10 Questions with ... Roxy Myzal

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• 1975: Director of the Boston Record Pool/Boston, MA
• 1977: MD, WXLO-99X NYC (Most listened-to FM station in the nation,n 1977! I brought disco to a Top 40 station ... in NYC in the '70s; it worked like a charm!)
• 1979-80: Dir./Disco Radio Promo Atlantic Records/NYC
• 1980: National Dir./Album Promo Chrysalis Records/NYC
• 1981: Dir./Affiliate Marketing, Rolling Stone/NYC (Rolling Stone Magazine's "Continuous History of Rock & Roll" 365 AOR stations! Jann Wenner wanted a radio network, then sold it to ABC)
• 1981-1985: Dir./Affiliate Relations, DIR Broadcasting/NYC
• 1985-1987: MD/on-air personality, V66, WVJV-TV /Boston (24-hr. music video station ... too ahead of it's time, sadly)
• 1987: Dir./Affiliate Relations, MCA Radio Network/LA (Robert Kardashian was my boss! Irving Azoff thought it was a good idea to start a radio network at a label. Oh well ... but I got to work with KROQ PD Rick Carroll and MD Larry Groves, so that was cool)
• 1988-1994: Exec. Producer, Mark Freedman Productions/music video production/LA-NY
• 1994-1997: Producer/SW Networks/NY (nice experiment to have Sony & Warner pay for a state-of-the-art radio network ... it tanked, but actually, I really thought it was ahead of it's time, especially with our online product and my show, hardDrive, which began in 1996 after spending 1.5 years as a metal show, Pure Concrete. I am proud to say it is the only radio show that was developed at the network that is still on the air!)
• 1997-2001: Producer/hardDrive MediaAmerica Radio Networks/NY
• 2001-present: Sr Producer/Rock Programming-hardDrive/hardDrive XL-United Stations Radio Network/NYC

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

Music Director of 99X, a station where we played Chic and Van Halen, Meatloaf and The Tramps. That was in 1976 when you could do that here in NYC. We became the most-listened-to FM station in the nation with a 1.35 million cume! My early influences: The Beatles, Stones, Led Zep. Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Beethoven. Miles Davism Patsy Cline....

2) What makes your show unique?

hardDrive with Lou Brutus has become synonymous with new music. No matter where I have worked, I always tried to find the new artists first and get them to talk about themselves on the air. Our credo: "Think like a fan." We pride ourselves on getting listeners the biggest artists and getting the most out of them. Our relationships with bands are unparalleled. Both Lou and I work really hard at keeping those relationships. Plus, we love what we do and I hope it shows. I know our listeners appreciate us!

3) How is the relationship between programmer and record label changing ... for better or worse?

I don't envy the label folks. It's getting harder and harder to get new acts played. Too many programmers have lost the passion for music.

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

Competition that includes so many outside players (starting with the iPod). Did you see the Bedroom Project Jacobs Media did? We need to hard work to make radio compelling again! Make the listeners out there WANT to make us their first stop every day -- at home, in their cars and wherever they are! So many stations don't front or back-sell music! It's so important! Give out some info on the bands. We need to bring it back to basics. Engage and entertain! Don't sound like a jukebox! Bring back personalities!

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

There are too many bands out there -- too many and not enough of them are good. Now with more people D.I.Y.-ing it, it just opens the door to more mediocrity. Having said that, I am so happy for bands who've been struggling for years and are finally seeing some success, such as Drowning Pool, Nonpoint and Sevendust. And I am excited about all the new music from some of our core bands that is all coming out this summer: Korn, Stone Temple Pilots, Godsmack, Disturbed. It's an exciting time, especially if you are a fan.

6) What's the best concert you've been to so far this year and why?

Hmmmm ... good question. I like small club shows. This week I saw Limp Bizkit in a 600-capacity venue and they killed it! Korn will be at Roseland in NYC on Monday night. I was really impressed with Breaking Benjamin's show at the Prudential Ctr. (with Three Days Grace and Flyleaf). They really surprised me with their showmanship, use of video screens and killer light show. (Best show of all time: Pink Floyd at Yankee Stadium, forgot the year. Sometime in the early '80s, I think.)

7) Tell us what music we would find on your car or home CD player (or turntable) right now ... and what is it you enjoy about that particular selection?

I never get to listen to anything I want to at home or in my car because my boyfriend Dwight commandeers everything! He just came back from the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, so he put together some songs of the era. So that's what is in there now, but I like new Drowning Pool album! Not a bad song on it!

8) How often do you do remotes and which work best for the station?

This year, Lou will be hosting special editions of hardDrive backstage at Rock on the Range, RockStar Mayhem, Rockstar Uproar and WJJO's Band Camp. We like the listeners to have the feeling they are accompanying Lou backstage to get a glimpse at what the big tours are all about.

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

On both hardDrive and The XL, we make sure to always mention call letters, slogans and towns. Lou does his homework and we provide stations with local ID drop tracked by Lou. Plus he does localized ins and out of spots. Reads local promos and travels to station events. Whether it's to talk about a band on tour or play listener requests, we always make it a part of what we do. We get a lot of interaction with listeners from all over the country (e-mail, phone calls, text messages) and it's a priority that even though we aren't in your studio, we make the listener FEEL like we are! Heck, we even have listeners all over the world who write in! It's great! And we also seem to know the names of hundreds of correctional facilities as well!)

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?

It has helped syndication. With everyone cutting back, we hope more people will look at hardDrive XL. Lou Brutus is an amazing and creative talent, and we are a solid product that gets great ratings wherever it airs. hardDrive XL on WJJO/Madison just had a 25.6 share Men 18-34 for a #1 rank. #1 Men 18-49; #1 Persons 18-49; #1 Persons 18-34 and #3 Men 25-54 There are other stations where we are get similar results, too. It's nice to be #1,

What was the first song or full-length release you purchased?

Beatles "She Loves You" 45, when you could actually take the vinyl, go into a booth, play it, and then decide if you wanted to buy it!

What's been your biggest disappointment in rRadio today?

That really great PDs aren't able to do what they'd like to do or can't get back at a good station.

What do you like best about working in this format?

The people. We are quite a bunch of characters, aren't we?

What do you like best about your job? The least?

Most: When an affiliate gets a great book and says we helped! Least: The hours

What do you do with a song you don't like?

I am honest with everyone. If there's a song I don't think is right, I let them know. I am not always right. Sometimes I've missed some pretty big songs that I just didn't get a feeling about.