I guess you could start by saying that I'm happiest when I have something smelly in my hands. That's right...I like to fish...to excess. Aside from fishing however, what I do for a living is also my hobby, because I love radio. I started out in radio in March of 1985 doing the overnight shift on the weekend on a small AM Oldies station in Lafayette. Within a short period of time I had moved up to a full time position at that same station doing the 10pm to 2am shift. A little over a year later, and at about the same time that U.S.L. was inviting me to leave, I was offered a job doing the 6 to 10pm shift at a station in Baton Rouge. So at 19 and scared witless I moved out of moms and out of town...unfortunately leaving the prospect of finishing college behind me.
In as much as radio can be a very transient business the ensuing years saw me move from Baton Rouge, back to Lafayette, to Alexandria (yuck), Shreveport, Back to Lafayette again, Back to Shreveport, Lafayette one more time, and finally in the spring of 1992 I moved Lake Charles for a position as the 6pm to midnight d.j. on KBIU. At various times I've done most of the different shifts on KBIU, taking over mornings in the spring of 1996. In that time KBIU has been owned by 3 different companies, I've worked for 7 different program directors (including myself for a while) and 11 different general managers.
Shortly after moving to Lake Charles I met the love of my life, Tina. As soon as I met Tina, I knew what it was like to have the overwhelming desire to share the rest of my life with someone. On September 2nd of 1995 Tina and I were married and everyday she continues to bring more joy into my life. Tina and I do not have any children yet, although we hope to soon. We do however have 2 cats and one very spoiled dog, Sunny the Irish Water Spaniel. Tina and I share many interest, she likes to catch fish although she gets a little impatient if they aren't biting, we both love cooking and eating gourmet food, and we both like gardening. Tina also enjoys Yoga, but I always tell her that if I wanted that much exercise I'd get up to change the channel instead of using the remote.
In the 7 years that I have been doing the morning show I've had several partners, and done the show solo as well. Previously all of my morning show partners had been fellow d.j.'s who had been in radio for a while. In August of 2002 I was in a period of doing the show solo, when I was asked if I would do an interview with a comedian that was performing in town. I gave the comedian a call and told her that she was welcome to be on the show, but that she had better be funny or I would rip her on the air. The next day Jen Kober walked into my studio and stormed into my life. Jen was hilarious, and immediately we became fast friends. I asked Jen if she would like to be a regular weekly guest on the show. Since Jen was performing in town every week, her guest appearances on the show benefited both of us. She brought much laughter and her unique perspective to the show and in return she got to promote her weekly gigs.
By the end of 2002 I had gotten budget approval to begin searching for a new full time partner on the morning show. I didn't have to search far. Jen loved the idea of being on the show full time, and together we began campaigning to get her the job. She showed up for the morning show every morning for 3 months on her own time (read, for free). The company that owns KBIU had some reservations about the fact that she did not have a lot of radio experience, however once they heard the chemistry between us on the air, and read all of your letters and emails, they made the decision to hire her on April fools day of 2003. That is how the B Morning Buzz with Justin and Jen came to be. I hope you enjoy listening to it, as much as we enjoy doing it.
