What musical experience most set you on the path to a career in radio?
Probably the first time I heard Hank Williams. I would’ve been around 3 or 4, and his voice was transfixing, ghostly, otherworldly. I think from this moment on I always knew music would pull me into its undertow. Other signposts along the way: listening to the imaginative atmosphere of Texas Rangers radio broadcasts as a kid on hot summer nights; playing in a high school garage rock band; the freeform mania of college radio (shoutout, KVRX!).
What’s your favorite Austin music experience so far?
I have three, all very different: meeting Willie Nelson (duh); seeing Radiohead’s ACL taping in 2012, with a crowd of thousands in the palm of their collective hand; seeing Califone in an East Austin living room on an incredibly muggy August night, 2013. Maybe 30 people in the audience, and it was transcendent. Music at its most intimate and life-affirming.
Why public rather than commercial radio?
Is that even a choice?
How do you spend your time when you’re not spinning records on the air?
Spin records at home. Play guitar. Watch soccer and basketball, sometimes at the same time.
Finish the sentence: “Austin Music Is ….”
…DIY.