Johnjay Van Es and Rich Berra are two steps closer to achieving national radio dominance.
Van Es and Berra, hosts of the popular "Johnjay and Rich" show on KRQQ (93.7-FM) in Tucson and on KZZP (104.7-FM) in Phoenix, jumped state lines on May 19, hitting the KVUU (99.9-FM) airwaves in Colorado Springs.
Now the duo have announced they will also be expanding to Portland, Ore., on July 8. Their show will air weekdays on the Portland Top 40 station KKRZ (100.3-FM).
"We have been working on Portland for a really long time," said Berra in a phone interview Wednesday.
"It's funny," Van Es added. "Most syndicated radio shows have a promotions team and a marketing guy, a person who is selling the show and making the calls. We've totally done this organically from Tucson, Tucson to Phoenix, Phoenix to Colorado Springs and now Phoenix to Portland. We don't really know what we're doing. It is just kind of happening."
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Van Es and Berra said their transition into Colorado Springs has been smooth. They've received positive feedback from listeners in the area, though they wouldn't mind a few more Springs participants in weekly segments like "After This Weekend I Will Never Do 'Blank' Again" and "Confession Wednesday."
"We find that people in Colorado Springs don't have bad weekends and don't sin," Berra said. "The ultimate reason we decided to expand is really because we want more freaks to participate on the show. That is what makes it interesting. The more people that have a reason to call and want to be a part of something unique, the better it is for us."
Berra and Van Es are determined to stay based in Arizona, even if bigger markets like Chicago, New York or Los Angeles come calling. Berra says they continue to broadcast out of both Tucson, where they started together in 2001, and Phoenix, where they expanded to in 2006.
"Tucson is very important to us," Berra said. "It is the mothership of the operation."
Anthony does Arizona
Phoenix and Tucson look to play a role in an upcoming episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel.
Bourdain stopped through Southern Arizona on a road-trip assignment following the traveling chef as he made his way from California to Texas.
Details are still sketchy. The crew wrapped up filming in Waco, Texas, the week before last.
But we do know Bourdain came through rocker Alice Cooper's sports bar and restaurant, Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, and the Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita in late May.
Lets hope he dropped by El Guero Canelo and grabbed a Sonoran hot dog or two for the road.
An air date for the episode has yet to be announced.
