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THROWBACK: Bob Kevoian Of Bob And Tom Calls Into Hoppe Hour With Ryan Hoppe · Hoppe Radio (Hoppe Hour) With Ryan Hoppe

0:00
What up? What is happening? This is Hoppy Hour.
0:03
I am your host, Ryan Hoppy. And on the phone
0:08
line from the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom
0:11
show, Bob is on the phone line. What's up, man?
0:14
How you doing, Ryan? I'm doing great, man. First
0:18
of all, I'm a big fan. I used to listen to you.
0:21
I sort of picked up the reception when you were
0:23
on 100 .7 in Illinois, and I would listen when
0:27
I can. So this is an honor to have you on Hoppy
0:29
Hour. Well, thanks very much. It's my pleasure
0:32
to be here. And so the last two months you were
0:36
on. What seemed like a very nice vacation, I
0:38
saw you and your wife Becky would live tweet
0:41
it, and I was a bit jealous. It seemed like a
0:43
fun time. So how was your vacation this summer?
0:46
Oh, fantastic. Our main trip was through the
0:50
Adirondacks in New York. I think most people
0:53
think New York is just a big city, where in fact
0:56
it's one of the most beautiful states in our
0:58
country. And what were some of the best parts
1:03
about the vacation? Let's see. Traveling, camping.
1:09
We did, I guess, what you call a little boondocking
1:13
where you don't need electricity. You just run
1:17
off the land. Camp like you used to in the old
1:25
days, but you actually have an Airstream with
1:27
you. You don't have to sleep on the ground. But
1:30
it was a great trip. Saw a lot of places we had
1:34
never seen before. That's the beautiful thing
1:36
about traveling on highways. There's so much
1:39
in America to see that, you know, we want to
1:42
see as much as we can. So that's our goal here
1:46
in the future. Was it one of those, like, things
1:48
where did the vacation begin to drag on? Like,
1:52
were you itching to go back on the radio or did
1:55
you love every second? Oh, loved every second.
1:58
Absolutely. You know, there's a... Radio is a
2:01
fantastic form of media. I love it with all my
2:04
heart. But I didn't have to wake up at 4 o 'clock
2:07
in the morning. And it was nice to sleep in that
2:10
long. The body really enjoyed it. Does that take
2:15
a toll on you for the last, let's say, like 30
2:18
years to wake up every morning at 4? Or is that
2:22
something where you wake up every day and you
2:24
go, I love my job? Like, how does that work for
2:27
you? When the alarm goes off. It sucks to no
2:31
end. But once you get into the studio, it's fantastic.
2:36
The toughest part, in my opinion, they pay me
2:38
to get out of bed. So I struggle to get out,
2:44
but once you have your shower and a cup of coffee,
2:46
everything's right with the world, and you go
2:49
in and talk about it. People say, oh, you must
2:54
be used to this. No, no, you never are. It is
2:57
hard to get out of bed every morning. What is
3:00
the key to having a great show when you're on
3:04
very little sleep? Because I can imagine it must
3:06
be weird since you're heard in so many cities
3:09
when that mic's on and you're like, crap, I'm
3:11
talking on the radio. Do you ever have that moment?
3:14
Well, you have a good support staff. When you
3:18
have Tom, Christy, and Chick, it makes things
3:21
so much easier. They're great broadcasters. And,
3:24
you know, if one of us is not feeling well, someone
3:27
else picks up and you just keep going. And, yeah,
3:31
we can tell. I mean, we've been together for
3:33
so long. We can tell when somebody is not hitting
3:37
on all eight pistons. So it's a good mix with
3:43
the group. And we know how to, I guess, you know,
3:48
just. figure out what the other one's feeling
3:51
that day. If someone's not feeling all well,
3:53
I mean, you kind of step up and help them out.
3:57
What is it about everyone on your team that is
4:00
so special? Like, how have you guys made it work
4:03
for so long? Well, everybody brings it to the
4:07
show, and if you have a problem outside, you
4:12
don't bring it into the studio. You come in and
4:15
do your four -hour show, It's like, I don't know,
4:22
it's like being an actor or something where they
4:24
have to go on stage, they have to portray a part,
4:27
and no matter what's going on in their life,
4:30
they have to keep going. I mean, you can't walk
4:34
out being, say, a court jester and not be funny.
4:41
If you're not funny, you're not going to, well,
4:45
that's off at your head, I think. I don't know.
4:51
It's just a good group of people who are professionals,
4:56
and we know what we're being paid to do, and
5:00
we do it. How did you meet everybody on the Bob
5:04
and Tom show? I met Tom in Petoskey, Michigan.
5:09
I was working at a radio station, WMBN in Petoskey.
5:17
It was FM, AM. The AM was WPZ. Pardon me. And
5:22
I wasn't making a whole lot of money because
5:26
it was small -time radio, and I attended bar
5:29
at night to supplement the income. And Tom came
5:34
in after a Jay Giles concert, and I served him
5:38
a drink, and we started talking, and he came
5:40
by the station the next day, spoke with my owner
5:45
general manager. And she hired him as my program
5:49
director. We have been working together ever
5:53
since. And that was in 1980. What was it about
5:59
Tom that drew you in? Confidence. Humor. He was
6:08
a good guy, good hang. And were there some things
6:11
you guys would do to hang out? When you first
6:14
began doing a show, I feel like you guys don't
6:17
know each other that much. So would you guys
6:19
hang out outside of the show to get to know each
6:23
other? Oh, yeah, we did that for quite a while.
6:25
In fact, after the first year, we ended up being
6:31
roommates. So we got to know each other very
6:35
well. And it really helped with creating the
6:42
team. And it was, I guess, radio magic because
6:51
we never intended to be in radio. It was a total
6:57
mistake for us. I walked into a radio station.
7:02
the, you know, the NBN and WPZ. And I, you know,
7:08
my knowledge of radio was zilch. And I walked
7:10
in and asked if they needed someone to spin records
7:12
for the disc jockeys. And the general manager
7:17
guy, his name was Gary Buffington. He goes, no,
7:20
they do that themselves. Do you want to be a
7:22
disc jockey? I said, sure. And that's how I got
7:25
into radio. It was a total fluke. And meeting
7:29
Tom was a total fluke. Having a morning show
7:32
was a total fluke, never something that we prepared
7:35
for in life. It just happened. And I don't know
7:39
if that was the key to our success, but it certainly
7:44
helped. Who are some people that have helped
7:47
you and Tom in maybe giving you guys some advice
7:49
through all these years? Were there some radio
7:52
consultants, or were there people that just kind
7:55
of helped you along the way? No, it was since
7:58
we started in small -time radio. We kind of,
8:02
we had a, there was a guy that when I first got
8:05
hired by Gary Buffington, he was a great guy,
8:08
had been on radio forever, named Tom Chorley.
8:10
And Tom showed me all the ropes of what you do
8:13
and what you don't do. And so I learned, you
8:17
know, I guess it was kind of an on -air internship,
8:21
although I was being paid, to learn radio. And
8:25
the same thing happened with Tom while he was
8:28
in Deland, Florida. He was on air for a year
8:30
there. So we both learned what radio was. And
8:36
when we had finally met and we started goofing
8:41
around in the air, we knew what the rules were
8:43
and what they weren't and what we could do and
8:46
what we couldn't. And it just happened. We were
8:50
just two guys who wanted to make people laugh.
8:59
the small radio station in town to the large
9:02
100 ,000 -watt radio station in Petoskey. It
9:06
was WJML. And we did mornings, and we just kicked
9:11
ass. It was a lot of fun, and there were consultants
9:14
who would tell us, hey, you're doing it wrong.
9:19
But, you know, we were making people laugh. And
9:24
when the ratings came out, The day after the
9:28
consultant told us we were doing it wrong, we
9:31
came out with a 44 share in the morning. Oh,
9:34
my goodness. Yeah. And it was like, what? We're
9:38
doing it wrong? And next thing you know, we're
9:40
getting offers from around the country to go
9:44
places. And we got hired at WFBQ in Indianapolis.
9:51
And that was in 1983, and we have been there
9:53
ever since. What is the key to having great ratings
9:57
all these years, especially since you've been
10:00
at the same place all these years? Program content,
10:04
making your people laugh, making them, just keeping
10:11
them abreast of what's going on in the world
10:13
today, making fun of what's going on in the world
10:15
today, just giving them, I guess, the lighter
10:18
side of life. Instead of the 9 to 5, oh, I don't
10:24
want to go to work today routine, make them happy
10:28
to get in their car and take a lesson. If I knew
10:33
exactly what it was, I would be the richest man
10:36
in radio, but I don't. I don't know. It's just
10:40
the main thing is to, I guess, make your listeners
10:44
happy, if that's what you're intending to be.
10:47
If you're intending to be a... A news broadcaster,
10:52
well, you have to broadcast the news and you
10:53
have to do it, I guess, that will, a way to entertain
10:58
and inform is the key to good ratings, in my
11:02
opinion. How did it feel when you guys went from
11:05
just being on in Indianapolis to then being syndicated?
11:09
How did that work? Well, we had done 60 comedy
11:15
albums. and there was, I guess, a survey in the
11:20
radio industry asking who was the most stolen
11:24
from show and radio, and it turned out to be
11:26
us. We would put these comedy albums out, and
11:30
disc jockeys around the country would grab them,
11:32
and they'd play little pieces of it, but never
11:35
give us credit, or they would take one of the
11:38
bits on the album and re -record it and claim
11:44
it was theirs. So we decided, hey, if we're the
11:48
most stolen from Showell, why don't we try syndicating
11:52
and see if that works? And Frank Wood out of
11:57
Cincinnati had just acquired our radio station.
12:01
It was Broadcast Alchemy. It was the name of
12:04
his company. And he goes, hey, why don't we get
12:08
this syndication thing started? So we started
12:11
with... Evansville, Indiana, and Fort Wayne,
12:15
Indiana, just to stay with us. And it spread
12:21
like wildfire. We went from two affiliates to
12:24
150 affiliates in about two years. How does that
12:28
feel? Does it seem like real life, or does it
12:31
just seem like something that is fake? When you
12:34
go from having two towns to 150, what is that
12:38
like, Bob? Well, you know what? You don't realize.
12:42
I still don't realize that I have, I should say
12:46
that we have, listeners all over the United States
12:49
and, you know, parts of Europe and the World
12:53
Wide Web, which is amazing. But you're sitting
12:56
in a room with three other people, and all you
12:59
do is talk with them every morning, and that's
13:02
what radio is to me. I don't think of it as how
13:06
many people are listening. I think of it as I
13:08
go to the studio in the morning. and have the
13:11
time of my life. So I don't even think about
13:14
how many cities we're in. It's just go in there,
13:18
and I try to make Tom, Christy, and Chick laugh
13:21
as best I can. And now when you are syndicated
13:24
in all these different cities, were you ever
13:27
worried about the ratings in each town, or was
13:30
it one of those things where you just said, I'll
13:33
just keep doing my show and hope for the best?
13:37
Yeah, you just keep doing the show. If we, you
13:40
know, and when you move into a new city, it takes
13:43
a while for people to change their morning habits.
13:46
You know, they're used to what used to be the
13:49
rock station, and many people complain because
13:51
they don't get the rock music they once had.
13:53
And it takes a while for everyone to change,
13:56
you know, how they wake up. And once they get
14:01
a little hint of what's going on, they want,
14:03
oh, let me try that again. I'll try it again.
14:07
It usually takes one to two years to get decent
14:12
ratings in a city. And so far, we've had great
14:19
success. And we don't change anything to hope
14:26
that, oh, that someone at St. Louis is going
14:30
to really love us if we talk about St. Louis
14:32
all the time. No, what we do is... We talk about
14:35
the world and ourselves, and we may, you know,
14:37
make fun of ourselves. And in my opinion, if
14:40
you can make fun of yourself, it gives you carte
14:42
blanche to make fun of others. So that's what
14:47
we do, and you don't change to hopefully be big
14:54
in one city and small in the others. You make
14:56
it all the same. What are some of the most diehard
14:59
cities that you guys are syndicated in where
15:02
these fans are just so loyal? Believe it or not,
15:07
every one of them. We have the best listeners
15:10
in the world, and we're very fortunate to have
15:14
people who know who we are. It still blows me
15:18
away that this happened. It's just hard to believe
15:24
at times. What is it about your fan base that
15:28
is so great? Why are they the best in the world?
15:31
They're, in my opinion, smart, funny. They're
15:36
educated. They're uneducated. They're just well
15:39
-rounded people who all they want, you know,
15:43
they can be doctors all the way down to, you
15:47
know, ditch diggers. All they want is a good
15:49
laugh, and everybody wants a good laugh. You've
15:52
had so many great moments over these years on
15:56
the Bob and Tom show. What are some that come
15:58
to your mind? Well, the biggest for me is having
16:02
the opportunity to interview Paul McCartney one
16:05
-on -one. That was, you know, a huge, huge Beatles
16:11
fan. And having that moment with, it was just,
16:15
you know, me and Paul, it was... The highlight
16:19
of my career, really. It was pretty special.
16:23
What is that like when you walk into the room
16:27
and there he is, Sir Paul McCartney? Did it seem
16:30
like real life? Were you nervous? How did this
16:33
go down? I was nervous, and it happened again.
16:38
It was something I got a phone call from our
16:42
program director the morning of his concert here
16:46
in town. And he goes, hey, Bob, would you like
16:50
to interview Paul McCartney? And I said, is this
16:54
a joke? And I said, I said, I'd love to. He goes,
16:59
well, be at the arena at, I don't know, probably
17:03
his show was at 8. I had to be there at like
17:05
5 or something. And I'm sitting in this room
17:08
listening to them sound check. I can hear them
17:12
in the distance. And it's over with, and next
17:15
thing you know, the door swings open, and there's
17:16
McCartney. And, you know, I was as nervous as
17:20
could be. I mean, what do you ask the man who's
17:22
had every question thrown at him? And you just
17:27
hopefully you're able to engage a conversation
17:32
with a guy, and you don't bore him to death.
17:35
So, you know, we had about a 15 -minute chat,
17:38
and, you know, it's still. as memorable as could
17:44
be. It was definitely a highlight. We've been
17:47
fortunate enough to meet many great celebrities,
17:50
and you just realize that, you know what, these
17:53
people are just like us. They are no different
17:56
than the rest of us. They just have their picture
17:59
in the paper more than we do, that's all. What
18:01
is the key to having a great interview, and what
18:04
do some people do wrong when these interviews
18:07
go down south real fast? Well, I'll be informative,
18:11
ask him questions that most people don't ask.
18:14
I mean, we had one of my favorite interviews
18:18
was when we had Michael Anthony from Van Halen
18:21
on. And we started talking about him as a kid,
18:25
finding out more about him as a human being.
18:28
I mean, did you know that he was a trumpet player
18:31
in a marching band? No. That's the kind of stuff,
18:34
you know, that people want to know more about
18:36
their celebs. You don't see in the tabloids.
18:41
Get in there and find out about them. And also,
18:45
you know, it's just like in journalism, who,
18:47
what, when, where, why. And it really does answer
18:53
and help you write questions and get good answers.
18:58
Now, when it comes to interviews, you guys are
19:02
so nice to comedians, giving them their big break.
19:05
How does it feel that you guys have helped launch
19:08
so many radio careers for comedians? Well, comedy
19:12
is what we do and what we enjoy. And the one
19:15
thing that we enjoy just as much as our listeners
19:18
is we love a good laugh. And if you're a good
19:21
comedian, we'll have you come on and hang with
19:25
us. truly funny, and then how many comedians
19:31
there are that are more like actors who have
19:35
memorized monologues, and they go out and do
19:37
a 45 -minute show. The ones who are truly funny,
19:41
that are just naturally funny, are the ones that
19:44
we like hanging out with, and they're usually
19:47
the ones who go on to great success. And again,
19:51
the reason we have them on is because we, just
19:54
like our listeners, love laughing. So what better
19:59
thing to do than to feature some of America's
20:02
greatest comics? Who are some of the best comics
20:06
that you guys have had on the Bob and Tom show?
20:09
Well, you go through George Lopez. We got George
20:14
Lopez. We started him when he was just a pup.
20:19
We were his first radio thing, and we had him
20:23
on as a regular. Both Tom and I were part of
20:26
George's. I should say George is part of Tom's
20:29
wedding. George is an old friend, and he's become
20:32
a huge star. Brad Garrett, Tim Allen, some of
20:38
my new favorites are Tommy Johnigan, Chad Daniels,
20:41
Jimmy Pardo. There are just so many great people
20:45
that are out there. And we've had hundreds and
20:48
hundreds of, I should say, thousands of comics
20:51
come through the doors, and every one of them
20:54
are brilliant. There are a couple of exceptions,
20:57
but we're very fortunate. And if you can hang
21:03
with us for three hours and just be funny, and
21:07
most of them aren't even using their material,
21:09
because they're just naturally funny people.
21:12
And it's a blast. I mean, again, it's all about
21:16
the laugh. And now, when did you guys begin putting
21:20
on live comedy shows? Oh, my. That would be more
21:26
of a question for Tom. He and some other folks
21:30
helped get that started. And Chick and Christy
21:35
go out on those all the time. I don't know. It
21:37
might have been 10 years ago. Now, with all the
21:39
comedians that you guys feature at the show,
21:42
how happy are they when they find out that they're
21:45
not going to be at a comedy club for once and
21:49
in front of a live, large audience? Oh, well,
21:53
for them it's tremendous because they don't have
21:55
to work Friday. It's Saturday instead of working
21:57
Wednesday through Sunday. So it's a two -city
22:02
gig, and they're in front of usually a sold -out
22:05
crowd. So, yeah, it makes them very happy to
22:07
be part of it. So now here are some big news
22:10
for the Bob and Tom show. You guys are going
22:13
to be going into the Radio Hall of Fame. When
22:17
did you guys first find out that you were going
22:19
to be nominated? Well, I didn't know I was nominated.
22:24
I found out, believe it or not, from a Twitter
22:28
follower that I'd gone, what's this all about?
22:33
And I went to the link that he had on his tweet.
22:39
And I said, I'll be damned, I'm nominated for
22:42
the Radio Hall of Fame. I had no idea. And then
22:45
when I found that out, it was, I think, two or
22:50
three days later that it was confirmed that we
22:52
were indeed being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
22:55
So it's a real, it's still a real shocker. How
23:00
honored are you? Does this make all the work
23:04
that you guys have put in all these years, does
23:07
it just make it even more worth it? Well, yeah,
23:10
it's nice being recognized by your peers. And
23:14
it's, you know, it's still. somewhat shocking.
23:19
I mean, we're just, you know, hanging out in
23:22
the studio, yucking it up, and all of a sudden
23:27
now we're Hall of Famers. It's kind of weird.
23:30
Yeah. Now, it won't be for a few more months,
23:33
but do you see you and Tom going to this event?
23:36
Yeah, it is next month. It's on the 5th of November,
23:40
and yeah, we are definitely attending. Because
23:43
that must be such an honor to have put in all
23:46
this work in radio and they nominate you into
23:49
the Hall of Fame. Now, for kids like me that
23:52
are breaking into radio in 2015, what is some
23:56
advice you would have for us? Well, again, it's
24:00
keep your listener entertained. It is entertainment.
24:07
That's why people tune in. They love being entertained.
24:11
They love being informed. They love laughing.
24:13
They just want to know what's going on around
24:15
them. And if you can do that, in my opinion,
24:19
that's the recipe for a successful show. And
24:24
now, where do you see radio going the next 10
24:27
years? Because it has changed so much in the
24:30
last decade because of PPM, this and that. So
24:34
what is the future of radio and podcasts? Uh,
24:38
radio and it looks like, and podcasts will be
24:42
around forever. The, the one thing about, uh,
24:45
uh, I guess broadcasting that it's kind of like
24:49
cable and satellite television now, or there's
24:53
a thousand channels. Which one do you watch?
24:55
Yeah. I mean, now that there's a, you know, there's,
24:59
I don't know how many podcasts, 10 thousands,
25:02
which one do you listen to? Uh, and radio stations,
25:06
there's, There's tens of thousands across the
25:09
country. Which one do you listen to? The one
25:12
you listen to is the one that entertains you,
25:15
and you will eventually find it. There's a lot
25:18
to go through, but, you know, I mean, what's
25:20
your favorite channel on satellite dish? There's
25:25
one that you always go to, and you'll eventually
25:28
find that broadcast entity that will entertain.
25:34
So, you know, there's always room. for more,
25:37
but people weed out the bad ones and we'll find
25:41
the good ones. And now, how much longer do you
25:44
see yourself in radio doing the Bob and Tom show
25:47
each morning? I'll always be in radio. You know,
25:52
I'm getting up in years. I don't know how much
25:54
longer my body will take it, but I just don't
25:59
know. Is it one of those things where you're
26:01
just going to sort of play it by ear since you
26:04
love doing the show each morning? Yeah, probably.
26:07
It's just right now, I just hope I wake up every
26:12
morning. Yeah. I do know exactly what you mean,
26:17
Bob. I'm the same way. I take each day as it
26:20
is and I just come here prepared to put on the
26:23
best show possible, which is what I respect about
26:26
you. The fact that you have spent all these years
26:29
putting in so much effort and so much passion
26:32
each and every morning to entertaining your audience.
26:35
So before I let you go, where can people find
26:38
your work online and on the radio? We are at
26:43
BobandTom .com and on the radio. There's too
26:47
many to memorize, but our mothership is WFBQQ95
26:54
in Indianapolis. And now, Bob, my ultimate goal
26:58
is to be the next outspoken person for my generation,
27:02
and you guys are one of my influences. So for
27:06
you to even call into my podcast is an absolute
27:10
honor. So, Bob, thank you so much for being on
27:13
Hoppy Hour. It means the world to me. Well, thanks,
27:15
Ryan, for inviting me, and great success to you
27:18
and your future, and radio is red hot. Thank
27:23
you, Bob. Have a good rest of the day. Bye -bye.
27:26
And that was Bob from the Bob and Tom show. I'm
27:31
in awe that he would even consider doing the
27:34
interview. What happened was I sent him a tweet.
27:38
I sent a lot of people tweets, celebrities, you
27:42
know, big -time radio names. Like I've sent them
27:45
to Howard. And you don't even think there's a
27:48
chance in hell that they would even come on your
27:51
show. But when I saw Bob tweet at me, yeah. I
27:55
would love to. Let's make that happen. I can't
27:59
explain how pumped I was and how much. That meant
28:03
to me being a 22 -year -old trying to break into
28:07
this business, being a 22 -year -old that has
28:10
loved this business since I was in fourth grade.
28:12
I remember they were on 100 .7 in Joliet, Illinois.
28:17
But the thing was, I lived in the Chicagoland
28:20
area, and that's a different city in Illinois.
28:22
So I would barely pick up the reception on the
28:26
Bob and Tom show. But each morning that I listened
28:28
to it, I absolutely loved it. Also, I respect
28:32
the longevity and the classiness that they have
28:36
brought to radio and the fact that they never
28:39
resort to exploitation or making fun of people.
28:43
The fact that he just wants to entertain people,
28:46
like he said, if it's someone working in an office
28:48
or if it's someone that's digging a ditch, that
28:51
he just wants to entertain them and to keep them
28:54
entertained. each and every morning as they go
28:58
about their 9 to 5 job. So the fact that Bob
29:02
would even come on the show means the world to
29:05
me. This has been Hoppy Hour. I am your host,
29:09
Ryan Hoppy, saying peace out. Hoppy Hour. Hoppy
29:14
Hour. This is an official broadcast of Hoppy
29:21
Radio. For more info, check out hoppyradio .com
29:23
and hoppysworld .com. Thanks for watching!