Loudcaster Daily DJ: Jack Sharp from JackMix.FM

Today is the first day of our new feature, The Daily DJ

Our spotlight today is JD, from JackMix.

Where to listen: http://loudcaster.com/channels/73-jackmix

More info: http://jackmix.fm/

When I asked Jack how he got started in radio, his answer inspired him to be the first DJ in our spotlight.  He answered “I started in radio right out of high school.  Worked at a local MOR station for 2 years, joined the Army, and started back in radio full time in 1970 working for a local top 40 Rock Giant in the Monterey Bay Area.  I started playing several musical instruments at a very young age, and when I was not on the air at a local rocker, you could find me at a local club working in a band.  Spent about 20 years working in top 40, and country radio, but after getting married, the little woman figured it was time for me to start making money and get a real job, so left the broadcasting industry and started my own 2-way radio shop.  I have always loved music and radio, and its nice to be able to run JackMix the way I want too without someone telling me what I need to play, and when to play it :)  I was lucky enough to become program director at several stations, but you are still limited.  I have been broadcasting online, since the beginning of online radio, and have used pretty much all the services available.”

Our Interview:

Tia: As a musician, what kind of music did you play?

Jack:

As a musician I played pretty much everything.  Rock, Country, Blues, and even some Jazz. I was a member of the local Musicians Union, so when I got an offer of work, I took it.  Since I pretty much love all music, it all worked :)

Tia: JackMix is a favorites of all decades station — is there a decade of music you don’t like?

Jack:

I love most everything starting from the late 50’s through some of todays best artists like Joss Stone.  I am not a fan of Rap.  I grew up with the music my parents listened to, which was mostly country.  At that time many stations played all the formats on one station, so I was introduced to many formats.

Tia:What is a challenge you face as an internet DJs and station owner?

Jack:

The biggest challenge I face, is getting more listeners to drop by and take a listen.  I have found that if I can get them to “find me” and take a listen, many of them will come back.  There are so many good stations, as a listener… it would be hard to choose I think. Most listeners are button pushers as well, and if a song comes on they do not like, they just hit the button and change stations.  I try and program JackMix so that if you do not like the song that is playing, hang around a bit, and most likely you will like the next one :)

Tia: What was your favorite moment in radio?

Jack:

My favorite moment in radio would be the day I had worked very hard for.  I had been working at various stations around Santa Cruz, and the Monterey Bay area, and most of them were MOR or Country.  I really wanted to work in top 40 rock, but most top 40 stations would not hire a “rookie”.  During the time I was working at various stations, I was recording air checks, and sending them to every rock station in the area, and one day I received a phone call to come on down to Canery Row in Monterey, CA to interview for a job a KMBY (a very popular rock station).  They hired me for the midnight to 6 am slot, and the rest is history.

Tia: And the worst?

Jack:

One of the worst days in radio may have been the day I was doing a live spot for Smuckers Fine Jelly.  The tag line at the end of the spot was “Fine Smuckers Jelly”, but OH NO… I said “Smine F…… Jelly”. Not once, but three times.  I forgot that you were not supossed to correct a line if you blew it, because most everyone thinks they heard it wrong.  Not me… Three times.  I could hear everyone in the station roaring in the background through the soundproof windows.  Its pretty funny looking back, but at the time… not so much.  I could go on and on, but that was one of the worst times on radio.  Oh wait… there is more.  At KMBY we used to leave the door open down on the street that came up some stairs so people could watch the DJ live on the air.  

Let me paint the picture.  It was around 3AM.  I was tired…. There was a big window that from the hall way upstairs visitors could watch the DJ from the backside as he worked.  The view was the board, turntables, cart machines, etc.. Visitors could watch you from behind, but YOU could not see them because they were behind you.  The only way to see them was to look forward at a window that enclosed the AM transmitter, and if the light was just right, you could see people in the hall.  

Ok.. back to the story…. I was tired, and for some reason my pants were stuck to my butt.  I decided to raise up and pull them loose, only to look at the reflection in the transmitter window and low and behold… 3 of the best looking girls you would ever want to see were enjoying the view.  Of course the song was ending and a spot was scheduled, so I could not leave quickly.  I had to sit down, regain my composure, and look cool… Yea Right!  I can still hear them laughing….

Tia: You have about 4000 tracks in Loudcaster’s track manager, does your station mostly run on the DJ Bot, or is that for backup?

Jack:

Up until recently I was mostly live.  I have several automation software packages “StationPlayList” my favorite by the way… and since I work from the studio, I am almost always around.  It was very easy to roll the chair to the console and do my thing, but for some reason lately, the (internet) connection has been a bit intermittent, and when I wind up dropping out, the Bot kicks in, which is good… The bad new is… when you drop out too many times it sounds pretty bad, so I gave up being live unless I am sitting at the console.  You could see listeners in the stats, disappearing like flies in a wind storm, after a few drop outs.

Tia: What’s the Memory Lane Show?

Jack:

The Memory lane show is a live show that I air on the weekend.  Big Bob plays music from the 50s & 60s and talks about the history of rock and roll.  He is a great guy, and as long as I can stay on the air live, he streams his show remotely, and my automation software grabs the stream.  Sounds just like he is in my studio.

Tia: What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out?

Jack:

One of the biggest things I can offer a new broadcaster as far as advise would be to find a place to broadcast from, and do the best you can to stick it out.  I have used every service you can think of over the years, and since I am always looking for a better “mouse trap” with more features, I changed providers too much!  Sometimes it was because the service was bad, but most of the time it was because I figured there were more listeners somewhere else.  

Every time you switch providers, it costs you listeners.  I was lucky enough to hook up with Brandon during the early days, and since I was almost always around, we did quite a bit of “testing”.  I grew very found of Brandon, and what he stood for, and even though there have been growing problems (there always will be, when you are improving features) I have never found a guy that is more dedicated to internet broadcasting, and making things work the way they should.  

Trust me when I say…. you will NOT find a better service then Brandon and the Crew provide, right here at Loudcaster.  I have used the rest, and came back to the BEST! No… I am not on the payroll :) Stay where you start, and work on your music… your style…. features… listener interaction, etc…  Good luck to all… and to all a good night :)

Thanks Jack, for taking the time to talk to me. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your story. So check out JackMix, open up chat and say hi, he also takes requests so if you have a favorite be sure to let him know.