Former KROQ DJ Ted Stryker talks about his time on radio and new ‘Tuna on Toast’ podcast

Three months aft leaving KROQ 106.7 FM’s “Stryker & Klein Morning Show,” Ted Stryker is acceptable to motorboat a caller podcast.

“Tuna connected Toast with Stryker,” which debuts Oct. 5 connected each large streaming platforms, volition diagnostic play in-depth conversations and bonus episodes with big-name and up-and-coming artists. The podcast volition beryllium recorded and filmed for YouTube successful a caller workplace constructed wrong Stryker’s Los Angeles-area location wherever helium resides with his wife, Katie, and their 15-year-old Shih Tzu, Bonzai.

“I’ve ne'er cleaned this overmuch successful my life,” Stryker said during a telephone interrogation from his caller abstraction past week. “It truly is comfy successful here. I privation the guests to consciousness arsenic comfy present arsenic they bash successful their ain homes. Like you utilized to consciousness erstwhile you were increasing up and you’d spell to a friend’s location and you tin unfastened immoderate furniture and immoderate drawer. They person the state to bash that here.”

Stryker revealed his archetypal fistful of guests volition beryllium Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park, vocalist M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion founding member and Epitaph Records proprietor Brett Gurewitz.

After deciding to bash the podcast, helium reached retired to artists and others hoping someone, anyone, would reply back. He received an overwhelming response.

“That makes maine get highly affectional due to the fact that it does consciousness truthful good,” helium said, noting that helium was tense to embark connected this caller solo journey. His biggest fear, helium said, was that helium mightiness not beryllium capable to unafraid capable guests — oregon listeners.

“It’s astir similar validation to myself that each that enactment implicit 22 years [at KROQ], I was truly doing something,” helium said. “And not conscionable from the artists who said yes, they’d beryllium connected the show, but different artists who’ve seen maine station connected Instagram astir the amusement and said like, ‘How travel you haven’t asked maine to travel on? What’s happening here?’ It’s truthful great. Also the enactment from the listeners who heard maine connected KROQ, they’re excited to instrumentality this travel with maine and I consciousness similar they each person my back.”

Through the years, Stryker, who besides hosts the nationally syndicated vigor amusement “Out of Order,” has done thousands of interviews with artists of aggregate genres either connected the vigor oregon during his on-camera hosting duties for the Recording Academy backstage astatine the yearly Grammy Awards. However, those interviews were speedy and chopped for clip to air, helium said he’s looking guardant to having a long-form mean similar a podcast to fto the conversations breathe.

“In radio, they privation to unreserved and get done it,” helium said. “This is an accidental to truly instrumentality a heavy dive into everything successful their life, similar however did you, Tom Morello, get to this spot successful your life? You tin look up facts and figures, but I’m coming from a spot wherever I emotion these artists and I can’t hold to inquire a zillion questions and perceive stories we’ve ne'er heard before. Like with Tom, what were the details of however they started Audioslave with the late, large Chris Cornell? Like, I don’t cognize that and I privation to perceive it straight from Tom. With a podcast, you person the clip to truly fto those stories build.”

Calling the podcast “Tuna connected Toast with Stryker” is besides thing of comfort, helium said. For years the now-closed Slidebar Rock and Roll Kitchen successful Fullerton had a sandwich named aft the DJ, Stryker’s World Famous Tuna Melt.

“It’s not that I conscionable emotion tuna,” helium said with a laugh. “Some radical person their champion conversations astatine a bar, immoderate radical a barbershop, but my champion conversations, I believe, hap astatine delis oregon successful diners.

“I besides emotion ‘Seinfeld,’” adds Stryker, recalling an occurrence of the amusement wherever the quality George Constanza makes a life-changing determination involving tuna and toast. “I’ve ever loved that.”

Though his past twelvemonth and a fractional on-air astatine KROQ was rocky, having been thrust into the greeting amusement timeslot aft the presumption suddenly ousted astir of the “Kevin successful the Morning Show” team astatine the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic successful 2020, Stryker says helium volition ever person fond memories of his clip astatine the world-famous Los Angeles vigor station. He remembers a time wherever Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl showed up to the workplace unannounced to bash shots with him. He said helium felt similar a kid connected Christmas greeting being the DJ capable to satellite premiere caller euphony from bands similar Blink-182, System of a Down and Linkin Park.

“The Weenie Roast and Acoustic Christmas shows were immoderate of the top times I’ve ever had and I created the champion memories,” helium said. “I got to conscionable truthful galore large bands and truthful galore listeners and it was specified a amusive vibe. Overall, I americium conscionable truthful grateful that I had the accidental to beryllium connected what was my favourite vigor presumption for truthful galore years.”

Since Stryker’s erstwhile relation allowed truthful overmuch face-to-face clip with listeners astatine unrecorded events, helium said helium volition proceed that with the podcast successful the aboriginal and is already coming up with a fewer ideas for in-person gatherings with bands and fans for unrecorded podcast tapings.

“There are concerts and things happening retired determination close present and I’m ace cautious erstwhile it comes to COIVD, truthful I don’t cognize if I’m acceptable for that close now, but I’ve already talked to artists who person brought that up,” helium said. “Maybe we instrumentality up successful 1 of these celebrated Los Angeles venues that has a chill vibe, we inquire immoderate questions and possibly the creator plays a fewer songs. We’re going to marque that happen.”