Geoff Geis 

What aspect of your job gives you the most satisfaction?

I’m proud when we can help facilitate legitimate, lasting relationships between musicians and stations, particularly when the musicians are truly independent and doing everything themselves.

There are so many artists vying for attention in a daunting landscape. On streaming platforms, active organic discovery of music in its context is replaced by opaque, paid-for playlists that are often consumed passively. On social media, music is reduced to ‘content’ and artists are expected to be ‘content creators.’ Music journalism is also in a challenging place.

So that can seem bleak. However, there are still networks of devoted people at college and community stations who are compelled by new music and want to share it with the world out of genuine enthusiasm and connection with the art and the artists who create it. Finding those networks can help artists not only be heard but also forge fulfilling relationships with people who will champion their music to others. Even if a record isn’t huge, connecting that way with even a few stations can be a hugely important foothold. And sometimes those relationships will lead to more opportunities down the line, even years after a radio campaign has ended.

What band/artist or style of music outside the realm of your college/community radio promotion would people be most intrigued to hear you love?

My tastes are getting pretty middle-aged to be honest, and a lot of my listening is fueled by interesting bargain bin finds and by diving into the catalogs of classic artists like The Carpenters or Electric Light Orchestra that I didn’t listen to when I was younger. 

I’ve been really into Van Halen for the past few years, and the story behind that might be interesting. I’d actually never really taken them seriously until 2019, when we promoted the bird and the bee’s album Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen to radio. We started listening to the original band in the office and I was absolutely hooked. Only the David Lee Roth era, though. I hope that’s clear.

What job do you think you would have if you weren’t in this industry?

I don’t know what job I would have, but it would be nice to do something with nature and conservation in some stunning place. Park ranger maybe, or forester. It might be too late for me to do that. So perhaps I’d be a campsite host.

2026 is here! Do you have any fun plans or a vacation scheduled this year? Maybe just a daydream so far of a place you’d like to visit? Speaking of time off, what would be your dream vacation?

I have a four-year-old and don’t do too much traveling with him. But I hope the two of us can go to some campsites along Lake Michigan this summer, and I have daydreams of taking him on more adventures when he’s older. Joshua Tree National Park has always been a favorite. 

You just won 10 million dollars. What are you going to do with it?

Did I? That’s wonderful and exciting. I think I’m just going to try and keep living like I’m living, maybe with a bit more travel. I might try to start a business. There’s a row of empty storefronts on the end of my block and sometimes I daydream about opening a vegan coffee shop there that also sells records by local artists and hosts events. So maybe I’ll do that. 

Entertainment Time: What is/are your current favorite TV obsession(s)? What’s a great movie (new or old) you’ve watched recently? What is your current favorite album?

My current and always favorite TV obsession is The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. It’s a sci-fi western from the early 90s starring Bruce Campbell and it was too weird for Fox so they canceled it after one season but it’s silly and hilarious. I also recently re-watched Barry, which is gutting and poignant and full of incredible performances.

For movies… I recently saw Slam Dunk Ernest and it was amazing. I tried watching an earlier Ernest movie and didn’t think it was very good, but this one slaps. It’s got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the wildest pair of shoes. My son also introduced me to the Cars franchise and I’m super into that. I tried to show him Paddington but the humor is just so British and Nicole Kidman is quite frightening so we’ll have to circle back to that in a couple of years but I love those movies too. 

It’s much much harder for me to pick my favorite album, even if we’re going with ‘current’ rather than all time. I’ve spent a lot of time lately with The Pointer Sisters’ Energy and Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de mi Padre. And Kendrick. GNX was the first time in like a decade that I’d been so obsessed with a new record. 

Do you have a favorite restaurant in town you love to go to and would recommend?

I don’t really go out to eat too much. I do love coffee, and two of my favorite spots for that are Charmers Food & Floral Cafe in Rogers Park and The Avondale Coffee Club in Avondale. If I want to get together with friends, I love Dmen Tap in Avondale, which has amazing vegan currywurst and a really friendly vibe. But mostly, when I’m going out to eat I’m going to the Taco Bell at 2575 N Clybourn. Shoutout to that crew for helping me Live Más now and forever. This is all in Chicago, by the way.

You’re stranded on a desert island. What five well known people (dead or alive) would you like to have there with you?

This was a hard question. The only person who immediately comes to mind is Ernest Shackleton, who led a failed expedition across the world’s largest desert island – Antarctica – in the 1910s. His ship sank and he and his crew were trapped on ice for more than a year. They were eventually rescued, though, after Shackleton and a small group sailed in lifeboats for 800 miles in the open ocean and traversed an unmapped glacial island to find help. Anyway, that’s the kind of mettle and grit that would really come in handy on this adventure.

For the other four slots, could I just have a sick live karaoke band that doesn’t ever want to stop?