Mason Rothert, works for MDR Productions in Los Angeles, California.
He has a COOL JOB as Founder and Radio Producer.

His Gig:
One of the original co-founders of the electronic music collective - Thump Radio, Inc. out of San Francisco - Mason Rothert has been spinning and producing radio shows since 1984. Starting out with the early sounds of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and New Order it was only a natural progression in the 90's when the sounds of house, techno and trance began to influence him while living in Tampa and traveling to the Orlando raves.

A Day in the Life of His Thump Radio Gig:
Rothert spends his days in one of several ways: Some days he works with partners on the company's growth and the barriers to cross to make Thump Radio a leader in the electronic music market. He also produces the radio show that airs every week on the FM airwaves live, and then produces a separate show for the Internet. He also speaks with record labels and interviews artists/djs. He sells the idea of Thump Radio to companies who have helped with their growth including - Sonic Foundry, Red Bull and Speed Razor. He collaborates on music events with these companies with set up and organization. The Thump events take place once a month in San Francisco and attract 2,000 people. Finally, he works on the business end of the company and listens to a lot of Music! "Never stop listening to music - it heals the heart and clears the mind!" "Sometimes I never stop, but normal days average at least 16 hours. The only problem with running your own company is the weekends and 8 hour business days mean nothing!"

Career Path:
At age 14 in St. Louis, Rothert began as an intern for a small, local station that got him into being an on-air DJ and then a mobile one as well. After doing this for 6 years, he left for college and began his pursuit in film/video. He graduated with a degree in communications from University of Tampa and began a long assault on the creative world.

"I quickly learned how difficult it was to break-in to what I wanted to do" and thus had to take several side-steps, working in retail and pharmaceutical sales. "I never stopped working on freelance video and audio projects and once I moved out to San Francisco, I befriended my current partners in Thump Radio. Everything that I had done over the years was preparation for what I'm doing now. The radio experience, freelance production assistant positions, retail management and professional sales. It all makes sense, so never look an opportunity that is not exactly to your liking as not being something that can lead you to your dream job, everything does happen for a reason!"

His first big break was walking into a radio station at age 14 and getting a job as an intern where for 6 months. He cleaned the studio, took out the trash and filed records.

High Five:
"Continuing to use my skills in production and being able to DJ in the upstairs chill chamber at our monthly events. I spin downtempo music and go by the DJ name Masonic. I also enjoy meeting artists and DJs from all over the world."

Down Low:
"Finding Financing."

Words From the Wise:
"Never give up. Even the president of the company has to know how to take out the garbage." "Always know that the best job can come from somewhere you'd least expect it, so take every opportunity very seriously - just don't take life too seriously."

Paying the Bills:
Start around $25,000 to your "wildest dreams".

Education:
Degree in Communications from University of Tampa.

For more Information:
The best way to break into anything for production (audio/video/design/photography) is network, network, network and do some projects for free! "No one is going to give you a gig unless you can get them to see your vision. The only way to do that is to take it one the chin and dig in and make it happen."

Below Zero Beats
Mason Rothert on MySpace