10 Questions with ... Grant Random

NAME:Grant Random TITLE:MD/Host 6-M STATIONS:Squizz MARKET:U.S./Canada COMPANY:XM Satellite Radio BORN:Kankakee, IL RAISED:Kankakee, IL

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

WLS/Chicago: 11/95-10/00
WBVS/Joliet-Chicago: 10/98-4/99
Q101/Chicago: 4/99-5/01
XM: 6/01-present

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

While I was in college, I was hired to board op Christmas music for WLS-FM when it was transitioning from Talk to Country music. I was at the controls the day the station flipped to "Kicks Country," which was really cool in a geeky radio kind of way.

I was lucky growing up to be able to listen to Chicago radio, including one of the many incarnations of WLS-FM, Z-95. That was the station that triggered my interest in radio in the first place. The Barsky Show in the morning was larger than life to me, and Alan Kabel was outrageous at night.

I really loved the old AM-1000 (WLUP) and later the FM Loop. The original lineup of Johnny B. mornings, Kevin Matthews middays, and Steve and Garry in the afternoon was a huge inspiration and an example of personality Talk done right.

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

I remember being really upset the day that I learned that Barsky was fired from Z-95. I took my boombox over to a friend's house, plugged it into the wall and smoke came out of the electrical outlet. My boombox was dead. I saw it as a sign that I needed to get into radio, which probably means that I was an incredibly strange kid.

3) How do you feel terrestrial radio competes with the satellite radio and Internet these days?

Can I answer this, being a satellite radio guy? Well, I will anyway. Say what you will about satellite radio, but the satellite side of the industry is making the terrestrial side better. Terrestrial radio had gotten lazy and it needed a kick in the ass when we signed on. I think that satellite radio, along with the Internet and the iPod, have done just that. If you are on the terrestrial side, you are forced to consider other kinds of competition now.

Also, I've never understood why people on the programming side in terrestrial have been so negative about satellite radio. At the end of the day, this is another outlet for programming people to potentially get a job. And when I read All Access, all I see is people getting fired, downsized, etc. I'm reasonably sure that there are people who receive paychecks from XM and Sirius who once said, "Satellite radio sucks," "It's not local," "It will never work," etc., who are now big fans of our side of the industry. It's funny how that works.

At the end of the day, don't hate us. We don't hate you.

4) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?

Remaining relevant. Radio, both terrestrial and satellite, is under attack. Look no further than Slacker, which is reinventing the idea of radio with streams that you can customize. It's a pretty cool concept that may or may not succeed, but it should force those of us working on not-so-customizable channels/stations to think of new ways to present our content.

I also think radio should realize that listeners are more intelligent than we think they are. I don't think it's enough anymore to change the design of the logo, alter the slogan and get a new imaging voice and think that you've "re-launched" the station. All you've done is swap out some of the superficial stuff that many listeners don't even care about.

Another really important challenge to consider is the widening gulf between the types of people who listen to radio and people who do not. You'll always have people who will be happy with AM/FM and others with satellite radio. But then there are those who only listen to their iPods, Internet radio, and still others who get their music from MySpace or music blogs, etc. The people who've left radio are getting farther and farther away.

5) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff?

I've always appreciated Sluggo. I'm glad to see he's back in his rightful place in afternoons at KROQ. I'm a big fan of Whip a.k.a. the Whipping Boy a.k.a. John Wilbur. I have no idea where he is now, but I listened to him online early in my career to try to figure out how to not suck. I also admire James Van Osdol, formerly of Q101, who was intelligent and clever on-air and a great mentor. He taught me to avoid the obvious joke.

Since it seems women never get mentioned when people answer this question, I should also include my friend Madison from Alt Nation on Sirius. She's really annoying, extremely obnoxious and very compelling. She also once tried to make out with me.

6) Besides your own, what is your favorite radio format?

I've always loved the personality talk or "FM Talk" format. While I think this format has often been mishandled (see "Free FM"), I think it's great when done correctly. If you have a lineup of shows that are indistinguishable, chances are the station will suck. I look back to AM-1000 in Chicago, which had three very different, yet compatible shows that created loyal fans who still talk about that station.

7) What's your take on current music? Is it as good as six months ago, better, or about the same?

In the Active Rock world, we should be really excited about new releases this year from Metallica, Slipknot, Disturbed and Mudvayne, along with the reunions of Rage and STP.

At the same time, I yearn for something different. I'm a little concerned that my girlfriend's teenage sister prefers Bob Dylan and The Who over a lot of modern music. A few weeks ago, we had Black Tide do a channel takeover. Those guys are 15-18 years old, and all they played was old school metal. Then you have Guitar Her,o which is presenting older music in an exciting new context. I think it's great that kids are being turned on to the old stuff, but when they prefer the classics over the new stuff, that's a damning statement about current music.

I remember the same thing happening in the late '80s. The cheesy rock and hair bands turned off teenagers and they gravitated toward classic rock. Shortly after that, the '90s arrived and the reset button was hit with the emergence of commercially viable Alternative music. I wouldn't mind seeing the reset button hit again.

8) What is the most rewarding promotion or activity your station has ever been involved with to benefit the community or a charity?

I'm proud that I was part of the "Live 8" and "Live Earth" coverage on XM. A large and talented team of XM people united and provided unprecedented coverage of two important events. I also had a blast being a part of our remote broadcast team from the Bonnaroo festival for a couple years. I was the guy who went out and interviewed the dirty, stoned masses. It was fantastic!

9) If you are voice tracking shifts or syndicating for stations outside of your market, how do you get familiar with that marketplace/community?

Because we have the unique opportunity to broadcast to the U.S. and Canada, that presents a challenge when trying to become familiar with the communities that our listeners live in. Our best education is reading the e-mails and taking the calls from our listeners. I've learned so much just by talking to people. On any given night, I get to talk to people who are hanging out at "Pot Hill" in Maine, running barges down the Mississippi River, or living a real-life version of "The Dukes Of Hazzard" in Georgia. It's absolutely fascinating.

10) As an air talent, how has industry consolidation helped or hurt you? What effect has industry consolidation had on the way you program your station?

Ultimately, I think consolidation helped me because it helped create the conditions in the terrestrial world that gave satellite radio an opening. Even though the idea for satellite radio was already in motion before consolidation happened, the stagnant climate in terrestrial was very helpful in creating demand for XM and Sirius.

As everybody knows, the problem with consolidation is that the opportunities just aren't as prevalent for up-and-coming talent. That's a serious problem. I do credit the industry with taking chances on non-radio people like David Lee Roth, Whoopi and Perez Hilton, but two of those three were failures. I'm not sure that Perez will translate to the radio, either, but I wish him luck.

What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you at a remote?

It wasn't any one thing, but I once did a remote that involved a cheap cell phone with bad reception, a nearly deserted and rundown strip mall, and a clown named Bubbles. I don't think I need to elaborate.

What's the best piece of advice anyone's ever given you?

"For with slight efforts, how should we obtain great results? It is foolish even to desire it." That's a quote from the Greek playwright Euripides that my mother posted on the refrigerator when I was growing up. It didn't have a lot impact when I was young, but I ponder it regularly as an adult.

The worst?

"Join us and discover how rewarding it is to sell vacuum cleaners."

What's the best liner you've ever heard?

When AM-1000 in Chicago shifted Jonathan Brandmeier to afternoons on the FM Loop, it created a hybrid music/talk station for a while. To explain this unorthodox move, the Loop ran a piece that said "97-9 The Loop ... Because We Can!" I always thought that was brilliant.