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Dustin Carlson started in radio in high school in 1997. His career has taken him from his small hometown of Wenatchee, WA, through five other states, and he has worked with multiple formats: Hot AC, CHR, Active Rock, and Alternative.
He’s currently APD/MD/Afternoons/Imaging for KDKB ALT AZ 93-3 in Phoenix. He’s about to celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary and recently opened a business that’s about to celebrate its second anniversary. “My husband and I opened an upscale dog grooming and wash boutique about two years ago, ‘Petbar,’” explains Carlson. “It’s my future plan. We’re part of a franchise system and have plans to open at least two more locations in the next couple of years. “We’re about to get started on our second. The first one JUST became profitable this month. No plans to retire from radio anytime soon, but knowing what’s next makes navigating the current state of the industry a lot more comfortable.”
Carlson started at KW3 Wenatchee, WA, during his senior year of high school board-oping for “Casey’s Top 40” and Rick Dees on the weekends. “I talked them into letting me track, then took on nights, then full-time, adding production director duties for the cluster,” he says. “Then I realized I couldn’t support myself in radio living in a small town, so I got out and moved to Denver and fell back on my printing/graphic design background.”
“The Radio bug caught me again in Denver. I ended up meeting Mike Stern, who gave me my first big break; spent a few months at Alice babysitting overnights, then followed Mike to Milwaukee for a couple of years at Lazer 103. After that, I moved on to Vegas and spent eight years at Xtreme Radio, which later became X107.5. I later went to Boston for two years at AMP, and now Phoenix, where I will celebrate ten years in March at ALT AZ.”
“We’ve built something really special here in Phoenix,” says Carlson. “ALT AZ has always had a focus on our community and local music scene. Between myself, our morning host Izzy, and midday host Mo, we sound like a family that loves each other. This extends to our audience. They interact with us like friends; they see us out and about all over the valley; they approach us and give us hugs at shows; they constantly thank us for being their daily entertainment, and there is a genuine connection between us and our listeners. We’re very supportive of the LBGTQ+ community, we love getting behind pet rescues, and love to step up for any organization that needs it.”
“Our big event is the annual Ugly Sweater Holiday Party, which is your typical station-branded Christmas show(s). The Ugly Sweater theme has been a wild and fun success for the entire history of the station (except that one year). We’re lucky to be able to do outdoor shows here in Phoenix in December, which is pretty much the only time of year we can wear sweaters.
“I think the state of the format is great right now if we’d all just get out of our own way,” insists Carlson. “The only thing holding us back is our corporate mentality. As a business owner, I get the bottom line. My argument is that the best way to grow the bottom line is to focus on building a great brand. If anything is missing right now, it’s fun and variety. It’s hard to focus on the brand when you don’t have people and are overwhelmed by too many corporate initiatives. ‘But it’s the brand, stupid!’ Always has been, always will be. Build a great Alternative station, fu%k everything else.”
So, what could we be doing better? “First and foremost, we need to return to local programmers,” says Carlson. “I see this format as part of an ecosystem that needs to be cultivated. We need to participate. This means so many things. If all we’re doing is sorting research and playing the same 200 songs over and over, we’re never going to win. Yes, we have to be familiar, we have to be hit driven, we have to be sticky, but if we’re not taking time to break the rules and have some fun once in a while, we’re boring AF. You have to have the right people in place that you can trust to break the rules. You also have to have enough of them to be present. You can’t create that human connection without humans. The human connection wins.”
“Phoenix loves its rock, emo, and pop-punk. But ultimately, ‘Alternative’ is more than just music; it’s a mindset,” says Carlson. “The mindset across markets is more similar than the music, but if you’re talking the talk and walking the walk, people should follow.”
One of the biggest challenges in the Alternative format is the repetition and sharing of a large gold category among both Rock & Alt records. Historically, the same artists and songs come back as the most familiar and are played over and over again on multiple stations in markets. I asked Carlson, “How do we find a content balance and keep the music and formats sounding fresh?”
“Well, I can tell you playing a super tight playlist of 200 of your best testing songs is not a winning formula on its own for this format,” he says. “I can also tell you that we sound completely different than our active rock sister station while sharing a reasonable chunk of titles. The Alternative format is one of the most diverse genres of music out there. The challenge is that there are relatively few of what test as gold ‘hits.’ We have to read between the lines in our research to program a product that’s worth listening to. We also have to get beyond this notion that people only listen for ten minutes at a time and that we have to program for those ten minutes. With our format, especially, people want to listen longer, so we have to give them a reason to.”
“First, you have to start with those top 200 titles. You have to build a bulletproof music policy; then, you have to create space to step outside the box. This can mean many things. The secondary categories are where this format shines. That’s where the best music is. Just because a song doesn’t test into the top 200 doesn’t mean people don’t like hearing it once and a while. So in between the Nirvana, Green Day, and RHCP, we have room to go a little deeper.”
As for new music, Carlson says there is plenty of it out there to keep the format vibrant and alive. As for the new Linkin Park strategy, the verdict is still out for him. “As one of the original Linkin Park fans, I have so many mixed and very emotional feelings on this,” he explains. “I had already accepted we would never see this band again. As soon as I started hearing rumors of a new lead singer, I was horrified. After hearing ‘The Emptiness Machine,’ I was more open-minded. The more I hear it, the more I like it.
“Then we started playing ‘Heavy is the Crown.’ Now, it’s starting to make sense. I think bringing in a female was the best possible choice. No male would ever measure up. Emily has the opportunity to create her own space in the Linkin Park world. That said, some of those first videos I saw of her singing the old stuff at their first show in LA when they did the announcement made me want to vomit. I’m excited and terrified to see them live next year. I’m going into it with an open mind, but I’m not sure anyone but Chester should be singing those songs. I’m not sure I want to see anyone but Chester sing those songs.”
When it comes to Country artists like Hardy crossing over into the Alternative world, Carlson feels like Programmers need to know where to draw the line. “It’s too easy to be dazzled by ‘data’ that makes it look like something is a slam dunk. For me, one of the first questions we should ask when considering music is ‘is this Alternative?’ If we have a hard time answering that question, we should ask ‘is this artist Alternative?’ Just because a country artist puts out a song (or album) that leans in our direction sonically doesn’t mean we should play it. For me, it’s about mentality. The country mentality is pretty much the polar opposite of the Alternative mentality. For that reason alone, it’s an easy no for me. I could put this song (PSYCHO) in research, and it could come back strong, but I still wouldn’t want to play it; there are a lot of titles like that.”
“I spent most of my career hearing ‘don’t talk about yourself, listeners don’t care about you,’” adds Carlson. “Turns out that was terribly bad advice. That’s exactly what they want. They tell us every time we see them. To the point it doesn’t really matter what I say or do on my show as long as I’m being real. Hell, I even announce when my show is tracked. I tell them ‘I’m not here right now, I’m off doing this ________.’ Then they want to hear about whatever ‘this’ was when I come back. So, I guess I prep for my show by living my life.”
“Overall, the synergy between what we do on the radio, what happens in the community, and the live music scene is what makes radio special for me,” says Carlson. “I love interacting with our listeners at our events and shows. I’m in this to entertain people, so when they tell me they’ve been entertained, that’s probably the most exciting thing for me. I have so many amazing memories, so many insane stories, so many times I should have gotten in a lot of trouble. Working with artists who appreciate our roll in their success is also very rewarding, thankfully most of them do in this format.”
“As for my favorites right now, Artemas is my number one. I’m obsessed! Balu Brigada is great, Dead Poet Society, Pierce The Veil, Twenty-One Pilots, Weathers. Honestly, my favorite way to consume music is to tell Apple Music to create a station based on a song I like, so I get to hear a bunch of stuff I don’t know. That’s how I get my new music fix!”
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Charese Fruge’ is an award-winning Content, Broadcast, and Marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, and Las Vegas. As the owner of MC Media, she works with radio brands and individual talent, especially young women, helping them grow their brands and negotiate on their own behalf. She is also a Voice Actor and Voice Over Talent as well as a Freelance Writer for International Broadcast Outlets. Find her at @MCMediaOnline or www.mcmediaonline.com.
