| Matthew-Michael Creed | |
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Matthew Creed with Owen Benjamin backstage in September 2009 at the Stanford & Son's Comedy Club in Kansas City, KS. |
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| Born | Matthew-Michael Lynford Creed October 15, 1981 Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Surge |
| Occupation | Actor, Radio Disc Jockey, Voice Actor, Impersonator |
| Years active | 1992–1999, 2002–2004 |
| Influenced by | Seth MacFarlane, Howard Stern, Bill Engvall |
| Spouse | Nadia Creed |
| Children | Gabriel-Maddox Creed |
Matthew-Michael Lynford Creed (born October 15, 1981) is a disc Jockey and voice actor. He is best known for his DJ work as "Surge" on KCHZ Channel Z95.7 FM, for which he holds the record of being the youngest paid on-air DJ in a Top-30 Nielsen Rated market, being only 14 years old when he did his first broadcast in 1996.
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Matthew was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the son of Judy (née Cady) and Jerry Creed, a retired Marine Corps Colonel. His father is of French, English and Choctaw and Cherokee Native American descent, and his mother is of Irish and German decent. He has two younger brothers, Nathan (born 1983) and Mitchell (born 1985).
After his parents separated, his mother relocated Matthew and his brothers to the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas. When he was 10, he was discovered by Sandy Lopez, host of the KSMO 62 Kids Crew, and became an occasional co-host for the after-school television program.
In February 1996, Matthew befriended Nighttime DJ Howie "D" Nunnelly of KCHZ Channel Z95.7. Howie invited Matthew into the KCHZ studios on numerous occasions as an on-air guest over the following months. Eventually his presence on the 7pm-Midnight "All Request Party" show became a daily event, and he started to gain popularity as Howie D's sidekick, "Surge". Over the course of the next several months, Howie took Matthew under his wing and taught him the "how-to's" and behind-the-scenes work on a radio station and show. That Spring, Howie introduced Matthew to Mike "Austin" Bowen, whom was the Afternoon host and Program Director of KCHZ. Austin began to teach Matthew the mechanics and board-work in on-air performing, along with basic production skills and asked Matthew to become a daily after-school presence at the KCHZ Studios.
In June 1996, Mike and Howie offered him an on-air internship at KCHZ Channel Z95.7. Howie taught him how to expand upon his vocal, acting, and improv skills along with vocal impersonations. On the morning of June 15, 1996, Matthew performed his first solo on-air shift from Midnight-2am, which at that time, gave him the title of the "Youngest On-Air Disc Jockey". Throughout the rest of 1996 and most of 1997, Matthew performed on-air with Mike Austin from 3pm-7pm, and with Howie "D" from 7pm-10pm, and during various times every Saturday and Sunday.
Matthew was hired by KCHZ as an on-air performer in September 1997, and slowly started to transition from being a "co-host" and "sidekick" with Mike and Howie to hosting his own show. He was given the Monday-Saturday Overnight shift from Midnight – 5:30 am, which from Monday-Thursday was pre-recorded due to him attending Olathe East High School. Matthew became the live host of the Saturday night "Groove Nation" remix show in November 1997, and achieved the #1 Saturday Night rating in Kansas City from February 1998-August 1999.
KCHZ was sold to Syncom Radio in 1999, and due to personal and location conflicts separated from KCHZ in August 1999 to focus on his senior year in High School.
At the urging of friends and family, Creed sought out another position in radio. In March 2002, he was hired at Lazer 105.9 in Lawrence, Kansas to fill the full-time overnight shift, and performed under the name "Zac D" (which he later revealed in an interview with the Lawrence Journal that he chose to use "D" as his last name as a tribute to Howie "D" Nunnelly). Lazer 105.9 had recently flipped from its Alternative format to a Top-40/Contemporary format in an attempt to move in on the expanding Top 40 craze in the Kansas City market. Rob Meyer, Program Director for Lazer 105.9, offered Matthew his old Saturday night shift in an attempt to capture ratings from Mix 93.3 and 95.7 the Vibe and listeners to the station, which was being chastised by its devoted listeners due to its sudden format flip from Alternative to Top 40. After several months of refusal and negotiations on Matthew's part, an agreement was made and Matthew took the reins and helped reformat the Lazer Saturday night show. Due to listener boycotts, online hatred towards the station's new format, and an extremely low working budget, the new Saturday night show never gained the popularity that was hoped for by the station.
In January 2004, Creed announced his retirement as an on-air disc jockey, and left KLZR.
Matthew was hired by Cumulus Radio in May 2009 to perform board operator work for 95.7 the Vibe, and has recently done some voice work for local Kansas City businesses. As of April 2011, he is an Air Traffic Controller with the FAA.
Matthew met Nadia Martinez in October 2005, and they became engaged in December 2006. They married on October 4, 2008 in Kansas City, KS.[1]
Their first son, Gabriel-Maddox Creed was born February 22, 2011.