10 Questions with ... Dan Buckley

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

In the summer of 1997, I was known as intern Dan around the station and was setting up our Friday morning show broadcast at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville. My dad had told me to do whatever no one else wanted to and do it with a smile. This mantra got me hired and promoted to LT. Dan over 20 years ago. In 2001 they let me take over the production department for Lightning 100 and 93.7 The Phoenix. In 2014 I got APD stripes and have been the PD since 2015.

For years I did freelance production on the side for syndicated radio programs, the Tennessee Titans, and Bonnaroo. I've run the interview studio at Bonnaroo since 2004 and have a wedding and event DJ business on the side, to pay for my habit of having so many children.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

I moved to Nashville after growing up in a radio wasteland and fell in love with Lightning 100. I had no idea radio could be so good. It's also the first time in my life I didn't feel freakishly talented at reading things out loud.

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

We play songs we believe in. It's a big playground full of artists you already love and new ones we want to introduce you to. It's classic rock, new rock, local music, and everything in between.

3. What are music meetings like at your station?

It's a blast! We spend two hours listening to music each week. It's an open meeting full of staff, interns, industry folks and local bands. Everyone who sticks around till the end gets to vote. It's part of how we are unique and will always be a little different than everyone else.

4. Nashville is going through a major renaissance; tell us how that has affected the way you are programming the radio station.

Well, we are supporting local like never before. We have seen major acts like Jack White and Dan and Patrick of The Black Keys relocate to Nashville to open studios and record stores. Folks like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow and John Prine can sell tickets for days and all call Music City home. They have become the core of supporting the 615.

5. Tell us about some of the benchmark promotions the station does.

We've had a weekly live broadcast on Sunday night since 1996. From our Half Christmas Beerfest to our Festivus concert and our local music competition, Music City Mayhem, we produce a lot of events. For the past 10 years the winner of Mayhem has had the honor of playing Live on the Green. Year Zero it was Moon Taxi.

6. Please dive deeper into Live On The Green.

We are in the middle of our 10th year of Live on the Green. It has put our radio station on the map. It's a free all ages four-week outdoor music festival that features national and local acts. Some of our biggest shows have featured Alabama Shakes, Cage the Elephant, Portugal. The Man, Sheryl Crow and Band of Horses. It wraps up Labor Day weekend with Jimmy Eat World as the headliners.

7. You mentioned recently that the station has doubled its revenue. Please give us some insight as to how that was achieved.

Actually ... we tripled our revenue from 2011-2017! Our focus on local has been well received in our city and we've been rewarded with great clients who get results. As our clients grow, so does our revenue.

8. What are some of your biggest challenges as an independent station?

We don't have the budget to buy billboards all over town; we don't have some big corporation promoting us or sending us sales leads. We have to earn every inch.

9. What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?

We need to be willing to rethink the whole thing. You're either playing the hits or breaking them. We are in the business of breaking them, which takes a lot of work and a great team. You can't just sit back and wait for people to pitch songs; you need to be scouring the Internet, going to shows, and talking to friends and listeners. No complacency allowed.

10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ...

... gallons of black coffee!

Last non-industry job:

Waiting tables

First record ever purchased:

Ghostbusters soundtrack on vinyl

First concert:

13th birthday - Poison w/ Warrant in Charlotte, NC (thanks, sis!)

Favorite band of all-time:

Grateful Dead

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time away from work?

Taking the kids out on the boat.