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10 Questions with ... Chet Buchanan
October 2, 2012
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started at 15 at KRKO in Everett, WA. It was a Top 40 on AM then. I moved on to the old KNBQ in Seattle. Got the "big break" at 17 doing nights at Z100 in Portland....where I ended up going back to two more times. I spent about six amazing years at KUBE 93 in Seattle, sandwiched around a stop at KZZP in Phoenix, where Dave Ryan tortured me mercilessly. I got a chance to really get my hands dirty programming two stations (KZHT & KURR) while doing mornings on KZHT in Salt Lake City. After a year and a half back in Seattle at KBKS, I found my home in Las Vegas at KLUC.
1. You've been doing mornings for a long time now. What time do you wake up on Saturday?
I have a fat Golden Retriever that's used to me feeding him by 5...so guess what time he thinks we should get up on the weekends? That dog has the most regimented body clock of any organism on the planet. If I'm lucky he stays passed out until 7.
2. What's the first thing you do when you get into the station in the morning?
Get oatmeal! Then the usuals...email, prep services, confirm that we're on the right track for the day. We do most of our planning the day before, but life often gets in the way. Luckily we have the freedom to fit the good stuff in!
3. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Being on the radio and TV is truly the only thing I've ever really wanted to be...well, this and Bob Barker. Kind of the same thing. Charlie Brown, Gary Lockwood, Danny Wright and the rest of KJR in Seattle were my heroes when I was super young. As KJR kind of faded off and KUBE signed on, they took over. Awesome that I got to work there later.
4. Been awhile since you sat in a PD or MD chair. Miss it?
I miss the people and the relationships. That was very real for me. Occasionally, I miss finding and championing music and talent, but I can't imagine what it's like programming in today's corporate culture. Cat and JB are very inclusive when it comes to the creative part of the station, so that part of me is mostly satisfied. Cat and I usually have a pretty deep hour long conversation every other week or so, and he loves to talk ratings and strategy, which I love too. I can get the rest of my creative fix with Spence, Lauren, our show and my outside projects.
5. When you live in Las Vegas, is it as wild as the outside world perceives it to be?
Not even close. The opportunities are there, for sure, and it's cool to live in a 24 hour city with great restaurants and clubs. But mostly, the Strip is for tourists. It's like "the factory." Every once in awhile it's cool to go play tourist, or take advantage of a club, restaurant, or show...but most of us don't go near there unless we're getting paid!
6. Aren't you getting married soon?
Ha! I hit the lottery and am engaged to a gorgeous woman with an MBA, who's also a sports fan (her love of the Cowboys notwithstanding...), is ridiculously funny, and is the Executive Pastry Chef for five of Caesar's Entertainment properties on the Strip. EVERYONE asks when the "big day" is, and the answer is....we don't know. Sometime next fall.
7. If you, Spence and Lauren were high school teachers, what would each of you teach?
Spence is incredibly intelligent, but would probably be the football coach/history teacher/health teacher/teacher that you're not sure if they're really a teacher or just a student that stuck around a little too long. Kinda the guy who still has that edge without a filter that is every student's favorite teacher cause he's kinda anti-establishment, like them! Lauren would be the hot home ec teacher--she's a great baker! I also see her teaching like a social studies or maybe even a foreign language. I'd be the dorky lit teacher who really wants to be the principal
8. What do you like to do in your spare time?
More work. I love hosting events, and do around 150 a year. Yep, 2-3 a week or more. Besides charity stuff, UNLV Basketball and Football, pageant work, and other hosting stuff...I've learned that I'm fairly adept hosting auctions with a new school auctioneer (not fast talker...) approach, and it's becoming somewhat profitable, so I'm hoping to expand on that in 2013. I've hit just about every state in the west, so far! Other than that, I try to hustle as hard as I can. One day they'll stop asking! My fiancee Amy and I love our Football Sundays at home, seeing movies, and going exploring in the Jeep. We like traveling to see our teams, I've made her a Mariner and Canuck fan, and we have a Cowboy/Seahawk "agreement." We spend quite a bit of time in Seattle with my family and some business interests there. We'll probably end up splitting time between Las Vegas and Seattle when CBS is tired of me.
9. Are you ready to go live up on your Toy Drive billboard/home? How long has the Toy Drive been going on?
I AM ready! It's November 29th-December 10th this year, and this will be year 14. I spent 2002-2004 in Portland, so this makes my 12th. At the end of this one, I'll have spent nearly FIVE MONTHS of my life on 30 foot scaffoldings. I'm really proud of what it's become, and so thankful for the support Cat, our staff, the company and the entire community have shown since the beginning.
10. Las Vegas' best kept restaurant secret?
China MaMa isn't entirely a secret anymore since they got some love in Men's Health, or Maxim, or whatever it was. The people who know it, friggin LOVE it, and I really enjoy taking newbies and introducing them to this "white fish in hot chili oil" dish that will absolutely change your life!
Bonus Questions
Anyone recognize the girls with Prince Harry?
Uhhhh...no....I'm sure I didn't see anything!!
Favorite celebrity guest?
For me personally, Ne-Yo, Carlos Mencia, and Dax from TMZ. Ne-Yo grew up here and is legitimately as happy to see us as we are to see him. He goes out of his way to support Toy Drive, and do other things when he can that no one else would do. Carlos and I have become friends. We hang when he's in town, and stay in touch when he's not. We talk to Dax every week, and have become great friends as well. We see each other whenever we're in each other's respective towns...he ended up being Lauren's date for the VMA's! People can say radio's dying all they want...if you do it right, it's alive and well, and still a great way to make a living!
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