Or here if video doesn't automatically play....darn interweb. Kris
Kris Stevens
About
- The one question I get asked the most is "How did you get into radio?" - Answer: By never saying "no" is the short answer. Slightly longer but edited version: It all started when I was a custodian for my hometown high school in Joplin, MO. I was in my mid 20's and I was a janitor (not exactly the career path I thought of while I was there.) But it was a full time job with health insurance. Have you ever seen Good Will Hunting, where Matt Damon is a janitor with a gift for mathematics? Picture me buffing a floor and listening to the radio. I would call up the DJ's and request songs and with my personality, they would put me on the radio. Now I never had the desire to be a DJ when I was younger or even thought of it as a career. One day I was asked to play Sunday football with some of the jocks from the station (because they needed players and I was large.) It became a weekly event where I got to hang with the guys. After one Sunday football game, I asked "How do you get in this business, it sounds like fun?" The DJ at night that I would listen to told me to go job shadow with the girl who worked in the midday. So I did. It went really well and I had fun. The DJ turned to me and asked for my college papers to fill out. "Oh I don't go to college." her reply, "well we won't tell management." Apparently to intern you need to be in college. To my surprise, the midday girl walked out of the studio and came back with a job application... and the rest is... another really long story you can ask me in person. I will be glad to share. Radio is a great journey that has led me to my awesome wife Beth. We have 3 great kids: my stepson Eric who is 16, Kendra who is 8, and the youngest Sierrah who is 5. Oh, and the best dog a master could have Chessy (a Chesapeake Bay retriever.) Second most asked question I get is: What are country stars really like in person? This is the easiest question to answer... they are just like you and I. They may have a cooler job than us and are happy to be doing what they love. I think that is why we care about them and the music they create. I once ran into Keith Urban in a hallway at a hotel in Nashville. He could have just walked past me and continued on his way, but he stopped and talked to me, "How are you liking Nashville?" or "Good to see you again." Do you think Puff Daddy or P.Diddy or Diddy as he calls himself now would do that? For a fact, NO is the answer. I ran into him in a hallway once too and I said 'hi' as he chatted on his cell and blew me off. It's those differences that make us love the artists and follow them forever. If you ever want to know more about me, just ask. If you ever see me on the street, say "hi." If you hear me on your radio, call me. If you need bail money, call Paul Schadt.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
