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10 Questions with ... RJ "Squintz" Buendia
August 10, 2021
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I actually just fell into radio. I came onto the promotions team part time while I was going to college because it fit my schedule and had perks (I was the club guy for the station).
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started radio in 2005 as part of the promotions team at KWIN/Stockton while I was going to college. Shortly after I was on air, and the next thing I knew I was Production Director. After my position was eliminated in 2012, I took a break from radio and applied my degree in the regular world. I missed being part of radio and came back parttime and mixing at KSFM in 2016. Fast forward to now and I’m Music Director, Imaging Director, On-Air and Mixing here at KSFM. Not exactly a straight line, but that’s my path.
1. What got you into radio?
I actually just fell into radio. I came onto the promotions team part time while I was going to college because it fit my schedule and had perks (I was the club guy for the station).
2. What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?
I loved basketball so much I just wanted to play ball. (Seemed a lot more possible when everyone else was under 6 feet tall, too).
3. How does one leave Ketchikan, Alaska?
We moved to Stockton when I was six years old - my mom, brothers and I to live with my stepfather.
4. What has you learned about yourself during the Covid-19 pandemic?
I have been reminded that I can enjoy any situation. I am used to being around a lot of people and doing a lot of things, but the simple things are just as enjoyable. It is what you make of it.
5. Who are some of your radio mentors?
There are two people that I hold near and dear, and both are from the start of my radio career at KWIN. Double J was APD and did mornings and did some of my first airchecks. And Big Mike (not to be confused with Big Mic) was the PD that hired me.
6. If you weren't in radio and music, what do you think you'd be doing professionally?
My goal when I started radio was to get my degree and become a teacher and coach at the high school level. While I did get my degree, I pursued radio, instead.
7. Hypothetical: Your boss, Michael Buhrman, is named The Bachelor for season 26 of the ABC series. Does he fall for the blonde from San Diego, Southern belle from suburban Atlanta or Latina from Phoenix?
(To clarify, you are asking who he falls for or who falls for him? Lol) All things considered; he goes for the blonde from San Diego. He’s gotten a taste of California now, so he knows what’s up.
8. What would probably surprise most people about living and working in Sacramento?
I don’t know what people’s stereotypes of Sacramento are, but I feel like the “cow town” image is there, like Sacramento is hella country but it’s really not.
9. What's your favorite song on the station right now?
I dig Skate. Really just dig Silk Sonic in general and appreciate the vibe they bring.
10. What do you like to do in your spare time? How has that changed since the start of the pandemic?
I like to cook; goes hand in hand with liking to eat. When the pandemic hit I guess I was home more and things weren’t as open, so it gave me the opportunity to cook more so I took that in stride and got to appreciate my own food more.
Bonus Questions
If you had to eat one type of meal every day for a month, what would it be? (Mexican, Italian..etc)
I’m Filipino so I am pretty partial to that, but let me go away from my own heritage and say Japanese. Sushi and such. Its just so clean and fresh.
Pre-pandemic, where is DJ Squintz at midnight on a Saturday?
If I wasn’t Djing somewhere, I was trying to spend time with people that I hadn’t seen for a while; setting up dinners, drinks, anything social to give me a reason to keep in touch. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own schedules that we forget about people.
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