10 Questions with ... Eric Tyler

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• 1999-2001 KHTO/Springfield, MO - Nights/MD
• 2001-2003 KHTT/Tulsa, OK - Nights/MD
• 2003-2006 WNKS/Charlotte - Nights/AMD
• 2006-present KBKS/Seattle - Afternoons/MD

1) What led you to a career in radio?

Alcohol. I was in college at this place called Jordan Creek in Springfield, MO. One of the jocks from KHTO was on the bar doing his club gig pouring drinks down girls throats. I decided whatever else I was really going to school for could wait. I went down to the station the next day and applied for an internship. A short time later, I was that guy on the bar. Made my family proud.

2) What makes your station unique? How would you compare it to other stations you've worked at?

We are 100% programmed to our market. More so here, though, it has to be. The Seattle audience is very smart when it comes to music. They know what they like and you better play it for them. You can't tell them what they should like. Our playlist is a little different from most other Top 40s. Very pop and pop/rock-driven. Bands like All Time Low, Cobra Starship, The Maine, This Providence and so on are always home runs. Rhythmic or adult-leaning records are hit-and-miss for us. Being able to find this niche in our market has really helped the growth of the station over the course of the past couple of years.

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

Of course. Everyone is. It's not just radio, it's everywhere. We made the move from CBS to Clear Channel this past year. We relocated and everything. Everyone in the CC Seattle building basically picked up another station's worth of work ... from our promo dept, to engineers to web to production to Eric Powers, our PD (who is also on-air/PD of our sister station). It's the nature of the beast right now. It's not necessarily a bad thing, however. Being involved in different facets of the day-to-day operation of the radio station makes you a much better programmer in the long run.

4) What's the coolest promotion you've been involved with recently?

We are just wrapping up a promotion called "Cool Bands in Crappy Towns." The name says it all. We are sending a very lucky person to see Black Eyed Peas in Des Moines, IA. Apparently, the town folks found out and we are now all over the news in Iowa ... then our local stations picked it up ... then CNN eventually got a hold of it. Getting some great web traffic from Iowans waiting to hear what those mean Seattle radio DJs are going to do next. Birmingham didn't act that way when we sent someone to see Maroon 5 there last year. Now I feel like we got jipped in Alabama.

5) What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?

I just got my private pilot certificate. If you know me, you know that's a scary-ass thought. Now I spend my weekends flying in and out of Boeing Field in Seattle. Driving a car is boring now.

6) Could you give us a little insight into your on air staff?

Jackie and Bender is the morning show. We've been through a lot of changes in the past four years at KBKS, and they are the one thing that's been consistent. They are relatable to our audience and are heavily involved in the community. Very few people I have ever worked with are as passionate as Bender. They have Jubal and Ben on the show, too, to balance it out (for a lack of a better term). Seacrest is in middays. I'm on PM drive, easily the 18th-ranked afternoon show in Seattle. Doormatt is on at night and is one of the best night jocks in the country as far as I'm concerned. Pop up our site and stream the kid at night. He's phenomenal.

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

B96 in Chicago. When I was a kid in Rockford, IL, I used to tune them in late at night on the weekends with a big antenna my dad had on top our house and record the Street Mixes. I still have a shoebox somewhere filled with cassettes. Don't have a cassette player ... but I still have the cassettes.

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

My wife and I travel the world. I get antsy if I'm on the continent too long. You give me a four-day weekend, I'll show you a couple nights of drinking in Europe or Asia. The Chicago Blackhawks occupy a lot of my time, too. They actually still do play hockey in America and a guy named Jonathan Toews will hoist the Cup this year.

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

I love it. Plain and simple. I mess around on the radio and listen to music (some of it good, some of it bad). I walk to work through downtown Seattle every day and see guys digging ditches, hanging from buildings and constructing crap. That's not for me. I'd rather do something that's fun and doesn't give me back pain.

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

Play the hits, you get ratings. It's not rocket science.

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

The market and Needle are cool, but everyone does that. Roll over to Lake Union and go up and see the city in a seaplane.