Last week WJCU Personnel Director Rebecca Ferlotti sat down and conducted a Q & A session with Matt’s Gamut host Matt Hribar. Hribar discusses his show, which made its programming debut in May. Hribar provides you with the inside scope on the show’s influences, his personal taste in music, and what you should expect each time you tune into the show.
You can catch Matt’s Gamut each Tuesday evening from 10 pm – midnight, only on WJCU!
Q: What sparked your interest in radio?
A: I love music. I grew up in a household that seemingly revolved around it which naturally sparked my interest in the craft of radio. Similar to me, my mother and her siblings are very interested, even invested, into the music scene. I also love talking to people, which is the name of the game in radio.
Q: What was the idea behind Matt’s Gamut?
A: I had always pictured myself doing a radio show. I then decided that given my love of music in general I would aspire to program a show where the main plot revolves around an eclectic, random, all over the place theme with no restriction on musical genre.
Q: How did you get the name Matt’s Gamut?
A: Shout-out to my friend Julie who really helped me finalize the name! I had been looking at really bad titles for a while, so I simply typed ‘random’ into an online thesaurus and began reading the synonyms. Julie, who was next to me during my search, would say something like “no”, “doesn’t fit”, “wrong”. When I finally muttered, “gamut”, it was almost like something clicked. It helped also that our General Manager & Station Manager approved of the name.
Q: So will you truly play anything during your show?
A: Anything FCC-appropriate, and anything that I feel our listeners will enjoy.
Q: Technically not everything, then? Are there any genre’s of music you don’t enjoy playing?
A: Well, I’m not the biggest fan of country, metal or rap, but if a guest DJ or a caller wants me to throw a track up, I’ll put it up. I love music, I have no shame or personal vendetta against any genre.
Q: We clearly can tell you love music and such a wide variety of it. What are your favorite albums and songs of all time?
A: My favorite album of all time is, no judging please, “Ray Of Light” by Madonna. I grew up with that album, and the song, “Nothing Really Matters” (on “Ray of Light”), is my favorite song of all time, and is the most played in my iTunes library (currently at 579 plays). The album has this amazing, lush electronica vibe that was so ahead of its time, and the lyrics are fantastic. However, I would say that “Day & Age” by the Killers (brilliant lyrics, huge sounds), “A Rush Of Blood To The Head” by Coldplay (not overly produced, not under produced), “Fame Monster” by Lady Gaga (the epitome of pop), “No Line On The Horizon” by U2 (underrated, spiritual rock), and “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire (let’s just say they definitely deserved the Grammy award). However, I have lists of albums that could qualify for being my favorite.
Q: What are you currently addicted to, music wise, right now?
A: Right now I’m really digging “Flesh Tone” by Kelis, which is a 2010 EDM album. It’s nine songs, each crafted extraordinarily I may add, especially the first three, are absolutely breath-taking in lyrical development and production. I’m also heavily into Maps’ new album, “Vicissitude”. The album that I’ve listened to the most in 2013, however, is Tegan and Sara’s “Heartthrob”, which debuted in January. It’s that fun alternative pop that makes you feel good and makes you slightly sad at the same time. I love that.
Q: What do you think is your radio strength and your radio weakness?
A: My radio strength is definitely my ability to be interesting. I feel like I’m never boring or lax. My weakness is complimentary to my strength, I might talk too much. And also, I forget to do small little breaks in the hour. I gotta’ remember that more often than I do!
Q: Your show is notorious for random guests (among the random music). If you could pick three guests to be on your show, no matter if you know them or not, who would you want to be on your show?
A: Good question! My favorite author, Stephen King, my favorite historic figure, FDR, and probably Bono from U2. I feel like there would be a good conversation there.
Q: What do you hope to do with this show?
A: I hope to just continue doing my thing. I love my show, I love the music, and frankly, I love WJCU 88.7. Did that sound too much like a pitch to tune in each Tuesday evenings from 10 pm – midnight? You should tune in though. The show is a lot of fun, and it offers a little bit of everything to satisfy everyone’s musical tastes.