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Radio isn’t just about playing songs—it’s about the people behind the mic, the wild stories, and the grind to make it all happen. Welcome to Talking Between the Songs, where I, Brenden Peach, pull back the curtain on the radio industry with the people who live and breathe it.
Most people think radio DJs just sit around and chat. There's a lot more to it than that. Talking Between the Songs with Brendan Peach, a deep dive with others in the radio business. For the inaugural episode of this podcast, I invited a friend of mine, John Camucci, who is now the cohost of Valentine in the morning on one zero four three my FM in Los Angeles to be my very first guest. John attended my alma mater, Cal State Fullerton, where he majored in communications.
During his senior year, he interned at iHeartMedia. And after six months of working for free, he landed a job with the promotions team at iHeart, eventually working his way up to Ryan Seacrest's phone screener and associate producer role before reaching his current position. He is one of the nicest, most genuine people you'll ever meet, and he's as passionate about the radio industry as I am. Let's get to it. Hey.
I'm John Camucci. You're listening to talking between the songs with my guy, Brandon Camucci. Alright. What's happening, John? How are you, man?
Doing good. I'm actually the only one left here in the building. It's, it's quite eerie. It's all dark in here now. Kind of a cool looking studio there.
We got matching disco balls going on. Oh, yeah. You do you have a disco ball back there too? Oh, I see it. I do.
Yeah. This is I mean, not my studio. I'm at home right now, and I've not, properly set up the place, but we're working on it. You gotta put some cool wall decor behind you or something. That's exactly what I've been looking at.
Have you seen those, like, the wood panels people seem to be using a lot? I haven't seen those. In studios, they look really cool, man. I just like seeing them on TikTok and stuff, and I'm like, man, I gotta get those. Is my sound coming out of my, sound system, my mic?
It's it's coming out great. Yeah. Sounds good. Cool. Cool.
Cool. It's better than most artists when I interview them, and they're, you know, on the side of the freeway outside the tour bus. It's worse. Right. It's the worst.
Dude, I think it's funny. I was just thinking about it. I'm like, we've never actually, like, physically met each other. We only ever started chatting with one another back in 2020. Isn't that insane, man?
It's just like how the world is. I have so many friends that I either met online or, like, I'm only friends with online. But it feels like I used to work in the same building with you for years. You know? Right.
Yeah. No. We me and Randy did the I Call Next podcast. And then I came across you and Erica's podcast almost on air. And then I don't know why.
I think it was just because I was like, oh, I see him. He's working on iHeart. Let me follow him. Let me reach out and say hello. And then we just that was it.
We just started talking back and forth. I somehow made an appearance on the podcast. And at the time, I think I was working at, like, I was working at TMZ and In N Out, and I was just broken up with. So I was, like, all sad on the podcast. That's right.
I forgot about that. We got you, like, post breakup. Oh, man. Yeah. What a time.
And I was, I I think I was real timid. I think I looked at a little clip of it from back then. I'm like, man, that's 2017 me. It was a complete completely different Brendan. You know?
You and I both, man. Isn't that weird how much you can age in just a couple of years? I barely recognized the guy. Right. Yeah.
It's it's weird. And I even, I think there was a little thing I tried texting you about, and I ended up on Ryan Seacrest's show about the whole, like, should I gift my ex a birthday present even though she broke up with me, like, right before her birthday? And you're, like, calling from the show. And because you had did you had you had bought it beforehand or something like that? Yeah.
Yeah. And then Yeah. I called I called into the show, and then Ryan's like, we got Brendan from Seal Beach on the phone. And then I was like, hey. How's it going, Ryan?
And he goes, radio voice, Brendan. Like, out of nowhere, just said that out loud. I'm like, I wish I had that clip. I wish I had a clip of v Ryan Seacrest saying something like that to me. Dude, I completely I remember it was one of the first things I thought about you too because, like, as other people who are just very invested in radio, and I'm sure Ryan may or may not have felt like this back in the day too.
But as much as I love radio, I don't have that traditional radio voice. And I remember talking to you about this too when we first met. I was like, dude, I would do anything for that voice. That's so cool. See, I don't hear it.
I I think the worst of myself, if I see myself, hear myself, I'm just like, dude, I can't I can't listen to this. I can't watch this at all. I hear you, man. Yeah. For me, it's, like, on voice voice mails.
Voice mails is where it's real bad. On the microphone, I don't mind the sound of my voice anymore. Like, I I sometimes I really like it, to be honest. But anytime I hear myself on an actual cell phone, I'm like, that's that's so gross. Is that what I sound like?
I I would never talk to me for hours on the phone. Do you ever hear yourself on the air and then hear some other DJ and you go, why why why am I in this business? Why do they sound so much better compared to me? That's what happens to me all the time. Every time.
I don't know what I'm doing here still. Yeah. And we're It's crazy to me, dude. We're the young people in the business too, and we're facing off not facing off. We're in the same industry as a lot of people who have been doing it for a lot longer than we've been alive almost.
There's people who've been been doing this since, like, the seventies, and it's like they're they're masters at it. I talk to my coworkers all the time about it. And that's one of the things I feel. It's a it's a blessing and a curse that I've spent so much time in LA for radio, and I really have not had to go make the move for radio, which is so traditional in so many stories. But right now, like, I walk up and down my building, and it is Ryan Seacrest down the hall and Big Boy and Woody and Valentine and Ellen Kaye.
And I'm just like, this is it it's one thing to be surrounded by people who've done it for so long, but also the people who are at the top. You know? So it's very cool that I'm around them, but at the same time, you notice the the difference. You know what I mean? You're like, these are the best that you could possibly be, and here I am just trying to make it.
You know? Right. And that's what I wanted to dive into for this podcast. I'm calling it talking between the songs because a lot of people just automatically assume that's all we do every single day. And I figured that was a unique title for this.
But, Yeah. I like that. You started out I would love to hear the whole background of how you got to iHeart in Burbank. I don't wanna go through the whole life story here, but, you know, just kinda Yeah. No worries.
How you got to where you are. Yeah. I'll give you a little brief one here. So I did grow up here in, Southern California listening to the very shows that I've worked on. I've I grew up listening to Ryan Seacrest and Valentine in the Morning, which are the two main shows that I've that I've worked on so far.
But, it started with an internship at Cal State Fullerton. I, my very last semester, just you had to have an internship to graduate at, at Cal State Fullerton. And, like, the day before the deadline, I didn't have an internship. And I had applied to iHeart, like, legit four years in a row. Denied.
Every every year. Denied. Denied. Denied. The very last semester, I finally got in for an internship.
So I worked for free for six months, I believe it was. And then that got me a job on the promotions team, working events and stuff like that. That escalated to working the, the phones for the Ryan Seacrest show. And, did that for about two years and, two and a half years. And then now here I am cohost of Valentine in the Morning one zero four point three in Los Angeles.
It's it's that's so weird that we've never actually met each other. We we we went to the same college. We went to this we were we interned at the same building. And Yeah. I mean, I I I I heard you on a different podcast talk about how you tried out for Titan the Titan Internet radio, Cal State Fullerton's radio station, and they didn't accept you or something like that?
Heck yeah, man. I I love this story because I was so defeated by it. I just, like, so badly wanted to be in radio. I grew up listening to radio. Like, I feel like some people stumble into radio.
Like, I meet a lot of professionals who just happen to be in radio by some chance or whatever, just however life ended up being. This is all I've ever wanted to do. So for me, like, I just have been obsessed with it. And so at Cal State Fullerton, we had a Titan radio station, and, I applied for it. I mapped out how my show would be and just didn't get it.
And I was like, dang, man. Like, this I am never gonna be able to, like, have a shot of what I wanna do. So it was kind of a cool full circle moment to, now that I mean, I have a great relationship. I love Cal State Fullerton, and I'm, like, very close with some of the people who work there. And, you know, it's just one of those things where not everyone can get accepted.
You know what I mean? Yeah. And so that was a weird thing because I I heard you say that, and I'm like, well, when I tried it for it, there was only, like, one meeting, and then you would just submit your show, and then that was it. I don't know what I don't know what happened between your time and my time. Do we what what what year did you graduate from there?
I graduated 2017, so I feel like it, The year before me? Right before that. Yeah. Yeah. Either maybe that was the year that a million people tried out or mine was that bad.
Who knows? Yeah. I mean, like, I'd I barely did any music. All I did was just talk because I was so inspired by Howard Stern, which is a terrible, terrible thing because I was just listening to old his old bits, and then I would go into there and think I'm, like, the next him. And I would, like, get myself in trouble.
And so that was, like, a a weird time. I think my shows are still out there online too. I don't even wanna listen to them. But, like It's good and a bad thing at the same time. You know?
You never know what's gonna come back to haunt you in a few years. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Luckily, I didn't say anything bad. It was just, like, a terrible, weird show, but I'm glad that, like you know, it's so funny.
We went to the same school, same Titan Radio, same inter like, so how how was the application process for you for iHeartMedia with the whole, internship? Did the interns also interview you? Because that was a huge thing too when when I was getting interviewed, and I was like, why are these people, like, younger than me? And then I found out for the whole internship program. And how what what made you stand out compared to the others when you applied for that internship?
That's a good question. I I to be honest, I'm not a % sure because like I said, for so many years, I'd gotten denied from that internship. And then I don't know. Like, I I didn't really have any radio experience since I did not really have any radio experience at Cal State Fullerton because I didn't get into that radio program. Like, I think I had very limited experience.
And so I remember when I was an intern looking for the next internship group too. You kinda look for someone with a little bit of experience, but it's an internship, so it's not like they're grading you too hard. And so I think it must have just been that I was communications major, and someone took the chance on me. And, the, the intern that called me up first, because it's a phone interview and then an in person one, the girl who did both of those, she was in a sorority at Cal State Fullerton. I was in a fraternity, and our two different, like, houses had worked together kind of often.
So we didn't know each other, but she knew of me. And maybe that's what got me in the door, and we kinda connected during the interview. And, one thing led to another, and I guess that's how it worked out. That's funny. Yeah.
But when I I admitted to this in the interview, I was like, okay. I got it. Because then one of the questions was what it what was your first concert? And I really badly wanted to say ACDC because that was, like, my first real rock concert. But my actual first concert was Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers when I was in, like, sixth grade, and my sister wanted to go.
And I'm like, let me tag along. Let me go to this too. Please tell me you said that in the interview. You had to. I did.
Yeah. That's that's what got me the internship is that they're like Has to be. They're I'm like, I I saw Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers and the the three girls interviewing. I'm like, dude, that's I'm glad you're being honest here. You don't even know anymore.
Yeah. You're in. And so when I when I left that first interview, they called me on the phone. They're like, do you wanna come back in for a second? And I was on the freeway, and I'm like, oh, sure.
So I just had a big u-turn and got back to the building. Man, I missed it over there. It was a fun fun time doing that internship. Dude, it really was. And that's one thing, like, I I credited I for iHeart really hard for at the time.
And just like, you know, radio is not exactly what it used to be necessarily, but we had such a a huge internship program. We had so many interns, and I thought it was a really cool process that not only did you get a hands on experience to so many different parts of entertainment and radio, but at the same time, the interns did pick the next group of interns. So as someone who went through so many resumes and, like, was looking for what stood out to me and what stands out to me in so many interviews and you see so many people and how they answer these interview questions, Now when I go to another interview or I'm working on my resume, I kinda have a different set of eyes of what I look for because I got to be in those shoes too. So I feel like it was just I learned so much from that internship, and I we don't have that program anymore at the moment. But, I really wish we did because it was I learned so much.
Yeah. I mean, Angel Nagar, I think that was that was her name. She was awesome. Yeah. She was really, really was.
A great mentor with that whole thing and the whole three second check with the resumes, man. It's it's something else where it's like you you you overthink I'm a guy who naturally overthinks everything. Yeah. Me too, man. And going over my resume is like a heart surgery where I just need to make sure everything is stacked on top.
What would she think of this? And these days, you have to, like you're also battling the, the filter of just whatever software program they use that's lurk looking for specific words that's matched to the job description, and it's a whole another game now too. Sometimes people, I feel like, don't even see the the, resume. And how long did it take? I mean, you were already at I iHeart, like, right after you graduated from Cal State Fullerton.
Right? Correct. Yeah. Yeah. I had it my last semester, and then I I think I got the job offer, like, the week of graduation.
And you you have that natural, like, promotions excitement to you. Like, that's the thing too is that you're, like, the most genuine, nicest dude out there to where, like, people just be drawn to you sort of thing. Well, thank you, man. Oh, yeah. I really appreciate that.
To be honest, like, I I've genuinely enjoyed every single job that I've had in radio. Some people think that, promotions is, like, the bottom of the totem pole. And and structurally, it is. But, like, it's it's such a fun job at the same time too. I'm also very blessed that I got to be in promotions in Los Angeles where there are so many different events going on.
Like, I understand we had a very fun schedule, but at the same time, we work in we were working outside concerts and then, you know, little food festivals and stuff like that. And we got to meet other people and hand out prizes and meet listeners that were listening to the same shows that we were listening to every day. And as corny as that sounds, like, I genuinely loved that job. Like, I had so much fun going to work every day. The pay was not great.
Like, it's very shit. So Yeah. It really helps that you have a fun time doing it. You know? Right.
Yeah. No. We we often do remotes around here, and I I do get the whole, like, excitement of meeting listeners and people who go up and say, dude, I've been listening to the station for quite some time. And it's it's a crazy cool experience. But, I mean, driving that that station vehicle, I'm sure you had to drive those plenty of times.
Yeah. Have you ever, like, caught yourself, like, not road rage? You're like, I can't I can't do anything in this car because I'm driving I'm I'm technically on the job if I flip somebody off. Dude, not so much that. It was it was when I first got the job.
Like, my problem was this is so bad, but, like, I had a hard time, like, not being on my phone while I was driving to, like, go places because I was so stoked that I was finally in the KISS FM car. Right. Like, for me, that was my that was my I made it moment. Like, the fact that I was in the KISS FM car. Forget being on the air.
Like, I was so psyched to drive that Suburban that I was, like, on Snapchat to all my friends. Like, what's up, dude? I'm in the KISS FM car. Like, I made it. I'm in radio now, and I just thought it was the coolest thing.
Yeah. I get that. I get at TMZ, I did the same thing. I'm like, I got Harvey's, like, personal stationery. I I got I got his phone number right here.
And so yeah, man. I get that. And the and for the the Ryan Seacrest show as a whole, I mean, you were the phone screener. Right? And then you became associate producer?
Or was that it was Eric? It's kinda the same job. Erica was the, she she was just flat out the producer, like, producer of the show. There was a senior producer, Erica. I was, like, associate producer, phone screener.
Yeah. Yeah. There's a couple of us back there. It's a big team. Wow.
Yeah. No. I remember seeing the like, his setup, and I'm now doing my own show with no team. And I'm like, dude, I I'm jealous of this guy. I'm jealous of Ryan having this whole team behind this show.
Yeah, man. It's even my show now, like, we are a lot smaller of a team, and it's interesting to go from that where everyone has such a, like, a a very specific job. You know what I mean? That you're entire that you're entailed to or whatever. But, then you go to this other show.
And even where I'm at, I'm blessed that we have so many people to help, and we're already each doing many jobs that the Seacrest show had very specific to individuals. You know? So like you said, even where you're at, I can't even imagine. You know what I mean? I'm sure you guys are what?
Answering your own phones and doing all this stuff. Yeah. It's funny. The old phone is literally right here. I'll show you if I can get this this little old thing.
Dude, I'll tell you what, though. I miss those ones because we have these new phone systems now, and, like, they're not as fast. They're they're very weird. Yeah. This one only has three lines.
And sometimes when we do, like, secret sound or what's in the box, that thing will fill up. But I remember Coast with the, Disneyland ticket giveaway, the private party. 10 lines all at once every single day. Dude, that was What's going on tonight, actually? Is it?
Is it? Yeah. Dude, that was a that was a fun event. The only thing I didn't like about it is this is this is hilarious. Darlene was all like, Brendon, can you please help with this marriage proposal?
I'm like, oh, I'd love to. That'd be awesome. And so she's like, okay. Stand right here. And I'm standing there for twenty minutes.
I don't know what's going on. She's like, just stand right here. Don't do anything else. Turns out she just wanted to use me as the shield to hide the groom to hide the guy behind me. That's all.
I found out there's a dude behind me high like like this. Oh, no. I gotta be honest, though. If I'm looking around at someone, that's gotta be Human Shield. You are giant.
I've never met you in person, but you're I remember you telling me you're, what, six Six nine. Four? Stop. I'm six nine. Yeah.
Brother, that's, like, not even fair to me. You know? Like, that's insane. I'm, like, looking up at six feet right now. Like, that's crazy.
I did see your interview with, is it how do you say it? Hozier? Is that how you say it? Hozier. Okay.
Yeah. That's why I'm not in the rock radio. I'm not in the next behind me is the z one zero three studio where they play Hozier and It's alright. I saw you're wrapped, and, I'm a be honest. I didn't really know many of the bands I was, but I respect the hardcore music taste.
Dude, we play that stuff on here too, and it's fun editing that music just because Yeah. When you hear an f bomb growled like that, you're like, wait a minute. Did I just hear did I hear something? And then I had to look at it. A part of you.
Yeah. I had to dig through audition and find that part of the clip, reverse it, and make my own radio edits, and it's it's fun. But I'm I I saw I did see you liked my top five artists. I'm like, there's no way John listens to pale faced Swiss. No, man.
I gotta be honest. I'm missing that one, but I do respect it. Like, I do love, like, listening to or even seeing different people's music taste. Like, I love when people post their rap or what they're listening to. I have some friends who are very much into the same kind of music that you are.
And, like, I just it it fascinates me. You know what I mean? Like, the different kind of releases that people get from music. It's all the same feelings, just different genres. You know?
Right. I thought I was gonna get in trouble with that because of the whole, like, posting parts of the song that had crazy lyrics. I thought my my top song was called Cut, Bleed, Repeat, and I'm like, my mom's gonna think I'm a weirdo for for posting this. And it Heck yeah. And the sec the times that you meet, like, any one of these metal artists, they're just big time nerds.
And most of them are very, very soft spoken people. And you'll be like, where does that come from? And they just The sweetest dudes. It's always the sweetest dudes. Yeah.
Yeah. Like, the lead sing I I went to this, one concert for the band, Brand of Sacrifice. The lead singer, Kyle Anderson, he's the the band came out to the Pokemon theme song. And then, like, they're doing all these insane growls on stage, and then I meet him after the show. And he's the the whole band is based off the anime Berserk, and they're all into that sort of thing.
And it's just, like, it's crazy what people are into and how this music comes about. And you'll notice they're just scary looking people, but at the same time, they're the nicest people. It almost, like, flushes those emotions out of you, and then all that's left is kindness. I feel like, like, I I love sad music. Like, the sadder it is, the more heartbreaking it is.
I love it. Like, I'm I'm such a softie. And I'm a pretty happy guy, I think. You know what I mean? Like, I'm walking around, like, I I genuinely enjoy life very much, but, like, if I can have my sad moments in my car where I'm just listening to stuff where you would think that I am just going through it, I don't know.
It's like a release. Then I'm able to just, like, be my happy self, and I feel like I got those emotions flushed out. Right. And there's a lot of sad stuff in the top 40 world, especially that that one song that annoyed me was the Billie Eilish What Was I Made For. That was just, like, the saddest, most slow paced song.
And I can only imagine, dude, how many times you have to hear certain songs. Because I remember at Coast hearing Adele, water over the bridge or water under the bridge over and over and over again every single morning, and I'm like, dude, this can't this is driving me nuts. Adele's great. I get it. So do you feel that with the music that you're in now?
Because I understand you're on a rock station, so it's more your vibe. So do you get tired of the music while you're there at your station? The the most frequent Asan plays is every five hours. And Oh, wow. We intentionally spaced that out on Z 103 behind me, that studio there.
It their their listeners are only listening for, like, twenty minutes at a time, so the most frequent's, like, an hour and a half. Right. That's about where we're at. But for alt and, Cannonball, it's, like, every nine hours or nineteen hours. Some some forgot what number it is.
But That's real nice. Yeah. I mean, K Bear, it's such a different vibe over here because you can I can literally just go to these computers above me, drag whatever song I want to into that system, and because my afternoon show is going on right now? I could just get rid of Sublime because I have this personal vendetta against Sublime. I just don't like them at all.
So I'll go to, like, like, I'll throw in, like, Lorna Shore if I really wanted to, which is another one of those, like, insanely growly bands. You know? Gosh. That'd be so dangerous for me. The pros and cons, that's, like, one of the pros of the smaller station is it's it's pulling strings to be able to play the specific song that we wanna play.
You know what I mean? Right. Yeah. And, I mean, like, I mostly listen to you guys just because the content's so great. I love the whole battle of the sexes.
I love the whole like, you guys all get along, and I love the, like, just the some of the bits actually do make me laugh. Like, sometimes I'll listen to a radio station, and I'll be like, this is supposed to be funny, but I just do not find this humorous. But, like, you guys actually do genuinely make me laugh with some of that stuff that you guys say, especially with trying to say hi to the security guard on the on the with the best built The three sisters. Brother security guard. Yeah.
I think that's great. And I'm glad that you do those TikToks. I actually applied, I think, to be, in that same role you're in, but I'm so glad I didn't get it because I cannot do those dancing TikToks with that show, man. Me either, man. Listen.
I can't do them. I try, and that's, like, the best I got, but I'm not fooling anybody. I'm just giving it my my best shot, and our social media managers are she runs with it. And if we don't do a good job, it's even better for her. You know?
She seems like she no. That's the thing. I wish we had more of a social media person here. I I that's the thing I get jealous of is that we have ourselves to depend on. And Right.
Right. You could only imagine me next to Valentine in those videos with the height difference of me trying to dance like that. It's just, no. Can't do it. Can't do it.
No. It'd be great because this guy's, like, he's six foot, maybe six one. He's just, like, the tall guy in the studio. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Me, I'm maybe five nine, five ten with shoes on. Right. And, Brian is about the same height as me, and we're, like, none of us are really the most manly men possible. So Valentine's, like, the man in the studio. You know?
He's got a beard. He's, like, the tallest one. So if you came in, it would just shake things up and put it in perspective. I'll pay you to just, like, come in our studio and say what's up. I actually do wanna stop by at one point.
Probably in January, I'll come by and say hi to everybody. Yeah. That'd be cool to see. So we could meet in person. Yes.
I know. Finally. It took me forever to meet Randy, in person, and now we're just like, you know, he'll he'll hit me up every once in a while, but he is one of those dudes that hardly ever answers the phone. And I call him all the time and Yeah. I get that.
Talk the whole radio business. But I'm so glad you're also into it. That's why I wanted you for this first episode of this podcast just because, like, I'm heavily into the elements of it. And, that was another question I had for you is that do you get not irritated, but, like, annoyed when there's people that come up to you and they go, like, I don't really listen to the radio. I listen to, like, Spotify.
Because, like, I know you're, like, the the positive dude, and I'm always, like, the negative, like, the worst of the worst. I get told to stop being negative all the time. To be honest, it's I I don't get mad. I almost, like, pity is not the right word either, but I I almost feel bad because I feel like you're missing out. You know what I mean?
Because I feel like for me, radio is something that I just I value so much. And even in my commuting days before I was on a show, like, I I would prefer radio in the morning compared to Spotify or some other playlist because I love how live it is. I I love that you're talking to someone in the moment. And if there was something that happened in the world last night, like, everyone's kinda talking about it. It's the talk of the town.
Like, I wanted to feel included. I felt FOMO if I didn't know what was going on that morning. And so I feel like I if you don't listen to the radio, I feel like you're missing that, and I almost feel bad. But at the same time, like, I recognize this new world that we live in, and I feel like I'm kind of in a unique place too because, I'm a radio nerd, but I'm not such a radio nerd that I'm never listening to streaming. Like, I'm sorry.
Like, I'm listening to streaming. I promise you I am. I'm such a playlist guy. You know what I mean? Like, I I love curating my playlist.
There are times where I just I need to listen to what I wanna listen to in the order that I want or even a podcast that I wanna listen to. Like, I get it. And I think the most heartbreaking thing for me is wanting to be a part of both worlds and finding out how they can both exist together because I know that's just more and more of a challenge. Definitely. Definitely.
I'm glad you said it that way because I I meet people around here and, like, rock and metal is such a huge influence in this small Idaho area. It's very weird how, like, everybody's into it, and they know about the stations. But sometimes you get people who are like, oh, I don't listen to that. I listen to my Spotify, and I have to break it down from, like, well, streaming doesn't pay artists to do, like, this whole, like Totally. Long tangent, man.
And it's But at the end of the day, like, I just, like, I've come to term with the facts that people don't care about that. You know what I mean? Like, I'm, I'm on TikTok a lot, so I get the TikTok mindset. Like, you want convenience. You want what's easy.
Like, we have this love for radio, but, like, for someone who doesn't, like, you gotta do something that appeals to them. So, yeah. So many times I'm out hanging out with people my age that don't even know the stations that are on in our city. And for me, I'm, like, I'm always trying to figure out how we can get those people. I'm, like, alright.
Well, that's an opportunity. Like, how can we morph someday to bring those people in and make it more of a new, young, fun thing again? And it's hard to do that because there are so many, like, traditional radio things that go against that, but I don't know. I'm kind of optimistic about what the future could be for it. You know what I mean?
Right. And I do think with the future of streaming and the future of even SiriusXM, like, a lot of these companies need the money, so they'll go resort to advertising. And so you you you may think, like, you know, next year, Spotify could be putting commercials even into their paid for memberships, and that's the exact same as radio. Totally. You never know.
And I I know, like, there's, like, AI is another aspect of it too. Like, there are so many AI things, and I was just, like, thinking about it today. Like, the Spotify raps recently came out. Right. And, they have this feature where it's actually pretty crazy.
Two AI hosts will talk about your Spotify rapped to you. Mhmm. They'll be like, hey, John. I noticed this was your top song. That's pretty crazy.
Like, I wonder what you were going through. And my first thought is, well, that is really cool. And I started listening to it. And something about AI when you bring it in the realm of music is so contradictory to me. Like, those things don't actually go together because one of my top artists was Noah Khan.
And these AI hosts were like, oh, I noticed you were deep in a Noah Khan hole in March of this year. You must have been going through something that was probably real sad. And then I'm like, they don't they don't know. Like, that's a that's a thing that's programmed to do that. And and music inherently is such this deep rooted emotion.
Like, it's a part of people's soul. Like, it's something you believe in and something you feel to your core and, like, no AI is gonna get that. And so right now, we think this AI, like, this these AI hosts are cool just because we've never heard it before and we're shocked at how human like it can be. But pretty soon all these AI bots are gonna sound just like that, and it's not gonna be cool to us anymore. And then I'm gonna want someone who feels those emotions, who I can connect with on a personal level, who's been where I've been, who's into the same artist that I am because of the feelings that they provoke.
And and that gives me hope. You know what I mean? I'm like, I think when it comes to music and especially radio, I'm someone who's just as passionate about music as radio, probably more music than radio, to be honest. So I want someone that's able to connect with me, and that gives me hope for the future of radio. The whole AI thing, I find it funny that people are like, oh, I'm terrified of AI taking over.
It's like, if you really want to kill radio that badly, then you will put AI everything on Right. On all stations because nobody's going to connect. Nobody wants to hear that DJX every single time. They use it as, like, a like a like, behind me, like, there's, like, a speaker, and I'm doing, like, some sort of work here. That's what they'll use it for.
But they won't actually dive deep and connect with it like what you just said. So that's perfect. Totally. And don't get me wrong. Like, I'm I'm using ChatGPT all the time.
Me too. It helps it helps me produce shows and stuff. You know what I mean? But, like, it's it's it's a use that it's a a way you can use it to benefit you rather than like, there's a lane for it is what I'm trying to say, essentially. Yeah.
One of the fun funniest bits you guys did that it inspired me that I even texted you about was replacing Jill or having Jill's voice or AI Jill do the whole what's trending, and she's like, I didn't say that. Like, that was fantastic. One of our, one of our cohosts, Jill, she, she'd she was on vacation. I think she was actually getting married or something. And so there's a feature.
There's a website where you can take a, a sample of someone's voice, plug it in there, and you can make someone say whatever you want using AI in their voice. So we did that with Jill. She does our Hollywood headlines. And, we had her read the Hollywood headlines and then put in some stuff that she absolutely would not say, talking some smack on us and kinda being conceded about herself. And it's just stuff she would never say, but it's funny in those moments to, like, see what it can do.
You know? But at the end of the day, like, I think people just people want authenticity. And that's even when it comes to people. Like, when you hear someone that you're trying to relate to on the air, if they're not being real with you, people can pick that out of a out of a, you know, giant pile too. Like, no one wants someone who's inauthentic.
So Right. I think that's you know, you want a host that's authentic whether that's a person or not. So how early do you wake up for that show? Like, is it 01:30, two? Is it crazy early in the morning?
No. We have those shows who do wake up at 01:30 or two, though, but I'm I'm lucky mine's 03:30. Okay. Okay. That's still that's still, like, early, early for a lot of people.
And it's crazy that, like, I remember Randy. It was 01:30 in the morning, and I I he would I've been playing Xbox with him, and he'd be like, alright. It's time for bed. I'm like, dude. It's 04:30.
Sometimes yeah. The Woody Show, which I know you're very familiar with, who's right next to us in the studio, they, like, they're all their parking, all their cars are in the parking lot by the time I roll up to work. They've been at it. So at 03:30, that may sound crazy, but I feel lucky that it's 03:30. Do you ever read the comments too about, like, the show and all that?
Because I feel like I I I do that, and I barely get talked about in any online thing. I did make a joke one time that, like, I made it I did this whole stupid bit where I was like, everyone from Idaho is stupid. I made this whole song about it. And this guy said, like, Peaches from K Bear said everyone from Idaho is stupid. And then, like, the whole description was like, I want him replaced.
And I I, like, profusely apologized to him because I was like, no, dude. It was just a bit. I was just kidding. They didn't get the bit. Yeah.
Yeah. And then I I'm sure with, like, how big the show you're on is, because I see all the time on r slash the Woody Show, Gina needs to be replaced. I'm like, stop with it. Like, this is, like, a legitimate person who's employed. Yeah.
Like, it's nuts. I I think I'm I feel like nowhere on the Internet is safe from that. You know? So I I think you see a lot of those comments whether you're scrolling on TikTok or Twitter or x or whatever it is. You see those hate comments everywhere.
So you're bound to get some yourself at some point. And, I think most of the time, I'm pretty good at letting them roll off. Our listeners are really good. I think it's it's rare that we do get some of the criticism. And when we do, like, people are most of the time funny.
Like, people get the joke that you're in on. There are many times where, yeah, people are gonna take things out of context or maybe something you said came out wrong or, you know what I mean? They didn't get the way that you were trying to approach it. And then that totally happens. And I just I guess the only thing that I tell myself is, like, if you listen to me long enough, I would hope that you understand who I am and where I'm actually coming from.
Like, I'm never trying to be an a hole. You know what I mean? So and sometimes some you're right. Sometimes people just don't like you because you're because you you have a annoying voice. Like, I've gotten that before too.
Really? That's crazy. A hundred totally. And it it that kind of stuff, to be honest with you, like, it really doesn't bother me. Like, there are some things that once in a while, I'm like, oh, that's probably bothering me more than I should let it.
But for the most part, meh. That's great. Yeah. Yeah. I was I was actually reading the comments about you on the YouTube channel for your interviews, and everyone was positive.
They're like, dude, I love this interviewer. He's the best at, like, what he's do he, like, brings a fresh or a a a good vibe to the interview because I was talking with the whole hosier thing and, like, you talking to Olivia Rodrigo in person and all that stuff. I mean, how do you prep for something like that? I would love to hear another DJ's prep for artist interviews. Like, is it the night before?
You're just typing up a whole page, like, memorizing it? Well, I appreciate that. Unfortunately, like, my toxic trait is as much as I know that negative comments are gonna come, I don't really believe the positive ones either. Negative comments are gonna come, I don't really believe the positive ones either. Maybe that's just a personal thing, but, I I I don't know.
I I'm really bad at just comments. I try and stay away from them good and bad just because I I won't let myself have a win. You know what I mean? That's good. Yeah.
I'm extra hard at my on myself for that kind of stuff. Same here. I get it. Yeah. Yeah.
You get it. But artist interviews, man, they're they're my favorite. I think it's because, like, I'm I'm such a music person and, like, I grew up listening to music. And the reason I wanted to get into radio was because I wanted to, like, get close to these artists. I wanted to understand them.
I wanted to talk about music. Like, it's it's the most interesting thing in the world to me. So for those interviews, I guess how I prep is, one, I I do the basics, especially if it's someone I'm not super familiar with. Gotta know all the basics, where they're from, the music they're coming out with, whatever. And then I kinda just, like, listen to their recent projects.
And I, like, I I listen to it from a fan's perspective, which is usually what I've been doing my whole life. And I, like, just start getting curious about specific things. And I probably go in with a couple of things I definitely wanna ask about and kinda just see where the conversation takes me. What I feel like is my flaw though is, like, I'm someone who, like, I just wanna talk about the music all the time. I wanna know who you are, how you tick.
And, like, sometimes I forget that, like, you can just have some fun and, like, talk about random stuff because sometimes people wanna know about the other parts of an artist as well. Like, what where they do their laundry. You know what I mean? Like, what they like to cook for dinner. So, like, I try and make sure that, like, I I don't get too pigeonholed into music because that's, like, all I wanna know about.
You know? That's funny. You're the opposite of me. I wanna know them as a person. Like, I do wanna know about the music, but I do know from, like, a personal standpoint.
I'm like, these guys probably get asked about all of these songs they write, and it's the same thing in every interview, especially, like, Olivia Rodrigo's getting asked, who's this song about? You know, that type of thing. Probably. And I I would love to know, like, what does she do in her free time or things like that, you know, that really make her a person. And and to be honest, I think that's what the fans wanna know too.
I think fans wanna know a little bit of both. You know? There are some fans who are the diehards that are like, you need to ask about this one song that she wrote years ago that people don't ask her about because the fans wanna know. But then the fans are also like, I've seen all these interviews. I wanna know what she's making for dinner.
You know? I wanna know who where she goes to hang out on a Friday night. Like Right. So a a good blend of the of the two, I think, is is always a win. I do love your guys' like interviews even with Katy Perry.
You had a great question to her, about the whole, like, what song really what songs really resonate with people? It was another music related question that you asked, but I do love the the interviews that you guys do on Valentine in the morning. I kinda just watch everybody else ask these same artists who I'm about to interview. And I'm like, okay. They already asked that.
Let me scratch that question off. Let me come up with something for these for these people that it's very unique. And I almost want to be closer to, like, the Nardwar realm, but also, at the same time, like, I just wanna be myself to be like, ask them questions that I wanna know the answer to. Totally. It's it's It's a balance.
It it definitely is. And I I'm I mean, I'm still learning all the damn time. Like, I I don't feel like I fully have it figured out. You know? I've even over the last few months have, like, changed the way that I go into interviews.
I feel like I'm always trying to tweak it or improve it or or or take a different approach just to see what what comes out of that. But, I mean, it's cheesy as it sounds like. What at least what I've learned over the last couple of months, like, the more I have felt that I'm doing the interview for me and my own curiosity, the better it comes out on the other end. I'm I'm learning as I'm doing this podcast here because I'm just trying to figure out, like, how other people do it because I'm always curious as to how like, even, like, people like you and the the others in that building and even, like, two of my favorites in the afternoons on Alt ninety eight seven are Booker and Stryker. And those guys, you know, they're legendary.
And everybody in that that building is just like a legend, you know. It's it's Totally. Totally. It's sad that, like, I had a run-in with big boy in the bathroom because my head always goes above the stall. So he saw me, like, almost peeking behind him.
Yeah. It's not like you get that a lot. People think you're peeking on them in the restroom. Right. I just walk out.
Sitting in, like, my standing. Yeah. It's interesting you you bring that up, though, because, like, I I love talking about this kind of stuff. I'm such a nerd about it. And I've asked different people in the building because I'm curious about different interview tactics.
And there's a guy down the hall who works for Kiss, and his whole thing is, like, he he's not a big music guy. So, like, he'll he'll touch on the music stuff that he has to, you know, the new single coming out, Tell Me About It. But his biggest thing is, like, he he goes to therapy, and he really loves, like, the interpersonal connection that you can make. And he just wants to get into, like, what are your mental struggles right now? Like, how did you overcome them?
Like, that is his whole angle that he tries to to take it to. And I think that's so interesting because you're right. Everyone has their own way of kinda going about it. I asked these artists, like, do they listen to themselves whenever they're, like, going on a run? Do you got because I know a lot of these a lot of these dudes in the rock and metal industry, they try to, like, try to try to stay in shape on tour.
And I know Caleb Shomo just went through, like, a drastic weight loss. He's the front man for this band called Beartooth. And he's in his early he's about 32, and he's lost, like, a good amount of weight. And I'm like, dude, do you listen to Beartooth in your free time at all? Or what do you listen to when you're running on the treadmill or something like that?
Like, it's but I do get the whole interpersonal, connection thing because it's like it's something that sticks with that artist and the listeners too. Dude, a %. And and I love that question. That's one of my favorite questions. It's like, what are you listening to?
Like, I again, just because I'm, like, interested in music, you know, when I'm talking to for example, we were talking to Chris Martin from, from Coldplay. Oh, great guy. That was that was my thing that I asked him. I was like, dude, you were, like, one of the biggest bands, the lead singer of one of the biggest bands of all time. Like, when you wake up in the morning, what is it that's going on in your headphones?
You know what I mean? That that's so interesting to me. Or what is it that, like, Chris Martin does in the morning? And, like, what does he do? Like, does he have to prepare himself mentally to walk into a cafe because he's Chris Martin of Coldplay?
Totally. Or prepare himself at all to walk onto a stage with over a hundred thousand people there at the Rose Bowl or whatever it is. Like, you know, people always say that these artists are just like us. They're people. And and we know that that's true.
But at the same time, they have such a unique experience of life. You know what I mean? That also I'm so curious about because it's one that I I wish I could have, but I'm not talented in music in that way. You know? But you play the piano, though.
I know that about you because you play the piano really well. I I wish I could. I tried learning the guitar for a little bit, and then I got that app where it's like, okay. If you wanna continue, it's a hundred dollars a year, and I'm Yeah. I'm not paying that.
No. No. That's the thing too. I I appreciate that. Thank you for the compliment.
I I love playing the piano. It's probably, like, my favorite. It's like my self care thing. Like, I don't really play for people that much. I just got a keyboard in my room.
When I'm having a really good day, play some piano. When I'm having a real sad day, playing some piano. It's like, it's my own personal therapy. So I I genuinely love it, but I wish I could play the guitar, man. So bad.
So many times I've picked that thing up, and it's just like it takes so much time to learn an instrument. And we're, like, we're just so old and busy now that it's like, I could be dedicating that time to, like, getting ahead of my craft or, like, being better at piano or getting work done. And it's like, I'm never gonna learn anything new. You know? And it makes me realize why kids are in so many different clubs and stuff growing up.
Because you got all the time in the world. Right. And you you wake up early. You probably have to go to bed early, and you have all this stuff that you probably do on the show. Like, Camucci's Court's a great segment.
There's also what you do on TikTok, which I thought was really cool, is you list off all the new songs that have come out that day. What how do you keep track of that? Like, how do you know all those songs that have come out? Man, I just like I follow a ton of artists. I just again, it's like I I I think I'm kinda like you where I'm really lucky that the station that I work for is is my kind of music.
Like, it's it's the best feeling in the world because songs don't really get old to me. And, like, the the artists that we play are a lot of the artists that I just genuinely love. So I follow these guys on social media. I really get excited about new releases because I'm dying to know when they are. So So I have this, calendar on my laptop.
And, every time I see that someone's announcing a new EP in six months or a week later or whatever it is, like, I'll jot it down. And so every week, I try and, just keep people up to date, and I just post one little TikTok of, hey. This is everything that's coming out this week. That's one thing I'm trying to work more on because, you know, the future is social. You know what I mean?
Right. As much as our show has a social media, I've gotta be working on that myself too. So that's that's one of the struggles I'm working on. But, that's one way that I I'm at least trying to put up some kind of content every week because, you know, some people are interested in the same thing. That's what got me into radio is to entertain people, and I didn't I like I said before, I hate the way that I look.
So then I was like, I'll be in radio because I like to entertain, but I also don't wanna be seen or judged by my whole appearance. And then I find out radio is all about putting your face out there, putting doing stuff on TikTok. And now I'm the one guy who's, like, uploading these videos every single day of us doing stuff on the air and all of this. Dude, it's like it's I I think about it so much because it's it's the weirdest thing. Like, I just like you, I didn't get into radio to be, like, me, me, me, me, me.
You know, I wanted to interview artists and get to know artists. I wanted to play music. Like, I love being in the circle of what's going on, but, like, I I don't want the focus to be on me. Like, it's it it's it's a very interesting balance. And I feel like social media, like, it it's almost always about you.
And that is a weird line for me to cross and get familiar with. So to be honest, I struggle with it too. It's not what I really got into radio for. I love social media. I'm trying to get excited about it because there are some parts that are really fun when I can find ways to be creative, but, it's a challenge.
It definitely is. You do have some viral TikToks, by the way. I know there was a few that were like, oh, I got the the All American Rejects. It was like listening to them and then seeing them and perform. But even though that whole festival that you were at was canceled, but they still did an intimate performance, and that one went crazy.
And then I saw the ones I just recently got on TikTok again and made my account and all that, then I saw yours. Like, what is all this noise out on my street? And you walked outside, and there's a marching band and a whole parade going on. Full on, like, 16 high school marching bands on my street. We had no warning about that.
I'm like, what what's going on here? Wow. And you're you're going crazy on TikTok, and you have, like, 12,000 followers on Instagram, dude. You might as well just keep building that up and then be like, alright, radio. That was fun.
I appreciate it, man. But, like like, we talked about, like, 12,000 sounds sounds great, and I'm and I'm very excited about that. But I walked down the halls of LA, and that's, like, the lowest. Right. You know what I mean?
Yeah. If you came here so much higher that I'm like, that's I'm barely hanging on at the bottom there. You know? Yeah. If you came here, it'd be a huge thing.
It would just be like, woah. Okay. Who's this guy? Well, actually, the whole Idaho mentality is that they hate Californians, dude. And I'm telling you, like, it was like, I was told in the very beginning, do not say you're from Southern California.
Hey. What's the rap? What's the what's the, the stereotype about us? Back in 2020, everybody moved out of California. And I guess Yeah.
All the people here are like, you guys overfilled our small city and now we're struggling with traffic. And it doesn't make sense because I I now get frustrated myself. I was like, okay. There's too many darn people on this road. And it's it's there's a many pot the whole things about it that I find funny just because I mean, I got pulled over for the very first time in my life just because I had a California license plate, and I was going 30A25.
I was going 30 and a 25. And they're they got cops, like, you you're speeding down the road and gave me the the speeding ticket, which I know speeding tickets in California, they're, like, hundreds of dollars here. It's 90. And I'm like, okay. My gosh.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh my Idaho sounds great. I get the hype. Dude oh, yeah.
Like, now we have this venue called the Mountain America Center. Shows are coming our way. And I prefer it's a weird thing because I I also liked the whole, people not necessarily being out all that much. But at the same time, when you have more people here, it's, like, more listenership for the station. And I Totally.
I oftentimes will go down to Salt Lake City for concerts. I'll go to Boise for concerts, and I'll recruit them and be like, hey. You should listen to our station. The one down here sucks. You know?
Like, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. So what how far do you have to go for a big concert venue?
Like, if you wanted to see someone at a show, what how far is that for you? To Boise, it's four hours. To Salt Lake City, it's three hours. Man, so that's, like, that's a mission then. Like, you almost gotta dedicate the whole night to it.
No. Yeah. No. I'll I'll come back the the same night. Not to Boise.
Boise, I'll go to hotel and all that. But, in Salt Lake City, I'll drive back the night of and get back at, like, three in the morning, and I'll be like Spongebob with the whole, like, you know, just complete Yeah. Tired look. And I'll be like, I got my guitar signed by the bands to give away to one of our listeners, even though it's not for me. I just sometimes I'll sneak in, like, a vinyl record or, like, a CD if I'm a huge fan of the band, like Volbeat.
I'm like, can you guys get this signed for me? And so they signed my CD. They signed my vinyl record before. But going down to Salt Lake City, man, it's a mission. But it's a it's a pretty drive if you enjoy, like, what you talked about with listening to sad music and Yeah.
Just wanting to jam out and sort of be in your own thoughts. You just drive down to Salt Lake City. The the drive to Boise, so boring. You'll you'll see how, like, barren Idaho is. And then out of nowhere, there's, like, a little city, and then there's another little city.
And then Boise pops up, and it's just this big not not even that big. Like, I Salt Lake City is definitely bigger, but, I mean, I've gotten used to Salt Lake City by now. The people here are definitely accepting for sure. They're a lot nicer than most Californians. Like, if you go somewhere and if you everyone online's a whole lot more violent than what they actually are in person.
Of course. And Yeah. People around here will say, like, well, tell those Californians to move back. And if I run into somebody here at the grocery store, they know I'm from California. They'd be like, dude, thank you so much for coming out here and be like joining k Bear and entertaining us.
Like, it's not I love that. It's not even like the height theme that intimidates them. I'm hoping I'm not intimidating at all, but, like, they they they're just like, oh, dude, you entertain me quite a lot. And it's I love hearing that because it helps me so much in trying to make the show funny. And Totally.
And I I understand people, like, are like you. You're negative all the time. It's like, well, I like to point things out that are flawed with society. Like, Thanksgiving, I wanted this whole rant about how, like, I don't like it because my family members or my extended family members, I should say, will see me and go, oh, this guy's about to eat the whole platter. And, like, the I'm like, dude, I don't eat all that much.
And then there's also, like, this whole thing of, like, so what's it like being a radio announcer? And getting asked questions like that, I'm like, dude, you have no idea what I do. Like, you just think I sit there all day, talk between the songs. Meanwhile, I'm writing up proposals for promo for promotions, scheduling the music on the channels, and it's, like, a whole stressful process. And then I meet people who are also saying things like, oh, I don't listen to radio.
And it's almost like a Homer Bart moment where you just wanna, like, need a a choke Yeah. You're like, what am I doing all this work for then? Yeah. Yeah. But then I realized there's a lot of people who just simply enjoyed the program.
Like, one guy literally called, and he's like, dude, I'm going through a breakup right now, but, like, your program's helping me out. I'm like, do you wanna play, like, some song to say, like, forget her or something like that, dude? Like, what's her name? Call her out right now. And and it's those moments that make me appreciate it the most because, like, that is that's the whole point, especially in radio.
I feel like one of the biggest misconceptions I had was that you think you're talking all the time. It it feels like it's public speaking, but when you're in the studio, especially by yourself, it it's very lonely. Like, you you don't only know if you're connecting the same way until you get someone up on the phone line or until you see that text or that comment. And so in those moments where people are like, yeah, man. Like, I'm really going through it, but your show is helping me.
I'm like, you know what? We are connecting. And, like, that's just as much of a connection for me as it is for someone on the other side. So to your point, like, those are the moments that I think make radio. And I think people on the listening end kind of underestimate that sometimes, how much each text or each call matters.
And we don't have a text line at all. We just have the phone, and people can call in. Yeah. Yeah. I texted you about, like Got it.
I texted you about changing. Can we, like, can we can we find a text line? Did, like, to because I was telling my bosses about it just because, like, we need to have that text line. We need to have that connection with the listeners. And Yeah.
It's instant. It's, it doesn't really take as much time as as taking a call out of your you know, if you're taking time out of your day to go call somebody or answer that call, I get that takes you away from the microphone, but the text is immediate. It's it's been a game changer for our show for sure. Right. And I don't wanna go into, like, the whole, like, behind the scenes with Valentine in the morning to expose anything at all because I wanna make sure you guys, you know I don't wanna, like, you know, John Camucci spills all about Valentine in the morning.
Honestly, they would not mind. Oh, they okay. Because I wanna, like, do do you, do you guys have the phone screener? We do have a phone screener. Yes.
And so We are lucky enough to have a phone screener on our show. Does that person tell them, like, hey. You gotta, like, say who you are. They're gonna lead you in that type of thing. I would say, yeah.
They'd probably they say, hey. Like, I mean, that was my job too. So I'm kinda familiar with the process. He's, in another room, so we're not engaging with him as much. But, it's typically like, hey.
Make sure your radio is turned down because we can't hear the feedback. We're gonna take in just a couple of minutes. When you hear Val, you'll be live. He'll usually take the name beforehand, and we'll put the name up on the call screen. So Val, our hosts take care of that.
I remember that from Coast with putting the name up on the board or the low computer screen there and transferring over to Ryan at the time. And, yeah, that that's a I wish we had one of those here. I just take live calls, dude. I'd like, we take live calls all the time, and it's it's kind of funny yet terrible at the same time. It's a gamble.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a gamble. Live calls, it it really breaks your chops in for for radio for sure because you don't know what's coming in on the other side of that line.
Right. And I do the segment called the peach their own where it's just me asking the listeners a dumb question. Like, today was like, if your pet could talk for a minute, what would you ask it? And sure enough, a lot of those answers, man, I'm like, okay. I can't air this.
And I still use the Voxpro. I still use Yeah. Like Heck yeah. Editing and stuff. But when it comes to, like, actual live calls, I'm like, okay.
I cannot ask a question like this genuinely live on the air. Sometimes I'll have to prerecord it because, you know, especially in a year like this year when there's election stuff and all that, you know, someone's gonna come in in this I'm hinged. In this mostly conservative area and yell something crazy. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, the the at least the callers for the show, you get with you guys, it's like they're all into it. They're awesome. They're they're fun. And, like, the whole battle of the sexes, I mean, how is that set up like, dude? Is that you gotta you gotta find somebody.
You gotta find somebody else. You gotta have them compete. And the way you guys handle that, it's crazy. I always wonder how these major radio shows do it. Man, it's, it it it helps to have a team, but it it definitely is live.
Like, we just say, hey. Call now for the battle of the sexes. We need a guy and a girl, and, our phone screener, he's picking them up in there. Typically, more ladies call, so it typically is harder to find a guy. But, we get one on on on each side.
We put them on hold, and then, Valentine, our host, picks them up, and we just, like, start that battle. It's, it it it's fun, but I think we've been it's been such a staple segment of the program since, essentially, the show started. Like, even well before I joined the show for years and years. So I think people are pretty familiar with it. So it's not it's not a lot of explaining.
It's like our, our our peak, segment, our benchmark. And isn't it funny how that game, like, just actually generates conversation in the car? Because my dad and my sister would listen to Valentine in the morning, and they would go, oh, like, I got this question right. I got this one wrong. They would legitimately bring it up to me, like, every single day.
I'm like, this is just a radio segment that you guys tuned into. I know. And it's, like, it's just trivia. You know? Like, to me, it sounds so trivial, but, like, people it's the thing people talk to us about all the time.
They play along with their kids on the way to school in the car. We're a big family station. So it it's something easy that everyone can participate in that doesn't make anyone feel awkward or, like, we're, doing something, you know, edgy or anything. It's just wholesome family fun. You know?
Right. It's trivia. Like, it's really hard to to mess that up. You know? It's pretty fun.
And the the Camucci's court, how did that come about? I meant to ask that earlier. It's a good question. I had many jobs before this, and one of them was a, a part time essentially, I worked for a law office and, worked for law office for, like, eight years, one of my jobs. And there would be some times where we would have a lawyer that was supposed to go to court to, meet whoever was there, a hearing rep or something.
And, if they couldn't make it for whatever reason, they'd need someone to go in his place and basically sign some paperwork, do a little bit of the talking, kinda help solve the case. Solve the case sounds aggressive, but, essentially, just help move the case along. And, and that was me sometimes. I would show up to court in my little suit and, talking to people who knew way more about law than me, but I I would go in there and do my best, you know, just say what needed to be said. And, I was telling that that story to my to my coworkers one day, and then we we came up with, Camucci's court.
We just do a kind of an am I the jerk type situation and have people weigh in on either side on, like, whether or not someone's being a jerk, and I'd be the judge because I'm a fake lawyer, essentially, and it it took off from there. Yeah. That's really cool. I mean, like, you guys probably have do you guys have a lot of callers just randomly trying to hit you up all the time? Or I I feel like you wouldn't the phone screen is in the other room, so I feel like that that's kind of off.
But, like, I I sometimes I'll sit here. I'm like, okay. No one's calling in. Nobody's listening. And, like, I remember at iHeart in LA, like, there's so many people that are tuned into the station.
And for the most part, most of them are just wanting to listen. They're not wanting to call in because it's a nerve wracking experience for some people. Totally. That is that is true. I I will say that, if if there's not a caller on the air, it's either some place where maybe not taking calls or sometimes we do just get random calls who who just come in and they say, hey.
I just wanted to call because I got this thing going on. I wanted to talk to someone about it. And if it's if it's something that we think would work well on the air, we'll take them right then and there. You know what I mean? So Definitely.
I think it's a mix of the two. We we do get a a good amount of calls from most of the segments we do, and that's, again, just one of the blessings of being in LA, I guess. Right, dude. I'm so I'm so happy that you, like, got to climb the LA radio ladder and not have to go anywhere else. Like because it's it's a it's a crazy thing to just start in LA, stay in LA type thing.
It is crazy. It it is crazy, and I'm and I'm very, very blessed and thankful for it. And at the same time, I I will go to some of these radio conferences. And, like, I just flew to Texas for one. And most of the people out there, like, there are so many radio experiences from working at a small station that I feel like I never really got.
You know what I mean? And I feel like sometimes I I I envy some of that because I do love radio so much, and I've loved this journey that I've had. And and there's been so many challenges with with my journey so far. So, like, I'm I'm not trying to say it was easy, but at the same time, I do feel like there's some key radio things that you get from a smaller station, lessons that you learn or whatever it is that, that sometimes I that's why I really enjoy talking to people from across the country and making new friends because, like, I I get to learn through them. You You know what I mean?
Definitely. And you get to see what they go through. That's why I wanted to start this podcast just because of the whole, what exactly everybody does no matter what level, whether it's somebody, like, who's major in LA. You know, you have your own freaking billboard at John Wayne Airport, dude. Every single time I fly home, I see your face smiling.
It takes a Titan. It's like, dude. And we have a phone screener. And if if our calls are too backed up and we need callers, yeah, I'm jumping on the phones. You know what I mean?
I'm helping producing producing new segments. We're coming up with games. Like, everything is still ran in house as much as we do have three Mike talent that are that are on the show every day. Everyone's producing. Everyone's doing other stuff too.
So that's just the the way it's the the way it is these days. You know? Definitely. And it's the way that you guys all, again, like the whole I mean, I remember when Kevin was on there, he decided to leave, and then I remember the whole application process. And I heard your story about how they opened it up to everybody in the country.
And, you know, there's a lot of radio people that were like, oh, I I can get this easily. And there are even some people who are incredibly nervous on trying to get that role, and you put your resume in. I remember hearing your story about it on a different podcast, and you even just put your gave your demo to them. And you're like, I don't know how I feel about this, and then you got the job. And though, at first, they pranked you.
That's what it was. They pranked you by saying, like, oh, we're gonna go another direction, and then sure enough, you got it. And I was dude I was so stoked because I think it was, like, a secret announcement or, like, there was something about how, like, this the position was already filled. And I talked to Randy that day, and Randy was all like, oh, John got it. I was like, oh, sweet.
Okay. Cool. Some like, John got the position. There we go. That's why I called you that day when you got hired there or when I found out the news.
I was like, dude, congratulations. That's awesome. I appreciate that, man. It was it, it it's so weird. I it felt like I was living in a in a movie.
Like, I know I've I've talked about a little bit that radio is kinda the thing I wanted to do since I was a kid. And and for that whole interview process, it was like a six to eight month process. So it didn't happen overnight, and there were countless nights. I was just, like, up in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Like, couldn't sleep for hours.
Like, it was Christmas Eve. You know what I mean? Just because I, like, was so it it was like the thing you've always wanted is finally right there in front of you. And to be honest, I definitely thought I had no shot at getting it. But, like, the fact that I even got an interview just shows you that something is there, and it's so reachable and graspable.
And, like, it just it it meant the world to me to finally get my dream job. You know? It's the thing I've been thinking about in my mind since I was a little kid. It's like the reason I said no to other jobs and worked multiple part time jobs, like, saying no to other things that would have been much more secure. You know?
And Yeah. To have it work out is just it it it's hard to put that into words. Like, it just it meant so much to me that, like, nothing I really say, like, can correctly show those feelings. You know? Definitely, man.
And I I wouldn't it took me three years to finally get here. So I completely understand because I was at TMZ part time and then working at In N Out, and I felt like such a loser working at In N Out at, like Dude. You know, you can imagine, like, everybody's walking in seeing me and go, why aren't you in the NBA? And I'm like, dude, I suck at basketball. I I I played my first two years of college.
I played at the JC level. Yeah. Wasn't great. Couldn't jump at all. And so then when I went to becoming a full time student, it was like, dude, okay.
I gotta find something that I'm passionate about. Radio is definitely it with Mark in the Morning, with a 0.3, The Sound. That was what I listened to every single morning. And I was like, dude, this is a fun show. This is kinda what I wanna do.
And then sure enough, like, go through the whole college thing, apply for cinema and television arts, which before it was radio, TV, film, and the dean, like, took radio out of it. And, like, radio was like did you have Rob Van Real at Cal State Fullerton? Rob Van Real. I not rings a bell off the top of my head. Because I know, like, they have that Cal State Fullerton what is it?
Like, the communications thing. And I I got invited to it just this past year, and they're like, oh, we don't need you, because you're gonna be on Zoom. You're not gonna be there in person. And I was oh, that's okay. Next year or something like that.
But I'm hoping you did you go to that? Sports, man. They they play hard to get over there. They really do. They do.
It's a it's a fun school. I wish I had a better experience there because, like, I I the whole breakup theme, it haunts me. There's, like, the first breakup and then there's a second breakup. You I met you in the second breakup. The first one was the worst one, and my my ex lived right next to the campus.
And so I I would drive by her house every day and see the new guy's car outside the house. And so that that that's like it was like the you know? And I I was listening to speaking of Chris Martin. I was listening to, like, Everglow from Coldplay and, like Oh, man. Tearing up in the car, trying to get out of there as fast as possible.
But See, like, it it that's the worst feeling in the world. And something about it is just like I don't know. It it's so human, and it's such a rite of passage. You know what I mean? That, like, I would never wanna go back to it, but I I kind of look at those memories fondly, those heartbreaks.
I don't know if if you feel like that too. Like, it just I look at it now that way for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's just nothing else can make you feel that way.
You know what I mean? I'm almost, like, glad that I got to feel something that intense because Right. I know Adam Levine, like, he broke up with, several girlfriends because he wanted the inspiration to write more music. And I thought that was a hardcore thing to do, but the same a hardcore thing to do. I don't condone that, but I respect it kind of.
You know what I mean? Yeah. When you're at that level and you're like, you're doing something bigger than yourself, I get it. Maroon five's got bangers, and I thank you for it. And I I I think about those feelings too when I'm doing a show like this.
And I think, like, man, there could be somebody who's exactly like me driving by that ex's house listening to the station for an escape, and he hears me joking about, like, you know, everyone automatically assumes that when I leave a restroom, they think I just laid a massive dump in there. And, like, it's like this because I'm just that big dude that walks out of the bathroom. Yeah. But do that's the exact point. I'm I'm so glad you said that because, like, now when someone else is going through it, you're like, I know.
Like, I know what that's like, and it helps, I think, to when you're going through it to know that someone else has been where you are, it lets you know that you can get out of it, that there is another side to it. Mhmm. We kinda got sidetracked here, but, man, I just I I feel so passionately about that too. Like, the the negative feelings are so crucial to be able to connect with people in the future. Right, man.
And that that's why I'm glad that, like, when you when I found out you got it and I sort of knew already because I think I saw a video of yours, something like that about, like, what you went through as a kid and, like, what how passionate you are for the industry. I'm like, okay. This is not just some regular dude who stumbled across radio, who was like, I wanna be a mechanic when I'm older, and now I can just talk into a microphone. Totally. Like, I that that's kind of that was stuff just gives me upset because it's like, dude Yeah.
I well, we I get that. Yeah. But And and I appreciate that too. I think that was part of oh, man. When I got it, there were so many different emotions.
You know, it's feeling underqualified. There was plenty of imposter syndrome. Underqualified. I don't know if that's what I said, but the imposter syndrome for sure. And then to your point there, like, I I I had so many friends in radio who are in a similar spot than I, and everyone's kinda waiting for their big break.
Right? Everyone's waiting for some kind of job. And the fact that just knowing that I got it, it made me wanna do the most that I that I can with it because I feel like if if someone else got it, I'd be like, I'd I'd at least want them to take advantage of it. You know what I mean? And be like, oh, that didn't go to waste.
Like, someone really cared about it. And so I I I feel like I want to make sure that I do because there are so many people who, like, are are there's so many people who don't have any job in radio right now. You know what I mean? People have been laid off, people who've just never gotten their shot. And, man, it just it breaks my heart that that that this industry isn't as big as it once was.
I'm I'm curious to you. Like, is this something you wanna do forever? Most definitely. Most definitely. But the the the haunting thing to me is the AI thing, not necessarily as much, but the possibility of everything going to digital.
And, luckily, what we're doing here is that we have apps for every single channel. And we we're pushing all of our shows on demand. We're pushing, we're basically saying, hey. Get the app because we know every future car has a touchscreen dashboard now. There's no longer the radio dial anymore.
It's just, like, you get to click. And my car has the whole Apple CarPlay, and I see the Kay Bear logo pop up, and I just click on it. It goes directly to the livestream. And I'm like, that's cool because people can get their music for free, listen to us talk. There's the commercial breaks are, at the most, two minutes long.
So there's nothing. Yeah. That's and people are entertained by the morning show host, Victor, and myself and or at least I'm hoping they are. But, like, they're getting the best music we can provide them in a way in in the genre that we want to and it's such a weird thing with the future because it's, like, it's 2024. How many more people are that are younger than us are gonna go towards just, you know, Spotify, streaming their music via TikTok, Apple Music.
There's so many options. But at the same time, like, there's a big battle between me and the morning show host because he cares about the older older audience. I say they're gonna die first. We need to worry about the guys who are 18, 19, 20, even younger, 18 to, like, 29, maybe even 30 who are not necessarily thinking. Because, like, I was I have this whole deep analysis of, like, the young people because, like, I'm trying to cater to them.
I'm doing the whole, like, memes on our pages that are the old people are not gonna get. Like, I just put a picture of me and Victor screaming, and I wrote the whole mustard, like, real big on it. Most most people are not gonna get that Kendrick Lamar reference considering they listen to rock and metal, and they're also older. But Right. It's, yeah, it's a weird thing, man.
It's a it's a We we have those exact same conversations. I I almost feel like everyone in radio kind of is. Right? And you kind of need the young the young blood to come in there and freshen it up, and and that's where I feel like I have those same conversations. I mean, Valentine, our morning show host, he's a little bit older than I, and and he's been doing the show forever.
He has so many listeners who've grown up with the show that are around his age. You know? They're in their fifties, even sixties, even seventies. Right? And, I mean, don't age too much up up there, but that's just how it is.
And, it it just I feel like we're at this pivotal moment where, like, it's not like the younger generation can just come and feed into radio like they used to and how it's always been. Like, now we're competing against so many different mediums Right. That you have to, like, work differently to get the young people in to have that future in radio. And and luckily, like, the people around me are very much into to listening to a lot of those things. But, I mean, there are so many times we are at odds and we're like, yeah, man.
What what is the secret to not losing people who have grown up with this thing that they love and not changing it so much that it shuns them out, but also changing it enough where it seems like something you can welcome new people into. You know? The thing that drives the kids away to me is, like, not to insult Gen Z, but their attention span, similar to mine. Mine is actually very short now too because of all the media that we can just get right then and there, the whole thing. And radio is more so, like, okay, I'm gonna sit sit here for an hour and hear these different songs, commercial breaks that are incredibly long, especially in the bigger areas.
But then when it comes to rock radio, a lot of rock radio stations don't play the biggest artists at all. And they play these edits of these songs where they get rid of the screaming parts because that's gonna scare the audience. And Victor, who's also the music director here, he's our morning show host, music director, does the job of, like, 13 people all in one. And he has talked to people who program rock stations in Los Angeles, and they have told him straight to his face, there's a lot of the Hispanic crowd in LA who don't necessarily like the heavier songs and the rock or metal. And it's like, dude, have you ever been or ever seen a a heavy metal show in Brazil or Mexico or and, like, the fans there are the craziest, but they're heavily into it.
And I'm sure if we introduced K Baer to the Los Angeles like, the people in Los Angeles, they'll go, dude, like, this is the best thing I've ever heard. Because we don't play any, like, edits or anything like that. We we, of course, get rid of the bad language and stuff. But Right. We're playing, like, the ban shirt that we're in right now, Sleep Token.
We play their full eight minute long take me back to Eden in its entirety on the air. Our boss, Victor, is a giant Tool fan, so he will put on Fear Inoculum, which is thirteen minutes long, and all you hear is, like, this buzzing ding for, like, twenty seconds. And lets it go. I love that. Yeah.
And I'll do, like, album playthroughs too. Like, I'll if there's Yeah. If there's a band that I'm really happy to see them, like, actually release an album, I'll play the entire album start to finish. I'm like, let's just do this. It's a crazy thing to I love that.
I feel I feel like you kinda have to do, you know, against the grain type situations like that. It's harder to do, obviously, in bigger cities. I get that. But, but it it always is just finding a way to find something that feels authentic and new and, I don't know, something people wanna join because you're right. Like, these days, there are just so many options.
Mhmm. Yeah. And there's not that it's it's like the old fogies in the radio business. They're just they they don't they're out of touch. And there's a lot of top 40 DJs who are in their, like, sixties.
And you're like, dude, why are you on the station? Like, you're older than everybody else, and you're talking about Olivia Rodrigo. And it's like, she's, like, 19. She's, like, a super young girl, and it's like this old man introducing her. It's it's a weird thing that a lot of the oh, I think we're like, what you talked about in the middle of these older people.
Unfortunately, I mean, like, Elvis Duran's now older. You know, Ryan Seacrest is now a little bit older. Yeah. And and legends. You know what I mean?
They're legends for sure. Big boy too. And Yeah. Pretty soon, we'll see the retirement of all of these huge personalities. And then what's going to happen after that is that they're gonna are they gonna try to give people like us that role, but with, like, significantly less money?
You know? Or does it go to influencers who already have the audience they can bring in? Yeah. That's that's the question, man. That is definitely the question.
I'm waiting for David Dobrik Radio to pop up on Sirius XM. And if I hear that guy if I hear that guy laugh on there, I'm like, dude, this is okay. This is it. This is the end of right here because they've given Or, like, I I mean, even Nick Cannon was on radio for a little bit, and and that wasn't didn't last too long. But, like, you wonder if that's the direction that it goes.
But to your point, yeah, I feel like there's there's always this battle, and it's not even just in radio. It's just in in life in general. There are a lot of people who have have much more experience than us who think that their way is the way that it's always been and that it always has to be and they don't wanna change it up. And there are young people who come in, they're like, you guys are out of touch. Like, there is a new generation of people out there with different values and, you know, the old we can look at people younger than us and we kinda get a taste of that.
You know, I mean, you see teenagers and we're like, oh, come on. Like, you what our way is the correct way? Like, you're doing some things that I would have questions with. You know? So you get the perspective from both sides, but I think the most you can learn, the the more you're willing to just sit down and learn, I think the better it is.
Sam, glad you're open about this too. That's why I also wanted to have you on this podcast here is just because, like, I I feel like if I talk to somebody who's already experienced in this world, they're like, I wanna keep everything secret. And I don't wanna talk about anything, like, planned behind the scenes or, like, the future of different things. And Right. And I I do see, like, people were scared of AI there for a second, but AI is not if we can take advantage of AI and it's also another thing too.
We're not really as a as radio people, for some reason, we hate YouTubers. Like, we just like, it's a weird thing. Like, one of the biggest dudes in rock and metal is Nick Nocturnal. And he's he's a giant name, and he he's doing the Nick Nocturnal Awards, like album of the year, song of the year, and he's gotten, like, tens of thousands of votes for his awards. And we've interviewed him on this channel here, and he you can tell, like, most radio stations be like, no.
Let's let's ignore that guy. We want us to be the star. And Mhmm. We gotta, like, become friends with everybody because, like, radio used to be the wars that would happen. There would be wars with radio that all the time.
Totally. But now you gotta, like, help everybody. You gotta, like, hold hands to the finish line type thing. Yeah. Yeah.
Definitely. And sometimes I think it's better that way. You know what I mean? Definitely. And I feel like these days, like, I I don't know if it's a, quote, unquote, our generation thing, but I feel like these days, like, we want people that just are just gonna be open and honest and tell us how it is.
You know what I mean? I don't wanna listen to someone who's polish who's gonna, like, give me the runaround. Like, we can see right through that kind of crap now. You know what I mean? So it's, like, just tell me how it is.
Like, we're real people. We care about the things that we care about. We care about this industry, you and I. Like, I'm not trying to throw shade in anyone, but, like, it's just it it's the sad truth. You know?
There are some some things that scare me. There are some things that excite me about it, and I think talking through it and under helping people understand where we're at is the best way to, to bring it up. Right. The whole argument of, like, the old versus the young. Yeah.
Not not everything needs to be sponsored type thing is what I'm trying to think of too. Like, I I feel like we'll have a viral video, and I always make this joke that we'll have this the viral video from Cabir brought to you by insert business name here, and it's like, do we need to have that sold? Like, do we need to have the I get it. We need money, but, like, we need to, like, you know, stop with the whole desperation with these, like, long commercial breaks. Especially, I've listened to Coast and different other radio stations as of late.
I'm like, dude, there's so many commercials. And, like, even the if the studio brought to you by Celsius, I was like, dude, come on. Like, this is Yeah. Yeah. We dude, we had so much Celsius in our office for quite some time.
I will tell you. Dude, I But it was delicious. Did you take some? I was gonna say, like, that'd be the something that I was taking advantage of. All the dang time.
And and those are the type of things, like, I'm I'm not a I'm not a sales guy. You know what I mean? I'm I've never been a numbers guy. So those are the types of of things that I I try and learn as much as I can, and I hope that one day when I'm in a position of a little bit more experience, maybe I'll have a better idea of why that kind of stuff works. I'm trying to learn the programming part of it right now.
You know what I mean? Definitely. Definite. Are you scheduling music at all with Valentine in the morning? Are you learning, like, the rotations of different songs?
Or Yeah. Yeah. We've we've we've been learning a little bit of that. But we have a, a new music challenge we do every weeknight on my FM that that I get to run. It's at 10PM on my FM every weeknight.
We put two songs head to head, and on socials, we have a poll. And whichever song wins that poll carries on to the next day and goes against a different song. And I get to pick those songs. So that's that that's really nice. We kinda get to, run some run run a new music challenge every weekday.
That's very cool, man. Thank again, thank you for so very much for joining me. This is a long conversation. I just looked at the time and went, he probably needs to go carry on his business. Oh, dude.
I don't even notice it, man. It's like, just to gas you up a little bit, man. Like, it's there's some people that you meet and, like, you just know they're they're genuine. You know? Like, we we've never met in person.
We don't have to hang out or talk all the time. But every time I see your face, I'm like, man, I would I'm so glad to be a part of anything that you wanna do because you're just a genuine guy. We've known each other for years, and and I'm just so happy that you even offered to ask me on this thing, dude. I love chatting. Thanks for listening to talking between the songs with Brendan Peach.
If you enjoyed the show, please share, subscribe, and rate the podcast. Talking Between the Songs is hosted by Brendan Peach and is a production of Riverbend Media Group. For more information and to contact the show, visit riverbendmediagroup.com.