Cool Married Guys Vol. 4: Jack Spade

I’ve known our latest Cool Married Guy since I was knee-high to a butterfly. Well, actually since I was about 8. We grew up in the same neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, and he was the one who introduced me to a little thing called Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop and I became the best of friends, and I spent the majority of my life as the greatest rapper who never was, until I realized that being signed to a major record label has nothing to do with Hip-Hop (or being happy), and decided my writing was better suited for readers instead of listeners. But enough about me.

John “Jack Spade” Ballard is a stand-up guy. I’ve seen him go from a boy to a man…literally.   He managed to go from working at a gas station, to being a program director at a major radio station. He has a great marriage, 4 beautiful kids, and a career, and is loving every second of it. This is what being an official C.M.G is all about. So I present to you all, Jack Spade (not the one who makes bags).

State Your Name: Jack Spade

Where are you from, and where do you live now: Born in Kalamazoo Michigan, raised in Durham, North Carolina and now live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

So what’s your story : I am currently working as the Program Director of WHTS(105.3 HOT-FM) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I’ve been for 3 years, which is a top 40 station.  I’ve been doing radio for about 14 yrs, and  have also programmed WQSL/WQZL (The Beat of Carolina) in NC.

How did you wind up getting into radio: I was actually training to be an assistant manager at ‘S&E’ gas station in Wilmington, NC when I met Clay Mc Cauley, who was the general manger of HVS Partners who owned a radio station.  He was a frequent customer of the gas station, and I always used to joke with him about me working at the radio station if they needed extra DJ’s during the hurricanes.   One day he told me to put in an application, so I did.  14 years later I’m running my own radio station.

That’s crazy! I guess it’s true what they say: “A closed mouth, don’t get fed.”  So were you on the “fast track” because you knew the big cheese or did you have to actually work your way up like a normal person: I started from the bottom, just like everybody else. My first job was to run ‘Elvis & Elliott’s Top 30 Countdown,’ every Sunday night for one year. They asked me if I wanted to talk on the radio and I agreed. Eventually they gave me more and more talking shifts, and let me have more management duties at the station.

Cool. So I’m assuming that in 14 years in radio you must have met a million famous people.  I guess that could be really cool for a lot of people: This is gonna sound weird because I’m not star-struck. You can meet artists on their way up, when they’re at the top, and when they’re on the way down.  But you have to know that these artists are still just people like you and me. They all have their good days & bad days.

I can definitely understand that.  Are there any artists that you’ve met that were particularly cool: The two that stand out to me are Akon and N’Sync

I guess I could see N’Sync being cool with the whole “wholesome image thing,” but Akon, really: Akon came to Jacksonville, N.C. before he had his big break.  He was very chill and met and talked with everyone at the club.  When I met N’Sync, they were right at their peak of super-stardom before Justin went solo.  They are very nice guys, but when you are that big everyone wants a piece of you.  It was hard to connect when you only have 5 minutes.

So how long have you been married: It seems like all my life, but it’s only been nine years.

How has marriage changed you: Honestly, the crazy thing is that I don’t really remember what I use to do without my wife.  I sit back and think about what I use to do on the weekends when I was single, and I can’t remember. The only thing I can remember is what I do with my wife on the weekends. It’s weird but good all at the same time.

What do you think is particularly “cool” about marriage: You have your best friend and “road-dog” with you at all times.  Somebody that will always have your back.

It’s funny how everyone I interview seems to have the same answer to that question.  Funny because it’s true.  Any kids: I have four kids.  Two girls, Kimberlyn, age 12, Kamryn, age 7, & two boys, John II, age 6 & Jace, age 2.

Wow! Good for you.  I feel like two is the cut off these days, and being the youngest of 5, I have a sweet spot for large families (not that I plan on having one.)  So how has being a father changed you: It’s not just about me anymore.  I have my good and bad days, but when I come home, I have to make sure the kids are happy. I usually spend the weekends trying to do whatever they want to. Whether it’s going outside to play football, basketball or sit around listening to music, it doesn’t matter. I have to do it.

Sounds like you’re an awesome Dad.  Very respectable sir.  So I gotta ask, how does your wife feel about you being in job situation where inevtitably groupies are all around: I’m letting my wife Nicole answer this question…

Nicole: They’re what we would call “radio ho’s” but I’ve been with John for so long, I’ve gotten used to it and it doesn’t bother me the way that it use to. These girls only want to meet people who can get them backstage at concerts, get them prizes, etc.  I don’t really care anymore. He married me, not them. I gave him four kids, not them. If they think they can give him more, be my guest.

Ha! Interesting stance on the issue.  So are you strictly on the management side or are you still on the air?: I’m still on the air, that’s my favorite part of the day.

What would you say is different about your show: I think every DJ wants to give all of the local & entertainment content they can, within guidelines. I try to keep mine simple and easy. If you wanna know what’s happening with your favorite celeb, I’ll let you know. If you wanna know what’s going on in your back yard, I’ll let you know that, too.

I just want to say publicly that you always supported every record I gave you and I always really appreciated that.  Trust me, that’s a lot different than most shows.  But enough about me, I’m starting to sound like Tyra Banks.

You must have some crazy stories from all of your years in radio?  Any you can tell me without ruining relationships or getting fired:

Every day is the same, but different. One day everything could be going right, the second day, everything could be going extremely wrong.  It’s amazing how fast things can change in the span of six hours. I’ve personally had a client call me while I was on the air and tell me I’m reading his endorsement wrong, and threaten to pull money off the station if I didn’t do it right. Then he told me to check the email that he sent me, and read it verbatim, and if I didn’t, he was done with the station.  I pulled the email (keep in mind this is an $80,000 client, so I’m not gonna screw it up), read what he wrote on the email,  and it turned out it was his fault because he wrote it wrong. I forwarded the email back to him to prove it & told him that this is what you gave me. He wanted to get mad at me because he wrote it wrong.

Sounds about right: One more crazy experience was that I forgot the persons name I was interviewing, but that person was a pretty big star. I never called them by their name during the whole ten minute interview. We started off well, but I had a brain-fart and I just couldn’t remember the person’s name to save my life

Sounds crazy, but I guess they all start to run together after a while.  It’s still your job: I’ve met artists ranging from 50 Cent to Backstreet Boys to Shania Twain but like I said, these are just people who happen to do music, they are good at what they do but they are also just like us

So as a former artist, I have to ask, if you could change anything about radio format what would it be: This is a hard question. I wish there was a better way to know what your average listener wants because everyone is so different.

Uhh, we want to not hear the same 10 songs all day everyday.  Problem solved! I’m kidding, I know how the politics work.  So when can people hear your show: I’m on from 2pm-6pm, Monday-Friday &  from 10am-3pm, Saturday, and you can always listen online at 1053hotfm.com