Bringing You The Music – Joel “The Kid” Garrett

Photography by SUSAN DELOACH

If you listen closely these days you can hear the sound of a youthful current running through town, a vitality that is keeping Beaufort from becoming just another sleepy Southern beauty. It runs on energy and fresh ideas, which Joel Garrett, a local radio broadcaster and station owner, has in abundance.
Actually, Joel  has enough energy to power his own station. He is a high voltage kind of guy, one who talks in exclamation points accompanied by big grins. And his drive and entrepreneurial spirit, fueled by a love of his profession, are a perfect fit for
Beaufort.
Joel Garrett is affectionately called “The Kid.”  He got this nickname early in his career.  Joel  was only 15 years old when he started in the  business.  He has been bringing music to folks ever since.

Radio Man

When asked why he chose radio, Joel says, “I can’t do anything else!” At 27 years old, he has over a decade of experience in his field.  And, while he may not be able to do anything else, he has proven that he can do radio exceptionally well.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Joel got interested in radio while still a teenager.  He says, “I was 15 years old and I walked into a place to get a haircut.  While I was waiting, a girl said ‘do you know so and so.’  But I was new to town and didn’t know anyone so she introduced us. The guy worked at the local radio station and I was invited to come and hang out. I was there! I would go along to remotes, help out at the station, all unpaid. They had a staff meeting and someone complained about how the tee shirts were being folded. Someone else spoke up and said ‘oh, that’s this kid, he is just hanging around, we’ll send him home, ‘and the station manager said, ‘When you have a kid who has been willing to work for free, you don’t send him home, you offer him a job!’ So that was my first job in radio. ”
He continues, “When I was seventeen, I paid my own way to a radio conference in Los Angeles.  I met a guy there who had a station in El Paso, Texas. We talked and the next thing I knew I was hired. I was always looking for the next good thing.”
Little did Joel know at the time, but that travel expense was probably the best investment he ever made.
After moving to El Paso, Joel  was hosting  a morning show in a Top 100 market. The ratings for the local station began to soar. This was the beginning of something big.  With ratings on the rise, other stations in the area began to take notice of this energetic  young  man.
One of those stations, owned by Clear Channel Radio, called and offered him a job as a Program Director.  They moved him to Midland-Odessa, Texas and he began working at KRMK(FM). “At 18 years old, I was the youngest Program Director in the company, “ Joel says, adding with a laugh “Of course, who else would want to go to Odessa, Texas except a kid eager for the job!”
Joel continued to work his magic.  Upon his arrival, KRMK was ranked eighth in the market.  In less than a year, the station was ranked number one.
Again, Joel found himself being sought out by other stations.  Three years later, Cumulus Radio hired him.  He was quickly deemed their “Fix-It Man.”  Cumulus would send him to markets where their stations needed some attention. He would usually spend 6 months to a year to rejuvenate the station and then move to another location.  Joel says, “This gave me an opportunity to see new places.  I was never made to go, I was just given the opportunity.  I liked the challenge.  It is a lot more fun to raise the Titanic than it is to keep it afloat.”
From the age of 15 to 23, Joel had worked in stations spanning 5 states: Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona.  Next stop, South Carolina.

Lowcountry

Joel had aspirations of owning his own station one day.  He and two coworkers hired a broker, and the search to buy a station was underway. The broker found a station for sale in the Lowcountry, an the trio traveled to South Carolina to take a look.
He says, “I had never been to South Carolina before three and a half years ago when I went to Hilton Head.” Joel and two partners bought a Hilton Head radio station in 2010.
National recognition came to Joel while he was at Hilton Head. He was named one of the “30 Under 30” by Edison Research, a major media research company, in the broadcasting field. “The honorees included on-air talent, programmers, Chief Engineers, station owners, syndicators and sales managers.”www.edisonresearch.com .  Joel says, “Top 30 under 30 is a contest Edison Research did to find the Top 30 Radio people under 30 years old in the country. Nick Cannon from “America’s Got Talent” was in the same group of 30 that I was in that year.  We were honored at one of the largest radio conferences in the country in Baltimore.”
Joel says, “Hilton Head was fun for a couple of years but I found myself gravitating to Beaufort. Everything I really liked was in Beaufort.  My first experience in Beaufort was fantastic.  I had been asked to come over from Hilton Head to help judge a talent show put on by J.W Rone at ArtWorks.  I was highly impressed with the local talent and the professionalism by the folks over at ArtWorks.”
After that, Joel was hooked. He began spending more time in Beaufort, coming over and hanging out with the locals.  He became determined to find a way to break into the Beaufort market on a more permanent basis.
As luck would have it, an opportunity arose.  “The Galloway’s owned a local AM station here.  We started talking with them and they had recently gotten approval from the FCC to have an FM signal, which was 94.5 and would be the only local station in Beaufort,” says Joel.  The partners saw this as a perfect opportunity and purchased the station.
Joel’s love for radio began to shine even more.  He fell in love with Beaufort, and with this new station. He began to see this station as a permanent situation for him in what he had found to be his new home.  So, he made a deal with his partners and sold his shares of the Hilton Head station to become the sole owner of 94.5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach, Soul and Rock-n-Roll

From their website……. “Beach, Soul and Rock-n-Roll. Beaufort, SC has a new radio station that is sure to make you sing along in the car and take a walk down memory lane. Hits from the 60′s 70′s 80′s. Get the most from the Coast! Dust off the shag shoes. Stroll down memory lane. Move to the Motown Music and Rock to the classics. We are playing what you want to hear most at 94.5 The Coast! Playing the hits from the 60′s 70′s and 80′s.” www.945thecoast.com
Joel says “I did a lot of research and what I found was that Beaufort is completely different than other small markets. Beaufort wanted more beach music, not less, and a lot of Motown, and familiar feel good music.” He programs all the music himself and, when asked if he personally prefers more contemporary music, he shakes his head no and says, “I grew up listening to this music with my parents while we were boating- I love the music we play. Some of my favorite artists are Van Morrison, Willie Nelson,
Jimmy Buffet, Robert Earl Keen and Kenny Chesney.”
One of the pleasures in having a local station is tuning in and hearing your friends and neighbors doing their own radio spots.  Always keeping it local, Joel likes to use new voices for his spots, sometimes even pulling in folks who have stopped to say hello and check out the station. ”If someone has an interesting voice, I love using them here at the station.” he says.

The station is located at Habersham, at street level in the market area. Passerby’s can look right in the big picture window and watch the on air people at work. Joel says, “I looked around and Habersham had a good, fun but peaceful feel and great people.”
Joel is located at Habersham as well, as he has an apartment directly above the station. He says, “I love it here. It is a community within a community. And it’s only ten minutes to downtown Beaufort.”

Beautiful Beaufort

Being part of the community is important to Joel, as he says “We are happy to do anything that helps out, and we get to be involved with all the charities, fundraisers and festivals. The great thing here is that 90% of the money raised goes directly to those who need it.” Being a sociable guy, he laughs and says, “A lot of the things we do for the Coast I would be participating in anyway.”
“It is easy to make good relationships here, Beaufort has culture, it has history and it has beauty. I love Beaufort, I have fallen in love with Beaufort and I am really happy here. I love being on the water- I’m a boater- I try to take one weekend day a week to golf or boat.” He pauses and thinks for a minute.
“You can be yourself here in Beaufort, and people have treated me great. Good people, good karma”.