Mike O’Brien and Carla Rea met in the 1980s when Mike was doing mornings on 98.5 KLUC in Las Vegas. Carla was a stand-up comedian, and their paths crossed often since she was often a guest on his show.
When Mike eventually moved to 97.1 The Point in Las Vegas, the two teamed up until he moved to 96.3 KKLZ. He needed a third person for the show and figured Carla would be perfect; as it turned out, she was. The two have been doing mornings together for almost 20 years and have been on KKLZ for 13 years. About five or six years ago, Morty Sampaio was added to the show as Executive Producer.
When describing what each member brings to the show, Mike says it’s not that difficult. “I just try to keep the show moving and on time. Carla is the funny one. She’s brilliant at knowing pop culture, music of all genres, and if I ever say, ‘…never heard of her!’ She is quick to point out, ‘…you know the song, here it is!’”
“Beyond that, I should also point out that not too many stand-up comedians can make the transition to radio, but Carla has done it. I get to the station at about 4:30 -5 am, Carla gets there about 3:30 am. She preps and is ready to rock when we hit the air.”
“I got lucky working with Mike,” Carla adds. “He taught me the fine art of shutting up. After talk radio, I really had to learn to do a different style of radio. He taught me well. Although I still talk a lot!”
“Mike is hilariously funny!” she adds. “And he is probably much more the ‘good guy’ to my ‘bad guy.’ I’m the smarta**. I get away with a lot more than many, because they know me as a comedian and respect Mike. They trust him. And to me, he’s basically like my other big brother. He’s family. We’ve shared a lot of good and bad over the years. You get to know each other really well through life and death. Ohhh – way too serious. But true.”
“The Mike & Carla Show” is driven by passion. “I honestly believe our true passion is entertaining our listeners and letting them think about nothing really serious or important, for the five hours we are on the air,” explains Carla. “Too much real life, and we just want to make people happy for a while. And community involvement, where others don’t seem to go. The smaller organizations that need the help but just don’t get it are what we focus on.”
“It’s funny, we always joke that if Chet (Buchanan from KLUC) or Mercedes (From Mix 94.1) are booked, we’re the next choice to emcee an event,” adds Mike. “But seriously, we are out in the community hosting events like ‘Scale the Strat (Stratosphere),’ the ‘NAMI Walk,’ the ‘Purple Stride’ event and others. When you live here as long as both of us have, you become ingrained in the community, and it’s just a part of what we do.”
When I asked Mike & Carla to tell us what was different about the Vegas market, I had forgotten how long both of them had been here. “That’s a tough question since I have never really worked in another market! LOL!” says Mike. “Came here in 1980, doing nights at KLUC, then left for a year and a half, came back and started doing mornings in 1986.”
“But I get the question, I think the big difference is that there is always something going on. Whether it be concerts, shows, or sporting events, there is always something. I used to love when others would come to this market and think, ‘I am going to RULE this market!’ I would have to say calmly, ‘settle down, buddy!’ For most that come here from even a smaller market, they might do three to four big concerts a year…with Las Vegas, it’s every weekend!”
“In regard to the show, this is our town! Carla was born and raised in Nevada. Grew up in Reno, went to school at UNR. I’ve been here for over 40 years. My daughters grew up here, and now we have grandkids who are here. So, on the air, we really treat it as if we were in any other market, bigger or smaller.”
“I always feel funny when people start talking about other markets they’ve worked in. I’ve only been in Vegas, too,” adds Carla. “But I do know that most people who come to Las Vegas have a very different, and often a wrong, view of the city. It might be a big city, but it’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone. And in radio – still – it’s all about relationships. And we have a great relationship with our community.”
“As far as how much we share on the show, probably way too much,” insists Mike. “There are lines we won’t cross, but for the most part, we throw it all out there. I mean over the years, those who have listened over the course of almost four decades know my story, my history and my life. Same thing with Carla, however, having worked together as long as we have, we also know where the line is. A very important element when doing a morning show with someone.”
I asked the pair if anything had ever happened on the show that turned things upside down. “When I had to tell Mike what NWA stood for,” explains Carla. “And then tell listeners, who also had no idea, but their kids loved them, and so did they. But I had to do it very carefully, on a piece of paper, and in code. Funny moment, but Mike asked when we were live, so – IMPROVISE! (Awkward) And of course, the occasional food poisoning.”
So what’s missing in the industry? “Oh boy, that is a totally different subject!” says Mike. “For me, when I started, yes, I am going to be that guy! ‘In my day,’ I just realized that there are more elements to radio than, say, a few years ago.”
“Podcasting, social media, video…it’s all become a part of our industry in some way, shape or form. I sometimes think a lot of us forget the magic that we can create in that studio. That’s where it all begins. I have this saying when I run into other ‘radio’ people: ‘Are you on the radio, or DOING radio?’ There’s a huge difference, and if they don’t get it, then it tells me that they’re just ‘on’ the radio. To fix it, encourage those who have the talent to spend time in the studio, make it happen, create the illusion that got all of us into radio in the first place.”
“People. Talent is missing,” says Carla. “I don’t mean there is a lack of it. I mean, radio needs to cultivate it, like it once did. I always say, there is no free entertainment out there anymore except radio! How did we let that get away from us? Radio is magical! And it’s so accessible. Talk about it! Show it off!”
Follow Mike & Carla on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kklz963/, Instagram: @KKLZ963 and X: @KKLZ963
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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.
