The Chart Online

DJ gives up big-city radio for small town fun
Allison Rosewicz

Editor-in-Chief

He s rude, he s rowdy, he s The Rat.

Johnny The Rat has made a name for himself as one of KJML Rock 105.3 s, a member of Petracom Media, most popular disc jockeys.

So where exactly did he get that name?

Johnny grew up in Jefferson City and often ate at Johnny s Pizza and Steakhouse with his friends.

This Greek, slimy guy owned it, so we called him The Rat, he said. We always figured he was on the run from the mob. I stole the name.

Johnny started broadcasting in 1993, right out of high school, working out of a garage. His first real job was at an oldies station, KJMO, playing commercial spots during St. Louis Cardinals games for $4.25 an hour.

He got the job because the other hired hand did not come to work.

My whole radio career has been based on people not showing up to work, he said.

Johnny moved on to broadcasting in Kansas City a couple of years later.

It ruined me in radio for the rest of my life, he said.

He also said the corporate power at larger stations like the one in Kansas City made him lose respect for radio. He said he is happy at a smaller station like 105.3 because the disc jockeys have control over what music they play.

I d love to work at The Port in St. Louis because they make sick money, he said. But the one thing that would stop me is corporatization. Also, too, it s so easy to get fired anymore.

Johnny said Rock 105.3 s playlist is 600 songs long, while larger stations rotate 300 songs.

The bigger the town, the smaller the playlist gets, he said.

After quitting his job in Kansas City, Johnny moved in August 1999 to Joplin where his mother already lived. He refused to remain in radio, so he got jobs flipping burgers at Bonanza and selling meat for Harker s.

One night, a friend from Jefferson City who worked at KLIK and now works at XM Satellite Radio in Washington, D.C., came to visit Johnny. During a night of drunken madness, his friend convinced him to consider radio again.

The next day they called the program director, Kevin Welch, and set up a tour of the station.

It s crazy, he said. I went home and thought about it and wanted to do it. The whole year I was down here, I could have been doing this. I just needed to get off my ass.

Johnny also enjoys working at 105.3 because he likes the music. Prior to his job at KJML, he had never worked at an alternative station before.

Before I worked here, I owned six albums - three David Bowie, the White Album [by the Beatles], Sixteen Stone [by Bush] and Ten [by Pearl Jam], he said. I always like Green Day and stuff like that, I just didn t like spending the money on CDs. When Napster came out, I was in heaven.

Since beginning his job at 105.3, however, Johnny has become a fan of more rock music. His favorite artist is still Bowie, but he also likes more recent bands like Foo Fighters and Radiohead.

He also said since he has started working at the station, its playlist has broadened.

Before me, they wouldn t even think about playing a Rage [Against the Machine], he said. We ve since kind of beefed it up.

Johnny said his style of broadcasting does not appeal to everyone.

The most often-asked question I get is, How do you keep from cussing on air?, he said.

He is not afraid to express his opinions, and he purposely advocates his belief in the legalization of marijuana. Every week day at 4:20 p.m., he plays a minute-long bong hit.

I don t think there s anything wrong with smoking a joint every now and then, he said.

I d rather sit in a whole room of potheads than drunks.

When Johnny first started working at 105.3, he said a restaurant, car place and huge shopping center pulled their advertising.

If it would have been any other place, I d be blown out of here immediately, he said. Most of the time I just get callers telling me I m a jackass.

In fact, he would not give his last name for this story for fear of the backlash from some readers and listeners.

My name is in the phone book, man, he said. I can t imagine what would happen if some people knew my last name.

Matt Johnston, sophomore management major, worked at 105.3 for five years, including a couple of years with Johnny. He also used to play basketball with Johnny s younger brother.

If they re listening to that station, and they get offended, they shouldn t be listening to it, Johnston said. He [Johnny] looks at things from all aspects, and a lot of other people don t.

Mark Peron, sophomore undecided major, used to live next door to Johnny and had a friend who worked with him at the station. He said Johnny s antics actually bring in more listeners than complaints.

Despite the complaints from some listeners, Johnny said the perks of working at the station override the disadvantages. He often receives free CDs and other items from record companies, as well as free concert tickets. He also said he gets to hang out with bands.

Most of all, Johnny likes the community in which he works.

I like it here a lot, he said. People ask me why, but I really do like it. I wouldn t ever go back to Kansas City.

Johnny said Southern students are some of his best listeners.

Southern s been really cool to me, he said. I really like the school. I really wish I would have gone there.

He also likes to promote local bands.

From day one, we ve had a policy if you have a local band that doesn t sound like you recorded in a shoe box, we ll play you, he said.

The station will also allow bands that do not have good a demo to record a better one in the studio.

A lot of people will listen to him one day, then people will go and buy the CD if they like the music he s playing, Peron said.

KJML also broadcasts a locals-only show every Sunday night.

Johnny broadcasts 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and occasionally works on the weekends.

He s real unique, Johnston said. He s pretty funny. And he s pretty creative to be able to think of stuff for a radio program every day.