We recently chopped it up with radio guru John Moug about his journey in the field and other life happenings. Get hippington!
What first made you pursue radio?
I was in LOVE with radio growing up; fascinated by it. The music, the personalities… I remember wondering at a young age how the people on the radio were so happy, never seeming to have a bad day… I was a little hesitant to pursue radio initially, because I thought it was such an outrageous, out of this world idea like being a famous actor or an astronaut. In hindsight, I truly believe that if you have a little bit of talent and a good work ethic, you can do anything. I think if I had the passion to become a famous actor, I could have done it. If I had the curiosity to become an astronaut, I could have done it. But I had a fascination with radio, so I did it!
What intrigued you about radio?
Like I said before… Interesting personalities and music are what bring people in, the connection radio offers is why people stay… If you think about it, radio, unlike TV, or any other medium, really gives you an avenue to share your real life with an audience. In a way that scripted shows, reality shows and talk shows can’t really do.
What age were you when you got involved?
I actually applied for my first radio job at 19 and started shortly after my 20th birthday.
How many years has your radio career been thus far?
I’m right about 13 and a half years in at this point.
Now we know you’re Vegas to the fullest, but you’ve been in several different markets. In what other cities/states has your radio journey lead you? Take us for a ride here…
I started in Vegas on the street team at KLUC, worked my way into part time on-air, overnights (11-5a) was my first full time gig. When that position was eliminated I was lucky enough to move up to weeknights (6-11p), which I did for a total of six years. Half way through that time I moved to Tampa, FL to host nights on a newly launched top 40. I quickly realized that I had some personality conflicts with the program director, that and some other issues brought me back to Vegas less than three months later. During my time at night, I also held the roles of PSA Director, Production Director and Imaging Director.
In December of 2014, I moved to Denver, CO for my first morning show opportunity. It was enticing because I had never done mornings and it was in a big city, but it was country… Country radio is not just playing different music than I was on Top 40. Country is a lifestyle that I did not identify well with. I knew it, they knew it, and after about a year we agreed this wasn’t a great fit so back to Vegas I went.
Timing was on my side when I got back as the guy who was doing afternoons on KLUC moved up to be the big boss, allowing me to slide into the drive time spot, handle the imaging and performed the role of assistant program director, without the title. This was fun and convenient, but my heart was in mornings. While I was doing afternoons, I started voice tracking some stations from home. I got an opportunity to voice track mornings on a station in Arkansas, had some friends come over to my house daily to record that show. Then I added a station in Burlington, VT where I was also doing mornings… And I ran an abbreviated version of that show in New London, CT and Hartford, CT.
Was I busy? YES. Did I love it? Absolutely.
In late 2017, mornings opened up at 91X in San Diego, I applied got the gig and knew this would be an incredible opportunity to work with one of radio’s best talent coaches, Tracy Johnson, and live and work in one of the most desirable markets in the country. Yup, I took it. The station’s format was alternative, which was a bit of an adjustment to me but worth it for the experience. I had some challenges in that gig but I have ZERO regrets because I got to learn so much. This job, and more specifically, flipped my entire view on radio on it’s ass. I feel like before I went to San Diego, I had some natural talents, but now I have the skills and tools to WIN. I knew this gig wasn’t going to be my forever gig, and it wasn’t. In August of last year they let me go, and I wasn’t bummed… I was STOKED for whatever my next opportunity would be.
Some stressful months went by and I was offered mornings on Mix 106, an adult top 40/HOT AC station in Boise, ID. We launched “Moug and Carly” mornings on January 27th and it’s been an incredible experience. All the great things I’ve learned in my previous gigs have paid off because now, they look at me and respect me as not only someone who has great radio and morning show experience, but valuable life experience to share with my audience as well. They’re promoting our show, I have all the support I can ask for, and I can not wait to start making a dent in ratings out here. Our first book starts later this month!
What are the benefits to not staying in the same market for most of your career?
You learn good things and bad things from every radio station/group you work for. In addition to the work elements, you gain valuable life experience and experience vastly different cultures in different cities.
Do you have a favorite or most memorable moment in radio of all time? We’ll settle for top 3 if picking one is to difficult…
I’ll give you my top 3 “whoa” moments, all in Vegas…
1. Mike Tyson showed up to a remote at an AT&T store because he heard me do a break where I mentioned Sugar Ray Leonard was doing an appearance.
2. A woman with cochlear implants informed me that she had a surgery, they told her to wait a certain amount of time and then turn them on. She told me the first thing she heard in 13 years was the Blackeyed Peas-Meet me halfway, and then MY VOICE talking right after. And she was so stoked to hear me talking on the radio.
3. A guy who had a falling out with his daughter, admitted he had considered ending his life when he started winning things on my show. He got to get out and experience new things, make some new friends and eventually patched things up with his daughter. I like to hope he would have never saw it through but he credits me with taking part in saving his life and I don’t take that lightly.
4. I know, this is a fourth… But it’s pretty good. A woman who told me that listening to my show in the evenings helped her learn how to speak English, and she appreciated me for that. Truly, a wonderful thing to hear from someone when your job is talking into a microphone in a medium where you don’t get to see or gauge audience reaction. So when THIS is the reaction, it feels good.
Favorite jock of all time?
Howard Stern. Cliche as it may be… Howard changed the game. Before Howard Stern, radio was a bunch of boring announcers telling you the time and “today’s top stories” in a monotone voice. Howard blew up the whole presentation and re-invented it, and still continues to do so today.
Preferred format and why?
Pop. Top 40. Some will tell you that the music doesn’t matter but I highly disagree. For me, I have to be able to enjoy the music I’m playing to be genuinely interested in it and to authentically relate to an audience. And this is the music I like. Hot AC works for me as well because we play a lot of the big pop currents but we also play a lot of great golds and throwbacks that were the pop songs I grew up listening to and played on the air coming up in radio.
Worst moment of your career?
The worst moment of my career was probably also the best moment of my career. When I got fired from 91X on Monday, August 12th, 2019 at 10 am right after my show. I knew ultimately that job wasn’t going to work out but I had just come home from a radio seminar in Chicago, morning show boot camp, I was totally amped to implement all the new things I learned. I was sitting in my program director’s office telling him about my trip when the GM came in to let me go. I was so caught off guard and shook, it was just really intense. I was in such a good mood prior to this and it was just such a shock in the moment. I think I’m mildy traumatized from that experience, but an experience it was. I went out to my truck afterwards and was sitting there trying to catch up with my thoughts, thinking… “Oh fuck. Here I am, getting married in like 9 months, jobless in one of the most expensive cities in the country”. A moment of panic, but it turned out to be a great thing because now I’m on a station that I love, in a market I can actually afford to live in, and I’m really excited about the future.
What are things to watch out for throughout one’s radio journey?
Watch out for negativity… People are going to try and shit on radio and shit on your interest in radio, there’s a lot of negative old doomsday radio people, ignore it all and follow your passion. Other than that, take a chance and give it everything you’ve got; blood, sweat, tears, the works!
What is the wildest thing you’ve ever encountered or had to perform while in radio?
I’d say one of the biggest challenges was being on the air through the night after the One October shooting in Vegas, taking calls, giving updates. Most of what we do in radio is about having fun, being fun/funny. But this was one of those times I was expected to be serious and concise, and while it was a challenge and a total tragedy, I learned a lot about how to handle those types of situations.
Another moment was when Michael Jackson died and I had to get on the air and do a night show when everyone was mourning a polarizing figure… I mean, this is a guy who was the King of pop, but also had a reputation that wasn’t exactly peachy. So, balance is important to find in these situations.
Favorite time slot that you’ve been in?
Mornings… I love doing mornings. So far, the absolute most fun I’ve had was when I was doing the morning show for Arkansas and Vermont from my home in Vegas with my friends Angie and Jared.
Favorite production software to use?
I use Sony Sound Forge for editing and processing voices and I use Sony Acid for multi track functions, like producing imaging. My goal in 2020 is to get a mac and learn protools, gotta keep up with the times.
Favorite system to use while on-air?
We just added a new program called “Zetta”, which is the next generation of Nexgen, and I think this will be my favorite once I get used to it.
Corporate or independent station preferred?
Medium sized companies are the way to go in my humble opinion. Locally owned companies often lack resources and massive corporations tend to lack care for the human beings that work for them. Medium sized companies seem to be the way to go. I’m currently working for Townsquare Media and it’s been great so far. Though, it has only been a couple of months.
You also voice track for quite a few stations across the country. Take us through that process if you don’t mind – how did you make the opportunity happen? How do you actually do it?
One by one over the last three years I added these stations. The first one, the PD actually reached out to me, a couple of them I saw through all access, and another was a friend of a friend. It takes time and connections to build a voice tracking empire, for sure.
What are some other ways jocks can make money outside of their actual show?
Voice overs, commercial production, imaging, video, etc. The more skills you have, the less of a one trick pony you’ll be. I was very lucky that I had all my side gigs to carry me through when I got let go.
You recently got engaged and are almost about to get married – BiG CONGRATS!!! Soooo, give us the deets – how’d you guys meet? How’d you propose? …
We met through KLUC. We were setup through the morning show and it was kind of a stunt, but it worked! We moved to San Diego together and while working there, I made a connection at Sea World who introduced me to a Sea Lion named Duke who helped me propose to Stacy. He was wearing a red bow tie and he waddled over to her with a note a had printed up. She turned around and I was on one knee with the most ballin-ist ring I could find. She said yes. We’re getting married April 25th of this year, which will be exactly three years after our first contact through the radio station in Vegas.
You’re actually about to or already have embarked on a new chapter in your radio career – where are you at now and what are you doing there?
Mix 106 in Boise, ID. Morning host/Assistant Brand Manager
Where do you see radio in the next 10 years?
Radio needs to continue to evolve on the app/streaming/social/video fronts and it’ll be fine. I believe that there will always be a need for local entertaining connections. Personally, I know syndication is condensing the industry and some look at it as a bad thing. Good/bad/indifferent, I think there’s a demand for it and I’d love to be the show that fills the demand.
What advice would you give to someone pursuing radio in 2020?
Say YES to everything. Don’t be afraid to put the time and work and energy in and learn how to do everything. But not only that, try and be the one to help evolve radio. Be the change, be proactive, and lastly… When you’re on the air, never worry about being cool. You’re on the radio, you’re already cool. As goofy and cliche as it sounds, DANCE LIKE NO ONE’S WATCHING. Truly, don’t hold back… Go for it. Be you and don’t apologize for it. That’s what you get from successful personalities. Be a celebrity, but act like a normal person.
Anything else you wanna say to the readers?
Thanks for taking the time, I can be a little long winded. I hope that some young person who’s eager to get into radio will read this and take from it that anything great in life, comes at a cost. It’s not easy, there are ups and downs but if you love it, you’ll commit. Wish you the best!
