10AM-3PM shift. From a huge car show that he puts together and hosts annually (20,000 people and 12+ years now!), to his own line of fashion, books, amazing social media presence and countless community efforts—Xavier is a shining example of someone who’s built invaluable equity behind his name. He’s treated like a movie star around town, and it’s only because he earned it.
ARN: You are shopping your first movie at festivals, can you talk about your movie?
The festival circuit is finally done. You only have a certain amount of time after the film’s release to be included in festivals, and since the movie premiered in 2011, 2013 was pretty much our last year to participate. Like so many things in my life, this one sort of “just happened” by accident while doing something I enjoyed.
It all started at a long overdue station reunion for Tucson’s now defunct KJYK “Power 1490.” It was an amazing station with an amazing story—an AM radio station that played hip-hop and R&B in the 90s…and thrived! The format got flipped one sad day in 1995 with zero explanation to its listeners–and this was before internet; so no one ever knew what really happened to their favorite radio station that they loved and loyally supported—just that is “disappeared” one day. So at our reunion, 15 years later, I thought we should “roll tape” and grab some stories from the people that “made” Power 1490. I thought it may make a cool 10 minute YouTube video.
Well, after going home and looking at the footage and hearing some amazing stories for the first time, I knew this was much bigger than a YouTube clip. I launched into full movie production, including purchasing a camera and lighting rig and a putting together a huge travel budget that allowed me to scour the country to find anyone who had ever worked at, or with, Power 1490—including former GMs, record reps, and even artists. A year later we were premiering “A.M. Mayhem” in downtown Tucson at the historic Fox Theatre. The news did a piece on us. The whole town was invited. Admission was free. This was “our” chance to give listeners a proper send off. I’ll never forget that night. It was closure for me. It was closer for a lot of people.
I had no clue that any film festival would ever care about Power 1490, or my movie—but they did. In fact, it was only after a former Power 1490 colleague literally “forced” me to submit to a festival, did I. And I fell outta my chair when the film was not only accepted, but nominated for three awards. That motivated me to enter hundred of festivals in 2012 and 2013, and the result was the film being shown at over 15 festivals around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, even San Tropez and Pakistan! We have a stack of awards. They belong to the staff of Power 1490. They told the story. I simply hit “record” on the camera. You can see the trailer and order the movie at www.power1490.com I hope you’ll check it out.
ARN: You have an incredibly deep love to oldies and love songs how did that start?
R Dub!: I grew up around music. If it wasn’t my mom spinning Neil Diamond and Herb Alpert on her JC Penney record player, it was my dad’s endless Jimmy Buffet cassette collection on rotation that we’d listen to while driving around in his Caprice Classic. But it was my discovery of Urban radio in the early 1990s that really impacted me.
I had just moved to Orlando, Florida from Los Angeles, at 13 years old. I was just beginning to have an interest in current music—listening to 102.7 KIIS FM in L.A. I didn’t realize it then, but I favored all of the Rhythm-leaning stuff they played (I wasn’t aware there even such a thing as an “Urban” radio station at that age). So here I was, first night in Orlando, as I plugged in my trusty alarm-clock radio, which at the time was like my best friend. It was already set on 102.7FM, but there was no station in Orlando on that frequency. So I had to find a new one. I was faced with a choice: should I move the knob up or down the dial? I didn’t know it then, but today I realize that that one choice affected my life so greatly. I chose “down,” and the first station I stopped at was 101.9FM, or “102 Jamz.” Troop’s “All I Do Is Think of You” was playing. I froze—in awe that a “song” was speaking to me—and echoing exactly how I was feeling about a particular girl at the time. The next song did the same thing. And the next. And the next. I didn’t know it, but I had just walked head-first into theQuiet Storm. And my life would never be the same.
ARN: During your industry tenure, give me 5 songs that are always requested by listeners.
R Dub!: Keith Sweat-Nobody, K-Ci & JoJo-All My Life, Heatwave-Always and Forever, Brian McKnight-Back At One, Zapp & Roger-Computer Love.
ARN: Give me a few slow jams that you love the most.
R Dub!: My top five would be: Guy-Let’s Chill, Mint Condition-Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes), Keith Washington-Kissing You, MC Brains & Boyz II Men-Brainstorming, and ANY Al B. Sure! slow jam. Fun fact: I actually hired Al to be my midday jock at Hot 92.3 Los Angeles, in 2007.
ARN: Give me a few Rhythmic programmers that you greatly respect?
There are so many! But a handful of amazing programmers that I have been lucky enough to work for, and have impacted my life include: Bruce St. James, Mark Medina and Tracy Johnson. There are many others. ARN: What advice would you give a young jock coming into the industry today?
R Dub!: That they really must “love” the business to succeed. That, along with perseverance and a strong work ethic will take you far. Many of the failures I see stem from a lack of real “passion” for the business. That, or they aren’t willing to doanything it takes. I know people out of work who refuse to move out-of-state, or across the country. That tells me they aren’t dedicated enough to the business. That’s not a slight against them—it’s just a fact.
ARN: What unique campaign is your station working on right now
Our most unique campaigns are actually ones I can’t talk about. Seriously. We’re doing some ground-breaking stuff “behind the scenes” that we are already seeing traction on. Non-traditional promotions that have a completely different approach, seem to be working. Exciting stuff. What I can talk about? We launched a new morning show on Jammin’ Z90, “Morton in the Morning,” that I have high expectations for. On Magic our highest rated feature is our new “90s at Noon” feature. Our team does a great job at creating innovative, exciting programming, that moves the needle and makes a real difference. I think we take the right amount of calculated risks, and have been rewarded.
ARN: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Just how appreciative I am to be a part of this business. Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined everything that’s happened happening. Seems like every year just gets better and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank and acknowledge all the great people that have helped with these opportunities and chances to learn. To them, I say thank you.
