The Dog House

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The Dog House with JV & Elvis is a terrestrial radio talk show airing from 9AM – 1PM in New York City on 92.3 Free FM, a part of CBS Radio. The show is based in New York City on WFNY 92.3, and previously aired on ClearChannel's Wild 94.9 in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hot 97.7 in San Jose. The show is currently available online through a live stream or podcast, through WFNY's website.

Contents 1 History 2 Show format 3 Personalities 3.1 JV 3.2 Elvis 3.3 Recurring Guests & Guest Hosts 3.3.1 Former recurring guests 3.4 Dog House staff 3.5 Previous Dog House members 3.5.1 KYLD (Wild 107.7/Wild 94.9) Era 3.6 Fictional Characters 4 Show segments and bits 4.1 The Hook 4.2 Games and stunts 4.3 Prank Phone Calls 5 Show Catchphrases 6 Controversy 7 Media 7.1 Audio 7.2 Video 8 Trivia 9 References 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] History

The Dog House stars JV (Jeff Vandergrift) and Elvis (Dan Lay). The two met in 1993 and have been radio cohosts (along with JV's high school friend and show producer "Hollywood" Lance Otani) for over 15 years, starting on Hot 97.7 in San Jose, California. In 1995, program directors Michael Martin and Joe Cunningham of Wild 107 eagerly hired them to fill a timeslot vacated by Mancow Muller (in the wake of his infamous "haircut" prank). The spot had been briefly filled by Frank Lozano[1] who was getting beat in the ratings by The Dog House. The Dog House quickly became a household name after joining Wild 107.7 (which subsequently moved to Wild 94.9), as they became the #1 rated morning show in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly a decade.^[1]

[edit] Show format

[edit] Personalities

[edit] JV

Host JV (Jeff Vandergrift) is the "leader" of The Dog House. Usually wild and energetic, JV led the show every morning during its KYLD days. The show occasionally included song parodies often coproduced by Hollywood. In the early 2000s, JV had experienced a spiritual awakening, and would devote many hours of the show to discuss spirituality (turning the show into what was known as "The God House"). JV's voice has deepened considerably since he first started in the Bay Area. He was known as a flirtatious party drug user when The Dog House began on Wild 107.7, but had mellowed by the time he proposed to girlfriend Natasha Yi in 2005. JV's other passion is riding his chopper.

[edit] Elvis

Co-host Elvis (Dan Lay born October 27, 1962) is the other half of The Dog House, and does nearly every prank call for the show since it was based at the Bay Area. He is especially good at hurling rapid-fire insults to anyone who attempts rank on him, although he can be self-deprecating at times. His on-air moniker 'Elvis' dates back to when he deejayed at a San Diego radio station whose primary audience was Latino. (He had been given the choice between a few Spanish sounding names before deciding on 'Elvis Medina'). During The Dog House's time at KYLD, Elvis suffered a back injury when he and the crew were racing on horseback at a track, and Elvis' horse took a wide turn, throwing him into the mud. It was recently announced on Free FM that he and his wife were divorcing.^[2]

[edit] Recurring Guests & Guest Hosts

• Gary Spivey – A psychic that The Dog House routinely let answer calls for hours. He is perhaps most identified by his enormous white afro wig that looks like a Spaceballs helmet.
• Danny Bonaduce – Once guest hosted The Dog House with JV. During this show, Danny told stories about transvestite hookers and jail.
• Natasha Terry, "The Sex Goddess" [2] - Gives sexual advice and information about male and female sexuality. Also frequently appeared as a radio guest during the Wild 94.9 years.

[edit] Former recurring guests

• Jackie Clarke (NYC) [3][4] – A recurring guest host. Was usually part of the show on Thursdays, but no longer works with 92.3 Free FM.
• Sharon Chapart – A psychic with a Texas drawl.
• John Edward – psychic medium, who later rose to fame hosting Crossing Over with John Edward. His radio performance was similar to the TV show.

[edit] Dog House staff

A longtime practice of The Dog House involves putting the show's production and office staff on the air. (The staff are seen as "fringe members" of The Dog House crew).

• "Pretty" Lou "The Brain" (Producer) – Replaced "Hollywood" Lance Otani (who returned to San Francisco) in early 2006.
• Rudy "The Junk Faced Goon" Fenook (Engineer/Board operator) – Runs the boards, picks music for bumpers, and provides a comic relief role. He was supposedly beaten for three hours in elementary school and claims to be bi-sexual.
• Matt (Phone screener)
• Dirty Dog Joe ("The Web Bitch") – He writes the official JV & Elvis Blog, takes all of the in-studio pictures and occasionally appears on air to help with studio and street bits.
• "Porno" Pete ("Promotions guy" at 92.3 Free FM) – Occasionally helps with studio and street bits.

[edit] Previous Dog House members

• GN Kang [5] (Former Guest booker) – A young asian woman who routinely takes "bimbo" checks. (The guys refer to her as "horseshoe ass").
• "Hollywood" Lance Otani (Former Producer) – He has been best friend of JV, and member of The Dog House since 1996. He did a well known prank call (frequently played on various media outlets) entitled "You Want Trouble?!" in which he a falsely accused someone of stealing his newspaper from his home. When the bit is played elsewhere there is often no credit given to The Dog House at all. He left the show not long after the move to 92.3 in New York because his wife did not want to move their three daughters so far away from the San Francisco Bay Area. At last notice, Hollywood had become a stay-at-home dad while his wife worked full-time, and was inquiring about any work he could do for the show while he was away.
• White Menace aka Menace [6] is still contributing to The Dog House from San Francisco. He is also employed at 106.9 Free FM in San Francisco.
• Josh Vandergrift [7] is the brother of JV and worked on jvsworld.com (defunct) and other behind-the-scenes production and was credited as editor for the video, "Maybe You Should…". He now works in real estate.
• Marko [8] worked on jvsworld.com (defunct) and other behind-the-scenes production (video taping, cutting audio) and was a major contributor for the video, "Maybe You Should…". He is now living in Arizona and occasionally assists Menace and Josh on projects.
• Michelle helped with guest booking and provided a female perspective to some topics discussed at Free FM
• KT & Moe interned on the show during the summer of 2006.

[edit] KYLD (Wild 107.7/Wild 94.9) Era

• Henry aka "Hammerin' Hank" [9] is autistic, and was an important member of the crew during the Wild 107.7 days. A savant in spotting pop music from the 1980s, he once beat both Elvis and Hollywood in a game of "Name That Tune". Although Hank played the foil for many of The Dog House's tricks and insults (to the point of what appeared as abuse), they also supported and encouraged him both on and off the air, eventually earning him a deejay slot on KYLD.
• Ruthie (Phone screener) – previous phone screener. Actually took calls off the air and had her own "sideshow" going on.
• Graham Herbert aka Rubber Chicken (Street guy) – If there was a stunt to be done, Chicken would always rise to the task. Hitchhiked to Hell, Michigan with Flea.
• Lee the Flea (Street guy) – Won the street guy competition.
• Fat Larry (Street guy) – A security guard turned part-time Dog House crew member for a few months as a street guy when Big Joe left. Tried to become an actor on the side by auditioning for parts but did not fare as well.
• Showbiz [10] (Street guy) – Currently co-hosting mornings on 102.5 KDON.
• "Big Joe" Lopez [11] (Street guy) –The street guy for The Dog House during the Wild 94.9 Days. Big Joe was well known on The Dog House for repeatedly not being able to complete a stunt in its entirety, which resulted in him returning to the studio to explain where he went wrong and why he should not receive a consequence as a result. He left the show after refusing the consequence for not completing a stunt. He has since moved down to Los Angeles and started hosting his own show.
• Rachel (Phone screener) – The original phone girl from Wild 107 in San Francisco. She had a song written for her about her large breasts entitled "Lovely Rachel", and flashed her breasts on camera for the first Radio Kings video which was later edited to rewind and repeat during the duration of her song. Dismissed from the station in 2000 after her making a derogatory remark about Filipinos on the air, and her refusal to apologize.
• Varinder – Wannabe street guy. Best known for getting into a dryer and spinning for 50 seconds.
• Patrick "I'll Go There" Palmer – Avid listener who would do anything. Stapled his testicles to a board. Cung Le broke Patrick's ankle in a kick boxing match.
• Artie (the one man party) – Security guard at KYLD. Elvis liked to tickle Artie's testicles.
• Greg Lopez - used to be the DJ who did half hour long mixes at 5:30, 7:30, and 9:30 on KYLD. Had several jokes made about him being on steroids as his arms were very large and well-defined. Greg was let go due to his chronic tardiness in providing mixes for the show.

[edit] Fictional Characters

Characters played by The Dog House (JV, Elvis, and Hollywood), most often used in phone interviews, prank phone calls and song parodies.

• Ed Conway (aka The Cigar Guy) - JV's mumbled talking cigar smoking Con Ed employee. This character was created during the major power outage.
• Museum Man (aka Leonard Pinth-Garnell of the Garnells of London) – Elvis' persona of a stuffy British dandy. (Other than the name, it's unclear if he is based on Dan Aykroyd's "Bad Theatre" character from Saturday Night Live.)
• Opera Guy – Elvis as a Pavarotti-like tenor who often breaks out into song.
• Drunk Guy (aka Steve Hinglehoffer) – Elvis' alcoholic alter-ego (very fitting as Elvis has two DUIs). Steve loves his favorite bar (The Velvet Turtle) and hates his more-successful and stable brother Kyle.
• M.C. Y.T. – JV's persona of a white MC attempting to "kick it old school". Varies in impersonations of Kurtis Blow, Flavor Flav and MC Hammer.
• Grandpa V – Even though Grandpa V implies grandfather, Grandpa V was created one day while JV was impersonating his father Raymond. He will routinely cause guests to hang up in a fit. "Grandpa V" also has several years of war experience under his belt and regularly refers to instances where he was out in the field. On occasion, he stops by to have a talk with JV and the rest of The Dog House. He is gassy, but doesn't notice.
• Slick Willie – JV's rendition of an Urban youth. Will routinely calls women "bitches" and talk about slapping people.
• Cowboy Bill – JV's persona of a twangy, tobacco-chewing cowpoke.
• Master Yoda – Voiced by Louis, a common caller. Usually calls in every couple of weeks. Yoda calls in with "Something to ponder!" scenarios. In honor of his self-hooking, there is fan art available. [12]
• Tourettes Guy – A character played by Elvis who would interview guests over the phone, often shouting random obscenities along with random words and phrases. The pattern is usually (Unusual Object)(in/on/or simply in relation to)(Another unusual object). (Oddly enough, his co-host JV is actually diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome)
• Staff Sergeant Chip Gunney Slade of the U.S. Marine Corps – Vietnam vet who now has a voicebox.
• Garrett and Raoul – Elvis and JV as two very flamboyant gay men. Everything they say is a sexual innuendo. Have also done song parodies such as Men in Drag (complimenting Will Smith's Men in Black).
• Jeff and Paul – Jeff and Paul (played by JV and Hollywood) are a pair of shock jock stereotypes who are always trying to stay ahead of the latest trends. One such skit purported to teach "proper gangster behavior", which ends with Jeff accidentally shooting Paul in the face. They are supposedly cousins of JV as well.

[edit] Show segments and bits

[edit] The Hook

In a throwback to Vaudeville, The Dog House currently has a 3 "hook" rule for all guests. During an interview, callers can yell "Hook!" to any guest. If 3 hooks come in, the person being interviewed is removed from the air.

Recipients of The Hook:

• 2006-07-06 – Remi Frazier, inventor of the Mantool.
• 2006-08-15 – Natalie Reid [13], a Paris Hilton impersonator who posed in Playboy Magazine.
• 2006-08-25 – Sarah DiMuro [14], a 29 year-old virgin.
• 2006-08-28 – John Liu, councilman from Queens who was speaking out against the "racially"-themed Survivor.
• 2006-09-01 – Barney Smith, the curator of the Toilet Seat Museum. (Despite being hooked, Barney Smith was allowed to stay on air due to the sheer hilarity of his remarks.)
• 2006-11-03- David Carradine, actor and Kung Fu master currently serves as one of the only exceptions to the three hook rule. After intentionally being dropped, he called back, to which he was then hooked three times, dropped again, and still called back again. Despite being hooked a fourth time, and being dropped once again, David called back a total of five times during the interview, being none the wiser to The Dog House's attempts at thwarting the interview.

[edit] Games and stunts

Wrong Answer Game 

JV tapes 10 questions with a very small gap in between each question. The fringe members and Elvis must answer the question with the wrong answer. (It sounds simple, but it is not!)

Ask a… 

So far this segment has had "Turban Talk", "Ask a Jew" and "Meet a Muslim." During "Turban Talk", Harpon, a Sikh man that Intern Moe found on the street, was asked questions about the turban and the sikh religion. During "Ask a Jew", there were questions about Judaism answered by Elly, a young Jewish Dog House listener. "Meet a Muslim" was a great success with Ali, their generous Muslim listener, talking about the perversion of his religion and the true meaning of Islam. (The next segment expected is "Ask a Christian").

Trivia for… 

This show involves asking The Dog House a trivia question. If they do not have an answer, you win. They have three rules:

1. They each get an answer;
2. no repeat questions;
3. you only get ONE question. Small talk, like asking "How are you?" counts!

The winning differs, during the Wild 107.7/94.9 days the prize were usually tickets to sold out events, and on rare occasions such as during Trivia for Natasha the winner got a free membership to Natasha Yi's (JV's fiancée, then girlfriend) website.

[edit] Prank Phone Calls

Rumble in the Bronx 

This segment involves JV or Elvis calling up a blue collar person in the Bronx and yelling obscenities. Usually, this ends with them getting angrily hung up on.

False Accusations 

Calling random people from the phone book and accusing them of doing something wrong. One of the most famous of these prank calls involved Hollywood calling an Asian man and accusing him of stealing his newspaper, titled "You Want Trouble?".

Long Lost Relative 

Calling random people from the phone book and pretending to be a long lost relative.

Dicked Calls 

Dog House members tell each other to make humiliating phone calls. Popular examples:

1. Elvis calling Suge Knight while Suge was in jail. Elvis calls out Suge on his voice mail, and ends with, "Talk to you later… BITCH."
2. Elvis calling the IRS, giving his real name, and saying he hasn't paid his taxes.
3. Hollywood calling his mother and tell her he had always wanted to have sex with her.

Prank Call Requests 

A former segment from KYLD days. A listener would e-mail the station and arrange for The Dog House to prank call a friend or relative. The results would range from hilarious to downright cruel.

[edit] Show Catchphrases

• Caller: "Dog House!" Reply: "...Whaaaat!"
• Caller: "C'MON!" Reply: "...C'MON!"
• Caller: "…Subway…" Reply: "...Eat Fresh!" (Dropped when Jon Lovitz cancelled an in-studio interview)
• Caller: "Can I get a crank water?" Reply: Sound Effect (Ice in cup, water pouring and a sprinkle of crank)
• Caller: "Can I get an eye poke?" Reply: Sound Effect (Cartoon Eye Poke)
• "He doesn't have any money!"
• "Would you leave me alone, I'm trying to poop!"
• "Hmm, that's interesting!"
• "HAYUM???"
• "Holy twap!"
• "Ho ho ho."
• "Nut it up!"
• "Shut it."
• "Shut your piehole!"
• "Why did you burn the risotto!?!?"
• "Soup": (Dropped since the move to NY)
• "You're dead to me"
• "It's a cold sore!" (What Elvis says whenever JV accuses him of having herpes)
• "WHOOO?" (When someone namedrops)

[edit] Controversy

In April of 2005, they were fired for lewd remarks made off-air to their guests.^[3] Shortly after being fired from Wild 94.9, they helped launch KIFR at the end of 2005 before moving to New York City, where it was announced that they would join 92.3 FreeFM. The new show went under the title JV & Elvis during its first few months until the hosts revived The Dog House name.

On September 28, 2006, The Opie & Anthony Show, which immediately precedes The Dog House, was extended half an hour into The Dog House time slot and CBS Radio played fifteen minutes of commercials before The Dog House was allowed on the air. JV and Elvis complained on the air about having to wait, which prompted Opie and Anthony to call in. Hosts from the two shows engaged in a bitter argument.^[4][5]

On September 29, 2006, The Opie & Anthony Show extended their show almost twenty minutes into the 9 O'Clock hour to piss off The Dog House. In response, Dog House fans showed support for The Dog House during their on-location broadcast (Live from the Javitz center) by shouting chants such as "Opie and Anthony suck".

[edit] Media

At KYLD, The Dog House branched out into comedy CDs and DVDs, most of which were given away to listeners or sold online and by local music shops. All CDs and DVDs are currently out of print.

[edit] Audio

• 1995 – Doghouse Bites Vol. I
• 1996 – Doghouse Bites Vol. II
• 1998 – You Want Trouble?
• 2000 – How Many People Must Get Dissed?
• 2002 – Stop Eye-Balling Me Boy!
• Still The King - Doghouse Greg Lopez
• King Of Turntables - Doghouse Greg Lopez
• Traffic Jams Vol. 1 - Doghouse Greg Lopez
• Mix Allstars - The Doghouse
• Afterhours (multiple) - Doghouse Greg Lopez

[edit] Video

• 199? - Dog House Raw (VHS)
• 199? - Doghouse Too Raw (VHS)
• 1999 – Radio Kings (VHS)
• 2001 - Radio Kings 2 (VHS)
• 2003 – Maybe You Should… (DVD)

[edit] Trivia

• The Dog House overtook The Howard Stern Show in ratings for the Bay Area. ^[6]
• The Dog House was syndicated in Southern California (Inland Empire).
• JV swam from Alcatraz to the shore as well as ran across the Golden Gate Bridge naked, Hollywood walked from San Francisco to San Jose (50 Miles) to raise funds to help a 3-year-old cancer patient.^[7]
• JV and Natasha Yi are engaged after an on-air proposal in San Francisco.^[8]
• The Dog House gave the final interview of the late Notorious B.I.G., just three days before his death.^[9]
• JV frequently mentions The Golden Flower, an asian massage parlor in San Francisco.
• JV, Elvis & Hollywood all contributed voice work to playable characters in the video game Hot Shots Golf 2 for the Sony PlayStation.
• Throughout its history, the show had a beef with Brad Kava, broadcast columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. The station once responded to his Dog House bashing columns with a large ad in the newspaper that read "FUN RADIO IS BACK Bringing You a Mad-Kap Cup of Morning Java!" with two hands framing a photo JV & Elvis. When folding the ad inward, like a MAD fold-in, it then read "FUCK Brad Kava" with the hands forming an upraised middle finger.^[10]
• JV & Elvis were approached by MTV producers to make a show, but when the deal fell through, they believe that MTV took their ideas and turned it into the show Jackass. Many of the stunts developed for the show later appeared in Jackass included shopping-cart jousting and tasering body parts. This belief is corroborated by DL Hughley. ^[11]
• Launched comedian Carlos Mencia via The Dog House Comedy Jam concerts^[12]. They have since retracted their support of Mencia, after he performed at the 2005 Wild 94.9 Dog House Comedy Jam following The Dog House firing from ClearChannel.
• On Friday August 11, 2006 Tom Chiusano took The Dog House off of the air for the day, because Elvis came to work drunk. The show resumed on Monday August 14, 2006 with guest host Jackie Clarke. Elvis was allowed to return Tuesday after a private meeting that involved Elvis enrolling in a 12-step program.
• Elvis used to have his own Saturday morning shift (without JV and Hollywood) on 107.7 and played the Best of The Doghouse bits between songs.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• The Opie & Anthony Show: Radio Rival
• Mancow: Show that The Dog House replaced in San Francisco
• The Playhouse: Accused of taking various Dog House bits and partial show name

[edit] External links

• Doghousefans.com - Official Site of The Dog House
• 92.3 Free FM – Official page of WFNY-FM
  • The Dog House with JV & Elvis – Official WFNY page
  • The Dog House with JV & Elvis Podcast Archive
• The Official JV & Elvis Blog
• The Dog House Forums - Unofficial, but linked from the blog
• JV & Elvis at MySpace
• The Dog House Videos at YouTube
• Wild 94.9 – Former station of The Dog House
• JV's World – JV's original homepage (defunct)