Hello! I am McNeil, the youngest and most recent addition to KBER 101. I’m a local from Riverton, and I first ventured into music in elementary school when I learned how to play saxophone. I continued to play all the way into high school, where I learned how to play tuba, yeah I know I’m a bando. Marching band, jazz band, concert band… the works.

I went on to play tuba and saxophone in college (University of Utah all the way! Go UTES!) and spent two summers touring with the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps from Casper, Wyoming playing tuba. Once drum corps was over I thought about what I wanted to for a career. I saw a flyer for the U of U’s student radio station, K-UTE Student Radio, which said they were hiring new DJs for the spring semester. I set up an interview with the program director and I was ready to dive into the world of college radio. The day of the interview, I was on my way to school when I suffered a very painful stomach illness called gastritis, a swelling of the stomach lining, which put in the hospital. Lucky me right?

I eventually got the interview rescheduled, and was hired on to work Monday evenings 5-7. I hosted an all music show called “The SKA SHOW!” with Aaron S. I am a huge ska boy, I absolutely love it. I played Reel Big Fish, The Aquabats, Mustard Plug, The Planet Smashers, The Toasters, Less Than Jake, any thing I could get my hands on that had a ska sound to it. I spent three years with K-UTE as a jock and worked in production and programming. I fell in love with radio while I was there and wanted to go full steam towards a career in radio.

After a stint as an intern and a summer as a remote tech, I got my first full time gig as an on-air traffic reporter, which only lasted for six months (we all got laid off). A short time later I applied here at KBER, who hired me as a remote technician/pack mule. You’ll find me at remote broadcasts and station events wrestling the giant inflatable bear, and on Saturdays from 6p-7p co-hosting the Salt Lake Soundcheck.

Long live local music!!

-McNeil