Part of My Journey

 

Here is a piece of information for you. For you to determine whether it is cool or not...

In 1973, I was 12 years old. I went to Sacred Heart School on 1st and Ft. Lowell in Tucson, Arizona. I was in 8th grade. Our school was set up in a horseshoe, with the first-grade room on the tip of the left heel of the shoe. Second and third grade followed, and then a breezeway. After that, I believe there was an office of sorts. I kind of remember it that way because it had a ditto machine.

After that was a small room off the porch that had a window. Inside the room was a microphone that was connected to the loudspeakers in the courtyard. Next, in the left corner, was the cafeteria, then the fourth-grade classroom, the nun’s office, and then a catechism room. After the turn were the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade rooms. By that time, a hole had been cut through the concrete walls on that side of the school, and a self-paced learning system was implemented with science, language arts, math, etc.

I don’t remember when lunch was served, but after grabbing a quick bite, I would go to the room with the microphone, plug in a small record player, and start spinning tunes—announcing the songs and the artists. (Occasionally… if I remember, George Toto would join me.)

At that time, I had no idea what significance that would have on my life, but here I am, 52 years later, the owner (with my lovely bride, Deb Jameson) of Coast Radio—KCST and KCFM—with our partner, Jon Thompson.

To further point out the path, I was in Greenville, South Carolina, going to a very strict Bible college and was taking a break after the first semester of my second year of undergrad. I was dating a young woman who worked for the local 100,000-watt Christian/classical radio station. One evening, I arrived to pick her up after her shift and was introduced to Willie Thompson, the program director of the station. When we spoke, Willie said, "Have you ever thought about a job in radio?"

Oddly enough, I had. He hired me right then (sort of like Jon Thompson did 36 years later).

Back and forth across the country—marriage, struggle, moving to Nashville to become a hit songwriter—I ended up in a crappy restaurant job that fired me because I was blowing the whistle on all of the drug trafficking that was occurring with the kitchen manager and the regional vice president in cahoots. (I complained to the RVP, which was my mistake… who knew?)

I then took a job in telemarketing, and after several weeks, I began to think about those radio jobs I had and how well they fit my personality. But the trick was, "How do I get a job like that?" Well, this was in the early '90s, and faxing was the norm. I wrote a letter and faxed it to several radio stations in the area, and I heard back from three of them. (It was a comical piece of writing where I "tongue in cheek" purported to be the perfect candidate for toilet cleaning, car washing, and whatever else I could do to get in the door.)

It was here that I met Kimberly Morrissey. She was the assistant to the GM, Ned Horton. To my surprise, they hired me and put me at the front desk to answer phones... but I wasn't destined to stay there. I was one of those multitaskers who simultaneously knew the exact location of each sales staff member, wrote copy for Bob Dale, wrote a marketing plan, and researched air handlers for the studios. It was only a week before I was able to procure my first "fill-in" air shift for the legendary Keith Coes.

I then got the chance to do production, voice commercials, and produce the Nashville Knights hockey broadcasts as the board operator. Unfortunately, a traumatic incident that I witnessed kind of turned the tides momentarily, and I left to work for the president and CEO of Gibson Guitars. Through my restaurant experience, I was able to convince him to let me operate his coffeehouse music venue on Broadway, next to Planet Hollywood, as COO.

I did that until one night, when another staff member and I were counting the money, and she was turning in her tips, the door burst open. A cocaine-fueled individual accused us of stealing because I was giving her the cash for her "ones" that she was turning in. We managed to calm this person down and show them what we were doing, and he left satisfied. But it was at that moment that I realized this was not a good relationship.

So, after about six months there, I revisited the radio station "Lightning 100." It was under new management with GM David Tune and Sales Manager Erin Rosiello. They hired me for sales but soon realized that I was much more valuable in production, on the air, and in marketing. (Many cool stories surrounding that, but another time.)

I remained there for several years until 2000 when, out of a sense of fatherhood, I left for North Carolina. My father-in-law gave me one of his businesses to run so that we would move closer and he could be part of his two grandchildren's lives.

To make this extremely long story even longer—that lasted until the marriage fell apart. I left for Arizona with my son, Kai, and we stayed away for a year before moving back to North Carolina. I then got a job with WTZQ Radio and met my buddy, Mark Warwick. I worked my way up, got the morning show, paid well, and then left for Oregon.

With the exception of a year-long stint with KXL News in Portland, I landed in Florence—where, as I mentioned before, I was hired in the parking lot less than five minutes after meeting the owner and now partner, Jon Thompson.

The end… but not!