Hartzell Gray

Senior Hartzell Gray went from interning at 96.5 The Buzz in Kansas City to having his own on-air show. Not impressed? It was all in one year! Her Campus Mizzou sat down with him to hear how he did it, give the inside scoop on the radio industry and more!

 

 

Her Campus Mizzou: For readers that may not know, what is 96.5 The Buzz? 

Hartzell Gray: 96.5 The Buzz is THE alternative music station in Kansas City, and I know I’m a little biased here, but I’d be willing to say that its also the best alternative music station in the country. 

 

HCM: How did you get started at 96.5 the Buzz? 

HG: Basically, I got started there last April as an intern working in promotions. I had no intention of doing anything on-air related. I was majoring in sports management at the time, and I thought it would be a good idea to get some promotions experience in a non-sports field, plus free concert tickets didn’t sound like a bad idea. From there, things sort of just snowballed into something great. I stated working with a guy named DannyBoi, one of the DJ’s from our morning show (Afentra’s Big Fat Morning Buzz) and he told me that I should give this whole on-air thing a try. We sat down and tried some things one day, and all while this was happening, our usual weekend DJ got sick with some kind of eye infection. So, I got a call from Danny Boi, and he said, “Hartzell, you’re on this week.” I guess you could say the rest is history, and I’ve been on-air every Sunday ever since.

 

HCM: Have you always wanted to be on the radio? 

HG: I’ve always had a dream of working in some sort of communications field, but honestly I pretty much thought that ship had sailed a long time ago. I had switched majors a few times, and by the time I stated interning from The Buzz, I was filling content with working promotions somewhere, ideally for a sports team. Now that I’ve gotten a chance to actually do what it is I want to do, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that I’m going stick with the radio industry. 

 

HCM: What was your experience like when you first got started at The Buzz? 

HG: It was a bit intimidating to be honest. The radio industry is its own little world, and when you’re an outsider coming in, it can be a bit overwhelming. But honestly, the best part about it has been the people. Be it on the promotions side or the on-air programming side, everyone has helped me every step of the way to be the most successful I can be. 

 

HCM: How did you make the decision to transfer to UMKC? 

HG: Well, I was on scholarship to run track at UMKC my freshman year of college, so I already knew about the school and really enjoyed it while I was there. So, after all of these things started happening with The Buzz, I thought it might be a good idea for me to finish up at UMKC after spending the past two and a half years at Mizzou. As fate would have it, my great-grandma got pretty sick this past winter break, and it was then that I decided to transfer back as soon as possible so that I could be back home with my mom and help take care of grandma. So that’s where I’ve been since January, and the fact that everything is going so well with The Buzz has been a real blessing because on top of a crazy work schedule, I also have a lot of crazy things going on at home. That’s just another reason why I love all the people that I’m working with. They have been so incredibly supportive throughout this entire process and the minute I told them that I would be back in Kansas City full time, they welcomed me back with open arms. I’ll never be able to say thank you enough. 

 

HCM: How has your experience been having your own airtime on The Buzz? 

HG: It’s been a dream come true. I get texts messages all the time from friends of mine who ask me, “Did I just hear you on the radio?” I’ve even had a few instances when I’m out with my friends and they’ll say my name or someone will her me talk, and they’ll come by and ask if I’m “Hartzell from The Buzz.” So in that regard, that’s been really cool. As far as the experience goes, there aren’t enough words to say how great this has been for my career. I’m 22 years old, finishing up college, and already have a full time radio show in a Top 30 market. In the less than a year since I’ve been at The Buzz, I’ve already made enough contacts to last a lifetime. I’m incredibly blessed. It only gets better from here.

 

HCM: You have a great social media presence? How important to you is it to connect with listeners and what’s most fulfilling about it? 

HG: I must say that has probably been the most surprising thing to happen to me during this entire run. One of the big things The Buzz takes pride in is our social media presence and I can definitely attest to that. We never think of our listeners as “fans.” To us, they are always family. So yeah, I’ve picked up quite a few Twitter followers since I’ve started working for The Buzz, but to me, I think of it like gaining new friends. We sometimes joke that we may not have the largest number of listeners, but they’re definitely the best listeners in the country. In fact, a great deal of the “followers” I’ve picked up from this experience, I truly consider friends of mine. So yeah, it’s important that we engage with them, because they matter to us. 

 

 

HCM: With The Buzz, you get to work with a lot of new bands. What are some that readers should be looking out for and listening to? 

HG: Its so hard to say, because in working at The Buzz, we pride ourselves on being one of the few station in the country that REALLY plays new artists, for example, we were one of the first stations in the country to play Mumford and Sons. Think of it this way, the average radio station plays what they consider to be 18-20 “new” artists in there rotation. The Buzz plays over 40. So yeah, I’ve gotten a chance to hear and meet a lot of great new artist. If I had to say right now who it is I’d be on the look out for, definitely pay attention bands like Alt-J, New Politics, Sir Sly and Glass Animals, because I have a good feeling they are going to blow up here pretty soon. On a more local Kansas City level, I’d say you should be paying attention to bands like The Architects, Radkey and Rev Gusto. They’ll be traveling with us to the SXSW music festival this March, and I expect them to do big things this year.

 

HCM: What advice would you give someone that wants to be in the radio industry? 

HG: My friends ask me all the time what it is they can do to get into the radio business, and honestly, the best advice I can give to always be visible at the station, without making it seem like you’re trying to be visible. Like for me, I put in over 500 hours of free intern hours this summer, and I know for a fact that people saw that and new that I loved coming to work every day. I’ve always had a passion for radio and broadcasting in general, but like I said, working on air was never even something I ever imagined would ever happen for me during my internship, and honestly I pretty much thought that dream had come and gone for me. But, while I was there, someone decided to take a chance on me, and I attribute that 100% to being at the station every day, and busting my butt everyday while I was there. 

 

HCM: So what’s next for you? Where do you hope to go in your career from here? 

HG: I like to think that the sky is the limit for me. I will have been at The Buzz for a year in April, and without a doubt, it’s been the best year of my life. In addition to what I do now on-air, I also work as a promotions assistant for The Buzz in our promotions department, so yeah, I spend a lot of my time at the station. By this time next year, I want to be doing even more. Honestly, I have no problem working 40-50 hours a week there, because none of it actually feels like work. I’m one of those people that, once I find something that I’m passionate about you can’t stop me. I love this business, I love the people I work with, and I love this radio station. Fingers crossed, I’ll be at The Buzz for a very long time.