Seven Questions
Seven Questions
J.T. the Brick
The sports-talk host on life as a stockbroker, his exasperation with the BCS and why Lance Armstrong should come clean now
December 20th, 2012
It’s five minutes into his drive-time “Power Hour” show on KBAD 920-AM, and already J.T. the Brick is sparring with his co-host about the topic du jour: Should San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Alex Smith have lost his job to second-year backup Colin Kaepernick? It’s this kind of energy and passion that helped the New York native morph from John Tournour, the full-time Merrill Lynch stockbroker and part-time radio caller, to J.T. the Brick, the popular local and national radio host. Read more »
Seven Questions
Jacob Snow
Henderson’s city manager on why parks are important, dealing with the gridlock on South Eastern Avenue and how a high-speed train could fuel economic development
December 13th, 2012
Jacob Snow is not big on small talk. In fact, everything about his top-floor office at Henderson City Hall—from the painstakingly placed décor to his well-polished cuff links—screams, “Let’s get down to business.” Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the City of Henderson hired Snow as city manager in March, plucking him from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, the organization he helmed for 13 years. Read more »
Seven Questions
Kunzer-Murphy: New Stadium Bowl's Biggest Need
The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas’ former director on resigning her post, the downside of a college football playoff system and the challenges of working in a man’s world
December 6th, 2012
Few people have experienced the breadth of college athletics like Tina Kunzer-Murphy. The Las Vegas native and Valley High School alum played tennis and volleyball at UNLV, coached the university’s women’s tennis team, directed its cheerleading program and worked in administrative capacities within the athletic program, including the Rebel Football Foundation and the Women’s Sports Foundation. In 1999, she was hired to run ESPN’s regional office at UNLV, and the following year was named executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl, only the second woman in the nation to fill such a post. Read more »
Seven Questions
Voice of the Rebels Preaches Patience
UNLV basketball’s play-by-play voice on going from lawyer to broadcaster, calling Single-A baseball games and his one-word plea to Rebel fans
November 29th, 2012
Jon Sandler’s path to the radio booth didn’t exactly follow the usual formula. While in the midst of a lucrative career as an attorney with a big Silicon Valley corporate law firm in the late 1980s—and with his 30th birthday rapidly approaching—Sandler had one of those “What am I doing with my life?” epiphanies. Read more »
Seven Questions
Charles Ressler
The First Friday advocate on the importance of giving, acting on Broadway and how the arts community can pave the way to economic diversification
November 22nd, 2012
Tony Hsieh associate Charles Ressler believes the burgeoning arts community at the city’s core is the main piston that will power economic redevelopment in Las Vegas. Which is why Ressler recently joined the First Friday Foundation, the charitable arm of the monthly downtown festival that aims to support and advance local artists. Read more »
Seven Questions
Danny Zelisko
The rock-promoting royal on getting an early jump on The Beatles, his new gig at the Pearl and Axl Rose’s chronic tardiness
November 15th, 2012
Danny Zelisko is gearing into overdrive, especially in Vegas, where he’s now the main booking force at the Pearl in the Palms, securing such upcoming acts as Styx (Nov. 15-16), Cooper (Nov. 30) and the Moody Blues (Dec. 15). But long before he became a force locally, the protégé of legendary rock promoter Bill Graham had a hand in nurturing live music on a national scale starting in the ’70s. Read more »
Seven Questions
John Pinette
The hefty comedian on hanging with Sinatra, his role in the Seinfeld finale and why he and zip-lining don’t get along
November 8th, 2012
If you were to compile a list of “that guy” stand-up comedians—as in, “Hey, isn’t he that guy from so-and-so?” and “Where I have seen that guy before?”—John Pinette’s name would be near the top. The big man has appeared on the big screen (The Punisher, Junior, Dear God) and the small screen (most famously as the carjacking victim in the Seinfeld finale, as well as several successful stand-up specials on Comedy Central). Read more »
Seven Questions
Adam Richman
The TV personality on hosting the World Food Championships, the 12-egg omelet that got away and what he’d order for his last meal
November 1st, 2012
To say Adam Richman has the best job in America might be a bit of a stretch—after all, last we checked, Hugh Hefner’s still alive. But if it’s not the best, it certainly has to rank in the top 20 (at least in the eyes of carnivores). The man gets paid to eat iconic dishes served at hidden dining gems across this great land, from a lobster shack in Portland, Maine, to a hole-in-the-wall burger joint in Carmel, Ind., to an alehouse in Anchorage, Alaska. Read more »
Seven Questions
Jon Ralston
Nevada’s foremost political pundit on our Legislature’s biggest problem, why he’d make a poor candidate and the billionaire he believes would be a great public official
October 25th, 2012
For most of the American electorate, Nov. 6 can’t get here soon enough. The unsolicited marketing phone calls, the junk mail, the attack ads—it’s like the 12th round of a grueling heavyweight boxing match, and we’re up against the ropes, signaling for the trainer to throw in the towel. For political columnist/commentator Jon Ralston, though, this time of year is nirvana. Read more »
Seven Questions
Lamar Marchese
Nevada Public Radio’s founder on his passion for photography, the importance of persistence and hanging with President Carter
October 18th, 2012
It’s been more than five years since Lamar Marchese turned off the lights in his KNPR office for the final time and waltzed into retirement. Had Marchese started this relaxing phase of life by plopping on a recliner and grabbing the remote, nobody would’ve blamed him—not after he spent nearly three decades growing the state’s first public radio station from a figment of his imagination to a multi-station network with more than 100,000 listeners across four states. Read more »
