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10 Questions with ... LA Lloyd
July 13, 2021
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Austin is the best city I have ever lived regarding music even though it’s changed dramatically since I moved here in 1995. The live music clubs on 6th street are pretty much non-existent but there are still some local venues that survived COVID that have begun booking shows again. Anyone who has visited Austin for SXSW or Austin City Limits Music Festival knows there is music on every corner of the city, and I’m always looking to help break that band by giving exposure on my nationally syndicated show LA Lloyd Rock 30.
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1) What was your first job in radio and early influences?
First job in radio was at WKZQ Myrtle Beach. I was fresh out of college and my first radio gig is at the beach? I was on my way! Early influences were Freakin’ Deacon at WKZQ and John Lisle, who I had the chance to work with as PD at 99.5 KISS in San Antonio 20 years later. From there, WYAV-FM Myrtle Beach SC, KCAQ-FM Oxnard/Ventura/Santa Barbara CA, WROX Norfolk/Virginia Beach VA, KROX Austin TX, Capstar Star System Austin TX, KPEZ-FM Austin TX, KISS San Antonio TX, Austin American Statesman (Newspaper) Austin TX, and KLBJ-FM Austin TX.
2) You’ve been quite a fixture on the Texas Rock radio scene for years. Before we talk about KLBJ, when and how long did you work for the legendary KISS in San Antonio?
Some of the best years of my career were in San Antonio at 99.5 KISS. I was there 2005 -2010. I learned valuable experience from Virgil Thompson who was a great mentor during that era. Also getting to work with one of my biggest on-air influences John Lisle from the Lisle and Hahn Morning show was a bonus. The rock listeners in San Antonio are very loyal to the 99.5 KISS brand. It wasn’t easy convincing those hard-core Spurs fans that a guy named LA Lloyd would fit in. Finally, when they saw me at all the major events with them having a great time, and of course being a Spurs fan, I was welcomed with open arms. Many of these great listeners still stay in touch with me today at my new job with KLBJ.
3) How long have you been programming KLBJ in Austin and what makes this a unique station?
I began working at 93.7 KLBJ-FM January 2013 when it was an Emmis station. Taking on legendary call letters was a little easier this time after working at 99.5 KISS with a heritage morning show being together for decades. KLBJ-FM had the same scenario with a heritage morning show Dudley and Bob with Matt. KLBJ-FM has been a rock station since 1973 with no format change. That says a lot about how well it has been branded as “THE ROCK STATION” for Austin for almost 50 years. The thing that makes KLBJ unique is we have live and local personalities on air from 6am-12mid every day. We talk about what’s happening in Austin and still work the streets with our branding. We are not reinventing the wheel, but we are keeping it updated to compete with whoever comes against us.
4) What is the KLBJ on-air lineup from Mornings to Nights?
- 6am-10am Dudley and Bob with Matt
- 10am-12noon LA Lloyd
- 12noon-3pm B-DOE
- 3pm-6pm “Coyote” with Matt Bearden and Friends.
- 6pm-7pm LA Lloyd (All-request for commute)
- 7pm-12mid Rachel Marisay
5) How much does the Austin music scene influence the music you play on KLBJ?
Austin is the best city I have ever lived regarding music even though it’s changed dramatically since I moved here in 1995. The live music clubs on 6th street are pretty much non-existent but there are still some local venues that survived COVID that have begun booking shows again. Anyone who has visited Austin for SXSW or Austin City Limits Music Festival knows there is music on every corner of the city. As far as a scene, there are a lot of musicians here but with the change of the music industry, I can’t say we have a lot of bands breaking out of Austin. That’s not to say there aren’t great bands and I’m always looking to help break that band by giving exposure on my nationally syndicated show LA Lloyd Rock 30.
6) What's your take on Rock Radio today…either Active or Classic Rock?
I get the best of both worlds here as I program a Classic Rock station and host a national Active Rock countdown. While so many just keep trying to write off rock radio in general, there are still some very successful rock stations getting big ratings and getting huge billing in their respective markets. From a classic rock perspective, fortunately we have the greatest music library to choose from. Finding a way to bridge 40 years of rock and finding the right songs that work for your market and your listeners is the challenge. A PD has to know their audience. If I tried to program KLBJ the same as KISS in San Antonio, I would have found out rather quickly what a mistake that would have been. The great rock radio stations, whether Active or Classic must do research for their audience and the music. Once you have that information, come up with a strategic plan and stick with it. You must give your plan a chance to work. Knee-jerking to a bad monthly will be the demise to any radio station.
7) Now let’s talk about the LA Lloyd Rock 30 Countdown which just celebrated its 21st anniversary this past 4th of July weekend. How did that show originate and how is it doing today?
LA Lloyd’s Rock 30 was first syndicated July 4, 2000 with Dial-Global. The show had been a part of the Capstar Star System stations two years prior to that with the help of Don Cristi (now KMOD Tulsa PD). He came up with a plan to get the same show voice-tracked to several stations via the company’s wide area network. (This was 1998…a little ahead of our time). As time moved on and easier means of getting the show to affiliates, it continued to grow and has been on every week since. The show features a guest co-host who is on for the full three hour show. All of rock’s biggest artists have been on the show in the past 21 years. The show changed to the LA Lloyd Rock Countdown in 2012 after I signed a new deal with June Colbert at Colbert Media Group. Most recently we rebranded back to our original name LA Lloyd Rock 30 after I signed with Compass Media Networks in Los Angeles. Doug Ingold, my rep there, has a great history in rock radio as well as being on the record side. He had a vision to grow the Rock 30 and has done very well as the show nearly has 50 affiliates in North America, Europe and the Caribbean. After doing a new original show every week since the countdown began July 4, 2000, I have built an amazing relationship with the Active Rock bands, their managers and the record labels. It’s nice to walk into an interview and get recognized and called by my name from some of the biggest bands in the business.
8) How much do you use Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter to promote the Countdown show and how much interaction does your national audience have with you?
Regarding interacting with the audience, hosting a national radio show was way more challenging before Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. While we have always had a nationwide call-in line, it was quite difficult to ever take any live calls since the show ran different times on all the stations. Social Media has allowed me more real-time interaction with the audience while offering new ways to branding the show including interview Podcasts as well as a YouTube channel to see those interviews. Also, if you are savvy scheduling your tweets, you can do a lot of this in advance and have something compelling come out just as the show is running in the listeners’ city on their local affiliate. I never lie to the public and make it sound like I am in their city doing the show, but it is as local as any national show can be. Also, the countdown is based on the top 30 spins of the affiliates instead of pulling the numbers from a national chart. This makes it much more inclusive for the stations airing the show.
9) After all of these years doing the Countdown, I’m sure you have many great Rock star stories. Care to share any of them with us?
There are so many but one that really sticks out is when I was interviewing Shinedown, Seether and Flyleaf for the Winterfresh Sno-Core tour 2006. After I wrapped up the interviews, this shy girl walked up to me and introduced herself. She told me her band was the opening act on the tour. I had not heard of them, and she asked me would I mind bringing the band on before they started their set. I agreed and told her I would see them later that evening. When I came back, this shy girl had gotten a little “rocked up”…leather, heavy make-up etc. and I thought “what happened to that shy girl from earlier today?” From the first time I ever mentioned, “Please welcome Halestorm” from that stage, I have been preaching the gospel about Lzzy Hale and the band ever since. They have been great supporters to the LA Lloyd Rock Countdown. I am so proud of their accomplishments including winning a Grammy! I love it when things like that happen to talented people. And if you don’t believe me, check out this link to hear it from Lzzy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
10) Finally, what do you like to do for fun when you’re not in “radio” mode?
I live in Texas so first and foremost, I had to find a way to stay cool because it’s the hottest place I’ve ever lived. We built a backyard oasis with a nice pool, BBQ, lots of green landscaping, outdoor TV and a sweet Bose sound system. I didn’t realize how amazing this would be when we went into lockdown for COVID. I couldn’t go anywhere so we tried to keep l-i-v-i-n as Matthew McConaughey says so eloquently. I took up gardening during COVID and now have a plethora of herbs and veggies growing fresh. I grew up on a farm in North Carolina so I guess you can’t take the country out of the boy. Also, I enjoy tasting new wines and traveling to the Carolina coast to get back closer to where I grew up. I have two daughters so I spend a lot of time cleaning my gun and feeding my Doberman.
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