10 Questions with ... Amy Miller

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• KZSC/Santa Cruz, CA - DJ for jazz and indie rock shows; Promotions Director
• KFOG/San Francisco - Programming Assistant
• WTYD/Williamsburg, VA - MD/PD
• DL Media Music, Philadelphia, PA - Music Publicist for jazz artists
• KKXT/Dallas - APD/PD

1. How did you become interested in radio?

I was always the kid that would call into the local Alternative station to request songs and win concert tickets for my friends and me. I loved radio, but never thought about it as a career until a couple of years into working at my college station. I was completely intrigued once I realized at most stations, there were one or two people in charge of scheduling the music for an entire day ... who knew?

2. Tell us about the on-air and programming changes you recently implemented at the station.

We launched a bunch of programming changes this past October, including a new morning show (hosted by our APD, Brad Dolbeer), a "new music" show (hosted by our MD, Gini Mascorro) and a local music show that I host. Included in the morning show are music-focused features throughout the morning. The 9:30a time slot is used to bring a different member of the air staff into the studio with Brad - for example, on Thursdays I'll come in and play a local track in preview of The Local Show that evening.

In addition to these programming changes, we launched the first annual "Local Music Month" at the station. During October, we increased the amount of local music we played and set up live music showcases around North Texas.

3. How would you describe the music on the station?

Right now we're playing a pretty broad range of music. Our listeners value KXT as a place to not only discover new music, but expand their knowledge of the artists they might already be familiar with. this opens the door for us to play some of the deeper cuts from the legendary artists. We're also very supportive of local music and play a minimum one local artist every hour.

4. Tell us about the local music scene there.

It's pretty great and it just keeps getting better. In the '90s the Deep Ellum neighborhood was booming with music - a ton of bands broke out from the scene here including the Old 97's, Tripping Daisy, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, The Toadies, etc. The neighborhood has seen a huge revival in the past few years and there's more than 20 music clubs in that neighborhood alone. I think a lot of musicians are getting priced out of Austin, too, and migrating up this way. Denton (just north of Dallas) has a great DIY scene - lots of house shows and smaller makeshift venues. And Fort Worth (just west of Dallas) also has a lot going on. I think the area is peaking right now as far as the music scene goes, and it seemed like the perfect time to emphasize local music at the station.

5. What are the station's benchmark events?

Aside from Local Music Month, which I already mentioned, we do a series in the spring/summer called Sun Sets. It's outdoors at the Dallas Arboretum, overlooking White Rock Lake. We book both established and emerging artists for the series and have a local opener for each show. The series is growing and it's a wonderful community event. We also go down to SXSW each year to film some of our On The Road sessions and participate in the live broadcast of the public radio day stage at the Convention Center.

6. What insights from the commercial side of programming are you bringing to this noncomm station?

I cut my teeth as a programmer at a privately owned, small-market start-up station and didn't have to worry about some of the things PDs have to at corporately owned stations. For that reason, my insights might be a little different than some. Naturally, my instincts tell me to play it a little safer than perhaps some programmers who have been doing noncomm for most of their career. I'm not sure if that's necessarily an insight, but it's something I bring over from commercial radio and could be beneficial in some circumstances when trying to grow our audience.

7. What resources does the greater KERA organization offer you?

KXT is very lucky that we can share some of KERA and KERA-TV's resources. We have an excellent film crew that comes from our TV station, so the live sessions we film in-house look great and we're starting to explore ideas for how we can utilize those resources. We also share some of KERA's air staff, as needed. Our marketing team works for both KXT and KERA (and Art&Seek - a North Texas resource for arts and culture), so we're able to effectively cross-promote events when it's fitting.

8. What do you see as the most pressing challenge for public radio?

Because there is such a broad spectrum of public radio stations, a lot of people have a misconception about what public radio is and it's potential. There are a lot of stations out there that serve as training grounds for first-time DJs and the programming is all over the place. Don't get me wrong - I think there's a place for that and it's necessary when you look at the big picture, but a lot of people don't realize there are format-focused music stations that are exactly what they're looking for when they're sitting there saying commercial radio doesn't have enough variety. I also think that because there are so many resources out there for acquiring music and media, it's becoming more of a challenge to stand out. That's why local relevance becomes a priority and is extremely important.

9. What is your typical day like?

It's hard to say, as every day is a bit different. I usually start my day by looking over music logs and getting them in the system for the following day. Then I'll go into the studio at 10a (I do middays at the station). From there, it's anyone's guess. I usually have some big project I'm working on. I take music calls, I'm always answering emails, booking studio sessions, booking guests and planning out The Local Show, etc.

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

Creativity is often more valuable than experience - sometimes the best ideas can come from interns or someone who has never set foot in a radio station.

If you wanted to completely change careers today, what would you do?

Probably something outdoors or with animals. If I were to step out of radio but stay in music, I always thought music supervisors have the coolest jobs.

Last non-industry job:

99% of my non-industry jobs have been working in restaurants.

First record ever purchased:

I think it was either MC Hammer or Janet Jackson on cassette.

First concert:

Steve Miller Band

Favorite band of all-time:

Impossible to answer.