10 Questions with ... Steve Touhy

NAME:SteveTouhy TITLE:Talk Host/PD STATION:WKAN MARKET:Kankakee, IL COMPANY: Staradio BORN:1974 in Chicago, IL RAISED:Chicago, IL

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

1994 -1995 - Interned for John Records Landecker, Co-Hosted multiple morning shows all over the Chicago suburbs '95 - '97 Mornings with Mike Tomano at WYKT in Joliet, IL '97 - '98 Produced the nationally syndicated Dick Staub program '98 - 2001 Stand-up Comedy '01 - '03 Mornings with Mike Tomano at WYKT in Joliet, IL '04 - '06 Mornings WRKX Ottawa, IL '06 -'07 Afternoons WKAN in Kankakee '07 - Present Afternoons with Mike Tomano at WKAN in Kankakee

1. You started as a caller to Danny Bonaduce's show before getting a real job in the business. What drew you to radio?

WLUP at the time was a great FM Talker and I would listen all day long and love it. I always made friends, family and strangers laugh and thought talking might be a good career move, nothing else seemed to be. From the moment I got into radio I knew I wanted to host a talk show. I know a lot of music jocks and the same passion they hold for music I always held for comedy.

2. About what are you most passionate these days?

Honestly, for the first time in a while, the place I work. A breath of fresh air has blown through Staradio recently and I couldn't be more excited. The fact that they've put Mike Tomano and me back together doesn't hurt either. Mike and I had an instant chemistry years ago and have attempted to put the show back together for 4 years now.

3. You've done a lot of stand-up comedy as well as acting and radio; what, if anything, has the stand-up experience contributed to the way you approach radio?

It gave me a confidence in my humor. Actually hearing people laugh at my jokes and seeing, as well as hearing, where and why they laughed, helps me while telling jokes on the radio and knowing that people in their cars are laughing.

4. Your stand-up persona is "The Fired Guy," and you talk about having been fired through many jobs. What's the worst job you've had, and why?

I worked for one day on a punch press machine in a factory. It was one of the longest and most boring days at work I've ever had. It was impossible to talk to anyone and I just sat and stared at this machine for eight hours. This was one of the few jobs I actually quit.

5. In the same vein, if you weren't doing radio, stand-up, or acting, what do you think you'd be doing now?

I guess some kind of home repair. I did that type of work before radio and enjoyed it, but it was way too hard of work for me to stick with.

6. You're returning to WKAN to your former afternoon slot -- what occasioned your return to the station and to radio?

Mike Tomano. Mike is not just my comedy and radio partner, he's my best friend. I think our friendship comes across on the air and listeners join in the true fun we have. The other reason I'm back at Staradio and on WKAN is Mike Moyers. Mike has run the Quincy, IL offices of Staradio for a while and has recently taken control of our Kankakee, IL offices. He came in and said, "Stop saying we CAN'T do that. We CAN do that and should." The attitude of the entire office has done a 180.

7. Who are your heroes?

Radio - John Landecker, Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, and Mike Tomano. Oh, and of course David Lee Roth.

Comedy - Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Bill Cosby, Smothers Brothers and Andy Kaufman.

Personal - My parents. They have supported me emotionally the whole step of the way and sometimes financially too.

8. You get one of each: what's your favorite movie, favorite book, favorite TV show, favorite band?

Movie - "Star Wars." Book - "The Late Shift." TV - "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Band - Motley Crue.

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ___________.

...Marlboro Lights.

10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?

Best advice would have to be from Danny Bonaduce. He told me don't get too excited about people that love you and don't get too upset about people that hate you. Worst advice came in broadcasting school: don't intern at a big station in Chicago because all you do is get coffee and won't learn anything. I learned almost everything I know about prepping a show from Rick Kaempfer (John Landecker's Producer).