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Gonzo Greg Spillane (born March 28, 1965) is an American radio personality best known for various Morning Radio broadcasts, including ''The Big Dumb Show'' and ''Gonzo in the Morning''.


Biography


Early life

Spillane is a native of
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, but he moved to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 1978. Always wanting to work in radio, he began attending Long Beach City College in 1984 to pursue an associates degree in telecommunications.


Career

Gonzo began his radio journey in 1984 as an intern at
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...
radio station KNAC in the Los Angeles area. At the time, KNAC was an alternative rock station. When the format changed to a "Pure Rock" format, many of the former DJs left the station, giving Gonzo his first opportunity to move from intern to DJ. He started with the overnight shift before being moved to the night shift. In 1989, at the peak of glam metal's heyday, he was assigned to the coveted morning show, effectively launching his career. Some notable moments from his tenure at KNAC include: Being the first DJ in the world to play Motley Crüe's " Dr. Feelgood", when the band brought in a test pressing, debuting the band
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
, and providing a video voice-over for "
Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...
", the last
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...
album featuring front-man Rob Halford. It was also at KNAC that he acquired the radio name "Gonzo Greg". When Gonzo left KNAC in 1991, he was immediately hired at
WMMR WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. There he hosted nights, and his show boosted ratings dramatically, becoming #1 among listeners. In 1993, while at WMMR, Gonzo was offered a morning show position at KRXX ("93X") in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. When WMMR would not match the more lucrative offer during contract renegotiation, Gonzo left Philadelphia. Unfortunately, his stay at 93X was short, as the station was sold in 1994, a few months after his hiring. During his time there, he hosted segments for
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
's "RadioActive Television", and
Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, musician and activist. He is known for his role/inspiration in the marijuana industry, his Cannabis (drug), marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movie ...
surprised them with a guest appearance on their final broadcast. Gonzo was promptly picked up by WTFX-FM in
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, for their morning show. While working at WTFX-FM, he also hosted a variety of local television segments. After leaving WTFX-FM, Gonzo went straight to work at KCAL in San Bernardino, California, where former KNAC co-worker Rick Shaw was now program director. He continued to host mornings at WTFX until 1997. Gonzo's next stop was WKRK in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, when it was K-Rock, to work for legendary programmer John Gorman. He began working there as host of the PM drive, until the format was changed to "Extreme Radio", during which time he moved to afternoons. When the station changed formats, this time to "FM Talk", he hosted mid-days with co-host Erin Carmen. After a few months, Erin left Detroit to work in Chicago, and Gonzo continued hosting solo, before moving off-air to work as Production Director until mid-2000. From Detroit, Gonzo went on to WRZX (X103) in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. It was here that he created
The Big Dumb Show
' with co-hosts Don Stuck and Beau Asner. The morning show was a success, with ratings at one point surpassing '' The Bob & Tom Show''. Highlights from ''The Big Dumb Show'' include "Who Wants to Get Married at XFEST" (featuring reality TV star Rick Rockwell), where Gonzo dressed as the Pope, and their "Pumpkin Propulsion" competition, which made international news. Due to budget cuts, Gonzo and his co-hosts, which later included Nicole Padberg, left X103. It was not long after their departure from X103 that Gonzo and Nicole were approached by KVGS in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, to host the morning show at the new Area 108. ''The Big Dumb Show'' was renamed to ''Gonzo in the Morning'', and Gonzo won the Las Vegas Weekly's Readers' Choice Award for "Best Radio Personality". ''Gonzo in the Morning'' continued until summer of 2007, when they were let go due to budget cuts. Gonzo worked at KVGS again in 2009, first hosting PM drive, then mornings again. The station changed formats to BOB-FM, and he continued to work mornings until his departure from the station in 2013. On January 8 and 9, 2016, Gonzo participated in the 30th anniversary KNAC reunion. On January 8, a podcast hosted by former KNAC DJ Ted "Thrasher"/"Thrash Pie" Pritchard, called "Thrashpie Radio", held a special show that featured many of the stations DJs, production directors, and other former employees, sharing stories about their time at the station. Also included were audio clips from various KNAC events, as well as bumpers and promos. On January 9, Los Angeles rock station
KLOS KLOS (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "95-5 KLOS") is a commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Group, Meruelo Media. KLOS airs a mainst ...
hosted a five-hour KNAC tribute, led by Stew Herrera, which duplicated KNAC's format, complete with jingles, bumpers, clips, and songs that were iconic to the station. Interviews were conducted with
Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax, of which he is the sole continuous member. Ia ...
, Rob Halford, and Lars Ulrich. Aside from Gonzo and Stew, other former DJs present included Long Paul, Thrasher, and Dangerous Darren.


Current

Gonzo continues to reside in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he works as a
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
talent. He also moonlighted as an announcer for the local
roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...
league, the Sin City Roller Girls, through their 10th season. He continues his love of radio wit
Gonzo.fm
The
internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
stream regularly features complete
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
s of various incarnations of the show, usually on the anniversary of their air date. He is also a semi-regular guest host on the podcast
Phil Hulett and Friends
, which is hosted by former KNAC DJ "Philthy Phil" Hulett, and produced by former KNAC DJ Mike Stark. The show is broadcast from L.A. Radio Studio in San Pedro, California. After a several-year stint working as the sound engineer for the Nuclear Bombshells (a post-apocalyptic burlesque troupe), Gonzo is now the program director for Highway Radio. Broadcasting out of Pawn Plaza (where Pawn Stars is filmed), the studio is responsible for three long-standing stations that broadcast between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.


Influences

Among Gonzo's influences was
WRKO WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portio ...
-AM morning host Dale Dorman; his first time on the air was calling in to win a contest. He knew for certain he wanted to be a radio DJ when his father took him to WBCN in Boston. He saw Tony Baradini through the window, and he sat watching the DJ for an hour while his dad conducted business. WBCN morning host Charles Laquidara, who hosted a weekend show under the alter-ego "Duane Ingalls Glasscock", was also a huge inspiration. His biggest influence, though, was Frazer Smith of
KLOS KLOS (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "95-5 KLOS") is a commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Group, Meruelo Media. KLOS airs a mainst ...
. Other influences include Freddie Snakeskin,
KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
's
Jed the Fish Edwin Jed Fish Gould III (July 15, 1955 – April 14, 2025), known to radio listeners as Jed the Fish, was an American disc jockey who hosted afternoon drive on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, from 1978 to 2012. He interviewed alternative acts such as ...
, and Dr. Johnny Fever of ''
WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences obs ...
''.


Style

Gonzo Greg (also called Gonzo, Gonz, or The Gonz) derives his style of reporting from Hunter S. Thompson's
Gonzo Journalism Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to descri ...
, as his name is a tribute. His entertainment can sometimes be crude, and most generally humorous. He tends to report the news with a disregard for accuracy and leans more toward delivery and humor. His daily routine of Morning Radio games, criticism of government and pop culture, and constant sarcasm has resulted in a cult following of listeners, some listening via streaming
internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
.


References


External links

*
Gonzo.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzo Greg American radio personalities Living people 1965 births