Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/870419
t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 12 Spotlight Plenty of Houstonians wake up to the voice of ROD RYAN, whose edgy, high-energy radio show airs 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays on 94.5 The Buzz (KTBZ-FM). After nearly 30 years on the air, Ryan has built a loyal following with his larger-than-life personality. A Houston transplant by way of Buffalo and New Orleans, Ryan is as committed to raising awareness about breast cancer and prostate cancer as he is to The Rod Ryan Show. Q | Growing up, did you dream of becoming a radio host? A | No. I was a failed rock star. I was playing in bands—one was called Cracked Alley. No, we didn't do crack; we weren't druggies. I don't even have a good story about the name, it was just silly, hair band metal. We did a big show for Warner Bros. and they passed on us and I said, 'That's it.' We were packing up and we were going to go to Los Angeles. This is pre-Nirvana, so everyone looked a little different and sounded a little different, too. I just said, 'No, I'm not going,' and I quit the band. We had done a bunch of radio inter - views and stuff when I was in the band and I said, 'Well, if I can't be the band, I'll be the guy who interviews bands. Maybe I'll go for radio.' But I wasn't talking into my hairbrush when I was a little kid. Q | Was radio different than you expected? A | I was always a huge fan of the radio and music was a huge part. Most people get into radio because they love music. Anybody that wants to intern here or work here—outside of people who already know and have done radio before—I break their hearts and I say: 'We aren't, like, rocking out in there. We're not jamming out, like, This is awesome! We are in there shuffling paper, getting traffic ready and news stories. We aren't listening to what we are playing on the air, we're just trying to get ready. I've got three minutes to figure out what I'm going to talk about next. When we get off the air, I'm here until 2 p.m. and I'm not planning any musical thing. I'm thinking about how I'm going to sell more t-shirts for the charity, this sales person wants me to do an appearance here, and how do I make this client happy?'