Meet Your Wizards: Ashley Crownover

Born: Sixth-generation Nashvillian, but
Number of states lived in: 9
Drafted into WXNA: 2011
Show: Friday Friday, Fridays from 7-8 a.m.

I helped found WXNA, mostly by providing massive quantities of unrestrained enthusiasm. I discovered non-mainstream music during my teen years in the ‘80s thanks to the University of Tennessee’s WUTK and Vanderbilt’s dearly departed WRVU, while my love for ‘60s and ‘70s rock comes straight from my dad’s record collection. These days I learn about new music by listening to my fellow WXNA DJs (and, I’m ashamed to admit, via Spotify’s weird algorithms).

Artist Obsession: David Bowie Forever

Favorite WXNA DJ Collaborators: Jonathan Grigsby (Dance Party XNA) and Michael Roark (Hazy Ways)

Biggest (and Funnest) Challenge as a DJ: Playing ear-catching new music in addition to my beloved “oldies”

Most Awkward DJ Experience: When I phone interviewed Denny Laine of Wings and was so in awe I could barely speak. The most notable thing about it was his boredom

Something Listeners May Not Know About Me: In 2008 I wrote a retelling of Beowulf from the female characters’ point of view (Wealtheow: Her Telling of Beowulf, Iroquois Press), and in 2016 I published a children’s book called Nashville Boo (Reedy Press) featuring the ghost of Hank Williams as narrator.