10 Questions with ... Byron Kennedy

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Honolulu, Fresno, Phoenix, Sacramento.

1. What got you into radio?

When I was a kid radio was a completely different thing. It was the only place to hear new music for example. If you heard a new song on the radio that wasn't out yet and you loved it you had to stay glued to the radio to hear it again. AND YOU WOULD. You couldn't go on line and find it like today. KUPD in Phoenix was the biggest thing in world to me. I listened 24/7. When I was in high school I thought the overnight jock was the star of the station! I was always up all night with my friends listening to him....shout out to Rob Trigg and the middle of the damn night show! He and Dave Pratt the morning mayor made radio sound magic to me and inspired me to pursue it as a career.

2. What do you remember about your first impressions of a radio station?

My first impression as a listener was KUPD in Phoenix. The station owned not just Phoenix but the entire state of Arizona. I was a P1 and damn near a stalker. I listened 24/7 went to all the promotions, etc. Radio was a very big deal when I was a kid.

My first impression of a radio station as an employee was that it was larger than life. The jocks were superstars. I was the low life call out research guy who was not allowed in the programming area but I would sneak down there to watch the jocks through the window. I thought I would never get to where they were.

3. What's the first thing you do when you come into the KSFM offices in the morning?

Delete 7,000 spam emails and wonder how it can be possible to spend 45 minutes deleting emails that don't mean anything! Do people really fall for the 7 million dollars waiting in an offshore account to be deposited into their account if they email their information!!?? I wanna meet these people! If you are reading this and you have been a victim of that scam please call me. I want to use you in a promo!

4. Sacramento is now in the PPM world. Has it effected how you and your MD, Tony Tecate, look at new music?

Not really. We have always been pretty conservative with new music. It has affected many other things but I have never been the one to break a lot of new music or be unfamiliar.

Jerry Clifton told me a long time ago and I still subscribe to it....UNFAMILIAR EQUALS TUNE OUT!

5. With Spring here and Summer around the corner in Sacramento, how's your golf game coming along?

My golf game sucks. I love to play but I will never be good at it. But I'm still very good at drinking beer so I still play. No real need to be a great golfer as long as the weather is nice and the beer is cold.

6. If you could take a "mulligan" on a particular job or career move, what might it be?

Honestly, I have been very fortunate in my career. I feel like even the miserable jobs I've had, miserable markets I've lived in or the ones I got fired from shaped my career in some way so I would have to say I would not use a "mulligan"...I would just tee it back up and be swinging 3 from the TEE! Great analogy though because I have had to tee it back up and take a penalty stroke more than once in my career and my golf game!

7. Like many people in radio, you've moved around a lot in your career. You've been a KSFM for some time now. What about living and working in Sacramento do you find so appealing?

Working for CBS Radio/Sacramento. The passion for KSFM and KZZO runs high with everyone working here and that makes it a special place to work. I love coming to the station every day and working with people who want to win as much as I do. When you have been in a market for this long you develop a respect and appreciation for the people you work with that you just don't have after a year or two. Prior to Sacramento I had never had been somewhere long enough to figure that out!

As for Sacramento, it's close to Lake Tahoe and close to Napa Valley...what's not to love?

8. What are you most proud of when you look back at your radio career?

I'm most proud of any impact I might have had on other peoples success. Guys like Sugabear at KZON in Phoenix who had spent most of his career doing part time and waiting for his chance. Giving Sugabear a chance to live his dream as a full time personality and see him bring in one Number one book after another was a pretty special thing for me. He's a great talent and just needed someone to give him his chance to succeed. Man that kind of story is without a doubt is the best. Couldn't have happened to a better person either....SUGABEAR....MY MAN! I don't say this to try and take credit for other peoples success I'm simply saying that I would not have a career if it were not for Jerry Clifton doing the same for me and I love paying it forward and helping people get where they are trying to go like Jerry did for me.

9. One round of golf with Tiger and Phil Mickelson or 4 rounds with the LPGA player of your choice? Please name that player

All of them would make me feel even worse about my game so I don't think I would enjoy playing with any of them. Maybe I would play with Tiger Woods and see if I could get him drunk and have sex with him. Get my 15 minutes of fame!

10. What is your favorite song that you're not playing at KSFM?

I don't think I like anything we're not playing and that scares me. I have never seen it this slow in Q1. Lady Gaga better get back in the studio or we will have to go all gold and recurrent!

If you were to leave Radio and music today and you could choose any other occupation, what would it be?

Speaker Of The House.

If you were getting married next weekend and you could have any artist, or group, perform a special song for the first dance at your wedding reception, who would you choose?

This question is too gooey for me. Besides, once it comes out that I was sleeping with Tiger Woods my wedding next weekend would be off.