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Monday, May 22, 2006
5/22: More on Cadillac
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cadillac Jack (Hyde Choate is his real name) opened officially today with Jim Vann and Kristen Gates. He and Kristen get equal billing in the name of the show.
Cadillac, who is 33 and has been with Kicks and Eagle since he was 19, sounded excited on the air and said he hopes to be around 10 to 15 years. His boss Victor Sansone is enthusiastic about his move, complimenting Cadillac for his economy of words, his sense of timing, his rich cadence, his understanding of the Kicks audience. “He understands you don’t have to sit there and talk to yourself endlessly,” Sansone said. “He’s comfort food. The listeners relate to him.”
I spoke with him Friday and he said though he had passed on the opportunity to do mornings in the past, he felt the time was right now. “I don’t want to be the afternoon guy when I’m 60,” he said. “This is a great personal decision, a great professional decision. At some point, you have to take the job. This time around, I knew I was ready. I look forward to coming even closer with the listeners. That’s what it’s about. The connection.”
His wife had just quit as a sales person at Kicks after a decade to take care of his three kids full time (Will, 7; Olivia, 3; and Charlotte, 7 weeks). “We didn’t know the offer was in front of us until she had already resigned,” he said.
Morning shows are the revenue and image drivers for most radio stations. He acknowledged that he will be under the microscope, something he didn’t have to worry about in the afternoons. “I’ll have to get a tough skin,” he said. “I’ll not a tough-skinned person. You have to expose yourself to everything you do.”
