-air talents that never sounded like "DJs" and rather, like normal people with warped senses of humor. Virgil Thompson and Kevin Vargas were instrumental in my development as both a programmer and talent for their ability to be both conservative and visionary in their musical decisions. Virgil instilled in me the ability to be conversational on the air and not overthink things while Kevin taught me how to be descriptive in writing, planning and delivery.

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

Very early on (age 8 to 14), I would ride my bike to the KKYX (Country) AM transmitter site about five miles from my home as the towers always fascinated me. I'd hang out, watch what the personalities were doing and get autographs. In elementary and middle school, I'd have friends from the neighborhood come over and record 'mock' newscasts and radio bits.

During high school, I was trying to find a way to get my band some exposure via radio, so that led me to become friends with many of the on-air personalities at the mighty KISS. Before graduation, I considered moving to Denton, TX to attend the Univ. of North Texas and study Jazz, but decided to spend a few years closer to home and get some prerequisites done on the cheap. By the end of my degree program, I was working full-time at the station making far more than I was by being a "starving artist" schlepping tunes!

3) I know you cut your teeth in Rock radio at the legendary KISS/San Antonio. What was your role there and how did that experience prepare you for a future in Rock programming?

I started out cleaning promotions' prize closets and left as the Imaging Director and night host. I was very fortunate to be in on the ground floor to watch a master (Virgil) rebuild a 20-year brand song by song, imager by imager, jock by jock. Also, Kevin Vargas was/is a master talent coach. He really helped me by teaching the "art of the tease", "descriptive image copy writing" and the "anatomy of a great break". Those experiences were invaluable as it helped immensely when I traveled to KFMW in Waterloo and had to re-build that station brick by brick and work with some amazingly talented programming/on-air folks like Libby Carstensen, Michael Cross and Mike Murray, whom I hired to do mornings with me here in Reno and is now our General Manager.

4) You spent 15 years in Reno working for Lotus programming Active Rock KDOT and Classic Rock KOZZ, before you headed to Lubbock, TX as OM back in 2014. How was that experience for you?

The move was inspired by many factors, including the desire to 'raise the bar' (as Virgil would say, '...you are either raising the bar or lowering it...') and learn a new skill set. Townsquare Media has one of the best digital strategies in all of media. As the almighty ad dollar continues to move toward more non-traditional media forms, digital plays a huge part in that. It was a very calculated, risky move but one that was necessary for me to grow as a talent and have value to an employer in a technologically advanced marketing world. The move also offered me the ability to program different formats from my historical rockwheel house -- Country, Top 40 and Oldies. Overall, it was a very good learning experience with a focus on digital.

5) How long ago did you return to initially do mornings in Reno for KOZZ, and now that you're back as the OM in Reno, it must feel like you're home again. How has this "second" time around been for you in Reno?

I returned to Reno to take on a brand new challenge as a solo morning show host for a heritage brand in KOZZ. While the morning show numbers were some of the best in the last several years for the station, upper management saw more value in me as the OM than strictly morning show host and really wanted me in the building post-1p, when a lot of our sales staff is back and going over ideas for their clients. This second round has been great. We are now in a state-of-the-art facility with a healthy, mostly veteran staff, so in that regard it was very much like a family reunion that just keeps going.

Also, Lotus believes in the power of 'touch marketing' over traditional radio marketing vehicles such as billboards or expensive television campaigns, so we put that money into providing jobs for the local market with a talented on-site remote department. We excel at being the most visible radio properties (according to perceptual research) in the market despite not having a single billboard up in well over a decade.

6) Let's talk about KOZZ. It's a legendary set of calls in Reno and has been rocking that market for years. How is "Reno's Classic Rock Station" doing in the market led by Tina Smash in mornings and Max Volume in afternoons?

Tina Smash is a true pro in every sense of the word. While she is fun, authentic and flirty on the air, behind the scenes she is one of our many staffers always ready to lend a hand or get involved in the next big brainstorming project. Being a tatted-up rock chick who can excel at both silks in the gym and beers at the bar, the blue-collar mentality of the Reno Classic Rock audience has received her very well. On-site, she is just about the most approachable talent we've got. Tina has been with us for the last year, and I'm sad to say that she is leaving the station on Friday June 14th as her husband Ryan is starting a great new job back east. She's done a great job and will be hard to replace, but we're looking for the next Rock Star in mornings on KOZZ.

Max is a Reno legend and part of the fabric of the community. With his legacy, it is common to see Max 'holding court' where ever he goes and continues to be quite active in the 'live music' community. Max rarely misses an opportunity to see one of his old friends in the Classic Rock genre and continues to go and see the upcoming artists that KDOT embraces. Max also does quite a bit of community-centric outreach, often speaking at local schools, fundraising banquets and local government initiatives. I hear he's known our mayor Hillary Schieve since she was like three or something!

7) Now let's talk about KDOT. With the iconic Rob, Anybody and Dawn in mornings and you in the afternoon, how is "The Dot" doing in the market?

KDOT has been a dominant force in Reno since the station launched back in '96 or so (aside from that time that I killed the morning show and took over mornings for a year-and-a half of pure hell). Rob, Anybody and Dawn are easily the most listened-to show in the marketplace survey after survey in virtually every demo.

In the Fall of 2018 KDOT overall came in #1 P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54, driven largely by the strength of Rob, Anybody and Dawn in the morning. In my first book back as afternoon host on KDOT, we went from 7.1-10.6 P18-34, 6.3-7 P18-49 and 6.1-6.2 P25-54. Fall to Fall, the 3-7p daypart went from 8.7-9.8 M18-49 and 7.1-9.0 M25-54, so there is some solid growth there!

8) I know you have always had strong music opinions so here goes. What's your take on current Active Rock music and the Rock format as a whole?

The format can often be depressing, with songs subject matter tending to revolve around suicide, opiate/addictions and fallen warriors. Just look at the big hits this year: The Glorious Sons 'S.O.S.', 5FDP 'When The Seasons Change,' Badflower 'Ghost.' Disturbed 'A Reason To Fight,' and currently Asking Alexandria 'Vultures,' I Prevail 'Breaking Down' and Bad Wolves 'Remember When' to name a few. While I really love the retro sound of Greta Van Fleet, I'm concerned that they got so big, so fast that the audience may be turning a bit on them, or at least getting burned out a bit. That said, The Rival Sons, the return of The Black Keys with a brilliant crossover smash and the new Glorious Sons track show that this sub-genre of throwback rock is alive and kicking.

There appears to be a wave of artists making their own trails by mixing flavors of metal, EDM and pop bubbling under. Acts like Don Broco are drawing massive crowds in the U.K. and Bring Me The Horizon has evolved their sound from Death-core to Metal-core to this interesting new blend of accessible rock as well. If you dig a bit, you'll find a multitude of artists that appear to be following this underground trend, both in the U.K. and now in the U.S. Remember The Monsters (Arizona band), Sink In (L.A.) and Sleep Token (U.K.) are just a few of the bands that immediately come to mind and worth a very close listen! Having recently heard the 'official' new Volbeat single, perhaps others are noticing this shift to big, melodic hooks with amazing musicianship (the Volbeat track will take them to the next level!)?

Frankly, I'm excited for the depth of texture that currently exists in Active Rock and encouraged by what is on the horizon for the format as a whole.

9) Give us three new Rock bands or artists to watch for in the next few years?

Aside from the above, and aside from bands like The Highly Suspect, who are poised to really break through but are fairly well established in their own right, I'm finding Dinosaur Pile Up to be interesting and catchy. Mike Jakubow's Bones U.K. is stunningly good live and just need the right song (BTW, do NOT go drinking with those girls!). Audrey Horne has a throwback metal sound reminiscent of Armored Saint. Black Coffee is also an impressive three-piece band. John Garcia has a Danko Jones vibe in their song 'Jim's Whiskers.' Jinjer is a 'must see' if only because of the schizophrenia that exists in the singer's vocal range!

10) Okay ... finally ... like yours truly, I know you love a good cigar and a few years back starting producing a Video/Podcast (Two Doods Reviews) with your partner Andy, covering a wealth of topics including cigars, wine and spirits, food and especially music. Care to elaborate?

This venture started as a hobby with the two of us saying, 'Hey, if we are spending good money on expensive wine, let's see if we can write off our purchases, video review the juice and call it a business expense!' That's how Two Doods Reviews came to be (Two Dudes was taken).

In all seriousness, we both approached it with the mindset of reviewing stuff for fun when we want. If it becomes work, we'll stop. At the time, I had a close childhood friend who became a doctor, then closed his practice to focus on making YouTube videos full-time. He's now a YT millionaire! Through our discussions, he urged me to become a video creator due to my access to music and opinionated views on everything from food to spirits. While we started just doing cigar and wine review videos; we quickly branched out to review literally everything!

Three years later, our channel has over 1,000 subscribers and 2,814,000 viewed minutes of content, 621,000 total video views and 192 videos produced! We try to stay somewhat active on Twitter and Instagram, but our main vehicle continues to be Facebook. About a year ago, we started the Two Doods Podcast and we've got more than 2,500 downloads there too. Not too shabby for a fun hobby! The main portal to find our stuff is via the website www.twodoodsreviews.com