10 Questions with ... Gary Chetkof

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Communications Attorney at nationally renowned law firm Skadden Arps et al, General Counsel Metropolitan Broadcasting, Asst. General Counsel The Sillerman Companies, Purchased Radio Woodstock in 1993, founder of Mountain Jam Music Festival and co-founder of Taste of Country Music Festivals (now called Trailblazer) two of the largest music and camping festivals in the Northeast, President of Chet-5 Productions, which produces many concerts and festivals in upstate New York.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

Radio played a big part of my life growing up. I was a music lover and listened a lot to WNEW and WLIR. When I was in law school in Washington DC, WHFS got me through my late-night studying. I had planned on working as a lawyer for a record company or at an entertainment law firm, but my first job as an associate at Skadden Arps had me involved with a big radio client. Metromedia Radio was selling its radio division in a management led buyout. We represented the buyer and became their law from after the closing, and then they made me an offer to be their General Counsel. I was 27 years old and the General Counsel for a $300 million radio company! I worked at the legendary WNEW offices and studios in New York until Robert F.X. Sillerman bought the company. I worked for Sillerman for five years, learning to buy and sell radio stations. But the best time of my life was spent while at WNEW, and I decided I wanted to buy my own radio station. WDST was a very cool radio station in Woodstock, NY and it was for sale. I thought, “Wow, I can own a Woodstock radio station, and one day, technology will allow me to send that signal around the world and become a global station with the Woodstock brand.” Peace, Love & Rock N’ Roll.

2. Woodstock, NY certainly has a lot of musical cache, how does the station tap into that without over doing it?

We have a unique musical format in that we play Rock from the late 1960s to the present. It’s a really eclectic mix and a good balance between familiar and emerging artists. It is very fresh and contemporary and there is a musical lineage when you play The Beatles, Tom Petty, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, Maggie Rogers, Cold War Kids. We have a lot of fun and we take pride in the unique programming we create and curate. And our listeners really appreciate what we do.

3. Tell us about the hybrid revenue model you employ at the station.

Because we are a unique format, we have passionate listeners-- they know we are not like other radio stations and we do not pander to the ratings. So we ask our listeners to support us, and in return, we pledge to continue unique programming, to limit commercial breaks to under 2.5 minutes, and to eschew any advertising that does not comport with our values as a Woodstock-branded radio station. These values are locally supported businesses, green environmentally, inclusiveness, individual liberties and peace.

4. The station is set to celebrate 40 years! How has the station’s sound evolved over the decades?

We went from block programming in the years before I owned the station, to progressive rock, then modern rock, and then to our unique Triple A format. It is refreshing and freeing to be able to play anything we want, if it's thoughtfully done in a cohesive manner.

5. Tell us about your Hangout On The Hudson Festival to celebrate that milestone.

Because I was brought up in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s on radio, I had a lot of fun attending radio station summer music festivals. So, every time Radio Woodstock hits a milestone, we have produced an outdoor concert. We had the Psychedelic Furs for our 20th anniversary in 2000, we started Mountain Jam for our 25th anniversary (which has grown to become the largest rock and camping music festival in the U.S.), and we did a 35th concert in 2015 -- the Speed of Sound Festival -- with the Avett Brothers. So, this year we found a beautiful park in Poughkeepsie, and we have Death Cab for Cutie and Real Estate. This will “hopefully” happen on Saturday, August 1st.

6. In addition to this event, you have also been very active in producing other live music events such as Mountain Jam. Tell us about how that fits the Radio Woodstock brand.

Radio Woodstock has big shoes to fill in representing the Woodstock brand. Both the music we play and our involvement in our community, are ways we express ourselves. A big music festival -- which allows us to “touch” our listeners and sponsors outside of the airwaves -- is vital to who we are. And it allows us to diversify our revenue stream.

7. You and the station are very active in supporting breast cancer research and support. Tell us you became so passionate about this cause.

We wanted to have a central cause to support fully and a few of our staff members, as well as myself, had family members dealing with breast cancer. So, we got behind the efforts of our local hospital to increase their breast cancer center. We started raising money on air with a radiothon, and every year it got bigger. Every October we produce benefit concerts along with an auction and sponsorship support. We created a 501(c)(3) - The Radio Woodstock Cares Foundation and we have raised nearly $700,000 to date!

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

Radio has fallen into the hands of corporate America, and they over-leveraged and have hurt the vitality of what a radio station should be. They have homogenized radio and put advertising ahead of programming. Radio has become stale, boring, predictable because there is no focus on programming and personalities anymore. They have stripped radio down to the bare essentials.

9. What would surprise people most about the station?

Probably that we get some much done with a small amount of people. We are lean and mean, but we are very good and passionate about what we do, and that is why we are successful.

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

Become a chef. They are the new rock stars!

What are you doing about the Corona Virus on-air and with your staff:

We are taking this on a day-to-day basis, since things are changing so fast. On-air, we are doing what we do best - entertaining and using the power of music to uplift and inspire, as well as providing news and information in a timely manner to keep our community fully informed. This is an opportunity to be a positive influence in the community and we take that responsibility very seriously. We have told our staff that they can work at home as much as possible and we have contingency plans should any of our DJs get ill. We have a backup roster of DJs, and we are even prepared to have a DJ broadcast from their home if necessary.