Assistant Program Director Deidre Gott is the person responsible for booking the diverse array of live music you hear on KUTX every day – from our 300+ live Studio 1A broadcasts, to KUTX Rock The Park, to our KUTX Live events at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin and Mueller.
Someone who likes to dive deep into her music passion, Deidre has worked nearly every angle of the music industry from radio and music television, to Waterloo Records and slinging merch with Shearwater. She has been singing in the same cover band for the last 12 years and might be Dolly Parton’s number one fan. Before joining KUTX in early 2016, Deidre spent over 10 years championing Austin music for a commercial Alternative Rock station and spent time programming Triple A, Alternative and Indie Rock programs for retail and restaurants. Some of her favorite bands include Tame Impala, Beck, and Octopus Project – among an ever-growing list of favorites!
What musical experience most set you on the path to a career in radio?
My whole family is musical and it’s always been a big part of my life. Piano, choir, band – I was a total music nerd. When I was old enough to listen to the radio and pick my own music I was obsessed with the oldies station. My friends and I would tape ourselves pretending to be DJ’s when I was a kid.
It wasn’t until I moved to Austin in 2001 that I pursued radio. I stumbled onto a radio remote happening at a club on 6th street and asked the DJ how to get a job in radio. She gave me a card and that was that.
What’s your favorite Austin music experience so far?
The Black Angels in 2006 at the very first Fun Fun Fun Fest. It had been an amazing festival, the sun had set and in the middle of “Black Grease” a helicopter flew over. It was such perfect timing. It sounded like it was part of the show. I just knew I had been a part of something really special and felt lucky to be have that experience.
Why public rather than commercial radio?
I worked 15 years in commercial radio before moving over to public radio last year. When I first started working at KUTX, I kept marveling, “This is what I always hoped radio would be!” There’s a freedom afforded in public radio that commercial radio doesn’t have. We’re not bound by charts and singles. We know the hits, but we get to take chances. It opens us and our listeners up to so many different genres and artists that I’m constantly discovering new stuff I really dig.
How do you spend your time when you’re not spinning records on the air?
Eating bean and cheese tacos.
Finish the sentence: “Austin Music Is ….”
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious