radio personality
A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...
best known for hosting "The Adventure Club" on
102.1 The Edge in Dallas. He is currently heard on
Z104.5 in
Tulsa
Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
.
He is known for bashing bands on-air and for discussing his personal life.
Career
Education and early work
Venable attended
Grapevine High School
Grapevine High School is a public high school located in the far northeast portion of Tarrant County in the city of Grapevine, Texas (USA). It is part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District.
Its attendance boundary include ...
and the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
. Given a high school internship by George Gimarc, Venable worked his way up to helping out with shows like "The Adventure Club" and "The Retro Show."
The Adventure Club
"The Adventure Club" aired intermittently on
KYSR
KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and owned by iHeartMedia. KYSR broadcasts an alternative rock format and is the flagship station of ''The Woody Show''. KYSR's studios are located in Burbank, whi ...
and
KDGE
KDGE () is a commercial radio, commercial radio station dually city of license, licensed to both Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. Star 102.1 airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December, a ...
, playing a mix of American and British indie rock, local, punk and classic alternative music. The show was responsible for breaking Texas bands such as Old 97's and
The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree is an American choral rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Tim DeLaughter. The band's pop and rock songs are augmented by a large vocal choir, and instruments such as flute, trumpet, ...
as well as internationally recognized bands such as
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
,
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
, and
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentAlex Luke) left for another job in St. Louis, Venable—though still inexperienced—was offered the hosting job in 1994. He asked fellow KDGE employee Keven McAlester to co-host. Most shows contained a healthy dose of bickering. McAlester left the show in 1997 for the film industry in LA; he went on to direct the feature '' You're Gonna Miss Me'' as well as music videos for Spoon and Old 97's.
Venable, who worked late nights, overnights, and weekends, was promoted to Music Director at 102.1 The Edge in 2006 but was laid off in 2007 due to budget constraints at Clear Channel.
He found a job at 98.7FM
KYSR
KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and owned by iHeartMedia. KYSR broadcasts an alternative rock format and is the flagship station of ''The Woody Show''. KYSR's studios are located in Burbank, whi ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
doing "afternoon drive" from 2 pm–7 pm. In February 2008, KDGE rehired Venable to do nights remotely from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. "The Adventure Club" was brought back in July 2008. He later switched to the 10 am–2 pm shift in Dallas.
Later work
Venable became Music Director of KYSR in 2009 and Program Director of KDGE in 2011. After being laid off again in December 2012, Venable started a music blog called A Wide Open Space.
In 2013, he was hired by Tulsa alternative rock station KMYZ as program director and afternoon personality. In 2015, he moved to the morning show at KMYZ.
He was given shout outs from
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
onstage in Dallas on the X&Y tour and in Tulsa by the band in 2016. Venable has hinted on the air that he and Chris Martin from Coldplay had a "serious personal talk" that day before the show.
In the fall of 2021, "Artifacts: Live At The Adventure Club" was released. The double vinyl collection was of DFW bands Venable had recorded in the radio studio. The proceeds went to charity and included
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer is the solo project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas.
He has released eight studio albums and several EPs. His fifth release, 2012's '' Lif ...
,
Eisley
Eisley is an American rock band from Tyler, Texas, originally consisting of siblings Sherri DuPree, Chauntelle DuPree, Stacy DuPree and Weston DuPree. Remaining recording/touring members are their sister Sherri DuPree, Sherri DuPree-Bemis and th ...
,
Old 97's
Old 97's is an American Rock music, rock band from Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have released thirteen studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and they have one live album. Their most recent r ...
and more.
Personal life
His favorite bands include
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
,
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
,
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
and
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
. He sang in tribute/cover bands dedicated to Bruce Springsteen and The Smiths, and he stated many times on-air that he wished he were a rock star. The Springsteen tribute band, which made annual performances, was called "Nightmare On E Street." It included members of the bands The Crash That Took Me and Here, In Arms. Panic (Smiths tribute) Has been active since 2012. They were once named best cover band in DFW by the Dallas Observer magazine. Over the years, they have opened for Blue October, New Politics and Andrew McMahon.