Indy’s Morning Mix 107.9 FM: Blazing a trail in Indy morning radio
Kari "KJ" Johll is blazing a trail in Indianapolis morning radio. The woman is not the sidekick in the studio. She is the star.
Kari "KJ" Johll is blazing a trail in Indianapolis morning radio. The woman is not the sidekick in the studio. She is the star.
"One of the big things as a woman was to get to be the host," KJ said. "That doesn't happen a lot in radio. There's a formula for the typical morning show. And they said, throw that out the window and create what you want."
For 13 years, KJ was part of the "Smiley Morning Show" on WZPL-FM. A year ago, management asked her to host her own show on 107.9, "The Mix."
"My initial reaction was you're crazy," KJ laughed. "I've been doing this for 13 years with this guy and it's such a success. And, you want me to do what? This has been a whole new experience. The Mix is a great radio station for me. I feel like it fits me. It fits my lifestyle.The music is fantastic. We're playing Maroon Five, Ed Sheerhan and Adele. We're also playing Def Leppard and Journey. It's just a really fun station. And that is the goal of the station, for people to tune in and know that we're talking about the things that they need to know. We're having fun and we're playing the music they like."
KJ says she wanted a show that helps listeners in the morning.
"I like to wake up to some music, but I do the same thing you do," she said. "I'm just doing it at 3:30 instead of 6:30 or 7 a.m. I need some music to get me going. I want to make sure the world is still safe. I need that news. I want to be entertained. Our mindset is always what do you need."
Her sidekick is Tom Davis, who has done radio, local television and stand-up comedy.
"I would say, I'm a failed comedian who became a radio personality," Davis said. "(Comedy) is not the life for me. I was doing it. I was involved. I thought, I can either stay married and find some other way to be funny and enjoy my life, or I can throw myself into this full time and live on the road, and eventually off myself in some hotel room somewhere."
Davis is married to an attorney and has two kids, a 6-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. He commutes every day from Brookville, Indiana.
"I really wanted to be part of this and be part of something that I care about," Davis said.
KJ is a Wisconsin native and a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan who married a Chicago Bears fan. Their basement is evenly divided between the two NFL teams.
"I'm an NFL owner," she said. "I have one of the shares in the Packers. That was one of the things that I really connected with my dad on. I grew up a sports fan. I love the Pacers. When I moved to Indiana, that was one of the exciting things for me. I'm moving to the Hoosier state. Basketball. The Pacers. I try to bring my love of sports into everything that I do."
Their basement is evenly divided.
"When we moved into the house and set it up that way, I asked my husband, 'Do you want home field, or do you want the bar?' He wanted home field. So, when people walk into our basement, it looks like a Bears basement. But then, they go around the corner and they hang out on the Packers side."
KJ loves cats and superheroes.
"Growing up, I always loved the nerdy side of things," she said. "I wish it was as cool then as it is now to be a Stars Wars fan and to love comic books. Captain America has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. So, when the Avengers came to the big screen, I was thrilled. It was just part of what I did. I had a lot of guy cousins and was exposed to all of that."
As is the case with most morning radio personalities, KJ is often sleep-deprived.
"I try to sneak in a nap where I can," she said. "You just kind of accept that sleep is going to happen when sleep happens. My body knows after years of doing this, that if the head is on the pillow, you better sleep, you never know when you're going to do that again. I was raised on a farm in Wisconsin, so I was getting up and doing chores at 3:30 in the morning. So, as much as I loathed that growing up, it trained me for this in some ways. In order to have a life and be able to talk about my husband, my cats, my nephews and family, I have to spend time with them. And, they're not going to bed at 7 o'clock. They're getting home at 5 p.m."
KJ and Davis will mix in live elements with pre-recorded content. Since 107.9 The Mix plays a lot of music, they have a shorter time frame to be entertaining. So, word efficiency is a daily challenge.
"Learning how to entertain in a shorter amount of time," KJ said. "People are like, 'You play a lot of music, that must be easier.' No, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in radio. It's still be entertaining and go, 'We have 22 seconds.' We have learned to talk like we are new at the party."
KJ and Davis are building chemistry as they break the formula for morning radio.
"She's really into pets," Davis said. "I could care less. She's into sports. I could care less. She's kind of the guy. I'm kind of the girl. But, I've accepted it."
One thing KJ"has accepted is her height.
"I'm 4'11" and 3/4's," she said. "I'm a little upset that I couldn't get one more quarter so I could be five feet. When I was younger, I'd say I'm five feet. Let's live in reality. I'm 4'11"."
KJ enjoys the challenge of a new show and being in the driver's seat.
"It's a whole new world," she said. "It's great that we have some listeners who have followed me over here. But, I'm meeting new people, too, who love this radio station. It's been a lot of transition and growing. It was a new experience. The coolest part of it has been the passion from the listeners already that we feel a connection to. They're in this with us. They love the music. They like the topics that we're doing. It's a new adventure."
More from Scott Swan's Your Morning Drive series:
Wakin’ Up with three Hoosiers on Radio Now100.9 FM
Smiley Morning Show: Life of the party
K-LOVE: A morning show ministry
B105.7 Morning Show: Best view in Indy radio
