Up Close With the Pittsburgh Sports Report
WDVE's Jim Krenn

Famous to nearly every Pittsburgher with a working car radio, Jimmy Krenn is the star and co-host of the "DVE Morning Show" on 102.5 WDVE-FM. Krenn has been king of the morning drive for two decades now, first teaming with Scott Paulsen and now Randy Baumann. Krenn's many original on-air bits, song parodies and characters have made him much more than a disc jockey to legions of loyal listeners, as well as local athletes and media personalities. Krenn has become such a Pittsburgh icon that he was roasted in February at PNC Park by Pittsburgh's top personalities. Last month, Pittsburgh's number one radio personality sat on his back porch, enjoyed a cigar and chatted with PSR Editor Tony DeFazio.

TD: Jim, your first appearances on DVE were as a stand-up comic promoting your shows with Scott Paulsen - can you believe it's been 20 years?

Jim Krenn: Yeah it's amazing, Tone. I've had a lot of time to reflect on it, with the roast and everything lately. And it was late 1987, and I had been doing stand-up at that time for the previous six years, and I was headlining at Graffiti. DVE had a deal with Graffiti where the headliners would do a guest appearance on DVE. So I went on as a guest and I really hit it off with Scott and we became buddies. I had been doing a lot of impressions and characters in my stand-up act, and it was fun doing them on the radio, just goofing around as part of the conversation - that was new to me.

Also at that time, which I didn't even realize, they were changing everything at the station - new management was coming in. And the new programming director was Gene Romano, who was really a brilliant radio guy and is now a vice president at Clear Channel.

Anyway, I had designed my road schedule so that I would come home from the road for the month of December, and I'd do some colleges around here and other gigs, and then I'd head back on the road in mid-January. So right around Christmas, Gene said, "Jim, why don't you come in every Friday while you're here." So I thought that was great and I thanked him, and it was a lot fun, and Scott was great to work with and we had a good time.

Next thing you know, Gene said, "Why don't you stick around and sign a contract here for six months?"

And while the road was fun, and it was nice, it was still the road, you know? And I still had a lot of family and friends from growing up here, so I thought, "OK, that sounds good."

And I thought it was only going to last six months. I thought at the end of the six months I'd go back on the road. A lot of people told me that radio was tough and this was a hard market, and mornings especially don't last long, and basically said to just enjoy the six months.

After six months, I was really liking it and we had started to really click, and next thing I know they give me a year contract. And at that point, radio people were really telling me that mornings don't last long, and it's a really rough business, and in the blink of eye, man, it's 20 years.

TD: How did your stand-up comedy background mix into the sketch and character-driven stuff that's such a morning show staple?

Krenn: It's funny, but the nice thing about Gene Romano was that he just let me go. He let me do whatever I wanted to do. And a lot of radio people would have tried to make me conform into a DJ sort of style, but Gene didn't do that. He just said, "Jim, do what you do and don't worry about it."

And I grew up watching Saturday Night Live with Belushi and Ackroyd and those guys, and Second City TV with Eugene Levy and John Candy, and I loved that style of comedy - the skits and parodies. And because I liked to do impressions and characters, it just somehow blended and worked well on the radio. It lent itself to developing characters for the radio, and even though I really didn't know what I was doing it still worked because of that - because at that time it was really different. Now it wasn't exactly original - another local radio guy, Rege Kordic, had done that sort of thing - but it worked for me, and those characters just really hit.

There were four or five of them that I did at one time that first year that all took off, and I was able to write skits around those characters. Like Stanley P. Kachowski (a bumbling mall guard), Otis (a homeless guy), Scorekeeper (a take-off on sports-talk show callers)… they all came together that first year and just took off.

TD: Had you done a lot of skit or sketch writing before?

Krenn: Not really, but I was developing characters in my stand-up act, so it lent itself for me to learn how to skit-write. Once the character was developed, I could learn how to write for the character. Once I knew that particular character, I knew how to plug in things that would work for that character.

TD: Just this morning, you interviewed President Bill Clinton, and then I hear you asking Barack Obama a tax question. That's quite a long way from doing dirty jokes with Billy Elmer.

Krenn: (laughs) I guess God works in mysterious ways. Twenty years ago I would certainly not have been ready for that.

You're absolutely right, though, and I thought the same thing Tone. I was looking at this morning's show schedule, I saw President Clinton and Barack Obama on the sheet and I said to Randy, "I'm framing this thing, man!"

It was very surreal for me. After doing 5,000 shows, you do develop a certain comfort level and a certain confidence, and that's half the battle - having the confidence in your question. It's still a learning process, though, and one of the things I've learned over the years is to try to think what the people in their cars are thinking. And that's how that tax question came about.

TD: You and Randy seem to interact with the fans quite a bit at the live shows, the remotes and that stuff. How important is that aspect of the show?

Krenn: That's the core of the show. I think one of the reasons I really feel blessed comes from growing up in the Strip District. It's such a great location for Pittsburgh - you're close to the South Side, you're close to the North Side, you're close to Monroeville, you're close to the South Hills. And I had friends from all over - I got to know neighborhoods; I mean really got to know neighborhoods from the inside. And I've always respected everyone, which my mom and dad taught me.

And I really do enjoy it. I do enjoy talking to people, and I really did learn that God blessed me in the sense that I have the ability to make a few people laugh, so I enjoy sharing that. And I appreciate it every day.

TD: That doesn't fly if it's not genuine.

Krenn: You're right. One thing about radio - it's very revealing. You can't fake it. People can see right into your soul on the radio. People can see who you are after awhile, and to stick around, they have to know who you are.

TD: You've been doing some TV sports shows lately. How's that foray into television been?

Krenn: Well as a kid growing up in Pittsburgh I'm just a regular guy, which means I'm a sports freak. So it's a real treat for me when Jon Burton (Channel 4) calls and asks me to be on, because you guys are sports journalists, and I'm just the guy-like 90% of guys-who grabs the sports page and watches the Steelers, Pens and Pirates. But it's a treat for those guys to let me into their game a little bit. And it's a lot of fun, not only to joke around, but also to throw my two cents in.

I like to look at the positive side of, you know? As bad as the Pirates are, I'm just glad we have Major League Baseball in Pittsburgh. And the Pens have been tremendous and the Steelers, obviously. But this is such a sports town, and I think sports does bring our community together. I mean you can be on an elevator with someone and you start talking about the Pens, and now you're best buddies.

Best musical moment

When Joe Grushecky comes in, and he's doing an acoustic set right in front of me with just his guitar, it's surreal. Just seeing this great songwriter just laying out there for me, two feet away, a guy who hangs out with Springsteen and is a true legend, that's one that stands out.

Favorite comics

When I was about 18 or 19, I used to do some open stages. And I remember seeing Dennis Miller for the first time at a bar in Oakland called The Portfolio of all places, it must have been the late 70s. I was amazed at his stand-up even then, and being around him and watching his growth, he was always someone who impressed me. And I always liked the way he handled himself off the stage also.

And Jerry Seinfeld also. I worked with him a few times on the road. It was very interesting to observe him. It was like a marriage of the art and business. They way he approached things, the way he wrote, the way he approached it as a business, and he kind of taught me how to do that. Not approach is as a party but as a business also. He's a technician. He's the ultimate stand-up.

Jay Leno is the same way. I remember watching him as a kid and it's the same way - he's a technician, really a genius in the way he can craft a joke.

Worst interview

Hmm…that's a tough one…

I remember a Tom Cruise appearance…

Oh good call, Tone. That was a tough one for Randy and me. We just didn't know where to go with him because he was SO guarded. I remember asking him about his comedic influences, and he hit with me with Buster Keaton! I almost fell off my chair - Buster Keaton?? What do I do with Buster Keaton?

I remember too, one time Richard Lewis was a tough interview. He must been in a bad mood that day, because he has since been on and has done well, but if a comic doesn't want to be funny that's always trouble.