Krenn enthusiastic about new morning adventure with Q92.9
Are famed disc jockeys a product of their talent or of the station on which they broadcast?
The long-running debate has been active in Pittsburgh since at least the 1960s, when KDKA ratings powerhouse Rege Cordic famously failed when he took his show to the West Coast, and fellow KDKA disc jockey Clark Race misfired when he attempted a television game show.
That failure to fly often occurs within the same radio market, too, as personalities become so indelibly attached to a particular station’s identity and branding that transition to a new format or call letters fails.
Among the notable exceptions are Jack Bogut, Chuck Brinkman, O’Brien and Garry, Jimmy Roach and, most notably, Jim Quinn, who bounced with ease from fast-talking teen music jock to adult contemporary DJ to conservative talk show host. Most recently joining that elite group is Jimmy Krenn.
After 24 years on WDVE and a more recent stint on KDKA, Krenn has brought his loopy cast of characters to a revamped morning show on WLTJ-FM (Q92.9). He also performs stand-up comedy and has a popular podcast called “No Restrictions.”
The “No Restrictions” crew – Terry Jones, Mike Mysocki and Mike Sasson – along with Q92 regular Debbie Wilde are part of Krenn’s new morning adventure.
“I love it,” Krenn said of his new radio gig. “There’s great management here; they give me the freedom to be creative. And I’m working with a gang of genuine friends, including Debbie, who is an incredible talent.”
Lest anyone think morning shows are anything goes, instantaneous get-togethers fueled by multiple pots of coffee, Krenn explains that the current program is 70 percent recorded and researched and 30 percent live. “The trick,” Krenn says, “is not to let it feel that way.”
Following each show, Krenn said he decompresses and takes a nap before beginning to write the next day’s program – a process that can continue well into the night.
“I’m looking for angles and lines based on current events or news, and about 3 p.m., I begin doing the research,” he said. “Then it’s written out the night before, and then finally recorded. The goal is to make it Jimmy Buffett,” he said. “It’s gotta be fun.
“In the morning, we bring all of the best parts together – like a band. “
On the subject of music, Krenn said tunes are just a small part of the show, so switching from WDVE’s rock to Q92’s pop hasn’t been an issue.
“We might play six to eight songs an hour, but if we have a lot of skits, it might even be less,” he said. “Comedy comes first. Sure, we’re playing Taylor Swift now, but we’re also playing some Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Really, we’re just playing bonafide hits.”
When asked how he became one of Pittsburgh’s most successful radio personalities, Krenn answered – without missing a beat: health.
“It really is that, and being blessed and being around great people. It also helps that I have a long homegrown connection. I can tell you this much. I am as fired up as ever about the new show.”
The ax was certainly swinging last month in Pittsburgh radio. One of the most recognizable Pittsburgh radio names, Jimmy Roach, was dismissed from Y108 as part of massive, nationwide cuts by CBS Radio. Roach made the announcement on his Facebook site.
Also silenced from the airwaves are WBZZ’s Scott Alexander and Lindsay Cochrane and WSHH veteran Chris Shovlin. Meanwhile, morning news anchor Bruce Sakalik has left KQV-AM for a position at Comcast.
NBC has dumped “Welcome to Sweden,” which had just started its second season, in favor of reruns of “Hollywood Game Night.”
Also, Cinemax is ending production on the Pittsburgh-filmed “Banshee,” Showtime dumped “Happyish,” FX canceled Billy Crystal’s “The Comedians,” and TVLand has announced that the fifth season of “The Soul Man” will be its last.