10 Questions with ... Jamie Canfield

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started in 1983 at one of the few commercial College stations (at the time-it has since gone back to being a non-commercial, block formatted station), KSUA-FM, where I was constantly in the multiple GMs' disfavor for being a DJ who was pushing the boundaries of the AOR format. I moved out to Boston in 1988 where I worked my way up to working for Brad Paul in the promotion department and then went north to Salem, Massachusetts to work for John Hammond (no, not that one) and Michael Sylvia at Rykodisc doing Roots & World Marketing that turned into a full-time radio promotion job working non-comm AAA and Alternative. When Chris Blackwell's hostile takeover happened, I was the first one jettisoned into unemployment, but that only lasted two weeks before I landed working for the great Mary Begley at Righteous Babe Records, where I got to really test my mettle. When I saw the landscape changing on the label front, I decided to go back to radio, and ended up being hired by Jody Peterson at WNCS/The Point. After almost ten years, I had one last yelling match with Zeb Norris and walked out, packed up my stuff and moved to Idaho where I married the most beautiful woman in the world and got to create what is now KSKI.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

My uncle got me a transistor radio for my ninth birthday-the one with one earplug. I would go to bed at night and listen to really great AM radio-on a good night you could listen to Wolfman Jack until he got taken off Mexican radio. I was an avid mix-tape producer for most of my life and when I was given a chance to do a radio show on KSUA, I jumped at the chance and I've been doing it for most of my life now. Growing up in Alaska, radio was an important, immediate way of getting music and information out there, and it stuck with me as a medium that I wanted to take part in.

2. KSKI has been going through some ownership changes. What is the latest status on that?

It's still up in the air. Rich Broadcasting took us over a few years ago when Jerry Lundquist sold us to Richard Meacham, and that was an interesting time for us here in Idaho. They wanted us to sound like major market stations, and that took away from the heart and soul of what we did here. There were good things that happened-transmitter and studio equipment upgrades and the like, but for the most part, they wanted us to be something that small market stations shouldn't be, and it really affected sales, which was problematic. When Rich Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 due to financial mismanagement, Jerry Lundquist decided that he wanted the stations back and we're in the midst of that change. It takes time, and it's been going on for over a year now. What happens next is up in the air, and I don't really want to know until it happens. I have other things to think about, like running two stations all by myself.

3. What are your biggest challenges at the station?

Being the only live jock on the air is different. I could voicetrack the entire day, but I'm out in the public in a small town, and that mystery would be unveiled, so I just run music after I get off the air at ten in the morning. It seems to be working, because sales are good right now since we got our original salesperson Cathy Nikolaisons back. She knows the markets and has got us back on the right track. Another challenge is that our biggest market in the listening area is an hour away, and it's very rural everywhere in between, but I've found that, through phone calls, that people are listening to KSKI in their tractors and potato trucks. It's kind of amazing.

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

Modern, upbeat and sometimes in-your-face. I have total freedom to do what I think is best musically, and I think that freedom is what makes KSKI a one-of-a-kind station here in Idaho. I don't have consultants breathing down my neck, and even when I did, they pretty much left me alone. We lean a little more alternative than most mainstream Triple A stations, but we share a lot of the core artists. My job is to take the listener from Ray LaMontagne to The Interrupters in six degrees of separation without making their heads spin off their neck. KSKI also has an old-school punk rock show that my wife Lara and I do ever Friday night at ten. It's a hoot.

5. Tell us about the market(s) you serve.

The Wood River Valley is our main focus, which includes Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue, and it is a mix of working-class people, farmers, entrepreneurs, movie stars and millionaires. Sun Valley and Ketchum are the tourist destinations, while Hailey and Bellevue are communities where people can afford housing. We broadcast into Twin Falls, Jerome and a lot of towns that are comprised of farmers and blue-collar workers - and surprisingly, the listeners are people who go to monster truck jams, rodeos and hunt for elk and deer. I get a shock every now and then when I get a call from a 60-year-old farmer who requests Alejandro Escovedo.

6. Tell us about the other stations in your group.

Besides KSKI, there's KECH, our classic rock station, which is programmed by Doug Donoho, who has his wife Dori doing afternoons, and Star 1075, which I program. It's jockless, with all songs tagged so the listeners know what they're hearing. It's basically a juke-box with tagged songs. It works.

7. If you could add any one full-time position to your budget with no questions asked, what would it be?

I think I will finally have a local afternoon jock soon. It will be nice to have someone on the air who knows the markets and can relate to the listeners in the valley. I used to have my afternoons tracked by Josh Tielor from our former owner's stations in Idaho Falls, but that's not happening any more. In the meantime, it's just me. I'd like a station vehicle too. Filled with gluten-free baked goods.

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

That people think that radio is a dying medium. It's totally untrue. I hear the radio everywhere I go, and a lot of times it's on KSKI. It warms my heart. And fighting radio boredom is my main job without going too far and scaring off the casual listener.

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

Music is as important as food. And don't yell at me.

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

... thanking my Higher Power for the life he has given me. And naps.

Last non-industry job:

I work as a Deli Worker at the local grocery store

First record ever purchased:

Harry Chapin "Verities & Balderdash"First concert:

War in 1975

Favorite band of all-time:

The Jam/The Ramones/Small Faces/The Who/Frank Zappa/Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers

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

I throw a ball for my dogs, ride my Vespa GTV 250ie, and listen to as much music as I can because I want to be the next Brad Savage....