10 Questions with ... Kevin & Sluggo

1. What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize this is what you wanted to do for a living?

Kevin: I was doing landscaping in Phoenix, listening to Jonathan Brandmier on KZZP, and I thought, “He’s having more fun than me. I should do that.”

Sluggo: In grade school, we were asked once what we wanted to be when we grew up. I said “race car driver,” but was told “that’s not a profession! You can’t choose that!” Since I spent all my pennies and dimes on 45s, I said “DJ” next, and that was frowned upon, too, but I stuck with it, since I had been playing with my voice, records and cassette recorders for most of my life already. It just came naturally.

2. Give us a brief history of your Radio career up to now.

Kevin: K106 - “The only radio you’ll ever need” in Siloam Springs, AR. (College town) Casa Grande, AZ, KOOL-FM Phoenix, mornings and afternoons, KZZP FM Phoenix where I met Sluggo and Bean, I did nights and Assistant PD, KROQ L.A. Mornings 30 years, KLOS L.A. afternoons with Sluggo!

Sluggo: I foolishly dropped out of high school and needed a job, so I took a six month radio school course and, after driving my audition tape all over Arizona, I landed a job at 600am KCLS. Got into Phoenix 9 months later, first at KOPA and then over at Guy Zapoleon’s KZZP. I met Kevin Weatherly, Kevin & Bean, Jimmy Kimmel, and Darcy Sanders-Fulmer, who I ended up working with at MTV years later, there at KZZP. Andy Schuon hired me to do nights at KROQ a few years later, in 1990, where I stayed until Howard Stern’s K-Rock in NYC flipped to Alternative in ‘96. I helped launch the format with PD Steve Kingston and the amazing, incredible, awesome GM Tom Chiusano while doing afternoons, and I also voiced MTV2 at the same time during their first year on the side. I returned to KROQ in ’98 while also continuing to do nights on WXRK in New York via remote control (sometimes simultaneously LIVE on both stations) until 2004 or so. I joined SiriusXM early on and am still there, and I became a part of JACK FM the day they signed on, writing lines and eventually scheduling music until May of 2019.

3. You both spent quite a few years at the “World Famous KROQ” in Los Angeles. When did you guys meet at KROQ and how long did each of you work there?

Kevin: I met Sluggo at KZZP. When I took over the Saturday Night Party Patrol, it was Sluggo, Bean, and I. In 1990, Bean and I were doing mornings at KROQ, and we called Sluggo at home during one of our morning shows, and he was foolish enough to answer. We got in a little trouble, which Sluggo liked, which made me like Sluggo. No matter what roles we had at KROQ, we always remained friends. We think very much alike, which is not good for Sluggo.

Sluggo: Kevin and Bean (foolishly) helped hire me away from where we had all worked together back in Phoenix – at KZZP – in late 1990. I was at KROQ off and on from 1990 until 2017. I left in the mid -90s to do WXRK, then returned, then left again to try my hand as a 911 dispatcher (way too much work!) and then returned, then stayed on the air both full time and filling in until I decided I didn’t want to do any more KROQ shifts in 2017. The very last shift I did on KROQ was during an interview for a documentary about the station that Adam Carolla and Jay “Lightning” Tilles have been working on for quite a while now. I felt that was a good way to finally wrap up my time at the station – on camera, talking about The Roq.

4. Congrats on your new Afternoon drive show on KLOS. So how did the Kevin & Sluggo show come together?

Kevin: When I got fired from KROQ, Sluggo called me and said I needed to come work there. I wasn’t really interested in radio again right away, but Sluggo was a nag, and introduced me to his program director, and wouldn’t shut up about working together. It sounded fun. And I found out KLOS is very much like KROQ was back in the day. Less corporate, willing to take chances, so I was in.

Sluggo: Like plenty of other listeners, I was flabbergasted when, at the start of what was clearly a rough road ahead in the world, KROQ’s new management made the decision to take my old pal Kevin off the air. I was certain that, had he stayed, especially through the insanity that was starting to unfold thanks to Covid, he would have been a perfect voice to keep everyone going and positive here in Los Angeles. So, since he was “blowing in the wind,” I reached out and said “the second you can come play with us, I hope you’re interested. Kevin and I had spent a lot of time working together on the air under crazy circumstances (we were generally doing a Saturday night party show in Phoenix that relied heavily on calls, juggling music, live remotes from loud parties and on the fly production) that I was sure we’d be able to make afternoons on KLOS a fun, fast paced bit of nonsense. So far, a couple of weeks in, that seems to be the case.

5. How has the listener response been so far to the new Kevin & Sluggo show on KLOS?

Kevin: I haven’t really paid attention but I suspect it’s 100% positive. Actually, it was really great to see the positive feedback. I was expecting more hate, but there’s still time.

Sluggo: Nicely positive so far. We’re balancing all of the things that we love about KLOS and its 50+ year history with the manic energy that was always inherent in KROQ, and everyone we’ve interacted with, both on the air and via social media (we’re @KevinandSluggo on Twitter) has been on board. It’s nice to hear so many people welcoming Kevdog back to the radio. The KLOS audience is super cool – true Rock fans – and they were most welcoming to me, too, when I first showed up on 95.5 last year.

6. I know it’s early in the life of the show, but if you were to describe the show to someone who’s never listened, what would you say?

Kevin: Best friends goofing around. And rock music. Also there’s a lot of kissing.

Sluggo: Rock and Roll has always been my favorite genre of music, going back as far as I can recall in my life. The most successful radio stations I’ve been at (KROQ, WXRK in New York, KZZP in Phoenix and JACK FM here in L.A.) have always had a foundation of ROCK. Whether it’s Led Zeppelin or Alice in Chains, the base that holds it all up is RAWK.

So, Kevin and I play the best of it – be it Jimi Hendrix or a brand new local band that we’re spotlighting (Slaves to Humanity, Joyous Wolf, Violet Saturn) while making fun of whatever is going on in the world or the city today. We love getting phone calls and base much of what we do on the air around whatever comes in on the phones (818-955-KLOS), and we invite the myriad of weirdos, be they well-known or unknown, to play along and make things even more chaotic.

I’m happiest when the show is loud, bright, filled with laughs and bookended by long time KLOS production guru Stew Herrera’s amazing mixes and bumpers and the most compelling and engaging Rock music that Program Director Keith Cunningham and I can find. Keith has amazing ears for spotting new talent and songs that work for us and a perfect sense of what does and doesn’t work on the radio station, so, I feel like I’m on a truly all-star team right now.

7. Do you guys have any new recurring bits that you’ve done that seem to be resonating with the audience?

Kevin: When we were at KROQ, we did a thing called the Party Machine. People loved blowing off the format and just playing party music. Not our boss, Kevin Weatherly, but everyone else. So now we do the Kevin and Sluggo All-Request fest on Fridays at 5. Some of the stuff is super weird to hear on KLOS.

Sluggo: It’s a little early in the game – Give Us All Your Money and Hang Up Rudely On Your Ex are two that I really want to see happen, but, as I’m sure Kevin will mention, our favorite so far is the “Kevin & Sluggo All Request Fest” that we’re doing from 5p-7pm on Fridays. It’s an “anything goes” party starter to kick off the weekend, and so far we’ve spun William Shatner’s version of “Sunshine of Your Love,” Eddie Murphy’s “Boogie in Your Butt,” and the Foo Fighters pretending to be the Bee Gees and covering “You Should Be Dancing.” It’s – insanity. Naturally, though, Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” and some Aerosmith rolls through the whole thing, too.

8. Now let’s talk about the music. First of all, how much music are you playing in an average hour, and what’s it like playing the likes of AC/DC and Motley Crue after working all those years at crosstown Alternative KROQ?

Kevin: Some of the stuff we played at KROQ is the same, Audioslave, Nirvana…stuff like that. But the first thing I noticed is that KLOS songs are twice as long. I love almost all of it. We played “Unskinny Bop” and I said on the air, “They can’t all be hits.” Keith (PD) stepped in and said he agreed, and they took the song out. We’re trying to stay true to the legend of the station, but help move it forward as much as possible.

Sluggo: I love playing a variety of stuff. We played, as you know, WHATEVER when JACK FM first signed on, and I listen to everything from Classical to Punk at home, while having always returned to Rock as my base. Kevin and I are playing A LOT more music that most morning shows, anywhere from 8 to 12 songs in an hour, but, to me, that’s more what we need in life by the time the day is winding down. Some nonsense, maybe something actually interesting in the news, and ROCK AND ROLL. I don’t ever want to change what KLOS is at its heart; simply put, Southern California’s Rock Station, but I don’t ever want it to get stagnant and stop growing. As the station’s Music Director, I want to be sure the station always feels like the one that it’s been through all of these decades, and that includes finding the new stuff that will eventually and naturally settle into the matrix of the station’s overall sound.

9. This one is directly for Kevin, but would also love for Sluggo to weigh in. I’m curious after working all those years in mornings, are there any major content differences in doing afternoons?

Kevin: There’s not really any content difference. You always try and find the most interesting content. And work in personal stories. The hours are magical. Every night I still get that feeling of finishing work so I can get to bed, and then I realize I don’t have to get up. It’s glorious.

Sluggo: I hate to say it, ‘cause I’ve lost cash on some bets as to when he was gonna screw up and call it KROQ, but Kevin has picked up and run with the KLOS ball perfectly so far. He’s only said “good morning” a few times (haha – well, quite a few), but I think he's gonna see what I’ve always felt: afternoons are where it’s at. You can sleep in, and you have your nights free. Hell, yeah!

10. Finally, who is funniest person on the show and why?

Kevin: I think we’re so on the same page it’s nearly impossible to say, but, what the hell, let’s go with me ‘cause I rule.

Sluggo: I think we’re so on the same page it’s nearly impossible to say, but, what the hell, let’s go with me ‘cause I rule.