Katy Kruze, Sweetheart of St. Louis Rock n Roll Radio
It’s a blast to talk with someone who is doing exactly what they want to be doing; those rare types that chose their career when they were a child, as opposed to their career choosing them. In the case of local radio personality Katy Kruze, you have to wonder if fate truly did choose her for radio; with her rock-star voice and equally rock-star looks she could easily have been any cool band’s lead vocalist. So don’t be fooled that radio jocks hide behind the mic because of their looks – Katy will easily dispel that notion, looking far younger and way more hip than any counterpart with nearly three decades in the biz.
But looks aside, Katy Kruze has the chops and the laser focus to keep her career on track even throughout major shifts in the national and local radio market. Born in San Antonio, Texas but heavily influenced by her upbringing in upstate New York, Katy vividly remembers listening to WABC, a monster station in the Big Apple when she was in fourth grade. “It was literally on my Grandmother’s front porch swing when I decided right then and there I wanted to be on the radio,” Katy admits. “Even though I was super introverted - even petrified of reading out loud in school - I just knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Katy took acting classes in community college and started her ‘vocal’ training by barking out narrated river boat tours around her new home in St. Louis. “Seven days a week, sometimes five times a day during holidays…for nearly five years. I loved that job and it actually opened up the door to my radio career.” Katy explained. “From there to a great job with the new Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis, then to my first radio internship, I finally had my shot on air by the early ‘90s and realized that I had stepped ass-backward into exactly the career I had dreamed of since childhood. Even through many ups and downs and some major station shake-ups, I made the right friends and never lost sight of my goal to be a radio jock.”
Building her commercial voice work and live broadcast resume, Katy’s big break came unexpectedly during the great flood of 1993 when she met up with folks from legendary St. Louis rock station KSHE. She spent the next 15 years manning the mid-day slot and logging hundreds of remotes. Even though there were plenty of hard times, Katy admits partying with rock-star royalty is all that it’s cracked up to be. “I love the live rock scene – always have – since my very first concert (Styx at the Checkerdome for curious minds). Now I’m actually friends with Tommy Shaw, among some other greats. This has been a great ride!”
Through it all, Katy acknowledges the local music scene in St. Louis always has been and always will be among the best in the country. “A lot of the musicians we loved in the 80’s – many of those guys are still playing live in various other bands. It’s like you find these gems on stage if you just go out and listen.”
That’s the caliber of talent St. Louis produces. Laclede’s Landing, Stages…rockin’ with bands like London Calling, Titan, Boyfriend. I did a lot of remotes while I was at KSHE, so I was always in bars, meeting the bands. Even though radio is my home, there is nothing better than experiencing the music in a live setting.” Katy adds.
At one time, Katy worked for a talent agency booking bands, so she is more than familiar with the struggle performers face getting their name out there. “Some of it’s luck, admittedly, more often it’s consistency and not giving up. Back in the day, we planned our weekends by the Riverfront Times. Who was playing where, that’s all fans could do. Now, it’s really more on the venues to pick great talent and promote the show themselves. It’s actually harder to find new and different acts now, because there are so many great areas – it’s a wider net. St. Charles county has some amazing venues, but that’s not on everyone’s radar.”
Katy’s keeping her finger on the pulse of social media and the role it plays in the music scene. Bands and fans are communicating with each other like never before, she observes, but social media alone may not be enough to get a band that big break. “I’ll be watching for venues to step up to bring more new music to fans, as well as honor our favorites with great cover and tribute bands. It’s an exciting time for St. Louis.”
As Katy continues her broadcast career, she has called 101.7 K-WULF home for the last year and a half and she could not be happier! Coming out the corporate world of radio and getting back to the community roots of a privately owned company gives Katy the ability to “do radio” her way. K-WULF is formatted the way FM radio started out, it’s “freeform” radio. This means the DJ’s are given the freedom to “curate” their own shows, Katy programs every song of every show herself, making it identifiable to her music style. A radio station that sounds uniquely different depending on the DJ that is on the air is unheard of in today’s terrestrial radio world, but it is the very foundation of what made music based FM radio great!
Up next for Katy, in November she will be inducted into the St. Louis Classic Rock Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2019, an honor she still finds hard to believe, and is very grateful for!!
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