10 Questions with ... Mick Lee

NAME:Mick Lee POSITION:APD Afternoons/Imaging Director STATION:KKRZ Z100 MARKET:Portland, OR OWNER:Clear Channel

Please outline your radio career so far:

WYJB (AC)/Albany, NY (9/01-9/04) board-op, weekends.
WFLY/Albany, NY (3/02-9/04) weekends/swing, overnights.
WKKF/Albany, NY (9/04-8/06) nights, APD.
WIHT/Washington, D.C. (Reeeaal short visit 8/06-9/06) afternoons, APD.
WFLY/Albany, NY (10/06-5/07) afternoons, Imaging Director.
KKRZ/Portland, OR (5/07-present) afternoons, APD, Imaging Director.

1) How would you describe your first radio gig?

My neighbor was in a local rap/singing group. They did a lot of stuff with FLY92. I worked at a music store. When they put out a CD, I joked with him I'd get people to buy his CD if he got me an interview at FLY. He did, and Mike Morgan (FLY's OM at the time) hired me a week after I graduated from high school to board-op Casey's Top 20 on the company's Soft Rock station. Later, I started doing a Saturday show on sister FLY and a Sunday show on Soft Rock B95.5. It was awesome doing both formats, but I didn't really pick up my energy on-air until I let the Soft Rock go and went full-force into Top 40. I still miss playing Billy Joel, though!

2) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?

Oh, yeah ... afternoons, APD, Imaging Director and anything else that is thrown my way. The days can get very long, but the weekends do come quick because I'm having fun. It keeps me busy and it's preparing me for a role as a PD!

3) What is your favorite part of the job?

Two things...

First, obviously, entertaining the listener. Where else can you make a one-on-one impact with thousands of people at one time? Nothing beats making a person laugh, or saying something that makes a person yell at you through the radio. Either response pays off in the end.

Second, the people in this industry! I have learned so much from so many different people over the years. Brian Bridgman, Rob Dawes, Jeff Kapugi, John Foxx, Terry O'Donnell, JB Wilde (there's plenty more) ... I've taken a bit of insight and programming style from each of them. I don't think like a DJ anymore when I'm on the air. I think like a programmer and that makes a world of difference. Plus, radio people are so much fun!

4) What is the most challenging part of the job?

This may sound bad, but probably being creative every single day. Luckily we've got a great team here that works together to be creative, so if one of us is slacking, we've got each other's backs.

5) If you could add one full-time position to your budget right now, what would it be?

OVERNIGHTS! Seriously ... I learned how to be a good jock doing those mid-6a shifts once a week. No PD wants to put a rookie on at 2 in the afternoon on a Saturday. Jocks become real jocks by doing shows and if there aren't those special shifts available, there's no room for them to grow.

6) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff and why?

Brian Cody, mornings/APD at FLY92.3 in Albany. The guy IS the best jock in Albany and one of the best in the country. He is the king of compelling radio ... doesn't matter the content or how long the break is, he keeps the listener engaged. Massive TSL!

7) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?

Like everyone says, where else can you play music every day and get paid for it? As long as I continue to walk out of the building every day with a smile on my face (and a paycheck in my hand), I know radio is what I should be doing.

8) What music do you listen to when you're not working?

"Lot's of stiffs." ...at least that's what my PD says I have on my iPod.

9) What advice you would give people new to the business?

That's a weird question for me to answer. I still feel new to the business sometimes. My friend, Joe Rosati at Z100 in NY, once told me, "Keep your ears open and your mouth shut." Best advice I've ever heard ... learn as much as you can, take it all in. Let your PD and APD know they can count on you for anything, and you will be successful.

10) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

If you say f**k or s**t on the radio, chances are, you're gonna get fired.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Well, I thought about being a history teacher. I am a true dork at heart and can't get enough of the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, etc. But honestly, radio was always what I wanted to do and I think this career is much more exciting than teaching kids about the Great Wall of China or something like that, right?