Radio personality and Jersey City resident Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton is easily one of the most recognizable DJs in the business.
From his inauspicious start in radio, which began with a pirate radio station that the teenager built in his parents’ basement, Hamilton carved a successful path as a host of hit radio shows from coast to coast.
Now Hamilton is known nationally for his show, “Hollywood Hamilton’s Weekend Top 30 Countdown,” which is heard by 2.5 million listeners each week.
He is also a co-host for the “Hollywood Hamilton & Goumba Johnny Show,” the hit afternoon show (currently in second place) that airs weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on WKTU 103.5 in New York.
With his sexy voice and charming personality, Hamilton entertains listeners with witty dialogue and fresh music.
But that’s not all. In addition to his radio shows, Hamilton has also done some film work.
Recently, Hamilton took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss what it’s like to work in radio and to share some highlights of his career:
DS: So tell me about some of your favorite celebrity interviews:
HH: Madonna is always great because every time she comes on the air with us, you are either going to get hung up on or she is going to tell you that she loves you or she is going to put the phone down and you’re live on the air. She’s got her own agenda. She’s very unpredictable, which is what makes her so fun.
Janet Jackson is coming in [soon.] She’s fun, well, she’s not fun. I’ll tell you why – because she’s so quiet. So you end up getting her upset with you because she’s so quiet and it takes a lot to get answers out of her. But she’s very polite.
We’re the station that plays free style music. Free style is a cross between dance and Latin. These free style artists are great to have on the air. They haven’t had a hit in years, but they’ll still sell out an arena. It’s like cult music.
DS: Anyone memorable for another reason, like someone walked out?
HH: Eminem walked out on me. Eminem is the one artist I really don’t get along with. We had him on the national show. We had a national feud going because I called him out for his lyrics and the way he treats women. And an exchange went back and forth. He ended up walking out or it would have gone to blows, and since then, he’s never been on the air with me.
But normally all the artists that come on the air, we have a good time with.
DS: How has radio changed with technology?
HH: Since I’ve started? Since my pirate radio station? (Laughs.) Well it’s all digital now. There are no more record players, or CD players. Back in the day you were allowed to pick and choose some of the music you were playing. Editing was done by tape. I used to have reel-to-reel tapes that I would slice and edit. There would be a huge pile of tape at the end of a show. Everything is digital now, which makes it quicker, faster, cleaner as opposed to tape.
DS: Do you miss being able to pick songs?
HH: Yeah; I mean, if you were to ask any radio personality or DJ, they would say of course yeah. But I trust Rob Miller. He’s our program director. He’s taken this station from a mid-performing radio station to the top in one year.
DS: What is so appealing about radio?
HH: Well, the great thing about radio is that it’s instant. You get on the microphone right now and you say something and there is no way to take it back. It goes out instantly. People are getting it now. It’s not a taped show. I love music. I love the format because it’s so exciting. It’s the only day-to-day operation where it’s all live 24/7. It’s theater of the mind.
DS: Do you get recognized in Jersey City?
HH: When I laugh. When I laugh or say something that is what people recognize. Not so much the face, obviously, but the voice.
DS: Is there a difference in the fans?
HH: The KTU listener will call you on anything and everything. If Goumba Johnny and I make a mistake on the radio, it’s the funniest thing and we clown about it. People will run to the telephone to correct us. It’s good to make fun of yourself. You won’t get that anywhere else in the country. You won’t get that in LA or in Dallas.
I have the worst pronunciation and vocabulary in the history of radio. My grammar is the worst in the radio community and teachers love to call in. If I say, ‘Where you at’ on the radio, I’ll get two calls.
DS: Top three most memorable shows?
HH: Just broadcasting live. They are all memorable. In my career, in 1994 was the earthquake in LA. I was broadcasting when it hit and speakers were coming down around me. In fact, Goumba Johnny was with me. I lost a home in that earthquake. And during the LA riots. I had a night pass to go to work because the streets were all closed and you weren’t allowed on the street or they’d take you to jail. So I had a pass to go to work.
Broadcasting during the riots was crazy as well. I’m licensed to carry a gun in LA, in the state of California and that was one of the very few days that I actually carried a gun to work. So that was wild.
DS: Sept. 11?
HH: I wasn’t here. Goumba Johnny was. You go right to radio. When things go out, radio has the ability to stay on. If there is a nuclear attack and everything is out, you go to radio. They are going to be there for you. You go instantly to radio to find out what is going on next. All radio stations, Z100, WKTU; we all turn into a news station because you don’t know which station is off. You immediately go to a news format.
DS: Do you feel that [Don] Imus struck a blow for DJ rights?
HH: No, I feel he got what he deserved. You can’t go on the radio and say anything you want. If you’re talk radio, if you’re a shock jock then you have the easiest job in the world. Howard Stern, who is incredibly talented, and Don Imus who can just get on the radio and say anything they want, it’s easy to grab a rating. So it’s good to see them get their hand slapped every once in a while. It’s very easy to get that rating. Howard Stern is not doing so well anymore. He’s forgotten because he can say anything he wants there’s no reason anymore. There’s no ‘let’s listen to what Howard says today because he’s going to be getting away with murder on radio.’ Now he’s over there [on Sirius] and he’s saying whatever he wants. He gets away with anything. There’s no danger to it.
So Imus got slapped a little bit for saying things – plus he’s a little old. What is he, in his nineties now? How old is he, honestly, 98? He’s a little senile now. The older you get, when you think something, you’re going to say it.
I don’t know if he did it intentionally when he made the comment, but he was thinking it and it just came out.
I’ve got no love for shock jocks. The toughest job in the world is sitting here and grabbing a rating with boundaries. Clean, fun, family show, play lots of music, and you get a rating ’cause you got to get creative and be clean.
DS: Do you feel like there are any artists that you’ve helped get to a certain level?
HH: When I was working at Z100 back in the day in the ’80s, yeah. I take responsibility for playing Madonna, “Borderline” at Z100 back in 83-84. Bruce Springsteen. I was the first to play his comeback records back in the ’80s. And then all the new hip-hop and rock artists that come on my national radio show get their songs spun for the first time.
“Is this a smash or do we trash?” is a segment we have. If it’s a smash then they get played again next weekend.
The next thing you know they are getting heard by 2.5 million people, so you know radio obviously has a deep impact on a lot of the artists.
Even with all the other ways you can listen to music these days, radio will never go away. It’s where you get your music first.
DS: Do you think that’s changed the listener? Having all those places they can hear music?
HH: We share it now. It’s not just radio anymore. We’re sharing with satellite radio, MySpace, the iPod. That’s why you’ve got to continue to have personality on radio. They can get music anywhere. But if you don’t have an afternoon show that is talking about what is going on in the community every 20 minutes – if you don’t have that, they’re going to go anywhere to get their music.
DS: What other projects are you working on?
HH: I just did a movie, “Hyenas.” I’ve done some television.
And then the “Weekend Top 30” is heard in over 200 cities with 2.5 million listeners. It’s a countdown-based, celebrity driven, music show that’s heard in just about every city in America except for New York. Because there is a lot of hip-hop in it and I can’t play that on KTU. [KTU] plays pop-hip-hop; that’s what it’s called. We won’t play a lot of the heavy hip-hop that’s on my show. That’s why I’m not heard in New York.
DS: Do you feel like you have a certain responsibility with the listeners or yourself to top yourself?
HH: None. Not really. The only pressure I have is day to day. In this industry you don’t know if you have a job. You know, if your ratings are down you don’t even get a chance to finish your last show. The only pressure we’re having is that each show has to be fun, uplifting, clean, keep it legal, and that’s the only pressure there is.
DS: That’s got to be a bit of a shock.
HH: Yeah. It’s happened to me twice in my life. A DJ’s life is city to city. I’m lucky because I’ve only worked at four radio stations in 30 years. Some DJs go from radio station to station; it’s a gypsy life. I’ve been at KTU off and on since 1996.
DS: What do you think is the most important aspect of radio? Is it the music, the interviews, the listener connection?
HH: The number one most important aspect is connecting with your audience. If you’re not doing that, you are losing your job. I think the future of radio is bright. Satellite came in and knocked us around a little bit. People are always saying, ‘Oh you talk too much’ or ‘You play too many commercials,’ and what they are finding is that they go over to satellite and they get bored to death. People are always going to want localization.
DS: How long have you been in Jersey City?
HH: About two years. I love living in Jersey City. I couldn’t really understand why they called it New Jersey, because there wasn’t anything new about it. They should have called it Old Jersey. You know, it’s old. You know what I mean. Especially in the winter. There is nothing new about it.
The “Hollywood Hamilton & Goumba Johnny Show,” airs weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on WKTU 103.5 in New York. For more information, visit: http://afternoons.ktu.com.