Lovers Lane
In The Flesh

Media: May 2016

| May 1, 2016

KOZ IE

Kevin ā€œKozā€ Koske mans the afternoon shift at WTMX-FM and he has one mission during that time.Ā  ā€œMy job description is to make sure youā€™re not doing yours.ā€

Koz grew up in the area. Despite having worked in various different markets around the country, this is where he discovered radio, and where he always wanted to work. And now heā€™s been doing it for more than a decade. ā€œIt will be twelve years in October. Trust me, I still walk into the station (WTMX, 101.9FM) every day and say, ‘wow. Itā€™s crazy.’ I remember the second radio bit me. It was exactly 33 years ago.Ā  I got the bug for radio when I was sent home from school sick one day, and I turned on Steve and Garry on WLS. I thought, ā€˜God, Iā€™d love to do that. Iā€™d love to work in my hometown doing radio.ā€™ And now I do, and Iā€™m working for this great company (Hubbard Broadcasting), working for great people like (Hubbard VP) Greg Solk and (Mix Program Director) Mary Ellen (Kachinske). Itā€™s a dream come true.ā€

Twelve years in radio at one music radio station is like a lifetime in the real world. ā€œIā€™ve been fortunate that anywhere Iā€™ve been, Iā€™ve put together decent runsā€”a couple of years, which as you mention, in radio is a longtimeā€”but now Iā€™ve put down roots here. Iā€™m a homeowner. Iā€™m part of a community. To be honest, itā€™s the sort of thing I donā€™t like to talk about. I feel like I should be knocking wood (laughs).ā€

His days are remarkably normal. Koz lives the lifestyle of his listeners.Ā  He works, he plays, and he does his best to spend as much time with his family as he can. ā€œI have a long commuteā€”about three hours on the train in and out. It allows me to prep and get stuff done on the way in, and decompress on the way home. My son is turning 10 in August, and I see him in the morning, and just before he goes to bed at night. Iā€™m able to catch more father-son time now than I was a few years ago when he was really active with stuff. Heā€™s a skater dude and if itā€™s got wheels, heā€™s on it, and we hang out at skate parks together. We make it work.ā€

That typical lifestyle has helped him connect with Mix listeners. ā€œEvery radio personality is told to go on the air and be himself or herself, but luckily we are given the freedom at the Mix to actually do that. Weā€™re allowed to be lifestyle-oriented. To be able to talk to people as if youā€™re sitting over the kitchen counter and chatting with themā€”or at the water cooler at work. Or like a bartender taking care of people, serving them drinks. I hardly ever talk about what Iā€™ve done.

I want to hear whatā€™s going on in their lives. Because of that approach, which we have all day at this station, I think The Mix has a unique position of being a radio station, without sounding like a radio station. Eric and Kathy start that first thing in the morning. We still play music, but everyone doesā€”and often the same music. So the difference is what do you do between the records?Ā  We give people a reason to listen and share their stories. The DNA of this radio station is very lifestyle and very Chicago.ā€ He also knows that this is often the toughest time of day for his listeners.

ā€œAround 2pm, after youā€™ve been productive all morning, gotten your errands done, and gotten your business done, you hit a wall and start staring at the clock. It happens to everybody. Iā€™ve been there myself. Youā€™re just looking for ways to kill some time and make it to the end of the day, and thatā€™s how I came up with my feature ā€˜Kill a Half Hourā€™. In the afternoon show you can do a segment thatā€™s a little bit slower pace. From 3:20 to 3:50, it allows us to make a ten minute feature into a 30 minute feature, and itā€™s a good time for people waiting in their cars in line for their kids at school. Itā€™s like a brain buster, and itā€™s something to help them get through that time.ā€

If it seems like Koz has a little more freedom than most afternoon music radio personalities, he would disagree with that assessment. ā€œBeing a former program director, I have a pretty good internal clock for when something is going a little too long. I always have my ā€˜outā€™ planned before I begin anything. If you donā€™t have your ā€˜outā€™ planned, you can keep going and going and going.ā€

Thatā€™s good advice for any radio personality, but itā€™s not Kevin Koskeā€™s only advice.Ā  ā€œIf you love the business and you love connecting to people, the other stuff doesnā€™t matter. It took me forever to realize that, but I do now. Twelve years at one radio station is a lifetime. How long will it last? Who knows? But Iā€™m going to enjoy every minute of it as long as it does.ā€ Koz can be heard every afternoon from 2-7pm on WTMX, 101.9 FM.

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  1. ThatGuySteve says:

    Great article from one of the best guys on earth. Congrats on all your continued success Kozman! Dig your show – Dig your gig brother!

    Steve