Chet Buchanan has been hosting the “Chet Buchanan Show” on 98.5 KLUC in Las Vegas since 1999. Having worked in the same building with him for years, I have always said he could be the Mayor of Las Vegas.
His work ethic challenges that of Seacrest, and his notoriety as a Vegas celebrity is second to none. His side hustles would take up the entire column if I were to list them all, but most notably, and oddly, something I did not know about him but I found endearing, was that when his father passed away, he took over the family farm outside of his native city Seattle.
“We built a spectacular studio that I do the show from about 40% of the time,” he explains. “That allowed me to become the Public Address Announcer for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, which is a dream come true. Doing NHL hockey in my hometown in the building I practically grew up in? Come on!”
Buchanan is also the PA guy for the two-time WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces, and he travels the world doing PA for USA Basketball. But it doesn’t end there. He’s also the “Voice of NASCAR” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he handles all the pre-race festivities, driver intros, and Victory Lane presentations.
Buchanan told me he struck gold with the cast of characters who occupy the Morning Show today. “Adrian is a radio vet who has MASSIVE YouTube and Instagram numbers with his ‘Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez’ wrestling podcast.”
“Mikalah is a Las Vegas native whom I met when she was 16 and the youngest ever American Idol finalist. We had these massive watch parties at her high school while she made Carrie Underwood work for her title! We stayed in touch and have always been friends while Mikalah continued to record and did the Hollywood acting grind. After doing a national morning show on Channel Q until it fell victim to cutbacks, Mikalah and her fiancé, Superstar DJ Lisa Pittman, moved back to Las Vegas.”
“Mikalah headlines two Las Vegas residencies at the Wynn and Fountainbleau, while Lisa is a fixture at every major club in Las Vegas. When we were looking for a new host to join the show, our operations and brand manager, JB King, suggested that I ask Mikalah about the job. I thought she would be too busy to get back into morning radio, but she leaped at the opportunity.”
“I’m the host, the bus driver, an old-school radio guy who’s been in Vegas forever. I’m getting older and don’t deny it,” admits Buchanan. “You can’t deny it when actual adults tell you, ‘I’ve been listening to you all my life!’ Hahahaha. I hope to bring decisive opinions while being open to the opinions of others, keep conversations on track (plot twist: I’m usually the derailer), be vulnerable, never be afraid of emotions or telling difficult stories, and hopefully be funny. We’re an escape from politics and all the other junk out there, but we don’t pretend the world doesn’t exist.”
“Mikalah is a girl’s girl, a spectacular performer in every sense of the word: empathetic, open, honest to a fault, just one of the greatest humans walking the earth. She’s tough, determined, and principled. She’s gay, but it doesn’t define her; it gives her a unique perspective. She loves fiercely and has deep, rich emotions. We have similar outlooks on life but different opinions on almost everything. She’s amazingly supportive and a generous partner, on and off the air. We embrace each other’s personalities and enjoy being weird. She really frees me up to be the best me because she’s so great being her.”
“Adrian’s rocket-ride trajectory as a host, producer, podcast entrepreneur, father, and partner has been an absolute joy to witness. He looks like a 40s matinee idol with an easy-going personality that has an edge to it. He loves wickedly stirring conflict and is usually the one to take the side of, ‘I don’t know what everyone is worked up about…just do you…’ when we go into relationship drama-type bits.
“He’s become extremely adept at playing the “producer/screener/3rd mic” role but could easily slide into a host spot. He has a sweet, adorable six-year-old son and a partner who is fighting breast cancer and is able to bring all of that to the show. He’s magnificent with video and social media and carries the bulk of that role.”
With everything Buchanan has going on, it’s important to stay focused. “That’s truly what it is, balance and focus,” he insists. “Stay present, stay organized, stay in the moment. Do what you have to do when you have to do it. I schedule sleep. I schedule rest. I love my wife, Amy, who is my absolute rock and is obsessive about keeping me healthy, rested, and on track. I love being on airplanes, and I’m fortunate to have two places that are truly my home. My studio and the farm in Seattle are my sanctuary, but I love being present in Las Vegas, which I also claim as my hometown.”
I think we can all agree that Vegas is a very unique market. And no one knows that more than Buchanan. “The people who were born and raised in Las Vegas are fiercely proud of being natives. Those of us who have become ‘natives’ are fiercely proud of being natives,” he says.
“There’s two Las Vegas.’ Nobody who lives here is going, “Vegas Baby!” calling it “Lost Wages,” or wearing Elvis glasses. The tourist side is cool and serves its purpose. Obviously, it’s a huge business. But for Las Vegans, there’s literally anything and everything available at your fingertips 24 hours a day. There’s always something to do, and now, with the Golden Knights, Raiders, Aces, and soon-to-be A’s, we’re becoming a fully rounded community.”
“There’s nearly 3 million people who live here (most of whom never go to the Strip unless they’re being paid or going to a show), raise their kids, and live their lives. Las Vegas is surprisingly normal, the weather is fantastic (summer can be a bit rough, but you go from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned job…), and there’s no state income tax. Outside of Stern and some success that Bobby Bones has had, syndicated radio doesn’t really stick here.”
One thing that stuck was the success of Buchanan’s annual Toy Drive, which has been on the station for as long as he has. “When I came to Vegas in 1999, we wanted to make a splash. Something more than a wacky stunt, definitely something that would do some good for the community, something that would make a real impact.”
“Cat Thomas and I sat in the KLUC conference room, and he asked, ‘What is something you always wanted to do when you got into radio?’ I told him about this weird vision I had since I was a little kid of living on some kind of tall wooden structure in the shadow of the Space Needle in Seattle Center until $10,000 was raised. That idea turned into Toy Drive. 12 days on a 25-foot scaffold, broadcasting live, raising toys for kids.”
“Like anything else, it started good, not great. We didn’t really know what to expect, so it was all positive. We said it was 10,000 toys, but I don’t know. We filled up a bunch of Army trucks and delivered them directly to local community centers…. Fast forward to our 26th year, and we serve over 100 charities every year, with our primary charity, HELP of Southern Nevada, handling organization and distribution while serving 3500 families and about 13,000 kids themselves.”
“The real key to Toy Drive is EVERYONE from programming, engineering, promotions, and sales is 100% committed. I’ve lived over nine months of my life on a scaffold. I get lifted on and off the scaffold by a NV Energy bucket truck, haven’t even touched the stairs in a decade, and have NEVER come down. Not once.”
“My dog died during Toy Drive one year, 60-mile-an-hour winds almost took the whole thing down once, rain and the occasional snow isn’t fun, it’s surprisingly cold in Vegas in the winter, and the relentless sun has blessed me with scars on my hands from blisters caused by a form of psoriasis and sun poisoning that I, and my dermatologist, still haven’t quite figured out how to avoid.”
“The city is fully committed as well. We have many incredibly generous sponsors who are passionate about being attached to it, so it’s also great for the company. In 2024, we filled another forty-two 50-foot Coca-Cola trucks, collected 7674 bikes (the visual is STUNNING every year), and raised $786,894 in cash and gift cards, bringing the total raised over the 26 years to well over 50 million dollars. If there’s a bigger one out there, I’d love to hear about it.”
When it comes to the most important lesson Buchanan has learned over the years, he has a tough time narrowing it down. “That’s so hard,” he says. “But I think I’m more patient and more empathetic with others and with myself now. I compete hard, and I’m a passionate guy, but sometimes that spills over. Most of that comes from frustration with myself that I’ve let people down in some way by not putting them in the position where they can be the best they can be. Everybody is trying to achieve success, and everyone has their own things they’re dealing with, but I try to remember to keep my chin up, tits out, shoulders relaxed, and let it fly.”
As for what’s missing from the industry right now, “I believe we’ve lost our way as an industry,” he says. “Research continues to show that listeners like personality and real connection on the radio. There are some really talented people who are voice-tracking. I’m not disparaging them. If they want me to voice track or syndicate or whatever, I’d do it, too, to the best of my ability.”
“I just believe that there’s still no replacement for real people talking to their community about things that people in other cities wouldn’t understand or care about…or just being weird with their unique personalities. What happened to the entertainers? What happened to the crazy personalities we used to love outside of morning drive? It’s too clean, too generic, too sanitized.”
“We’re under attack on multiple fronts,” insists Buchanan. “But we don’t market our product to those who don’t already consume it. Kids today don’t even know what radio is. I don’t blame the lawyers and corporate types who have to protect the company at all costs, but it often kills creativity. Perhaps one day we’ll see a return to personalities, programmers using a little more of their ‘gut,’ and marketing of the product, but that will take a massive shift in the business model to make that happen.”
Follow Chet Buchanan on socials @chetbuchanan or email him at Chet@ChetBuchanan.com.
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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.
Chet – good for you! Charese – so wonderful of you to highlight Chet –