Rod Ryan celebrated twenty years with 94.5 The Buzz in Houston in 2024. He started 2025 without Co-Host Tessa Barrera, who announced late last year that she was leaving the show to focus on her TV career as Co-Host of KPRC 2 “Houston Life” with Derrick Shore. (BMM 12/17/24)
The main priority for “The Rod Ryan Show” right now is to find a replacement for Barrera. So, according to a recent Instagram post, “It’s just the Boyzzz’ for the next few weeks.”
And they aren’t in a hurry. “I just want to get it right,” said Ryan in a mikemcguff.com blog post. “That leaves Ryan, Alex Middleton, 3rd mic and Sports Director and Producer, Chile, behind ‘The Buzz’ morning show microphones” right now.
Ryan got his start in radio after graduating from Buffalo State College with a degree in Broadcasting and interning all through college, which led to his first full-time gig hosting 3-7 pm at WEDG Buffalo in ’96.
“I thought it could never get any better than that,” said Ryan. “Living and working on my favorite radio station in my hometown! Then New Orleans came calling, and I left for a very fuzzy eight years, four of which were hosting mornings.”
New Orleans is where I met Ryan for the first time. I worked at B97, and we were considered major competitors. But Ryan was the kind of guy everyone wanted to have a beer with, and I was a massive fan of his and his station 106.7 The End.
I vaguely remember one night after a Duran Duran concert, hanging out with him at The Dragon’s Den on Esplanade and shooting Sake for the first time in my life. By the way, we both had to work the next day, and I had a thesis to give at UNO the next day as well.
Needless to say, we were both struggling, but I still got a random call on the request line the next day from Ryan, making sure I was gonna be able to pull it off. Thank God for hangovers. It turns out, just like in radio, in college, hangover days are some of your best days because you just don’t care what comes out of your mouth.
My point is that Ryan is 100% authentic, kind, and self-deprecating, and I am still a big fan of his show. Fun fact: we share the same birthday (August 26th), and back in the day, he had a MASSIVE crush on Hoda Kotb (whom I worked with in TV at the time). It was right before she left to go to New York, and the one time I got her to call him before she left, he did not pick up the phone. She did, however, leave him a voicemail message, and he played it on the air over and over again.”
After New Orleans, Houston called, and “The Rod Ryan Show” Era at 94.5 The Buzz started on January 02, 2004. He hasn’t looked back since. Celebrating twenty years last October with a big anniversary party featuring Brent and Zach of Shinedown, Jakob Nowell of Sublime, Justin and Ryan of Blue October, Tyler, Dave, & Joe of Theory of a Deadman, and Scott Stevens from the Exies.
Ryan and The Buzz gave back to their loyal listeners by giving away tickets to the show. The only way to get in was to win.
Like many in the radio industry, Ryan got into the business because the band thing didn’t work out. “I am a failed musician like so many others,” he says. “I played in a bunch of local bands in and around Buffalo and always thought it was cool any time I had interactions with local radio. I literally said, ‘If I can’t be in a band and do radio interviews, maybe I can get on the radio and interview bands.’”
Turns out Plan B worked out pretty well for Ryan who says it’s been a good run so far.
“Being on morning rock radio in the early 2000’s was pretty wild! Every week, we just pushed the envelope as far as we could, and in New Orleans, that is easy to do. I think we are all pretty lucky very little of that stuff was on the internet and thank God it was before social media. But I do wish I had more than a picture or two from when we strung ‘Bras Across The Mississippi’ for breast cancer awareness. We hooked bras together the length of the Crescent City Connection, a bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the city to the West Bank.”
“Outside of the wild antics, concerts, and interviews it’s the interaction with the listeners that makes me the happiest. We have worked with our listeners doing lots of local charity events. I established ‘The Rod Ryan Show Cares Foundation’ 501 c 3, raising over 3 million dollars over the years here in Houston.”
“We do a lot of charity work throughout the year. I have two golf tournaments each year. One for Texas Adaptive Aquatics in the Spring and my ‘Boobs Rock’ tournament in October for breast cancer research here at MD Anderson. We also raise money all summer to buy filled backpacks for kids working with Houston Children’s Charity. And we work closely with The Houston Furniture Bank, Houston Food Bank, St. Jude, and several smaller organizations.”
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the public service ‘The Rod Ryan Show’ provides when the city experiences hurricanes and flooding, which happens a lot in Houston, providing the public with school closures, road closures, safety information and a general sense of community when these natural disasters take place.
Sometimes, getting this kind of information is a lot easier to digest when you’re getting it from “Your brother Rod.” I know it was for me when I lost everything I owned in a storage unit when Hurricane Harvey hit there. It’s much better than getting the info from a bunch of uptight politicians and officials who spend most of their time placing blame rather than expressing and feeling true empathy.
Don’t get me wrong. They aren’t breaking down and doing special reports and newscasts. They’re just living everyday life on the air in a manner that the average person in the Houston area can relate to and sometimes, when appropriate, bring a little humor to the situation. And that is the perfect combination for a great morning show and why Ryan has been so successful (in one place) all this time.
Follow The Rod Ryan Show on Instagram @rodryanshow
Apply for the Co-Host position here.
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Charese Fruge’ is an award-winning Content, Broadcast, and Marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, and Las Vegas. As the owner of MC Media, she works with radio brands and individual talent, especially young women, helping them grow their brands and negotiate on their own behalf. She is also a Voice Actor and Voice Over Talent as well as a Freelance Writer for International Broadcast Outlets. Find her at @MCMediaOnline or www.mcmediaonline.com.
