5/8/2007

Nice to see billboards with the “Koz” name on them- WAIT!!! That’s not Sven’s alter ego! Every day, driving to work, there’s a nice big billboard for some wacky radio station with “Dave Koz” plastered on one end. Poor guy doesn’t even know how to pronounce it- he says it “KAHZ”, not “KOZE”- put that in your saxophone and play it, pal (for those who are confused- he’s a sax player doing a radio show afternoons on the “smooth jazz” station.) Then, over in the land of Eric and Kathy, you’ve got the OTHER radio guy misusing the name- he’s Koz (“KAHZ”) as well. From what I’ve read, he used to call himself the “KozMan” in whatever burg he used to broadcast from, but the Chicago station he’s on now thought it would sound a little too “teeny-bopper-ish” for their semi-hip adult format, so he just became “Koz.” So, now, occasionally, I get an e-mail asking “that isn’t you on the radio there, is it?” Of course, nobody at the station there would have any clue that there’s someone working in the broadcasting field in Chicago, who’s been here for well over 25 years with the name their afternoon drive genius is using –and it isn’t even really his name! (I can understand the smooth jazz guy using the name because, first of all, it’s his name, and secondly, he is well-known to fans of his sort of music.) It’d be great if the “MIX-ed” up Koz started doing shtick about Berwyn in between his big sets of U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers, or giving a free rubber chicken to the one hundred-first caller, to further confuse some of the listening public. Oh, Well-maybe he’ll realize what’s going on, and change his name- to something like “Sven” or “Goolie.” I know most of you can tell yours truly from these other guys, but, as I said, I do occasionally hear from a confused, usually newer viewer. They might have heard or read that I have done radio in the past, and that just adds to the identity crisis. I would hope they would be able to tell the difference between my vice and his…but, then again…I got an e-mail from a guys, asking why I sounded kind of mad when I was on a suburban radio station’s morning show a while back. It was my turn to be confused, because I had never been on the show. I explained this to him, and told him it might be wise for the station to check out guests if they claim to be someone that they really aren’t. Eventually, he realized that the guy he’d heard was some would-be “home improvement expert” who shows up on cable access shows and has a last name that really doesn’t resemble mine! So, I guess mistaking me with a guy who spells his radio name the same as mine isn’t that much of a stretch…