10 Questions with ... Johnny Angel Wendell

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Had never listened to talk radio before being hired at KFI in 2002 which explains the unorthodox style for the last 15 1/2 years. Been on WRKO, KERN, KMJ, KIFR (Boston, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Francisco), Air America, Fox Network, Sirius XM as fill.

1. You are the non-conservative on a station that is otherwise right-leaning; has that become more difficult in the age of Trump, or have you been able to navigate that without a problem?

One, I do a local show, so it's not an issue of any severity, and when the issues aren't LA-based, I think the lack of negative feedback may be due to the "reality TV" nature of Trump's presidency as is. I think even a fair amount of his supporters are in on the absurdity of this, even if they laud and applaud it. Also, lots of the "far right," especially would be listeners that are younger, go elsewhere for their fix/reinforcement, notably the net -- the old standbys simply aren't as potent as an InfoWars or a Breitbart or their parallels on Twitter. It's like asking a dope-fiend if they'd prefer heroin to Tylenol 3's: They do. What you have left now on AM are aging fans of talk show hosts who see themselves as part of the ruling machine, and that's never really all that attractive- -- who wants to play defense all the time, especially with Trump, who has to be defended on an hourly basis?

2. One of the things you do well on your show is to break down complicated issues, especially economic stories, to the extent that they become understandable to the average listener. That, of course, flies in the face of talk radio's standard keep-it-simple in-your-face simple treatment of the issues. Are there issues too complicated or nuanced for talk radio? How do you take those issues out of the weeds and make them entertaining and relatable?

People care an awful lot about their money, their mortgages, and their future, and if there's a talk host NOT doing some infomercial aimed at hijacking their savings, they're grateful. I don't dumb it down, nor do my guests. We're determined that people grasp exactly what the goings-on as per Wall Street mean to them -- not to the "greater picture," which is pointless and dull. I gotta reiterate here -- never align yourself with a monolith that terrifies people like you're some know-it-all insider, because one day you're gonna be wrong, and pop goes the cred.

3. You're close to the release of another novel, like the first with deep roots in your past musical history. (For those who aren't aware, you were a punk icon in Boston for years, then a feature writer and columnist in several publications, and then a talk host, and still a musician and writer.) What led you to start writing fiction now? What do you get from writing novels that's different from what you experienced in writing non-fiction and doing talk radio (which, despite what some might say, is not fictional at all)?

I love words, I love stories, and I love the language and especially the idea of creating a landscape out of my experiences and imagination- -- yes, that can be construed as pretentious twaddle, but it's true. The first book ("Looking For Lady Dee") was really an answer to people who'd wondered why I never wrote one, and it was far more successful than I thought it would be. The second one ("In This Darkness, I Disappear", out in March) is more of a traditional mystery, "Dee" was a straight up memoirs/mystery hybrid. The second one is, shall we say, a bit more outre than the first -- evolution, you know?

4. You've been very active on Facebook -- your posts always get an impressive response from an eclectic group of commenters, including listeners, fans, musicians, actors, and writers. You've recently begun to be more active on Twitter, too. What's your goal, if any, in doing that stuff in social media? More engagement, growing your following, building your brand (ugh), just having fun, or something else?

Reaching as many people as possible without a street team/publicist. I'm that wonderful combination of cheap and broke!

5. You know the conventional wisdom -- talk radio is for conservatives. Yet, on the podcasting side, which in some ways is really on-demand talk radio, liberals do better than conservatives. Do you think that the way talk radio is segregated and limited now will be the same in, say, ten years? How do you anticipate things will change, if they do?

Talk radio is for conservatives because it's been aimed at them for 30-plus years. Also, conservatives tend to be absolutely sure of what they think they know -- which means that the little voice emanating from the speakers need never deviate from script to keep them happy. Me, I can't stand that nonsense. Yes, liberals and conservatives tend to have different character traits, and being a "left-wing Limbaugh" therefore is impossible. So, why even try? Podcasts are cool, but they're like indie rock bands of the '90s and their CD's were -- everyone was making them, massive glut, where to begin? I like podcasts -- my KEIB show gets about 1,500 downloads a week, or so I'm told. How will things change? Generally, if they're like real life, when there's enough pain or profit to do so; otherwise stasis. Nature of all beasts.

6. Your kids are growing up fast. Right now, what advice would you give them about careers, generally and, in the event they express interest, in the media or creative arts? What do you see as the best approach to building a career for someone who's starting out now?

A career as a musician? Learn to DJ and understand that sound libraries are likely to replace acoustic and electric instruments. Media? Find a patron or patrons who see the need for hard, tough reporting and who'll pay you for it when possible. Write clearly -- and know more than one language! Acting? Follow direction.

7. It's been a few years since we've done this, so let's repeat some questions and see if there have been updates. First, of what are you most proud?

My children. And my physical well-being, oddly enough, that as a 61-year-old man I can do far more than someone half my age. That I came back from a near-death experience last July more healthy than I ever have been. "Lady Dee" and the recording I made, "Smut and Politics". But mostly that, every so often (and it happened today!), I hear from people who loved my old bands and my new songs, but really the latter, that they were moved enough to tell me about it all these years later. Talk radio has always been my day-job. I want to inform people and keep them listening. But it's not a song or a book or a gig -- those are so gratifying, you aren't COMMENTING on something, you've CREATED something.

8. This one doesn't have to be about radio things: Who have been your greatest inspirations and influences? Music, radio, writing, life....

No radio influences at all, save maybe Oedipus (retired music programmer/PD whose ethos-- "any good piece of music in any genre should be heard" -- was an inspiration -- who cares if I'm right or left, what matters is being GOOD). Music? Miles Davis, Buddy Holly, The Drifters, Sam Cooke, Eddie Cochran, James Brown, Leiber and Stoller, the Beatles, Kinks, Stones, Byrds, Lovin' Spoonful, VU, MC5, the Stooges, Mott, Bowie, Ramones and X-Ray Spex, Voidoids, Television, Wire, and the Minutemen, all the punk and garage bands and my heroes and gurus, the New York Dolls and Modern Lovers. Philosophically, whatever I come across at any time, writing, James Farrell or Kurt Vonnegut, life itself?

Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson -- seriously, they're little men, shorter and lighter than I am and are basketball superstars. To me, THAT'S what a role model should be -- you say I can't do this, I will do it. Or "you say I got a lousy voice, well it makes me money"..... oops.....

9. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career?

Show up on time and respect the people you work with. It really is that simple.

10. One more thing: Given everything that's been going on in the country and the world, are you optimistic, pessimistic, or neutral about the near future, and the future for your kids and subsequent generations? (In other words, is everything gonna be OK? Will the kids be all right? What's coming?)

Without breaking into Doris Day's famous song about accepting whatever will be, well, being? I suppose that makes me neutral, I think it makes more sense to surf on a wave than stand in its way or curse it. The world is changing with incredible rapidity -- if you waste energy carping about that as opposed to adjusting to it, then you're a bitter old pill best consigned to a medicine cabinet far away from the energy and rhythm of the day -- really. Dawn always comes, let in the sun.