Bill Allred (back), Kerry Jackson (front left), and Gina Barberi (front right). Radio From Hell: Songs From The Big Chair |
|
| Genre | Comedy, Talk |
|---|---|
| Running time | 4 hours |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | KXRK 96.3 |
| Starring | Kerry Jackson Bill Allred Gina Barberi |
| Creators | Bill Allred Kerry Jackson |
| Exec. producers | Richard T. Steadman |
| Recording studio | KXRK, Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Air dates | since 1986 |
| Audio format | FM Radio MP3 Podcast iTunes Podcast |
| Website | http://www.x96.com |
| Podcast | http://www.x96.com/12605TIME/djs/ondemand.asp |
Radio From Hell is an American radio program broadcast weekday mornings on Salt Lake City, Utah's KXRK 96.3FM, simulcast via a live internet audio stream, and available as an iTunes podcast or downloadable MP3. The show features hosts Kerry Jackson, Bill Allred, and Gina Barberi.
Radio From Hell is the longest running radio program in the Salt Lake City area, and has consistently been rated as one of the best programs in the area by media reviews and polls. The show has received praise from outside the Utah region; Rolling Stone cited KXRK as one of the top-five rock and roll radio stations in the U.S., and reported that Radio From Hell was one of the longest-running local radio programs in the U.S.[1]
The show originated on Ogden's KJQ as "The Fun Pigs", hosted by Jackson and Allred in 1986.[2] It was later retitled to Radio From Hell for being "the radio show for people who feel like hell in the morning". Jackson and Allred were among five out of twenty-five employees who did not quit KJQ in December 1991.[3]
Many members of the former KJQ staff founded a new station, KXRK, which premiered in February 1992.[4] The new station featured Bill Allred and Dom Casual in a morning show called "Project X with Dom and Bill"; they were among many ex-KJQ personalities on the initial lineup on KXRK.[5][6]
Kerry Jackson continued to host a morning show on KJQ, working briefly with several other hosts including Mo Mellady (who lasted less than a month) and Clyde Lewis, becoming KJQ program director in May, 1993.[7][8] Jackson worked for a time on KZHT before joining KXRK on October 18, 1993, where he replaced Dom Casual in the mornings.[9] Reunited, Jackson and Allred resumed calling their show "Radio From Hell."[10]
On May 20, 1996, Gina Barberi joined the program. Barberi had been hosting a morning show on KUTQ called "Woody and Barberi" with co-host Scott Woodmansee; she had been working as a mid-day DJ at KUTQ before moving to this position.[11][12] Gina had worked at KJQ in the late 1980s when she was 19 and still a student at the University of Utah.[13]
Radio From Hell aired its 5000th episode in August 2008.
Radio From Hell (RFH) begins each morning at 5:00 A.M. Mountain Time. During the 5:00 A.M. hour, the previous day's 9:00 A.M - 10:00 A.M. segment of the previous show, interwoven with sound clips from various movies and television series. The live show runs from 6:00 A.M. and ends near 10:00 A.M.
The hosts regularly relate humorous anecdotes about their families, friends, jobs, pets, eating habits, shopping trips, vacations and other experiences. The show incorporates several regular features and guests noted below
Radio From Hell's hosts, especially Jackson and Allred, are known for being socially and politically liberal. They frequently discuss the LDS Church, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, Utah state liquor laws and many other idiosyncrasies of Utah life and culture.
Listeners are called "friends of the program;" every Wednesday, a "best friend of the program" is invited to be in the studio during the show where they are fed breakfast from the Judge Cafe.
The show's mission statement is occasionally played before the show begins. Allred reads the announcement, with music in the background.
"It is our mission to embrace the idea that our show shall always strive to belittle the stupid and to play an occasional song. We shall also strive to take all of your requests, but to never, under any circumstances, play those requests. It is our mission to offend as many people as we can in the shortest time possible. We shall always remember that no matter how pointless and stupid the things we say are, we shall present them in such a way that they will be lessons that will last a lifetime. We shall strive always to do nothing and to be mean. We shall strive mightily to always be the number one morning show in Salt Lake or, if not that, the number two morning show or, at least somewhere in the top 15 or 20 morning shows. At least once a year we shall go to someone's home and we shall eat really good food and we'll make you wish that you could be there to share it with us. And finally, it is our mission to always remind the listeners that we never lie, and we're always right. So let it be written. So let it be done."
Kerry Jack Jackson grew up in Salem, Utah. He currently lives in Salt Lake City with his Korean-American wife, Sue. Jackson often references and discusses his love for geek culture including video games, comic books (Marvel Comics, not DC Comics), and science-fiction movies and television series such as Star Trek and Star Wars. One of his favorite video games is the Lego Star Wars series. His large toy collection consists of Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Marvel Comics action figures [1]. Kerry regularly plays audio clips from the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021, Squidbillies, Saul of the Mole Men, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.
For over a decade has done his own show, "The Geek Show", which is now in podcast form called Geek Show Podcast.
Jackson often recounts his adventurous weekend experiences (usually involving his fondness for mixed drinks), offers humorous pickup lines, and occasionally performs impressions of celebrities including Larry Flynt, Roy Horn, Lou Ferrigno, and Owen Wilson. Kerry has claimed that he has an innate talent for recreating the voices of handicapped celebrities. Kerry also does the voice of the character, "Frank Chryst", a celebrity-reporter who is perpetually grieving over the "horrible, terrible tragedy" of a recently publicized celebrity death.
Jackson also has been candid and jocular about his suffering from possibly a combination of personality disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and social anxiety. He says he lies in bed and hears songs or phrases repeat themselves over and over. Mostly these intrusive and repetitive thoughts are Warner Bros. themed. Also in early 2007, Bill was allowed to read an email from a listener that had seen Jackson shopping, who was noticeably irate and wrathful, due to being surrounded by too many people.
Jackson had a bit part in the film The Singles Ward, but has disavowed his role in the film because he felt it was simply not funny. Despite his best efforts, however, he was offered a part in a proposed sequel. [2]
Jackson is also responsible for recording, selecting and playing the majority of the sound clips on the show; Allred has described Jackson as the Don Letts of Radio From Hell (referencing Lett's role in rock group Big Audio Dynamite).
Kerry attempted to participate in The World Series of Pop Culture. After traveling to California, his team, "Shatner's Midnight Runners" passed the written exam and were allowed to audition for the producers. They were ultimately cut from the contest and sent home with a calendar for their trouble.
A native of Ogden, Utah, Allred was born Ralph William Allred. He attended Ben Lomond High School, then graduated from the theater program at Weber State University, and did some graduate work at Penn State University. Allred actually finished all of his coursework at Penn State University, but told his professors that he would mail in his Thesis for his Masters in Theatre art. The rough draft for that thesis is in a briefcase under his bed at this very moment. According to Allred, while at Penn State he was attacked by squirrels and, therefore, no longer cares for the small animals. Bill fell into radio work by accident, starting with an overnight shift. Allred tends to be the most intellectual of the three hosts, reading such magazines as The Economist, and frequently referring to "tuna salad" as "salad niçoise". He also enjoys biking, camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
He currently lives in downtown Salt Lake City with his wife, "Mrs Bill" his son "Little Bill", his daughter "Little Mrs. Bill" and his two cats, G. Gordon Liddy and Rush Limbaugh. Bill is a fan of movies, having gone so far as to say that he would like to be able to see every movie that is released, even the really bad movies. Some of Bill's stories relate to raising his live-in family as well as a family from a previous marriage who still live in Ogden. He is often trying to discover educational outings for his intellectually curious son "Little Bill". One such trip led to a children's library and a tour of a giant colon model. [3]
Bill has spoken on air about a brother Noel that committed suicide on September 23, 2009. Allred stated on the September 22, 2011 broadcast of the Radio From Hell show, that he has some of his brother ashes in a box in his basement. Also, by coincidence, his wife had a family member that passed away on the same day.
Bill regularly performs different voices and impressions during his reading of the news. The most popular include his German, Swedish, and Namibian accents. Also popular is his Strom Thurmond-like impression of Utah Legislator Chris Buttars and his bloviating reproduction of former U.S. Congressman Chris Cannon. In the past, Bill frequently appeared as William Shatner in order to wish friends of the program a "Happy Birthday", though appearance of this feature has become rare in recent years. In 2007, Bill performed the voice of Senator Larry Craig, the infamous Senator caught by police in a Minneapolis Airport bathroom stall for sex solicitation.
Allred was an extra in the Robert Altman movie Nashville. According to Bill, he is in a crowd scene and is distinguishable by his Budweiser shirt and sunglasses. He is also the star of Trent Harris' film Delightful Water Universe.
Gina Marie Barberi grew up in Roy, Utah, the daughter of famed Utah radio show host Tom Barberi and her frequent foil of a mother, "The Sainted Mary Claire". She was re-married in February 2005 to Joe. Barberi has three children, Festus (a son from her first marriage to "the Pirate"), Jonesie and Mohammad . Gina frequently expresses her fondness for celebrity news, gossip and rumor. To that end, she receives a Cosmo subscription for each Christmas from Allred. However, in May 2007, she stated that she had "seen and read" all the magazine had to offer and no longer desired the subscription. A good deal of Gina's personal life has been made public on the air, such as her experiments with thong underwear, her breast enlargement surgery, her 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, her Hawaiian-based wedding, and her elementary school aged son's penchant for hard rockers AC/DC. She is a picky eater, refusing to eat such common staples as cheese, tomatoes, honey, or seafood due to her dislike of their texture. When ordering a hamburger from either the Crown Burgers or Training Table restaurants, she insists on only having meat and bread. No lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, or condiments. Her husband "Joe" has attempted, largely unsuccessfully, to broaden Gina's culinary horizons.[14] Although, recently, they enacted a rule at the Jones household that there would be no special meals (not in Gina's case of course), but they're hoping to correct Festus and prevent Jonesie from being picky eaters.
Gina possesses several phobias, including wind chimes, shower curtains, sculptures depicting children, mountain lions, the wind, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and killer bees. (The first two have been explained by Gina's childhood exposure to horror movies.) In order to avoid being assaulted, Gina says she pretends to talk on the phone while walking through a parking lot, and if Joe is not home she will keep her cellular phone under her pillow, and turns on the TV (which cannot be visible from any window or someone might want to steal it) so it sounds as if people are talking if she is home alone.
Though Jackson and Allred will admit to occasionally exaggerating their own traits and behaviors for comedic effect, they insist that Barberi does not do so; her radio persona is not an act.
Richard Thomas Steadman is the Radio From Hell show "fresh-faced Mormon Sr. Executive Producer and Grassroots Outreach Coordinator". He is not a host on Radio From Hell, but he does appear sporadically on the show with anecdotes of his own. He began as an intern for Kerry, Bill and Gina, but he eventually became a paid employee of the station. Richie hosts "The Richie T Experience" on Saturday mornings on X96. Richie is a graduate of Southern Utah University, and was a DJ on the radio station there. He also participated in the SUU show choir Acclamation. Richie is currently attending the University of Utah. During the summer of 2009, Richie attended a few Second City workshops in Chicago. One of the classes attended was actually Clown College, where Richie found his inner clown and gave it the name Davis.
Allred reads the newspaper because he claims that 90% of the listeners won't. He reads news stories from The Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret Morning News, USA Today, and various internet sites. The word, "opinnuendo" is a portmanteau of "opinion" and "innuendo", coined in 2004 due to complaints about the hosts' editorializing. Recently a voice mail only line was introduced as the drunk dial line. After many, many a drunks called in, including Kerry while visiting San Francisco for the weekend, it was changed to the "opinnuendo" line. Even after the change, drunks still called in and left messages, RFH then encouraged non-drunks to call in as well.
On alternating Tuesdays a character named "Punk" calls into the show to review B movies, mostly of the horror genre. Titles have included the elevator based The Shaft, the medieval Barbarian, the animated Li'l Pimp, and the futuristic Dream Warrior.
Punk gives a summary of the cast list and plot, and then plays a very poor recording of a scene from the movie. Punk rates the movies on a scale of 1 to 4 Prozac pills as well as a handful of supplemental medication like Wellbutrin or Claritin. Punk then recommends junk food to consume while watching the movie, such as flapjacks and syrup, RC Cola, Star Wars breakfast cereal, Ring Pops, candy necklaces, or a Zagnut Bar.
One feature on the show, "Boner of the Day" (formerly "Boners in the News") is referred to as the "feature that won't go away." The term boner is now used to mean "a mistake", though the feature originally was called the "morning boner", and featured more sexual innuendo.
The feature presents three current event articles that display "bad, stupid, or funny human behavior". Bill re-titles and reads the three articles. After all three candidates are read, listeners to the program can call, text, or e-mail in their votes. The story which receives the most votes is crowned "Boner of the Day". A local resident and entrepreneur, Dave "The Flower Guy" Matson enters the studio on Friday, towards the end of the show, to choose one of the daily winners as "Boner of the Week",[2] In 2006, an attempt has been made to crown "Boner of the Month", "Boner of the Quarter", and "Boner of the Year" using online web polls. The hosts are not confident that these additional "Boners" will be presented in future years.
Every other Wednesday, Radio From Hell presents "Things That Must Go". Each host then presents a list of pet peeves. The list has included Dr. Phil, The Buggles, "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep", The Orlando Jones Show, Rachael Ray, fake British accents, and public bathroom stalls without a hook on the door.
Alternating with the hosts' irritations is the "Listeners' List of Things That Must Go", for which listeners are encouraged to send in E-mails detailing the things they feel "must go".
Each Thursday during the eight o'clock hour, Radio From Hell invites a different member of the community in for a short interview followed by a question-and-answer segment with listeners. The feature is introduced by the song "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood" from Sesame Street. Past guests have included "Ask a Brain Surgeon", "Ask an Escort", "Ask a Hypnotist" and "Ask a Swinger".
On Thursday at 9:00am, Jeff Vice, a movie critic formerly of The Deseret Morning News, visits the studio and presents his reviews of the current movies, more formal versions of which are then available in the paper and online the next day. Jeff will often give alternative ratings and reviews for geeks, i.e., giving Spider-Man 2 3½ stars in the paper and 4 stars for geeks. Jeff Vice can also be heard weekly with host Kerry Jackson on the Geek Show Podcast.
Bill Frost is the TV columnist for the Salt Lake City Weekly newspaper. Monday mornings he enters the studio and informs the hosts and listeners of all the TV shows that are starting, ending, or doing something special.
The neglected news, Bill's favorite news, consists primarily of celebrity-related news which Gina refers to as "THE NEWS". As of October 2007, Jackson has referred to this segment as the "Celebutard News". Bill, confessing frequently that he despises this feature, reads the news and intentionally mauls the names of celebrities into often unrecognizable forms. For example, Jennifer Aniston becomes "Jamima Amadon", Brad Pitt becomes "Brill Pim", Oprah Winfrey becomes "Orca Winkie", and Justin Timberlake becomes Jumpin Tamberman. Bill is also well known for pronouncing words phonetically which adds extra spark to his reading the otherwise boring news. Bill's new-found love of celebrity has eclipsed his love of sunshine, puppies and his children, although the latter wasn't really a contest.
Laughingly described as a new and innovative segment - the hosts take calls from listeners about any topic. The name for the segment comes from an old movie clip that Kerry plays before every call. This segment was developed out of necessity to fill time one day and is used sporadically for the same reason.
Every few months, Kerry takes over a 30 minute to hourlong segment of Radio From Hell to host his own "Geek Show". This is usually done when Bill and/or Gina have other engagements, or will be out of town. The show features regulars like Jeff Vice, Scott Pierce, Punk, Derek Hunter, Shannon Barnson and other local Geek Friends of the Program. They speak about all things geek: comics, movies, TV, toys, role-playing games, video games, etc. Other more famous guests have included local comic book authors and artists such as Mike Allred. Kerry and co. recently welcomed several attendees from a sci-fi convention being held locally. Their guests included David Prowse of Star Wars fame, and Garrett Wang and Chase Masterson from Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, respectively. The geeks were particularly excited to interview Chase and listen to music from her CD, "Thrill of the Chase".
In June 2008, Kerry created a longer and exclusively online version of the Geek Show Podcast. The podcast is generally recorded in Kerry's basement on Sunday afternoons, complete with alcoholic beverages. The permanent panel includes Host Kerry Jackson, Film Critic to the World Jeff Vice, Salt Lake Tribune Television Critic Scott Pierce, Big Shiny Robot's Bryan Young, SLUG Magazine's Film Critic Jimmy Martin, Geek culture expert and Childrens Educator Shannon Barnson and game enthusiast Leigh George Kade. It also occasionally features Comic book illustrator Derek Hunter and Marcus, the runner up on the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing and the current Mayor of Comedy. The Geek Show Podcast can also be found on iTunes, and http://www.thegeekshowpodcast.com/
Replacing the discontinued Margaret Ruth Love Psychic segment, every Friday morning the hosts have a rotating cast who, in addition to the hosts, answer questions relating to relationships. Guest hosts rotate between love psychic Margaret Ruth, divorce attorney Wade Taylor, professional life coach Bruce Solomon and Sister Dottie S. Dixon of the Spanish Fork Ward.
Each October, usually close to Halloween, Bill Allred portrays the character of "Chainsaw Guy", the guy with the chainsaw and hockey mask at the end of a typical spook alley. Kerry introduces Chainsaw Guy and illuminates the audience as to Chainsaw Guy's credentials as a couple's counselor and sex therapist. Listeners are then invited to call in and ask Chainsaw Guy for advice. Chainsaw guy, who never removes his mask, and consistently carries his chainsaw with him, then proceeds to give advice to the listener. The advice can be somewhat hard to understand due to the mask and the gas-powered tree-trimming implement. When Chainsaw Guy began his career, all he could afford was an Eager Beaver. This saw was replaced by a larger and more powerful Husqvarna, which has since been upgraded to a Pullen. This is one of Gina's favorite segments of the year.
Listeners of the Radio From Hell show are referred to as "Friends of the Program". Sometimes this is further categorized as "Gay Friends of the Program", "Incarcerated Friends of the Program", and so forth. There are a few Friends of the Program who have become more than just listeners.
'Atropos' is a friend of the program, as opposed to an employee of the radio station. He wishes to keep his anonymity as he fears his career could be negatively affected by his participation. He lives in Utah County, a notoriously conservative area of the country. After listening to as much of the show as he is able, he authors the show notes and posts them to the LiveJournal page. According to the show, 'Atropos' works at a landfill and listens to the show as he scares away seagulls. The show notes can be found at http://radiofromhell.livejournal.com/
'Nancy Grace' is the moniker used on Radio From Hell by noted Salt Lake City defense attorney Edward K. Brass. He frequently calls into the show to provide humorous one-liner comments about the current topic, such as, "I thought Julia Roberts was playing Seabiscuit?". 'Nancy', with a healthy dose of satire, claims to be married to 'Ann Coulter.' 'Nancy' claims to worship the fictional deity, Crom, and often sends the show messages that ostensibly originate from Crom.
In December 2006, Radio From Hell produced a CD, Radio From Hell: Songs From the Big Chair. The title (in reference also to a Tears for Fears album) related to a chair featured on the cover, which is a semi-famous Beaver, Utah, landmark. The CD contained segments suggested by Radio From Hell listeners, and ultimately selected by Richie T.
The CD was part of Radio From Hell's yearly fund-raiser for The Road Home, a non-profit organization which helps the homeless; it was sold for $10.
On the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Radio From Hell threw a big birthday party for those people who had birthdays on, or around, the attacks. Listeners also requested a re-reading of a letter from listener, "Don", who authored an e-mail to the show on September 12, 2001.
In 2004, an advertising campaign for the show caused rumors that a same-sex marriage proposal was afoot in the area. "Rainbox billboards" featured the likeness of a typical, small-town Christian church in front of a rainbow, with the caption "Alternative Lifestyle? 'Til Death Do Us Part, " during an election season in which Utah voters were faced with the question of passing an anti-gay marriage amendment.[15]
Radio From Hell has won the Salt Lake City Weekly's reader's-choice award for Best Radio Show at least nine years in a row (2002,[16] 2003,[17] 2004,[18] 2005.[19] 2006,[20] 2007,[21] 2008,[22] 2009,[23] and 2010[24]).
Radio From Hell is the longest running radio morning show in the Salt Lake City, Utah area.[2]
Radio From Hell is the highest rated radio show by 18-34 year olds in the Salt Lake City market, according to Arbitron's Summer 2006 report.[2]
In its 2006 summer double issue, Rolling Stone named KXRK (Radio From Hell's host station) as one of the top five rock stations in the country.[1]