Nikki Blakk
Encyclopedia
Nikki Blakk is an American Radio DJ, currently working for the San Francisco Bay Area
's rock radio station, 107.7 The Bone. She is the afternoon drive on-air personality, and hosts and programs the station's Friday night Metal Zone program of heavy and extreme metal music.
She is a well known figure in the San Francisco Bay Area's metal scene, and regularly interviews popular recording artists, including James Hetfield
of Metallica
& Rob Halford
of Judas Priest
amongst others.
in Fairfield, CA
. She attended Fairfield High School, Solano Community College and San Francisco State University
, majoring in Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts, finishing in 2001. She is of Scottish, Cherokee, Irish, French and German ancestry.
in San Francisco and became a production intern, a call screener, and a board op for the next year and a half while finishing college.
She was hired at Rock 96.7, a Clear Channel
station in Modesto, CA, as a weekend personality, then eventually as a weekday host. Her first audition shift as a weekday DJ was on September 11, 2001, board-oping the news all day then going live the next day, which was a challenge that she handled extremely well and was subsequently hired as a full time weekday on-air personality.
However after 9/11, advertising revenue dropped significantly, and Rock 96.7 decided to cut Nikki's live weekday in favor of pre-recorded voice tracking.
While she was recording at the KSJO
studio, Zakk Tyler
, the afternoon drive jock gave her CD to the program manager, who was impressed and hired her for weekends.
In October 2004 KSJO flipped format, becoming a Spanish language
channel. Dave Mustaine
was in the car when Nikki heard the news, and offered to pray for her.
She then had a short stint at 101.7 KXFX The Fox in Santa Rosa, before coming back to 107.7 The Bone on weekends in June 2005, and then took over the Afternoon Drive on Valentine's Day 2006.
, Fillmore
, and virtually every other Bay Area venue, working with everyone from Green Day to the Grateful Dead, Madonna to Motorhead.
Nikki was also voted one of the Top 50 Hottest Women in Radio, according to Pop Crunch.
She is heavily involved in the Great Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
and the Guitar Player Magazine Guitar Superstar contest.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
's rock radio station, 107.7 The Bone. She is the afternoon drive on-air personality, and hosts and programs the station's Friday night Metal Zone program of heavy and extreme metal music.
She is a well known figure in the San Francisco Bay Area's metal scene, and regularly interviews popular recording artists, including James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
& Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
of Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
amongst others.
Early life
Nikki Blakk was born on the Travis Air Force BaseTravis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force air base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command , located three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States. The base is named for Brigadier General Robert F...
in Fairfield, CA
Fairfield, California
Fairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
. She attended Fairfield High School, Solano Community College and San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, majoring in Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts, finishing in 2001. She is of Scottish, Cherokee, Irish, French and German ancestry.
Radio career
Blakk began her career as an intern at KSAN, a precursor to 107.7 The Bone, working in promotions and marketing. Immediately after, she went to KNBRKNBR
KNBR, The Sports Leader, is the on-air branding used by two AM radio stations in the San Francisco, California, area broadcasting a sports radio format, owned by Cumulus Media....
in San Francisco and became a production intern, a call screener, and a board op for the next year and a half while finishing college.
She was hired at Rock 96.7, a Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
station in Modesto, CA, as a weekend personality, then eventually as a weekday host. Her first audition shift as a weekday DJ was on September 11, 2001, board-oping the news all day then going live the next day, which was a challenge that she handled extremely well and was subsequently hired as a full time weekday on-air personality.
However after 9/11, advertising revenue dropped significantly, and Rock 96.7 decided to cut Nikki's live weekday in favor of pre-recorded voice tracking.
While she was recording at the KSJO
KSJO
KSJO is a commercial radio station in San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area on 92.3 FM. KSJO currently airs a Chinese format branded as "92.3 KSJO".-History:...
studio, Zakk Tyler
Zakk Tyler
Zakk Tyler, is an American broadcaster who hosts the morning drivetime show on WZGC in Atlanta, Georgia .-Radio career:...
, the afternoon drive jock gave her CD to the program manager, who was impressed and hired her for weekends.
In October 2004 KSJO flipped format, becoming a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
channel. Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
was in the car when Nikki heard the news, and offered to pray for her.
She then had a short stint at 101.7 KXFX The Fox in Santa Rosa, before coming back to 107.7 The Bone on weekends in June 2005, and then took over the Afternoon Drive on Valentine's Day 2006.
Metal Zone
At KSJO, Nikki started a metal program called Hardcore Hell, later rebranded Midnight Metal. After coming to The Bone, Nikki was a natural to take over the Metal Zone from Billy Steel when he left the station in summer of 2006. The program currently runs from 10pm - 1am every Friday night, and features extreme music with special emphasis on local artists.Personal life
Nikki Blakk also has a simultaneous career as backstage manager and production runner at LiveNation, formerly Bill Graham Presents, where she takes care of the artists and production staff at San Francisco's WarfieldThe Warfield
The Warfield, also known as The Warfield Theater, is a 2,300 seat music venue located at 982 Market Street, San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater, and opened as the Loews Warfield on May 13, 1922.-History:...
, Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
, and virtually every other Bay Area venue, working with everyone from Green Day to the Grateful Dead, Madonna to Motorhead.
Nikki was also voted one of the Top 50 Hottest Women in Radio, according to Pop Crunch.
She is heavily involved in the Great Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
and the Guitar Player Magazine Guitar Superstar contest.