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10 Questions with ... Vijay Das
April 23, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I would love to help build a bigger team at Wild101 to either coach to be amazing personalities or help hit the streets with me. I still want to grow as a jock, I want to cover all bases when it comes to Social Media and Digital. I'd really like to get better at music scheduling which I have just picked up this year. I've been in radio for 11 years, but I don't think you can ever stop being a sponge and soaking up all the knowledge you can
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started as a Programming Intern for WIHT (Hot 99.5) in Washington D.C. in the Summer of 2008. After my internship, I moved to Williamsport, PA to do nights. I moved up to mornings and also was the Digital Content/Social Media Director for iHeartMedia/Pennsylvania. In the spring of 2013, I moved to Boise, ID to do nights at KWYD. Now I'm the Afternoon Personality and also the Assistant Program Director.
1. What got you into radio?
I got to meet Donnie Simpson who was doing a station event/ remote in my Maryland neighborhood for WPGC when I was 12 years old. He's definitely not only a DC legend but a national media legend and I would listen to his morning show on the school bus every morning! I was in awe how much of an impact he had on the air and in the DC Area community...from charity events to the interviews he would do, and I was hooked! I actually got to meet him again at a restaurant I was working as a busboy at when I was in high school that he would frequent and asked him about what steps I should take to get into radio. He let me pick his brain every time about the industry. When I got to college, I was able to get my foot in the door at Hot 99.5 in DC interning on the night show for DJ Grooves and have been in the game since!
2. What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?
When I was in middle school, I snuck into Chris Rock's "Down To Earth," and made it a goal to become a stand-up comedian one day! I was a class clown, and my family has a great sense of humor, so it made sense. About 7 years ago, I finally decided to get my feet wet and have been doing stand-up professionally and I do shows regularly when I am not doing radio.
3. What was the biggest change in the move to Boise?
The biggest change has been the distance from my home state of Maryland. It takes more planning when it comes to a trip back home as opposed to my first gig where I could be home in three hours. I love that I get to experience a different area and the rest of the West Coast/Pacific Northwest as well, as opposed to living in a Northeast city most of my life. Impact Radio Group is also a mom and pop, and I can just walk down the hall into my GM, OM's or CEO's office if I need to speak with them or need with help with anything.
4. Who are/were some of your radio mentors?
I was the night show intern for Pat "DJ Grooves" Cerullo at WIHT back in 2008. He gave me the right guidance to get my first full time gig at Variety 97.7 (WVRT) in Williamsport, PA, which turned out to be one of the places HE actually applied to several years before! Things come full circle, right? Grooves has been helpful and supportive in my career ever since. Tom Scott who is now at Bigfoot Country in Mansfield, PA for taking a chance on me and giving me my first shot. Eric White at Sunny 103.7 who helped shape me when it comes to prepping for a show and airchecking my first shows. JT Bosch, who I connected with through Eric Chase, gave me an opportunity out of Market #261 and let me try my hand at swing work in Harrisburg, PA at 99.3 Kiss FM and also opened the door for me to get into another field in radio, Digital Content and Social Media. Mark Feather, who was my first PD in Boise, who believed a personality should be just that, and it should be felt through the airwaves. Tony Tecate, who challenges me to do a better show and be a better jock than the day before and what I could work on to improve. Kevin Cruise, who believed just because you're in a small market doesn't mean you have to SOUND like it, and made me step my on air game up. JD Garfield took the time to teach me programming and Curtis Booker who has the same grind when it comes to sounding compelling when you crack the mic and how important it is to hit the streets.
5. What would probably surprise most people about Boise?
It's not all farmland! There is so much to do here. It's a perfect place if you're an outdoor person because of the amazing scenery. Lakes, waterparks, museums, sporting events and we get some decent big-name concerts that make stops here. Downtown Boise is amazing. There are events EVERY weekend. The nightlife is great here and lots of different and diverse restaurants. People back home are still shocked that I moved here. I have relatives who think I moved to Ohio and asked if I was sad when LeBron left...
6. If you weren't in radio, what do you think you'd be doing professionally?
I would be pursuing stand-up comedy full time and would be building my side business with my partner here in Boise that's called Visualantes, which delivers pop culture and national/local content and we interview musicians, other creatives and local businesses.
7. What would you most like to improve about your radio/programming "game" in the next 12 months?
I would love to help build a bigger team at Wild101 to either coach to be amazing personalities or help hit the streets with me. I still want to grow as a jock, I want to cover all bases when it comes to Social Media and Digital. I'd really like to get better at music scheduling which I have just picked up this year. I've been in radio for 11 years, but I don't think you can ever stop being a sponge and soaking up all the knowledge you can.
8. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Since moving out West, I love checking out different cities out here that I probably would only read about back East! I also dabble in photography and videography. I go to the gym pretty frequently, and I have Curtis Booker to thank for that! When he was here, we'd go together after work and his weight loss and health changes have been a huge motivation.
9. If you could be on any TV reality show or game show, which would you want to be on?
Fox's Beat Shazam! I swear I get most of the songs on the show in 2-3 seconds.
10. What are some of your favorite songs on the station right now?
Meek Mill "Goin Bad", Ariana Grande "Break Up With Your Girlfriend" and Lil Pump "Be Like Me" all sound amazing on Wild right now and are good examples of Wild's sound. I also like Benny Blanco and Derek King, and one song that probably a perfect fit for IDAHO is Lil Nas X's Old Town Road...haha.
Bonus Questions
American Idol, The Voice or The Four?
The Four... I'm a big fan of Diddy and Khaled!
If you had to eat one type of meal every day for a month, what would it be?
My mother is from the Philippines and my father is from India. I love BOTH cuisines equally but I'd have to say Jamaican food.
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