What's It All About?

Briefly describe your show your personalities and the "premise" listener's wake up to every morning.

Kenny:  Teri and I know each other far too well; we’re like brother and sister occasionally taking our listeners to the edge, but in a warm and fuzzy way. For instance on Fridays we cheer and howl, and Teri barks like a seal. Every now and then I throw in the line, ‘I love it when you bark!’ Teri replies in a cynical voice, ‘And call you Daddy?’ To which I completely break up.

The thought is so absurd and Teri is really putting down sexism. But she refers to me frequently as her ‘5th big brother’. Her real brothers taunted her mercilessly and I like to do the same. She’s great because with my taunting I only set myself up. Sure enough, she usually takes me out at the knees. The listeners love it.




So describe the feeling a listener gets after hearing 20 minutes of your show?

Kenny:  After 20 minutes, any listener should feel included, up and ready for the day.


How does this separate you from the pack, the other shows in town?

Kenny:  Our music already separates us from the pack. Beyond that, the principles of what makes great radio are pretty much the same in any format – concise, compelling and most of all relatable.


And your response to anyone who asks, how, being on a ‘Smooth Jazz’ station, changes your approach in regards to on-air execution, or even HOW YOU PREP every morning...?

Kenny: First of all, the music is the star. The personality I’ve mentioned happens in the span of 5-10 seconds. We treat the music with great respect, but we don’t pretend to be know-it-alls either. Listeners hate that.

When Norah Jones came out (and by the way Smooth Jazz stations have been playing Norah for at least 6 months) we wondered aloud why her father Ravi Shankar was not mentioned in her bio or web page. We figured there must be some bad blood there. If you caught her thank you’s at the Grammy Awards, you may have noticed she thanked her ‘mom and her REAL family’. No mention of Ravi.

I think we were right. As far as prep is concerned I do all the things any other morning host does. Let me refer you to my web page. Click on  AM Philosophy.




Managing Upward

                                                 
             
In 3 words or less, describe your Program Director?  Your General manager?

Kenny:  Rich McMillan is our Program Director, is completely supportive, and one of the coolest guys I know. He is without a doubt, ‘World’s coolest boss’; he'll let you know when he loves something!  I’ll say the same for Dave Ross. Seriously, Dave believes in hiring great people and letting them do their jobs. I think that says volumes about him.


So if by sheer act of nature you were a forced castaway on a desert island with one person, who would you choose to be stuck with your PD or GM, and why?

Kenny:  You have GOT to be kidding! Why couldn’t you say Jackie Johnson, (the WSVN Channel 7 weather babe)?  Okay, Rich, my PD. We talk every day. I genuinely like him and I think he’s pretty good at opening coconuts by reflecting the sun’s rays off a CD.

I don’t exactly schmooze with Dave Ross, my GM, so there would be some tension after first getting stranded. You know, like, ‘Hey Kenny, why don’t you go hustle some driftwood and breadfruit and I’ll stay here and work on my golf game.’ Yeah sure Dave. I’ll get right on it.’

On the other hand I’m sure we’d get to know each other pretty well after a few years of picking sand fleas out of our beards, so it probably really makes no difference
 

Do you ever take chances and then ask for forgiveness?

Kenny:  Is the Pope Polish? Is a bear catholic? Of course we do... and always BEFORE 6:20am. That’s when Rich’s snooze alarm goes off.



If your PD suggests something lame and insists on you executing it how do you react?  

Kenny:  I usually sulk for a day but end up doing what I’m told. In the final analysis, the PD wants the same thing I want – success.



Giving Birth: From Concept to Compelling Content.

Segue to the show planning, how much of it is prepared before you walk into the studio?  How much left to spontaneity?

Kenny:  I’m at the station by 4:20am getting the latest weather (always changing in South Florida) entertainment stuff for our ‘Gollywood’ feature, and going over my material I prepared from the day before. That includes my MDR ‘Minimum Daily Requirement’ – years of almanac stuff and anecdotal notes about life in general that I update and recycle. I have copious stuff for every day of the year.

I go over the logs for music and commercial content and make note of any special or new music. I also write comedy. The LA Times has published my lines since 1995. Writing comedy is a real challenge…like a crossword puzzle. Really satisfying though when you craft just the right line. Samples of my work are on my web page. Click on Laugh.

I love your question about ‘How much is left to spontaneity;’ because that’s where the prep shines. Every morning Terry and I walk into the studio completely prepared for something, but we’re not sure exactly what. And that’s where the fun comes in. She trusts me. I trust her. I know she will NEVER leave me hanging and she knows the same. That kind of confidence allows us to be very real and I think unpredictable, but in an amusing sort of way.

We’re like a huge puzzle with all the pieces in a box every morning. The fun is putting that puzzle together and then at 9am going, ‘Cool picture!’ Prep is the difference between unfocused yammering and a show with compelling pieces that come together… like a great game of Tetris.




Who makes up the creative brain trust, in terms of content?

Kenny: We play off each other. Teri is so very real, she always has something colorful and real to say. After playing Jeff Golub’s ‘Cold Duck Time’ we were reminiscing about some of our not-so-cool days in college when we actually drank that strange brew. Teri fondly remembered ‘driving the porcelain bus’; what a picture. But creating images is what radio does best. I love word pictures, that’s how we bond with our listeners.
 

Is there another morning talent (or show) that you enjoy networking with?

Kenny:  Now I get to preach the "positives of corporate radio" in the new millennium. Clear Channel Miami houses 7 radio stations along one long hallway. To my right is Paul Castronovo and the Zeta crew; to my left is the Beat of Miami featuring the Baka Boyz, Big 106, Y-100 with Kenny & Footy, Fox Sports and WIOD.

Plenty of talent in the building to share ideas and hang with. These guys are an inspiration to me.



Quick Word Association:  

Reality TV Shows

Kenny:  Westminster Dog Show – real poop when you least expect it.

Radio in 2003

Kenny:  Castrated (Teri gets credit for that one).

'Smooth Jazz' in 2003

Kenny:  Mindi Abair... this sax player is hot, hot hot!

Hip-hop

Kenny: Thump, with a message.

Barbershop the movie

Kenny: Colin Powell in his dreams.
 

If there was one facet of radio you’d like to see change in 2003, what would it be… and what kind of change?  

Kenny: I have mixed feelings about voice-tracking; on the one hand I can see where entry and middle level jobs are being eliminated via voice-tracking. On the other hand, I’m voice-tracking two other stations right now with a third on the table. So I obviously benefit from this evolution.

Of course, evolution is what radio is all about... it has and always will change. The hallmark of radio is its immediacy and the ability of those on the air to communicate ‘visually’ using ‘theatre of the mind’. One word is worth a thousand pictures.

With voice-tracking, there is a limited capacity to communicate that effectively. And if a disaster or national tragedy occurs on a weekend, for instance, when my show is tracked, immediacy is lost. The Columbia tragedy is just such an example.

I had to drive in that day and re-cut my afternoon show because my remarks about Groundhog Day just didn’t seem appropriate. Fortunately I live close by, but what if I had voice-tracked from another city... or state? I think we should all be concerned about how we solve the problem of immediacy with respect to voice-tracking. We don’t want to kill the "goose that lays the golden egg."  




                      
Mark That Bench

Tell us about your best weekly or daily on-air Benchmarks?  Give us their names and a brief description of how they are executed.

Kenny:  We play MDR Trivia at 6:10. MDR stands for Minimum Daily Requirement. We take a fun or relatable event in history, like the "Happy Days", or a celebrity birthday and ask a trivial pursuit type question about that event/person.

We give multiple choice answers that are off the wall. Our purpose is not to make listeners jump through hoops but to have fun. At 7:40 we do ‘Gollywood’ – the world of entertainment, music news, politics, etc.’ I owe that bit to Charlie Brown at KJR-FM in Seattle.

                         
What other kind of Promotions or Contesting do you believe in?

Kenny:  Quite candidly, I think the promotion that Love 94 has right now is very effective – it’s the Trip-A-Day giveaway that we’ve been doing for over a year now. It’s a long-term promotion that’s easy for the listener to participate in. All they have to do is listen for their name. If they hear their name, call the station within an hour and claim a free pair of airline tickets good anywhere in the USA or Canada. We’ve already purchased the tickets so there’s no waiting or weirdness. They can then go where they want when they want. Pretty cool.


 

X-Tra Point Psycho Digs

Who's the funniest person on the show, be honest?

Kenny: Teri, hands down. She’s so unpredictable and yet I know her like the back of my elbow.


Which of you is most likely to be featured in Revenge of the Nerds Part 12?

Kenny:  Me, naturally. On Monday I say ‘TGIM’, that ought to tell you something.



The Sales Department: friend or foe?

Kenny:  Great people, tough jobs.



Staff interaction: Are you a “mixer” or an island unto your own bloated ego?

Kenny: I’m introverted, so a bit on the shy side (isn’t that why we got into radio?), but I can mix with the best of ‘em... especially when the shrimp are fresh and the bar is free!


          

CHOOSE or LOSE: Choose one, lose the other.

-- Sitting through a boring Grammy Awards... or watching ABC’s The View

Kenny:  Toss The View; any Grammy show is worth the wait.


-- Dave Koz... or Kenny G

Kenny: I’ve probably played all the Kenny G I can handle; still waiting on a Kenny G cover of ‘Slowride’... now THAT would be interesting.


-- Playing a song or executing someone else’s Bit Idea

Kenny: I hate doing somebody else’s bits. When I filled in for Charlie Tuna while at KHTZ Los Angeles in the 80’s I had to play all his pre-recorded bits for two weeks. It sounded so stupid. And of course Charlie had to work like a dogfish to get those bits ready.


-- North Korea... or Iraq

Kenny:  Isn’t that like comparing sour apples with sour grapes?


-- The 'Miami Heat'... or 'Florida Marlins'

Kenny: Very tough call. The Marlins gave this town its only World Series Championship in 1997; but, it’s a completely different team now.

The Heat should have been renamed the "Heimlich" because they’ve managed to choke at every game this year. But I think South Florida in general is more supportive of the Heat, and there is really no better coach than Pat Riley.
 

Throw us a freakin' bone, name one thing about yourself or about each other, that most people don't know.  Be honest.

Kenny:  Regarding me, Teri says, ‘Yes, he really does wear underwear, but they’re gold lame. Seriously, did you know he teaches Sunday school classes?'

True. About Teri, I say she loves hot sauce and Salt & Vinegar chips for breakfast. She’s also a great mom with a heart of gold.



We're DONE...  Any parting thoughts... on anything, from the radio industry to the world we live in, marriage... to this painful interview?

Kenny:  Satellite radio will force broadcast radio to change in ways we can only guess. XM and Sirius are for real.
 

We at the Bit X-Change wanna thank Kenny Cortes, and his partner Teri Griffin, for their time and support of both our service, as well as All Access.  

You can find out more about Kenny & Teri, even HEAR them in action by hopping on this (audio) LINK:  WLVESanborn

 

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