STEVE PRICE
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 21st January 2009.
Steve Price is a highly regarded DJ who's been there more times than you and bought more t-shirts than you'll ever own. He's one of the main presenters on internet rock radio station ARfm. You might have noticed a link to their site on the right hand side of Rock Realms. Click on it and have a listen. You WILL love it.
Hi Steve, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions for the Rock Realms Interrogation section.
Do you have the best job in the world?
Steve: Yes I probably do. I am lucky enough to have a role where I play music I love and I get to interview the best rock musicians, some of whom have become very good friends. A while back I was interviewing David Coverdale and Bruce Dickinson arrived to interview him as well for his BBC show. I ended up having a drink with them... thinking to myself that, a few years ago, I would have paid good money to meet both. I made a lot of friends through this job both inside and outside of the industry. A lot of ARfm listeners have become good friends.
Would you love to be a rock star or are you quite happy on the other side of the fence?
Steve: Like many radio presenters I am a failed musician. I was in a band many years ago (we supported Fleetwood Mac once) but I couldn't cut the mustard. I roadied for a few years and whilst I loved that it was extremely hard work so when I reached a certain "age" I decided a quieter life was needed. I am definitely happier on my side of the fence.
How did you become a DJ and how did you end up where you are now?
Steve: I got a job in the early 80's working for a radio station in Essex, not as a presenter, just an odd-job man making the tea/coffee and general duties. One Saturday night their Rock DJ was doing an interview with a well known female rock star when he asked her "live on air" if there was any truth in the rumour that she had performed a certain act on a well known guitarist backstage at the Reading Festival. She stormed out and they sacked him in the spot. They needed someone urgently to fill in and finish the show so they told me to get behind the desk and do whatever I could. I must have done OK as they gave me the show from that point on. I left them in 1988 thinking I could do any sort of show I joined one of the local radio stations in Surrey but the music (Kylie, Wham etc) just drove me mad so I quit after 6 weeks.
I stayed in the music business, but not as a presenter until 2003 when I was approached by a Sky station called CMRPulse. The programme director there remembered me from the 80's and asked if I would join them to present a rock show on Saturday and Sunday nights. I was hesitant at first but decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, CMRPulse when bankrupt in 2004. I was then approached by one of CMRPulse's backers, a company called Chilton Broadcast and their MD Tom Reps. Tom asked if I would like to run a 24/7 rock station if they backed it. It took at least 1 sec to say yes and ARfm was born. We started broadcasting on the 21st November 2004 and have grown from strength to strength ever since. It's hard work (believe it or not) but it's good fun!
What other DJ’s, rock or otherwise, do you rate highly?
Steve: I would not be doing this if it was not for the late, great, Tommy Vance. He was my "DJ idol" and a great mentor. I met him once in the late 80's when I was considering giving up music and getting a real job. Tommy convinced me otherwise. Alan Freeman was also a great presenter and another, highly underrated, is Adrian Juste who used to be on Radio 1. Both presented very complicated shows (loads of strange inserts, e.g. classical snips or comedy) and until you have tried doing that live you just don't realise how hard it is. In the current crop I am pretty convinced we have the best at ARfm. In my team I have Paul Chamberlain, Paul Baker, and Ashley Franklin (ex BBC) for example and they are all masters of their craft. Unlike a lot of radio presenters, these guys KNOW the music they are talking about and playing.
As someone who’s fresh to this interviewing lark, can you give a few tips on what I should and shouldn’t be doing?
Steve: Think of an interview as two people having a friendly chat and firstly, do your homework and be yourself. For example, if an artist likes to be known as, say John, don't call him Jonnie and if you are not sure ask his PR team first. Most artists don't want to asked banal questions (What amp do you use, what strings? Def no-no's) so think up some intelligent questions before going in head-first.
Who has been your favourite person to interview?
Steve: This is a tough one... probably David Coverdale. We go back a long way which probably helps but he has always shown a great deal of respect for me and ARfm and has, in the past, gone out of his way to help us out. The man is a true gent - as are the rest of the Whitesnake lads. I had a pass for Wembley for the last tour and ended up in hospital on the day of the gig so missed it. Timothy Drury (Whitesnake Keyboard player) found out I was unwell so he had a word and they arranged for me to see the Liverpool gig to make up for it.
Also up there are Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Lemmy (a real "fun" interview), Steve Augeri, Glenn Hughes, Styx, Toto and Jon Lord.
Who was your worst, and are you prepared to spill the beans about who it was and why?
Steve: Neil Schon. I thought the man was an arrogant sh*t. He may be a great guitarist and a brilliant songwriter but, and this is my view, he fails to appreciate that we are the fans that got him where he is today. John Sykes runs a close second!
Who would be your ultimate interviewee?
Steve: Ritchie Blackmore, the only former Deep Purple man I have never interviewed and definitely one of my heroes. I would die a happy man if I could include him on my list of interviewees. A close second to that would be Jimmy Page, who I have spoken to but never interviewed.
Are there any bands we might not have heard of you think people should check out?
Steve: Another tough one. As you can imagine we get a lot of demos at the station, regrettably 75% of which are not up to standard. A few, like Coldspell, have been signed as a result of airplay on ARfm so people will hear of them soon, if they haven't already. I think the Waking Jonah project will be cool when it's finished so that's something to look out for. Check out a Brazilian AOR band called Highest Dream. They are pretty good - albeit their demo could do with slightly better production.
If you were stuck on a remote Pacific atoll with a solar powered CD player, what 5 albums would you like there with you?
Steve:
Giant - Last Of The Runaways
Whitesnake - 1987
Bad English - Debut
Newman - Decade
White Sister - Debut
If you were stranded with one other person, and you could choose who they were, who would you have?
Steve: Oh bloody hell...Lita Ford or one of the BBC female news readers... I have a thing about BBC news readers!
Who’s the most well-known person on your mobile phone, and do you have a good ROCK ringtone?
Steve: Nice one... can't tell you though. My ring tone is Still Of The Night which tends to scare the crap out of people when it goes off!
Anything you want to plug?
Steve: Not sure about a plug...but I am a great supporter of things like Firefest. I am convinced if people want our music to survive they need to get off their arses and support festivals like that. These guys put their own money on the line to put on the ultimate day out in my view. I despair when I see people giving them flak on some message boards. How many people do you know who would do a full day's work and then spend their evenings for months at a time to put a gig on for melodic rock fans... not getting paid! We need to support the music!!
What question do you hate interviewers asking you?
Steve: I have not found a question I don't like yet!
What are you up to once you’ve finished being interrogated?
Steve: I am off to the ARfm studio to do some production work.
Thank you for your time sir, you are free to go...
A monumental thanks to Steve for taking time out of his busy day.
Check out ARfm here and keep an eye on the Rock Realms Newsdesk for the latest ARfm news.
