Jagger: We both got our start in our hometown of Youngstown, Ohio at the legendary WHOT. Tell us the stops you made from there to get to WAKS (96.5 KISS FM) in Cleveland.
Kasper: Yep, and what a blast it was right? A couple of kids right out of high school working at the station they grew up listening to and pestering as baby radio geeks…gotta love it! So from HOT it was off to Erie, PA as the APD/MD/Night guy at WRTS/Star 104. Then to Roanoke, VA for MD/afternoons at WXLK (K92) and then to Cleveland as the MD/night guy at WAKS - which was then "Kiss 104.9", and only covered a small portion of the metro. Eventually we moved to 96.5, a full market signal and I moved up to Afternoon Drive and added on APD duties as well. I left for Afternoon Drive at WIOQ (Q102)/Philly for about a year, missed the programming side of things and returned to KISS/Cleveland to be reunited with my friends Callout and Selector.

Jagger: Not only are you the Assistant Program Director/Music Director at KISS, but you're also the Afternoon Drive Jock AND you're voice tracking a bunch of other markets like Baton Rouge, Dallas, Youngstown and KISS XM. Any advice that you would give to some of the up and coming jocks out there?  
Kasper: First and foremost, embrace multi-tasking. We're all wearing multiple hats these days, that's the biz in 2011! Network with your peers. Be yourself on the air, but find someone who inspires you and study their show and career path. Be passionate about your own show, make every break count and have FUN. Be prepared to move in order to achieve your long term goals. Stay humble regardless of success. Ask questions!  Embrace and seek out constructive criticism. Oh, and don't swear into the mic!

Jagger: You and your wife Krissy recently had your first child, Katie. How is it being a Dad and how has it challenged everything else that you are doing with your life and career?
Kasper: Eight months later I'm a diaper-changing machine! Poop and pee, you've been CONQUERED! Seriously, she makes me want to be the best I can be at everything I do in life and work. It's hard to put into words here how amazing it is to be not only a Dad, but HER Dad. Watching her grow and do things for the first time is incredible. She just started saying "Mama" and "Dada" over the past couple weeks and just loves to talk, period - even if it's mainly baby-speak. Our family always jokes that radio is in her blood since Krissy and I are both in the business. Hey, whether she wants to be a doctor, lawyer, vet, teacher or the first female host of American Top 40, she's got our support. Watch out just in case though, Seacrest!

Jagger: Who are your biggest influences thus far in your career? 
Kasper: The biggest influence was my Grandpa who is the reason I'm in radio today. He was a huge music buff who had tons of albums and all the latest tech gadgets at the time, which included a microphone that was hooked up to speakers. When I was really little and we went to my grandparents, he'd let me talk on the mic over the songs playing and we'd record it. Because of this, I caught the radio bug pretty early and never looked back.

Jagger: When LeBron James made his now infamous decision breaking a lot of hearts in Ohio, what did WAKS do on the air with it? Have you done anything since he returned as a member of the Heat?
Kasper: Our morning show (Elvis Duran and the Morning Show) was on vacation when Lebron made his South Beach-talent-taking announcement to the world, so (WAKS PD) Bo (Matthews) had me do the morning show live in place of Elvis' best-of the next morning. I honestly probably could have been on the air for 24 hours straight and still not had every phone call get though. It was unreal. The city was disappointed, angry and heartbroken but more so by the way he did it, on National TV in prime time. We ended up having a lot of fun with it in promos and muted Lebron's name out of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" which garnered national attention. 

Jagger: What artists have you had the chance to either meet or interview that you were surprised about how cool they really were? 
Kasper: Shontelle, Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, Sean Paul and Rihanna all come to mind, all so cool and down to earth. Honorable mention goes out to G-Unit, you would think they were recording a new album when they were here, that's how seriously they took recording their artist station IDs for us.

Jagger: Your station recently started a new feature that runs twice a day called the “96.5 Kiss FM Takeover” where you let your listeners actually control songs that air on 96-5 Kiss FM. It sounds like a really cool idea. Can you tell us more about it?
Kasper: We partnered up with the guys at LDR (Listener Driven Radio) for this feature which lives up to its title completely. Listeners literally take over the station for an entire hour at 3pm and 7pm by voting for any song they want to hear via kisscleveland.com. Nexgen and LDR are set up to work in perfect symphony with each other, and the songs with the most votes are automatically plugged into Nexgen to play. Anything within the realm of pop music goes whether it's something brand new, a throwback or a song we're already playing 6,000 times a week. Interestingly enough, it's the latter that gets the most votes, but there's definitely a good amount of the "oh wow" and new stuff being voted on and playing. The feedback thus far has been incredible, the passion level for it on Twitter and Facebook is unreal and our numbers in those hours are healthy as ever. So far, so good!

Jagger: It was unique to grow up with a friend who loved radio as much as you did. When we started out at WHOT we always knew we wanted to work in bigger markets and at bigger stations. It was pretty cool working with you. If we were to work together again how would you pick a perfect scenario?
Kasper: Whoever becomes PD somewhere first hires the other if there's an opening, deal?

Jagger: On a more personal note…What’s one thing that people may not know about you?
Kasper: I'm a HUGE comic book geek. I loved Iron Man, Avengers, X-Men and Spidey before Hollywood made it cool to love Iron Man, Avengers, X-Men, and Spidey. It's gotta be Marvel though! Outside of Batman, DC is just okay.

Jagger: I think that you have some of the best ears in the business, what song(s) do you think Top 40 missed?
Kasper: More recently, I thought Eminem/Lil Wayne's "No Love" should have done better nationally than it did. Going back a little bit, Blake Lewis "I Got U" should have been one of the biggest hits of 2008. Britney Spears "Unusual You" from her Circus CD should have also been a single that would have been a smash! 

Jagger: As kids growing up I was (and still am) an Ohio State Buckeyes fan. I remember you were a big Michigan fan. All of a sudden you are now a Buckeyes fan.  How did that happen?
Kasper: It's true! Admittedly, I'm not a huge college football guy to begin with, the NFL is my passion (GO BROWNS!) but I never was a Buckeye fan until Jim Tressel left Youngstown State University (our alma mater) for the head coaching job at OSU. I'm a big Scarlet and Gray guy now, "In Tressel We Trust"....even if he's suspended for six games along with half the team. Long live the sweater vest!