Meet Intern John.
John became infamous in the DC area the moment he joined HOT 99.5’s popular morning show, The Kane Show. From his “Loser Line” segments to his “Pitch Perfect” and “Saved by the Bell” references, John has DC’s commuters laughing in their cars as they tackle traffic. FamousDC had the chance to chat with John about his career move to DC and life in radio. Unfortunately, his adorable dog, Chuy, could not make it to the interview.
1. Can you give a little background about yourself?
I was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I have my degree in Marketing from a smaller school there. I started in radio when I was 17 at a station in Minneapolis, ended up being hired there and spent the next five years on the Morning Show. In October 2011, I took a job at a radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. I was in Iowa for about ten months before one Saturday Kane called and asked me to audition, and the rest is history!
2. What does a typical workweek look like for you? What is some of your behind the scenes preparation?
It mostly depends on the day. I usually wake up at 3:00 a.m. to walk my dog and go to the gym. Kane, Danni and I get to the station around 4:30 a.m. The show itself is on from 5:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Once the show is done, I usually stay until around 11:30 a.m. working on other stuff. Once I get home, I usually take a two hour nap, then if I didn’t go to the gym in the morning I go then. After all of that I start my work on the next day’s show. Everyone preps for the show differently. I usually start off with a glass of Jack Daniels, then I start surfing random websites for ideas.
3. What is your advice to those who want to work in radio?
I think the best way to learn anything is to actually do it. I started my internship when I was 17. When I graduated college, I already had four years of experience. Like any job you also have to start at the bottom. One of my first duties was making coffee.
4. What has been your favorite work experience – interview, concert, career achievement?
That’s a tough one. This may sound kissass-ish, but Kane is really well known in the business, so to be able to work with and learn from him has been amazing.
This past December we also did the first Jingle Ball in DC. Jingle Ball is a big concert that HOT 99.5 puts on in December. This past year we had Justin Bieber, Flo Rida, Ke$ha and more.
Speaking of Bieber, about five years ago when I was working in Minneapolis we had a call from a record label saying, “We have this kid, Justin Bieber, and we think he might be something. Can he come in?” This was maybe two months before he really blew up. I remember when I took my picture with him I said, “You’re going to be the next Timberlake.” It’s been cool to see his rise.
Some famous people I’ve met: Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Will Smith, The Rock and Mark Paul Gosselar (Zach Morris!)
5. You sometimes discuss your dating life on the Kane Show. Care to share some tips? You have a date in DC. What do you have planned for the evening?
My first big tip is to be careful of what you say on the radio…
Well, during the week it’s pretty hard to go out because of the whole getting up at 3:00 a.m. thing. I think I’m pretty simple. I don’t think there’s anything much better than staying in, watching a movie and eating Chinese delivery.