If you told Max Bowen one year ago today that he’d be a radio personality, he would have laughed. Now it appears the joke is on him. These days, Bowen is a man who wears many hats. He’s a newspaperman by day, a radio show host by night, and, if that’s not enough, a show promoter when he finds the precious spare time. Since May, he’s helmed Citywide Blackout, an Internet radio show on Cyberstation USA geared toward breaking down the Boston music scene with the kind of journalistic precision that cuts deeper than the standard interview questions. The Noise caught up with Bowen to talk about the show, taking a journalistic approach to discussing music and how radio, the thing he once feared most, surprisingly and unexpectedly became his second career.

Noise: Being on the radio requires a certain personality. You’ve got to be personable and outgoing. Does that accurately describe you, and was radio always something you were interested in?

Max: I never used to be that kind of person. I was almost pathologically shy, even into my 20s. If you had put a gun to my head and said, “Max, get on the radio,” I would have told you to aim for dead center.

Noise: What changed?

Max: Last February I spent a month in the Philippines as part of a cultural exchange program. The whole point was to look at your life, your job and see how those things compare to life over there. Me, I worked with the cable TV and radio stations, and I got into it. I thought, “Wow, I really want to do this.” I was actually encouraged to do radio back in college, but it never happened. I was in that really shy stage. But I came back to the States and really wanted to do it. And I kid you not, two weeks after being back I get an email from the folks at WCAP in Lowell. They wanted me to do a couple of spots for a local election. I did it and approached them about doing my own local news show, which ultimately became Spotlight on Billerica.

Noise: And Citywide Blackout?

Max: At the same time I looked up other radio jobs on Craigslist, and saw that Cyberstation USA was looking for DJs. I went down there, auditioned and passed, and I’ve been doing it for the past nine months.

Noise: You’re now doing two radio shows, in addition to your role as a newspaper editor. How do those roles overlap? Citywide Blackout seems to approach local music from a journalistic standpoint.

Max: They do overlap. Immensely. I’m always going through bands’ websites and MySpace pages looking for guests and preparing for interviews. I just don’t want to ask the usual questions. If I’m sitting here and all I have to ask you is, “What are your biggest influences?”, I’m not doing a good enough job. The whole purpose of the show is to introduce these bands to my listeners, and if all I’ve got is these surface level questions, that’s no good. I want to delve into it and get into their music. I want to know how the band got formed. I want to know their history and where they came from.

Noise: Did you always have an idea of the direction you wanted to take the show in?

Max: Yeah. I think my journalistic skills really help to make it a much better show. I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Hey Max, thanks for not asking all the standard questions.”

Noise: Anyone who does interviews with any sort of regularity has to really welcome a different approach to an interview.

Max: Exactly. It seems to be working. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments about asking the good questions and not asking the stock questions.

Noise: What about your background in music? How did you come to decide you wanted to pursue a local rock-based show?

Max: I don’t have any musical experience whatsoever [laughs]. I can only get up and sing after a few beers. But I think that’s okay because the purpose of the show is to look at local music and how it comes together. I don’t want to just talk to bands, but also club owners, promoters and these other people who help to make the bands what they are.

Noise: You’re looking at the scene and not just the music.

Max: Yeah, because where would these bands be without the owners who let them play, or without the promoters who book their shows? Where would they be without the producers who help make their records?

Noise: In addition to hosting, you’re also the producer. It’s your show frontwards and backwards. What are you looking for when you put together a show from week to week?

Max: First and foremost, I’m looking at any and all bands, not just the ones that I like. It’s up to the listeners to decide who they like and don’t like. I’ve had bands on where I’m not always a fan of their music, but I never turn away anyone because of my own preferences.

Noise: Because there could still be an audience for the band out there.

Max: I may not like it, but someone else might. It’s up to the listeners to decide. But in terms of putting together a show, MySpace is incredibly useful. I hate it as a social networking site, but I love it as a music site because all the bands are on there.

Noise: It feels like fewer and fewer people are using it for social networking, but it still has serious legs as a means of promoting new music.

Max: Sure, and that’s a big part of putting the show together. I scour the Net looking for local bands.

Noise: Do you ever find it hard to be neutral at times, to take yourself out of the equation?

Max: I don’t think so. I guess that comes back to being a journalist for the past seven years. You just get used to keeping enough distance. But beyond that I’ve really never had a problem with anyone I’ve had on because I’m pretty generous in my tastes. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. If I were more critical, some might say I’d be doing a better job. But I kind of made up my mind from the beginning not to turn anyone away because I don’t like their music. I’m just trying to learn as much about the bands and the music as possible.

Noise: What’s your impression of the show so far? These shows are marathons not sprints, but are you happy with the way things have been going?

Max: My opinion so far? I think it’s going pretty good. I’m becoming a better broadcaster, whereas in the beginning I was learning as I went and I sucked. I think my on-air skill has developed considerably in the past couple months. I’m not perfect, far from it. But I feel I’ve gotten a lot better.

Noise: How do you like working with Cyberstation USA? Is it exciting to work in a wide-open medium like Internet radio, where it seems there’s very little you can’t do?

Max: It’s been really, really good. But the truth of the matter is in terms of talk radio, I don’t feel any more restricted on AM radio than I do on the Internet. The experience has been pretty similar. But I really enjoy working with Cyberstation USA. They took the time in the beginning to work with you and develop the skills and work with the board, and then they just let you fly.

Noise: They don’t try to micromanage you.

Max: Yeah. They’re pretty hands off. One of the things I like most about Cyberstation is the variety of programming. There’s music shows like mine, there’s politics, and it’s just a good variety. They just let people do their thing.

Noise: Is it crazy to think how much things have changed in the past year? With two radio shows and your full time job as an editor, do you worry about burning out?

Max: There are days where it can be overwhelming. The trick is to stay organized. When I’m at the office, it’s got to be about the paper. That’s what pays the bills, and that’s what I’ve got to focus on. When I get home, I’ll jump on MySpace, listen to some music, shoot an email and try and pull something together. I only go to shows on Fridays and the weekend. But yeah, right now I think I’ve taken on about as much as I can take on. If I picked up one more thing, I might pop. Sometimes I just have to put everything aside and just chill.

Noise: But you’ve also gotten into promoting shows now too, right?

Max: One of the things I try to do is network. I’m meeting and talking to people all the time as part of getting people together to do the show. And I was talking to the owner of the All Asia bar in Cambridge and he said, “You know, you should try and book a show.” I thought well OK, how hard could it be? I found out pretty quick that it’s very hard. It’s a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails and you’ve got to get just the right bands. And when it works out, it’s just a great feeling of self-satisfaction. But when it doesn’t, it’s all on you.

It’s just such a learning curve. I’ve done three shows so far, two at All Asia and one at Church, and I’ve got two more coming in March and April. But really, it’s just a huge learning curve.

Noise: Have you gotten any feedback from listeners? Is there a sense that the show is finding its audience?

Max: The reaction so far has been pretty good. I haven’t gotten a slew of emails, but the one’s I get have all been positive. The best thing I’ve heard back from anyone was from a band called the Stereo Flys, who said, “[the show] is just what Boston needs.” And I thought, wow—thank you, guys. It’s the small things that keep you going.