10 Questions with ... Ira Gordon

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Twenty years in Denver radio -- two at KAZY, four at KFML (PD), 10 at KBCO and three at KDHT (PD)

1. How did you become interested in radio?

Always listened to it, decided to make it a career when working at KUCI (Univ. of Calif. at Irvine) when at college.

2. You have been in Santa Fe 15 years now and have seen KBAC go through several owners. Tell us about that.

We started with a small radio group, Roberts Radio, who sold the chain to Clear Channel in year five. We spend three years as their critical darling, then another three as they worked on dismantling our success. In 2006, Scott Hutton was leaving AGM and consolidating all of the stations in Santa Fe under a single owner ... and he made KBAC the flagship.

3. Your current owners - Hutton Broadcasting - seem committed to radio in the market. How has it been going so far?

Excellent. We won the Small Business of the Year award from the Chamber of Commerce. Scott focuses mainly on sales and leaves programming to his PDs. He has a unique perspective, good ideas, a strong commitment to public service and considers his employees part of his family.

4. KBAC has a unique music mix; for those that have never heard the station, how would you describe the sound?

We stay away from the pop stuff that seems to be the focus of many major-market Triple As and take a more progressive stance with a lot of the Alternative bands that fall in between Triple A and harder Alternative formats. We are sometimes six months out in front of eventual hits -- acts like One Eskimo, Avett Brothers, Phoenix, Michael Franti, MGMT, Sharon Jones, The Hold Steady, Muse, Greg Laswell and Edward Sharpe. We play very little Classic Rock.

5. What do you like best about your job?

The problem solving -- when two diametrically opposed forces come into my office and I can work out a solution that appeals to both

6. How do you balance your efforts between KBAC and the other stations in the group?

I've had less time to focus on KBAC as I would like, as my other two stations have to be tended to more and more. With baseball playoffs and football, our ESPN-affiliated AM takes up more of my time at this time of the year, and we have recently converted our "chill" station to more of a Top 40/Dance hybrid and I had to come up to speed pretty quickly on what has been happening with those formats in the last 15 years.

7. What is your biggest challenge at the station(s)?

Trying to find the time to get everything accomplished I would like! I'm at the station six days a week, and on the 7th I'm usually at home in front of the CD player looking for songs.

8. What do you like best about working at a Triple A station?

I've found the folks in the format less ego-driven than other formats ... at least at the stations I have been lucky enough to work at.

9. Best advice for young programmers/promotion people?

Take a chance. Add or work a record you believe in regardless of the forces conspiring against you. Play it safe and you die a little bit more every day.

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

Curator at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.

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

Watch movies, snorkeling,

Last non-industry job:

Owned a record store in San Diego

First record ever purchased:

"Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" by Rolf Harris - 45 and "Meet The Beatles" - album

First concert:

Jefferson Airplane and The Doors -- 1967

Favorite bands of all-time:

Bruce Springsteen / Pink Floyd / Jerry Lee Lewis / Burning Spear / Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen / Milt Jackson / McCoy Tyner