It’s easy to complain about the state of the radio industry. Managers and owners are facing many challenges and are being forced to make tough decisions. That, in turn, sometimes frustrates longtime radio people who remember the way things used to be and what they consider to be “the good old days.” With more than twenty years hosting a prime-time show in Kansas City, Scott “Lazlo” Geiger certainly could fall into that category.
His show has gone through several high-profile changes. He’s moved from afternoons at Alternative KRBZ to the same slot at sister The Rock 98.9. Most recently, a shift to mornings on The Rock, replacing the legendary Johnny Dare. You’ll get no complaints from him because he still gets to do the one thing that matters most. The show.
“When I get to go in the studio and close that door, that’s when everything else disappears,” said Lazlo. “Life disappears and I get to really be me. I get to act, talk, and say the things that I really think. I wish everybody had that.”
As for the rest of the radio industry’s machinations, he tries not to concern himself with them. Instead he chooses to focus on how to execute a program that entertains his devoted following. For an industry that’s changing rapidly, it’s easier to just ignore.
“Who’s in charge and who’s not in charge. One company or seventeen different companies,” explained Lazlo. “Whatever it is. When you close that door those four hours are still the same. I’ve never really concerned myself with the outside noise.”
His show, co-hosted with Slimfast, is called The Church of Lazlo, a name that even he admits is a bit much. The name of the program came from a listener commenting on how Lazlo would go off on rants about different topics through his program.
“I never would have called it that. It seems pompous,” says Lazlo. “We had a guy who kept calling in and saying, ‘preach man, preach.’ Other people would message us and say the show is like ‘going to the church of Lazlo.’ It just sort of stuck.”
Like so many ‘preachers’ before him, Lazlo uses his personal experiences as fuel for the show. His show is like an open book, and one that builds a unique connection with the audience.
“I share everything. Whether that’s my marriage, divorce, my kids, all of it,” explained Lazlo. “I’ve kind of lived by this rule. If somebody was going to tell a story about me to someone else, good or bad, I have to share it first. People go through divorce; people have challenges with kids; they have money problems. That’s always the connection.”
However, being that open about your life comes with challenges. With listeners, it frequently puts him at a disadvantage when the opportunity presents itself in person to connect.
“When you meet someone for the first time and they already know you, but you don’t know anything about them. Quite often they already have an opinion,” said Lazlo. “Maybe they want to argue with me, agree, or maybe they liked my ex-wife better than me. It starts from a different perspective than two people meeting each other for the first time.”
Sometimes the impact goes beyond Lazlo himself. He recalled a time when his kids were younger and he took his son to a gymnastics play space. His son was playing with another child when the child’s mother approached him and asked if he was Lazlo. When he said yes, she immediately pulled her child away.
“She grabbed her kid and said, ‘we don’t talk to them,’ and took her kid away. My son was like, ‘wait, no, why did that happen,’” he explained. “Just the other day my oldest texted me and asked, ‘are you talking about killing hookers in the metaverse?’ When I said yes, he replied, ‘my friends are listening.’”
For Lazlo, it’s all part of being a talent. It’s not an easy take and has it’s challenges, but it is part of the job. Lazlo also is very open about sharing his political views, which lean liberal in a conservative area. He knows that can narrow his potential audience, but Lazlo views it as a math problem.
“I don’t need one hundred percent of the people to be successful. I need seven percent,” he explained. “If I get between seven and ten percent of the possible audience, I’m killing it, so why not be that voice.”
While politics are part of the show, he notes they are not his focus. Lazlo believes that presenting balance during the conversation often helps conservatives continue to listen to the show. However, he does receive harsh feedback from listeners who don’t agree with him. Unlike some talent who struggle with criticism, Lazlo takes it in stride.
“When I was in the fourth grade, I got handed me a letter signed by the entire class that said they hated me. Everyone in the fourth grade hated me,” Lazlo explained. “When somebody sends me a mean message on Facebook, I think, ‘if you wanted to hurt me you had to get me in the third grade because I already dealt with that in the fourth.’”
That same pragmatism applies to navigating changes in the radio industry, including being moved to KQRC when Audacy changed Alternative station KRBZ to a sports format. Also a move to mornings when the company parted ways with morning host Johnny Dare.
“They didn’t really ask me. They just said, ‘we’re making these changes.’ But I’ve been doing this long enough to know there are train tracks and you can see the train coming. You can either get on it or get off it,” said Lazlo holding no ill will towards anyone who chooses to leave the radio industry.
“I understand how getting off the train is an option for some people. But not for me, I love the job and those four hours.”
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
