THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Outgoing, personable and refreshingly candid, Ferguson and Hart have captivated an early morning audience of faithful listeners who have come to think of them as members of the family. The pair deliver a uniquely fresh show delivering great music, celebrity interviews, lively chat, listener calls, fun contests and ample portions of wit, humor, useful info, trivia and surprises.

Eric Ferguson is a Chicago-area native who hails from the small town of Elburn, Ill. Ferguson graduated from the University of Iowa in 1989 and started his radio career there. Future stints in Allentown, Pa., were accompanied by all-night excursions to NYC. Eric's first morning radio job was in The Quad Cities and he also worked in Rockford, Ill., Florida ( where it is rumored that he wrestled a somewhat sedated alligator ) , Denver, Co., where he laughingly states he had Gennifer Flowers as a neighbor. Ferguson is a Chicago North Side resident and his wife Jen is a dentist. He also has a nine-year-old stepdaughter.

Ferguson's partner in crime is the delightful Kathy Hart. A black belt holder in Karate, Hart's husband is an instructor in this ancient discipline. An avid sports fan, Hart never misses her beloved Chicago Cubs' opening game and is a huge Packers fan as well.

Also a Chicago native, Hart attended Columbia College and her early experiences in radio included jobs in Rockford, Milwaukee, Raleigh, NC, Phoenix, and Columbus, Ohio, before she returned to Chicago and her exciting career with WTMX. Hart is the proud mother of Alexander, who is about a year and three months old. She is now expecting her second child.

As a listener and fan myself, it was a real pleasure to visit with Eric and Kathy. We had our share of laughs, as you will see from the interview that follows:

DAVID GUARINO: Now I know your show is really popular here. Tell me, guys, what do you attribute your success to?

ERIC: ( with a deadpan expression ) Ratings. ( laughs )

DG: OK, point taken! But how do you get the ratings?

ERIC: What it all comes back to is like when you had mentioned chemistry before, David. I think chemistry between personalities. And a willingness to share. A lot of people when they get in this position, they want to come on, they want to be funny, they want to be certain things but they keep themselves at an arm's length. Whereas our approach has been to share a lot of ourselves personally, and it creates a certain vulnerability in your personality that people appreciate. Because everybody you know lays themselves out there at some point and they like to see that others are willing to do it too. And I think also that being from Chicago, we understand the city, we understand the people. We know the nuances, and I think that makes a big difference than when you try to move into a city and become an adopted son or daughter for that city.

DG: Kathy, do you feel that way also?

KATHY: Absolutely. Not only that, Eric and I, sometimes we share too much of ourselves. ( Eric laughs ) It just shows that we're human. We talk about things a lot of our listeners have experienced, or know somebody who has, that they can relate to. That makes them feel very comfortable.

DG: I don't know if the two of you agree, but I have always believed that the best interview, at some point in the interview, has to feel like a conversation…

ERIC: Exactly.

DG: If the person being interviewed feels like they're having questions thrown at them and they're getting nothing back, I think those are the interviews that don't work very well.

KATHY: That's how I used to be. I'd get so nervous when we'd be interviewing someone like Mel Gibson and I'd go and I'd do all my homework, and I'd prepare and I would know everything about him. I'd have all these questions written out. And they would give me an answer to one of those questions that should have sparked a different question or a whole other conversation, yet I had the next question on my list to get to, damnit, ( Eric and I laugh ) and I was going to get to it. Eric's a pro at it.

ERIC: It's important and I read in one of Oprah's books once where Oprah talked about the fact that interviewing is exactly what you said, David. It's a conversation and your next question should come from the answer they ( the interviewee ) just gave you. And it becomes a free flowing form and a lot of times you may go to the list of three or four things you want to get to and you may not get to two of them. But you'll get a lot better information because if you have a conversation with somebody they're more willing to open up. They're going to share things they maybe haven't shared before, they going to give you things to work with that they're comfortable sharing. And once you get the interview subject comfortable, all the good stuff happens.

DG: Eric, to what extent does Eric need Kathy?

ERIC: To what extent do I need Kathy? I think the relationship is important. I think it creates a male/female perspective and that's what's made the show successful. I don't think the two parts would function individually as well as they do together. And I don't think they'd want to. Kathy and I have talked about this before. We've both done shows solo before or with, you know, various characters; or people that weren't as actively involved. And it's a really difficult show to do. There isn't a lot of energy; there isn't a lot of interaction. You're forced to try to create things that don't happen naturally.

DG: And, Kathy, to what extent do you need Eric?

KATHY: Well, I want to eat, don't I? ( We all laugh ) He answered it quite well. I think the reason we work so well as a team is because we've been doing radio for a long time, and we know what it takes to have a successful show. But then again, we lead completely different lifestyles, although that's about to change once Eric's twins come. You know, I've got one baby, one on the way. I live in the suburbs with a fenced-in yard. And a garage. And you know, he ( Eric ) lives in the city until the kids come, and led a pretty different lifestyle. He's into golf; I'm into karate. And I think that's why it works so well because we do lead different lifestyles. We don't really hang out a lot with each other. And people think, ( Kathy whispers ) "Aw, you guys don't get along." But what it does is that it gives us a chance to come on the air in the mornings and share everything that happened the day before or the weekend before. And in sharing it with each other, we're sharing it with our listeners.

DG: Isn't that true even in a partnership or a marriage?

ERIC: The theory that opposites attract, sure. I think there's a lot to be said for that, and Kathy said it well. You know, we can appeal to a broader span of the audience because we're so different and we have such different perspectives that we can cover a lot of people. You know they can relate to a lot of different things.

DG: Did the two of you know each other before coming to The Mix?

KATHY: No, I was here for at least a year doing the show by myself. And that's not why I got into radio. It was entirely too much work. I got into radio because I thought I wouldn't have to work for a living. I could just play music, and give free concert tickets. And getting up to do the show at 2:30 in the morning was just obscene. Plus the person that does traffic is not in the studio with us; they're at another location. The person that does news is in another room. Granted, I can see him through the glass but it wasn't the same. I wasn't having a conversation with people. So we needed a partnership obviously. And our program director had heard of Eric, he was working at a station in Denver, and brought him in for an interview. ... And then when I come in on Monday, I find out he's my new partner. And I credit our program director because he knew our personalities would work.

DG: How do the two of you feel about being role models for the people that listen to your show every day, particularly the younger listeners?

KATHY: Well, not only young people listening to us but a lot of parents are listening to us on their way to schools, taking their kids to school. So we know that we've got children listening as well. And, to give Eric credit on this, there are many things that we want to discuss. One good example. We were talking about orgasms. Well, how do you talk about orgasm on the air and all of a sudden Mom has to explain to her seven-year-old what an orgasm is? So to avoid putting Mom in that spot, Eric came up with "blue ribbon," "the blue ribbon," instead of "orgasm." That way parents can get creative explaining; we all know what it is.

ERIC: It's a way of creating double entendre that parents know and get the joke, but if a question is asked to them by their child it's easily explained away. So that everybody wins. The parents are entertained; they go along with the joke. The children think that they're in on something that they're really not. You know we take that stuff seriously because I think that there are a lot of radio shows out there that don't. That feel like they have a responsibility to batter you over the head with something or not try to hide anything. For me, you know what, I think it's OK to keep your tongue firmly planted in your cheek. And tell stories that take a little thought in order to reach a funny part or requires the audience to actually participate mentally a little more instead of just getting beat over the head with the obvious.

DG: If somebody gets really mad about something you guys say on the air, do they call?

KATHY: Oh, David, do they call! They E-mail, they write letters. Oh yeah.

ERIC: And you know sometimes we let it get to us, other times we don't. I always have subscribed to the theory, and it's kind of been a mantra, that I don't care what your opinion is just as long as you have one. I'm glad you know if you think something's wrong, if you think we're out of line, if you disagree with something's, I completely respect the fact that you take the time to share your opinion. Instead of just dismissing it or dismissing us. If you want to have a dialogue about it, that's great! I mean that's healthy and that's important. Even after that if you choose to still disagree if we part ways on different sides of the fence, so be it. But I think that if listeners feel passionate enough about the show to share a thought, good or bad, that's a good thing.

DG: Tell us about The Crystal Radio Award that WTMX won in 2000.

KATHY: That is something that has been a goal, not only for WTMX, but also for Bonneville ( which owns WTMX ) for many years. One of the reasons I like working for The Mix so much is that it is owned by Bonneville. We, as you know, David, have worked at many radio stations, worked for many companies and without a doubt Bonneville is the best company to work for. I do a lot of volunteering in my spare time, and thought it was very important for a radio station to make volunteering not necessarily a part of our daily lives, but to make it important. Bonneville has what they call, "Making a Difference." Bonneville really encourages employees, in fact gives employees work hours to go volunteer.

ERIC: The company's really dedicated to giving back to the community. On a greater level. Obviously, every company is profit driven; it's the bottom line of doing business. But our company; not only are they profit driven, but they think it's important to be community involved.

DG: Kathy, are the people who listen to "The Eric and Kathy Show" faithful listeners and do they normally catch the whole show or just parts of it?

KATHY: I think the majority catch as much as possible. I don't really think they tune out and check out other radio stations; obviously some do. But the majority are very loyal listeners. We get E-mails and phone calls from people who say that they've been listening since before Eric came on.

ERIC: Morning radio is habitual. And in mornings you develop a routine. And once you settle on something that you like, whether it's your breakfast food, the way you shower, you know, whatever, you do it day in and day out, it becomes habit. So what happens a lot of times is that a listener will become comfortable with us; suddenly we become a part of their morning routine. And that's the ultimate reward for a morning host.

DG: We know that radio announcers and DJ's play a huge role in the ultimate success or failure of not only artists, but their individual songs and CD's as well. Does any form of the old "Payola" system exist in the music industry today?

ERIC: I've been doing radio for ten years and haven't encountered it a single time. I think there are so many checks and balances now, and there is such a huge stigma attached to it, that it's never really even been an issue.

DG: Is being co-host of one of The Mix's ( and radio's ) most popular shows a dream come true or a natural progression?

ERIC: I would say it's a dream come true. Everybody at one time or another, if you get into radio, aspires to work in your hometown. And I'm lucky enough to be from Chicago, which is a major market, a top three market on top of it being my hometown. And that's the reason I made the sacrifices that I made moving around the country doing the different things working my way up the ladder.

DG: Kathy, would you say the same?

KATHY: Exactly. Yes.

DG: Eric, the best thing about working with Kathy is…..

ERIC: I would say her honesty, her openness, her willing to share.

DG: And Kathy, the one thing I wish Eric wouldn't do is….

KATHY: Pick on me so much. But then I pick on him more than he picks on me!

DG: Is radio a homophobic medium to be in? Anybody please jump in.

KATHY: In terms of hiring?

ERIC: I would like to say I don't encounter it. You know you see it from time to time, and I think a lot of people make jokes or whatever. Are they meant to be mean spirited? I don't think so. I think that radio is the kind of medium that pokes fun at everybody. And it doesn't matter, gay, straight, gender, race, you know it's equal opportunity teasing. And I think a lot of times people can perceive that as an aggressive tone towards a person and their choices. But as far as me personally, I haven't encountered that. And I think there are more gay and lesbian people working in radio than people actually realize. Because like you said, David, with a lot of them it's their personal choice to keep it to themselves. My producer in Denver was gay and he lived his life outwardly that way, except on the air. Off the air, around the office, we'd go out, those kinds of things, he'd have no problem being open. But it was something that he felt wasn't for broadcast purposes. To this day, I don't view him as a radio person, a gay person; I view him as a resource and as a friend.

KATHY: I think that's why the gays I've known in radio don't want to come out in their profession, they do in their personal life. They have no problem with it. But in their profession they don't. And I think partly that's because it doesn't matter, why should it matter? They don't want to deal with the hassle of the few people who are homophobes, don't understand their lifestyle, and it would be a distraction at work to have to deal with that. So, why make it an issue?

DG: If I've never heard of "The Eric and Kathy Show," and have never even listened to The Mix, what can you offer me as a lover of pop music who drives to work at 6:30 a.m.?

ERIC: We're going to give you tongue-in cheek humor. We're going to give you two real people on the air as opposed to "personalities." We're going to give you a little bit of music. I think in your 10-minute, your 15-minute, your 30-minute, your 45-minute drive you're going to get a little bit of everything. You're not going to get beat over the head with anything, you're going to get a little slice. We try to appeal to as broad a section of society as we can.

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As you can gather, Eric and Kathy are as warm and funny off the air as they are on their show. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with them. As a journalist, I'm supposed to remain unbiased about these matters and so I shall. But if my radio's on at 6:30 a.m. on a weekday morning, it's a safe bet that the sound of Eric and Kathy's morning show on WTMX will be filtering through the steam of my shower. Enough said.

E-mail: DavdRonald@aol.com