KUVO radio station Manager Carlos Lando interview

Jeremy Levy back with you to share my interview with Carlos Lando.As you read in my last post that I did an internship at KUVO radio back this summer. I was a casual fan of KUVO radio ever since 1996 or 1997. I first heard Carlos on the air on a night when KUVO radio moved into their new performance studio. I remember that he was in the studio with some jazz performers. Rodney Franks, who now works from 4-8 o’clock, was celebrating in the regular KUVO radio studio. They went back and forth with the celebration from the regular radio studio to the performance studio. They had a couple of bands that were live that night. It was a really special night to listen to. I have heard Carlos during some of the pledge drives. I remember him doing a show with Steve Chavis a couple of years ago and I really thought they made a great team. KUVO radio was a wonderful place to intern and I am very appreciative and thankful that I met Carlos. When I first met Carlos, Tina Cartegena introduced me to him and she joked with me to not butter him up. I was so excited to meet him that I forgot what she told me and I said that I had been a big fan of his for a long time. . Carlos is now the station manager at KUVO radio. Here is my interview with Carlos.Jeremy Levy: I first started listening to you in 1996 or 1997. How did you get your start in Colorado radio?Carlos Lando: I came to Colorado in 1980. I went to work for KDKO radio Which is what they called an urban contemporary radio station. It was a commercial radio station. We played Soul music. It evolved into disco and then it evolved into Rap a little bit. I had a background in jazz music before, but I couldn’t find a job in jazz radio when I moved to Colorado. My other true-love of music was R & B. I got a job at KDKO radio and I was there for 5 years.JL: When you worked at KDKO radio. Who were some of the people that you worked with and what did you learn from them about the radio industry?CL: The first person I worked with was the General manager named Rod Louden. He was an old radio guy from the 50’s. I admired him a lot. I became the program director of KDKO radio in 1982. I had a great team of radio personalities that I worked with. Kevin Brown was on mornings, I had a guy named Cooch that was on in the afternoons. I had a guy named Danny Harris . It was a great team and a great staff. I worked there until 1985 and the station was sold. Then I left and worked for KBCO radio. I worked there for 1 year and then I came to KUVO radio.JL: When you started KUVO you have worked with some great people, Rodney, Ed, Andy O, Susan, Steve, and others What is it like working with this great team of people?CL: The best part of working with people like Rodney, Steve, and the others is their passion for the jazz music that they play. Also, their motivation for the community. The other part is they are very strong communicators They believe when they turn on that microphone They are representing KUVO and the Colorado community. It is a great team.JL: Yes I have noticed that when I have been doing my internship here. I know that you did a show with another host in the mornings for some time. I can’t quite remember his name though What was it like working with this host and what did you learn from him over the time that you 2 were partners on that show?CL: You must be talking about Steve Chavis when the show was called Lando and Chavis. The show was called Lando and Chavis and we did that for 5 years. It was a lot of fun We were able to do more community discussions and interviews. It was a good show, but the reason we are not doing it any more is that our management responsibilities got in the way. When I started that show at the beginning I was also the program director and the general manager It was a lot to do we did it as long as we could then Steve took over as the program director For all of us to grow as an organization and to grow our hosts We just found that it was too much to do a show and manage and program the station at the same time. We decided to restructure the station a little bit and the on air shifts. We asked Victor Cooper to come in during the mornings because we have plenty of on air talent we have more talent than most stations. We were able to get the morning show covered so that we could focus more on our programming and our managerial responsibilities. Steve is available to fill in and so am I.JL: This is where you met Mathew Goldwasser. Mathew told me that this is how he got his start at KUVO by doing movie reviews on your show. How did this come about? What have you learned from Mathew?CL: The segment was called Jazz on film. Mathew is such a great researcher. Mathew, Steve, and I would sit down and talk about what were some great films with jazz music in them to talk about. Mathew basically started to research the film era called film Noir from the fifties. We also did jazz documentaries. What I learned is that people get turned on to music through film sometimes you are watching a movie and you think to yourself what is that song? You wait until the end of the movie to see the ending credits or who played the music for that movie that’s how I got turned on to certain styles of music that I wouldn’t normally listen to . Mathew was very good about detailing the artist and the style of the music.JL: I am looking forward to checking out some of these on the KUVO website. In 1996 you moved into the performance studio. I was listening that particular night and I really thought it was a special time. What made this night so special for you?CL: Jeremy it is interesting that you asked that because I was looking at a DVD of that night and we had someone filming that night. Manfredo Fest, the great Brazilian pianist was there. I knew him when he was in Florida. He played with the Colorado Symphony. So it was wonderful that Manfredo and his crew were able to be there. That was an amazing night. It was a big party for the community. Our doors were open for anyone to come and visit the new studio. There has been over 1000 performances in that studio.JL: I know that working at KUVO you get to meet some famous jazz artists. Are there any jazz artists that stand out in your mind as being your favorites?CL: One of my favorites was Benny Golson who was one of the great jazz composers of all time. Benny used to work with Art Blakey in the 50’s. He always had such great stories. One story was about Johnny Coltrane used to come to his house and mentor him because there were from the same neighborhood in Philadelphia. He would tell stories like that. Another interview that wasn’t jazz related was Jefferson Starship. One of the members was doing some art work and she came into the studio. She told us about her love for the music. We have had so many people come in. It just has been wonderful the many people that have come to do interviews with us.JL: What have been 1 or 2 favorite jazz artists from Colorado that you have met?CL: One of my favorites was Billy Toles. He was a saxophonist. He used to do concerts at El Chapultepec, which is a jazz house here in Colorado. Another one would be Freddy Rodriguez. He is still playing marvelously. Ellyn Rucker would be another one. I love her piano playing.JL: What would be your advice for someone wanting to get into Colorado Radio?CL: The first thing is to think about it first. Radio has changed a lot over the years. It has changed because how people access radio these days is different. The internet has changed. You can listen to radio People want to hear things when they want to hear them. If you want to get into radio these days you must be prepared to understand That radio is just another platform for how people access content The internet is so important these days with podcasting and other forms of audio. Also you need to be an effective communicator. People are streaming you from all over the world weather it is on your phone or weather it is on the computer. The main thing is the immediacy of turning on the radio and hearing someone say something that you would find relevant, like the weather or traffic or news or a song that you would enjoy. You also need to be prepared to be involved in the community.JL: What are 1 or 2 strengths and one or 2 weaknesses of Colorado radio today?CL: One of the Weaknesses is there are not too many stations left that have live DJ’s. A lot of it is pre-recorded. They are not locked into the community. They have a morning show Colorado has a very healthy radio market. It is not like it was 20 years ago. Then after the morning show is done then it is all automated. Then you lose a lot of the immediacy of the station. The other part is not allowing for new ideas younger hosts not taking a lot of risk with content not wanting to branch out. In terms of strengths We are in a very good market for public radio. If you consider what KUVO has accomplished over 30 years. When you consider that the Rocky Mountain radio group consisting of 18 stations in this state all serve their community really well. The state of public radio in Colorado is good. I think they are all providing a great service.JL: Have you met any blind musicians or blind singers?CL: Henry Butler was one who just passed away. He was a pianist. He came to Colorado from New Orleans after Katrina. Manfredo Fez was blind He was also a piano player. When Manfredo inaugurated the studio, it was the first time I had seen a quintet with 2 blind musicians. All of their audio cues were fantastic. They used all audio cues. In terms of singers Dianne Schuur would be the one that I have thought of.II have really enjoyed and very appreciative that I have learned so much about KUVO and jazz music from Carlos during this interview. At the beginning of October, I heard Carlos with Victor during the pledge drives and he did a wonderful job.Thanks Carlos for sharing your knowledge with me.Thanks for tuning in.