10 Questions with ... Romeo

NAME:Romeo POSITION:MD/nights STATION:Z100 MARKET:New York OWNER:Clear Channel

Please outline your radio career so far:

2002-present WHTZ/New York, MD/Nights
2000-2002 WKQI/Detroit, APD/Nights
1998-2000 KUUU/Salt Lake City, Middays
1997-1998 WQZQ/Nashville, Weekend/Swing
1996-1997 WRKT-WRTS/Erie, Weekend/Swing
1994-1996 WKVE-WXVE/St. Marys, PA-Johnstown, PA, APD/Mornings
1993-1994 WKYN St. Marys, PA, Overnights

1) MD/nights at Z100 ... nice gig, at least on the surface. What's the most challenging part of your job?

Keeping up with all the phone calls. Aside from seeing approximately 30 labels a week in person, the calls can sometimes be double, or triple that amount. We treat every music submission with the same courtesy whether they are on mom-and-pop records or Interscope. It may take me a few days, but I will return your call! I'd like to give a shout-out to our new afternoon fool JJ, who calls me in my office everyday at 5:57pm to let me know I'm about to have some dead air if I don't get off the phone.

2) Do you ever find your music duties getting in the way of show prep?

Actually, I feel my music duties are my main source of show prep. Our listeners love to know the juice on their favorite artists. I get the scoop from the labels every day. It's great being the first to know something and break it on the air. I obviously would love another hour in the day to prep more, but thankfully I have a cast on the night show in co-host Niko and producer Chris who are "in the know," and contribute tremendously on a nightly basis.

3) Mini-mixes, phone tap encores ... tell us about some of the unique features on your night show.

The number-one feature of the night show without a doubt is The Interactive 9@9. It's been a staple in NYC for years. It's always the highest-rated hour of the night and proves that people still love their countdowns book after book. We cross-promote this well with The Z Morning Zoo by running a recap every morning of the top-3 songs. I also get to play back the Zoo's #1 feature: The Phone Tap.

We also have the amazingly talented DJ Spinbad do a 20-minute mini-mix twice a night. Spinbad is as big as a lot of proven artists in NYC. He still makes me say "oh, wow" on a nightly basis. We weave a bunch of other features in here and there. I have a voicemail line set up for listeners to leave messages and play them back.

Sometimes we have artists make "Celeb Crank Calls" when they are in studio. We get a ton of downloads on the podcasts worldwide every time these magical moments happen. We have a perfect companion to our listeners now in our social networking site "The Z-Zone." This has turned into a feature on the air as well. Now our listeners can interact with us more than ever. We are constantly trying to come up with content to tease on the air and drive the web hits. This is the future of superserving your P1s. We get to talk to them every night and know exactly what songs and trends they are into.

4) Most stations are very cautious with new music, but it seems that Z100 isn't afraid to step out on hot new tracks. Talk about your new music philosophy.

A hit is a hit. Gut is gut … but calculated gut is where I put my money. It's great to hear a song one time and convince your peers that you found something, but it's better to have a story to go with it. I analyze every chart and one-sheet that comes across my desk.

I'll give you a recent example: Paramore's "Misery Business" on Lava. On first listen I thought "This could be something." Then I heard the story of the Warped tour and how loyal their fan base was. I started getting calls for it about a month ago on the air and I asked the listeners what other music they liked. The answers were exactly what I wanted to hear: Fall Out Boy, Fergie, Panic! At The Disco and Justin Timberlake. Then the icing on the cake came from talking with Guy Zapoleon about the song's performance in HitPredictor. I had enough information to justify the gut and share with Tom and Sharon. We decided it was definitely a project we wanted to be involved with and we are already seeing great potential.

Another recent story comes from Hollywood Records and "The Jonas Brothers." They have the biggest fan base of a new act I've seen years. We had them in months ago to record an interview on our HD2 channel, which highlights new acts in 20-minute segments that consist of four album cuts and interviews between the songs. While the band was at the station we had them create a "Z-Zone page." Last week The Jonas Brothers Z-Zone page was top 10 companywide, beating most of our top-10 market morning show sites. Watch out, Hanson! It was a no-brainer to put their single "S.O.S." into rotation after that. I can't wait to have them do a local appearance for us; it will be pandemonium!

Those were just two adds from the past two weeks that demonstrate "calculated gut." We were definitely early, but are confident due to our homework that both will work for us.

5) You hosted the syndicated Live Earth Concert broadcast. How cool was THAT?

Sooo cool! First of all, being involved in a potentially history-making, earth-changing project was a thrill of a lifetime. I felt like I really had to educate myself more on global warming before cracking the mic, and I did some research. I found that almost every artist I interviewed did the same thing days before the event. That awareness helped to accomplish the goal of the event. If a few of our millions of listeners that day did the same thing, it was all worth it.

I found it great also to be interviewing artists on something else other than their new album. We got some great stories about how that day changed their lives. Did you see that Fergie is auctioning off her Hummer on eBay? Even Paris Hilton switched to a hybrid the following week. The folks at Premiere are no doubt the best at what they do, and I am honored that I got to be a part of Live Earth.

6) How would you describe your first radio gig?

I was 16 in DuBois, PA working at a record store in the mall. The owner of WKYN/St. Marys, PA, Bob Stevens, would come to the store 10 minutes before we closed and go through every CD. He had no record service in an unrated market. Everyone at the store hated him because we would all have to stay late. I was always the one who helped him and even recommended songs for the station. I'll never forget hearing "Hey Jealousy" by The Gin Blossoms on the air the day after I recommended it to him. He eventually hired me and gave me my first shot running the board on weekend overnights. Before I knew it, I was on the air, and after three years I went from overnights to nights to afternoons to mornings and APD. I even survived two format flips at the station.

I learned everything I could and still have my reel-to-reels and razors from my time there. This was all before prep and networking online. I feel like an old man when I'm training interns now on Voxpro and prep when I tell them I used to go to the library everyday for prep. I wouldn't change anything about my first gig. I feel very fortunate for growing up in a small town and being able to get my foot in the door at such an early age.

7) What is your favorite part of the job?

Being involved in the total package is an extremely rewarding feeling. It's great when the numbers come out and your time slot is up. It's even better when the entire station is up! I love going back and analyzing what songs were in Power during a good book. What promotions did we pull off? What bits and features was I doing then? I also love hearing new adds on the station in my car for the first time. For some reason they always sound better while driving to me. I truly cannot pinpoint one thing I like better than others at Z100. Everyday is exciting in those halls. I cannot wait to get to work today as our phase 2 trend came out this morning and has us at #1 12+ this book!

8) What artist would we be surprised to find on your iPod?

How about at least 15 hours of Phish? I've seen 92 Phish shows through the years and did two summer tours with them. Those summers will definitely go down as two of the best of my life. There's nothing like waking up every day in a new state saying, "Where am I and how did I get here?"

9) What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?

No question -- WDVE/ Pittsburgh. I had to do the whole "coat hanger in my antenna with aluminum foil" to get a decent signal. I still have the half-static airchecks I used to tape in my bedroom from the early '90s. DVE was and will always be the definition of heritage in the 'Burgh. I remember meeting midday jock Michelle Michaels at a remote and the impression she left on me. I couldn't believe how down-to-earth she was and how nervous I was. DVE will continue to be one of the premiere Rock stations in the country long after we are all gone.

10) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio?

Stacking chips! I love playing Texas Hold em' poker. It is a true game of skill and wit, with lessons that apply to life as well as the felt. A few industry buddies and I have been making an annual summer trip to Vegas to compete for a few years now. J. Love from Movin' in San Fran handed me a wicked-bad beat this year. Nice suck-out, homie! I also love jumping out of airplanes; I have seven jumps under my belt now.

BONUS: For someone vacationing in your market, what one thing would you say they "must see"?

My favorite spot in NYC is The Comedy Cellar in the Village. It's a tiny basement comedy club that has had every major comedian on their stage at one time or another. It is not as well known or advertised as much as, say, Caroline's On Broadway. This makes it that more intimate and improvisational. It's a great spot for a first date or to take visiting family and friends to.