I’m extremely honored to be named one of Cleveland’s Most Interesting People by Cleveland Magazine!

Nick Smalc
Q104 producer and musician | 28

Why he’s interesting … Smalc has been part of Q104’s Wilde and Fee show as Producer Nick for six years. He also lends his voice and writes music for the band Vitium, which he got signed to Japanese label Goon Trax by using MySpace and communicating solely via e-mail.

On taking your calls … “There’s a lady who calls in at 5:30 every day who tells me she loves me. It’s nice to know people are listening, and you’re building relationships with them over the radio.”

Three songs he could go without hearing again … “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock, “Single Ladies” by Beyonce and “How to Save a Life” by the Fray

Turning Japanese … You can get Vitium’s album, Oxygen Planet, at the Japanese record store nearest you (or online), and when the album was released in October, posters of the band hung at Tower Records in Tokyo.

Man with a message … “Appreciating and understanding what we have in this free country is something I think we painfully neglect.” He addresses this in “Oxygen Planet”: “It’s real life here/ It’s a dream out there/ People do anything just to breathe our air.”

See him … Vitium plays Smalc’s favorite Cleveland venue, the House of Blues, for the second time Jan. 13. ”

Choir boy … Long before Vitium, the Parma native was singing classics such as Carmina Burana in the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Choir. “I can’t sing like that anymore.”

Thanks to everyone who came out!  The show was awesome!!!

1.      Coach Mangini doesn’t care what the media thinks.  He’s annoyed them from day one by keeping them at a distance they’re not used to, and he doesn’t care.  No way the media has any influence over anything the Browns do this season.  First season in a long time this will happen.

2.      Linebackers will improve.  Eric Barton and D’Qwell Jackson on the inside is going to be huge.  Keep an eye out for rookie David Veikune.

3.      Special teams will deliver.  The Browns have another special teams demon in rookie Kaluka Maiava.

4.      Improved secondary.  Rod Hood, Corey Ivy, Abram Elam: fresh faces for a secondary in need of depth.

5.      Bryan Cox is the defensive line coach.  He was a bad dude when he played in the NFL.  No one is going to get away with playing soft.

6.      Discipline.  Coach Mangini demands it.

7.      Intense and organized practices will have this team ready to play when the regular season starts. 

8.      New addition Mike Furrey will catch a ton of passes this season.  Kenyon Coleman had 90 tackles two years ago, he’s a great 3-4 D-line player.  He’ll play next to Shaun Rogers.  Formidable.

9.      Jerome Harrison will get the ball this season.

10. Rookie  reciever Brian Robiskie is a Buckeye.  No way Michigan alum Braylon Edwards lets Brian upstage him.  They’ll both push each other to be better players. 

I’d love for everyone to come out to my band Vitium’s CD Release Party!  It’s at the Blind Pig next Saturday July 18th at 7:30.  We’ll be performing around 8:15ish.  It’s all FREE! 

The U.S. version of the album ‘Oxygen Planet’ will be available at the show.  Our record label Goon Trax will release ‘Oxygen Planet’ overseas in October.  The overseas version will only be available via import, more details will be announced shortly.