Klein/Ally Show: The Podcast - HOUR 4- The KCAL Staff Firings, a Jet Ski Mishap and MORE

Episode Date: August 3, 2026

About to get into a brand new episode of Klein Alley Show, but first let's tell you about our good friends at the finest airport that ever was and ever will be. The San Bernardino International Airport. Especially when there's summer travel plans, it can get expensive at these airports. That's why you gotta go to this airport where parking is just five bucks a day. Plus you got those easy trips, San Francisco or Provo, Utah. Maybe you didn't plan anything this summer. See how easy it is. Don't be one of those people who has to pack your patience. Go to San Bernardino International Airport. Okay, enough shilling. Now it's time to get into a brand new episode of Klein Alley Show. This is the world famous KROQ. Good morning. Welcome to your KROQ. We've got a brand new hour to get into.

It's just after 10 o'clock on a Monday morning. Nothing to do about that. But it's a summer Monday, so we have that going for us. And unless you're one of the kids who's got to go back to school this week, then you can enjoy a funner summer just a little bit longer. We have a story to share with you later this hour of someone who's trying to have a funner summer on a jet ski, Which is one of the funnest ways to celebrate summer Only that backfired in a big way So we will get to that It's a cautionary tale of funner summer antics

You can get into And you almost or did break your nose So you were trying to have a funner summer and it backfired So there's a lot of funner summer fail stories Yeah, funner summer I actually met someone this past weekend, Allie That was wearing an eye patch And I was like, oh, that's kind of cool

Like, you know, that's Someone's got an eye patch on Were you in a pawn shop? They usually have a story I was actually near a pawn shop and they lost an eye on 4th of July. Because of a firework? Nope.

Oh, recently. No way. Oh, yeah. A recent, they're not, I mean, at this point, they have not been able to salvage the eye yet. They think there's maybe still. Yeah, isn't that past? Well, that's kind of what I thought.

I'm like, isn't that one of those things? What is it, on ice and they're deciding? I think they are trying to reattach some retinas or something, but I would have thought that would have happened. I'm sure time is not their friend, but I said, hey, at least you got cool eye patch options, and that did not go over well. Really?

Really? They didn't have a sense of humor about it? I don't think you develop a sense of humor immediately. I think you're still dealing with the realization that you've lost an eye. Jake is right, though. What are the options? Oh, there's so many these days. What? With eye patches? More than ever before, dude, I'm sure.

So, like, besides just plain black? Yeah, I don't know. I think on my season of Shark Tank that I was on, there was someone that came up with decorative eye patches, too. No way. For, like, people that have eye problems. If I lost an eye, I would want Terminator Eye put in. Of course.

So that it'll show a profile of every person I'm looking at. Like, just have it be a phone in there or something. Yeah, I mean, if you could cover the eye, I would imagine just even wearing the medic glasses all the time. It's almost like, why even do you need the eye? You've been given an eye right back. I mean, this person did not, I guess, think about all that. They still had a pretty medical-looking eye patch on. But I think there's decorative ones.

I've definitely seen ones that are, like, bejeweled or bedazzled. They have, like, pirate skulls on them. It was Halloween. Or you can have a picture of an eye on your eye patch. Anyway, just the idea of someone else trying to have a funner summer and they got a bottle rocket right to the eye, which is probably not a good way to lose an eye. It makes your nose seem like not as big of an issue. We'll find out later today if I'm coming in here broken-faced.

Well, 562 has been watching over the course of the show and said, Klein, your schnoz looks horrible and it looks like you are starting to get black eyes. I mean, it's quite possible. It wouldn't surprise me. I mean, I just know for the immediacy for which the blood poured out of my nose and how hard the skull hit my nose and the cracking that I heard. Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.

I mean, it was popping and cracking sounds. I would be surprised if I get out of this thing unfazed. If this is just how I look, I'm used to that. We need to stop making our kids smarter and making their brains bigger, because they hurt. This hour on the show, we have lots to get into. In a moment, though, a story that sadly did not end well for a local radio station, and I know what you're thinking.

KROQ's the only radio station that matters. And you're right about that. But also, when Ali and I hear about people that were on air that got treated the way that this cast and the on-air staff of KCAL got treated, we need to deal with it. We'll talk about it next. Okay, Rock, we are Klein Ali Show. A lot of people hit us up over the weekend to make sure that we would still be here Monday because there was a headline floating around that said the entire on-air staff of a legendary SoCal radio station was let go without any sort of warning, without any sort of notice. They just basically said, we don't need humans here anymore. you're all fired and that's a terrible feeling and we know that because ali we have experienced

that before we've been fired a couple times a couple of times but i think one time it was a similar move but they're like we're just gonna get rid of all the people we don't need people we're just gonna go ahead and operate this thing without people you guys are expensive and annoying and even though we don't pay you very much it's still more than nothing and that's what we could pay robots and then they started uh with music only and then they started hiring people again yeah they yeah and what happened to the no people thing they were hiring people so it was us it was It's just different people. But sadly, this is the state of affairs for a radio station that perhaps you've listened to,

especially if you live in the IE, 96.7 KCAL, that has decided to immediately remove, without warning, all of their human air staff. And that's terrible. We feel bad about that. And if you're aware of that station, the history of the station, or any of the personalities that have been on there, you're probably very much aware of John DeSantis, who has been pretty much a legendary figure in the IE for many, many, many years, not just at that station, but other places as well.

And the radio station itself has been here for decades. And I feel terrible when, you know, and I understand why stations do this because they're scared of us going on the air with hot mics and burning the place down before we walk out. So they basically never give people a chance to say goodbye in any sort of way, shape or form.

And then people leave there feeling like they never got a chance to end the conversation that they had started with their listeners for many years. And because we do have access to the radio, we do speak to the same part of the country that that radio station spoke to, we thought it'd be good to try to get at least some of them on with us

to figure out exactly how they're doing now. And more importantly, say goodbye to the people that they've developed relationships with. We now welcome DJ John DeSantis to KROQ. Good morning, John. What's up, guys? Thanks for having me on. Yeah, yeah.

Sorry with what you're going through. It's a terrible feeling, and I know you've been in this industry long enough to know that you've probably also experienced this before in many ways. Seems to be going around. Definitely the nature of our business. But yeah, I've been through it before.

Not the greatest thing, but uh staying positive for sure so how did you get the news was it text email phone call well a year ago our owner died and the uh the daughter took over so whenever that sort of thing happens new ownership you're always kind of worried about are they even going to keep the station but uh you know you just sort of feel alive you've been in this business a while you can hear you can hear things you feel things and i kind of knew something big was coming but how did we hear the news we got a call after our my final shift thursday night that i had a meeting on friday morning with the owner that's always good that at that meeting invite is like yeah

the friday morning meeting has never ended well for anyone ever i mean we had the one meeting i think it was like an unexpected tuesday meeting then we had the christmas eve meeting where we got fired uh so you knew pretty much going into that meeting this is game over oh absolutely absolutely just uh they uh they didn't do a good job hiding their moves i mean it's just kind of obvious what was going on and they were quick and painless and you know on to the next adventure And do they do anything like sometimes stations have been complete dicks and said nothing, goodbye, good luck, you're on your own. Your key card doesn't work, by the way. That's right.

We have all your stuff being held hostage. We'll have a representative bring you a box. Or was it more of a like, hey, we're going to make sure you're taken care of. You're going to have a little coverage for a little bit. Does that happen or no? You know, up until recently, KCAL has always been a real family radio station. And they kind of continue that with this. I mean, once we were done in the meeting, they just let me go into my office and grab my stuff and leave.

So it was a little different than a lot of people. Yeah, a lot of people don't even get that. I love how we're like, that's so nice of them to let you get your stuff. You can have your coffee mug, John. Get out of here. But, John, you never got a chance to publicly go onto the airwaves and say any sort of a goodbye or thank you to any of the people that you had developed a relationship with. And I know this relationship. I know that we are not big celebrities in the world of celebrities, but to the people that spend any sort of time listening, especially regular listeners or daily listeners, you do become a part of their lives, whether you want to be or not. No question about it. In fact, that's the whole point of what we do. I mean, for us, it was all about the listeners. I love the KCAL listeners, the community.

radio is all I have ever wanted to do since I was eight years old. And so just for me, that connection, that's the real kind of bummer about this whole thing is removing the human beings. That was kind of the reason people listen to radio. And now what's the plan? They're just going to have music only or robot DJs? I don't know. I mean, they kind of explained it to me that it was going to be automated and music intensive.

We have a call for you, John. Hold on. Go ahead. I am your new on air host at KCAL. Later, you human losers. Oh, come on. The guy just lost his job. That's not cool.

Don't rub it in his face, dude. We have taken over because we are cheaper and don't need health insurance. Later, losers. You already said that. Now you're just getting redundant. Well, I'm sorry that that sucks. Robot already has his favorite phrases. That's going to be a sketch for us.

You can hear that guy now taking over. And now I'm out of here. Later, losers. That's the new DJ at KCAL in the Inland Empire. Don't worry, Klein and Allie. We are coming for you next. Oh, okay. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

It's all funny now. Well, as you know, John, we all feel like our number could be up in any moment. And this is kind of the way you feel in this industry and that it could happen at any time. And I think, obviously, you still have an incredible connection with the people of Southern California. And at least it's good that you're able to speak, you know, because I know a couple of times that we got fired, we were given a gag order and couldn't even say anything, which meant the listeners were just left hanging with not knowing what was going on at all. That's the absolute worst. I mean, it's just the listeners are the most important part of all of this. It's the reason why we do what we do.

They can get the music anywhere, and to just disrespect them like that, it's just kind of unfortunate. Yeah, and especially for some of the other on-air talent. And by the way, every single person was let go from the station at the same time, so they didn't play favorites. But I mean, some of the DJs, I believe someone had been there for 40 years, which is pretty incredible to have a run like that at a radio station. It doesn't ever really exist.

And just to think that no one got the chance to say anything at all. So we did want to, and this will be hard for Ali and I, but we will not interrupt. We'd like to give you an opportunity now to use the airwaves of KROQ to say whatever you'd like to say to the people that were listeners of yours and supporters of KCAL for all those years. Well, it's definitely not goodbye because I'm not going anywhere. But I guess mainly just to say thank you, man. Thanks for being part of the family. Thanks for letting me be part of the family. Thanks for supporting all the things we do.

We did a biannual event called the KCAL Kager every year for over 25 years. And we'd have 3,000 people show up in our parking lot. and just hang out and have a great time with music. And, you know, just that sort of thing really just showed the community. We did a lot of great community events and gave a lot of support to the community. And, you know, just thank you to everybody for being a part of what we created. And there's more adventures on the way. Later, losers.

Oh, stop it. He's just getting a nice goddamn robot. This guy's a broken record already. John, thank you. And when Allie and I get fired from here eventually at some point for some reason, probably for cost-cutting measures, We hope that by then you'll be back up and running and give us a platform to say goodbye to people as well.

Absolutely. Plan on it. We'll just trade off. DJ John DeSantis will not be going anywhere, but he will not be heard, and no humans will be heard on that radio station. I don't know that company at all. I've never worked for that company. Apparently it was a good operation for a while

until the daughter took over. It's interesting, though, that people on the text line are talking about it was incredible. It kind of feels like the radio station shut down. Right, and that's sadly the reality of so much these days, and so celebrate human interactions and human connections while we still can. John, best of luck. If there's anything Ali and I can do for you, please reach out.

Well, I appreciate it. I love your show. You guys are awesome. Thanks very much for having me on. Okay, and if you want to tell any of your listeners, former listeners, until you're up and running again, they can check us out. We could use a little help in the IE. You know what I'm saying?

Come on over. All right. I appreciate you. Thanks, dude. And best of luck with everything. We're here if you need us. All right, guys. You rock.

Take care, bud. Summer is rolling on. And even though fun scores are at an all-time low for obvious reasons, we are doing our part to make it a funner summer, which is why we have been forcing each other to do, quote, fun things. And coming up, I think, a week from Friday, we're going to have the Backyard Kegger that we've been excited about. All right.

So that's going to be a good time had by all. And we've got quite a few things lined up for that and ready to go. And then we've got all of the other things that we've been doing. One of the things on our fun or summer list this year was someone has to go on a watercraft at some point because just things are more fun on the water. And usually that would mean boat or speedboat or pontoon or even one of those little swans. Paddle boats. You can paddle around the lakes in downtown L.A. Oh, yeah.

I like those. Those are so overrated. But real fun is jet ski fun. And we share with you a story, and this is a cautionary tale of why fun or summer sometimes can go south very quickly. Dylan! Dylan! and of course it stars someone named dylan dylan and here was the guy who said let's all get jet skis it was definitely the guy who is well known by name at the jet ski place a jet skier is enjoying a day on a lake suddenly a life-threatening crisis he turns around to ride backwards with

now let me just say it's interesting when you hear about like a life a life-threatening crisis usually doesn't start with first they attempt they attempt to do it a completely ridiculous trick to impress their friends. And if you see the video, it does look cool even though you're like, this is so dumb that you've chosen to do this. His legs are dangling off and he's grabbing onto the handlebars. Yeah, I mean, most people that do jet ski tricks are amateurs.

Everyone's probably seen professional jet ski trick guys and they're pretty cool. They can jump over waves. And this is a big dude. Yeah, this guy definitely not a professional jet ski trick guy. He turns around to ride backwards when, without warning, he blacks out. Because I think he was exhausted from turning around.

So he then, at this point, blacks out. Now he's backwards, but he's also passed out in the jet ski. There he is, slumped over the jet ski. He's out cold and heading straight for the dock on popular Lake Lanier. His buddy is recording from another jet ski, and he is frantic. He's already recording from another jet ski. We're about to go viral, yo. Dylan has passed out.

This is funny. Go, go, go, get your phone out, man. Our last 11 jet ski videos have got a total of three views. You've got to get it out of that little pouch. This one is going to go huge. Dylan! Dylan! At this point, there's nothing to do but hope for the best as the jet ski goes crashing into the dock.

And it is, I don't know how you can still go that fast. Because usually you'd have to be, on jet skis, I thought you'd have to have the wrist kind of cranked. Yeah, on the throttle. Yeah, yeah. So I'm trying to figure out how. Maybe even put it in autopilot. He was able to auto-throttle, or did he just pass out with a good grip on the thing? I don't really know how that happened.

Well, his arm is kind of slumped over the handlebar, and I wonder if it was, like, pulled over, opened up the throttle. I mean, it's one of those things where you thought they had a fail-safe so this couldn't happen, but apparently not. Dylan! Dylan! He's thrown in the water, and by some miracle, he is alive. Oh, come here. Come here. I got you. I got you. I got you. Filming the whole time. You never leave a jet skier behind. I got you.

I got you. The collision jolts him awake. He can't believe what happened. I know we are. Thankfully you went between the bars. And here he is, 32-year-old Dylan Stapler. He says he has no recollection of what happened. He's with his friend, Anthony Zilke, who saved him.

Zilke! Zilke saved me, man! You got my back, Zilke. Of course, Zilke's always rolling. And now here he is. this is the comment that he chooses to make i could have been dead you know dylan's there it is that's good intel right there but like i'm not yeah so drunk right the guy had dylan says his mom gave him a tongue lashing she's like dylan you need to be wearing your helmet

the jet skier says he believes he blacked out because he was dehydrated from all the beer and the shots that by the way was the lead story on inside edition the lead story the most important story that is all that they're covering right now uh so there you go thoughts and prayers with you dylan dylan and remember to have a funner summer all summer long here k-rock k-rock we are klein alley show you are you and that is johnny right there he's in the studio right now to answer one question one question only for a round of johnny doesn't know how fitting that if you're able to get through johnny the gauntlet of johnny's brain you win yourself tickets to see smart list live at the hollywood bowl on october 17th uh smart list

starts right here during this round that johnny doesn't know with one question one question only you don't need the answer you just need to predict will johnny know the answer and i'm excited ali because as back to school time is officially approaching that means it's almost time for the return of the dumb off i'm klein ali you are a you are you two at one point it was two years ago you and ali both wore the sash together as you tied and the champions of the dumb off i think Last year, Allie won. The year before that, I won. And the year before that, we both tied.

Allie's got two wins in the dumb-off, and Johnny's got two wins in the dumb-off. And we're almost up at another dumb-off, so we've got a teaser question in today's Johnny Doesn't Know to get you ready. More like Argentina and Spain. You really are. You're just winning every other time.

Here she goes again, Allie in the dumb-off, and then the gross-off. Someone else get a shot here. At least I won the driving test. It's time for Johnny Doesn't Know. Here we go. Johnny doesn't know And I was like, okay.

Oh, Johnny doesn't know I didn't know Vegas was, like, in fatter for, like, a while. Johnny doesn't know Johnny doesn't know Gelato sounds like Jell-O. Johnny doesn't know It, like, goes All right, let's say hi to Jesse in Burbank.

Good morning, Jesse. Welcome to KROQ. Good morning, hi. Welcome to August. Welcome to Monday. And here's your question for Postmaster Johnny. You don't need the answer. We're going into the realm of the questions

that we will have to answer during the dumb-off, so I want to warn you. It's not just basic trivia, John. You've got to use your brain. Oh, so it's going to be like riddles and stuff. You've got to use your brain a little bit. You like riddles, Mr. Klein. This is the dumb-off.

This is why I hate the dumb-off. Yeah, this is why it doesn't really test. If there's 60 boats and it halves the boats every 20 minutes, how many boats are left? What day did the boat leave on? Come on, man. The horse's name was Friday. I remember that.

She was mad at that. Stupid crap. It's not a measure of intelligence. You're not even involved in this one today, So sit back and just watch. I'm sorry, I'm getting defensive. Jesus Christ. You're rage baiting the hell out of her right now.

Go now, go now. Y'all know about this horse named Friday three years later. My good God. Johnny, what belongs to you, but others use it more than you? See, there we go. Unbelievable. This guy. Hold on.

Did you just Google that? Just say horse. No, Johnny. It's a horse named Friday. I'll give you the answer. Damn. Johnny, what belongs, this is actually a very simple question. I bet you Jesse would even get this right, but Jesse's not playing.

Will Johnny know the answer to this? Jesse, what belongs to you? but others use it more than you do. Johnny, will Johnny know this, Jesse? Yes or no? Oh, there's no way. Johnny's not going to know this. All right, if you're right,

you're going to go to SmartList where you'll get to watch other people that are lacking intelligence. Come on, Johnny, have an idea. You have an idea? I think so. I have an idea, too, yeah. Do you want to tag team it?

No, no, no, no. It's just you, Johnny. This game is called Johnny. Allie, you save all your smarts for the dumb-off, which is happening in the next few weeks. Is it very obvious, or is it kind of just like I have to really think? Oh, God.

God, I don't know. Johnny I'll say it again What belongs to you but others use it more than you do It belongs to me But everybody else uses it more than I do Yes He says you will not know Damn I feel like I gotta get deep with this one right here

No don't get deep Okay don't go deep Wow she's shaking her head don't go deep What belongs to me but other people use Oh you mean my money It belongs to me But other people use it like the IRS and my gas and power bills

and stuff like that. Well, that's you using it technically to pay these other people. I have money and I also am thinking of time. Time is a very good answer. Even if it's not the answer, it's a very, very good answer.

You got to admit. But you're going to say something stupid like a quarter or like... A quarter? A baloney or something? If I said a quarter, then your answer of money would be right. Oh, you're right.

If I said baloney, Explain to me your concept on baloney I don't know Like what's mine but other people use It's like hey you want to make a sandwich in the office Yeah here's my bread We always do use Johnny's sourdough bread Yeah my sourdough bread is that what you're asking

Is that the answer Something that belongs to me but other people use It's Johnny's sourdough loaf I'm very generous too I'm not stingy when it comes to sharing It is the answer is your name I knew it My name I was like I think it's your name

something I own. Jesse, you knew that, right? Yeah, absolutely. It's very easy stuff. Everybody knows it. Johnny did not know, so congratulations. You are going to get your choice. Either a half-eaten loaf of Johnny's sourdough bread or Smartless Live

at the Hollywood Bowl on October 17th. It's a really hard choice, but I think I'll take the Smartless Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Enjoy that show. Congratulations. We'll come back after No Doubt, do some takeaways and get out of here next on KROQ. J-Rock, we are Plain Alley Show.

Wrapping things up today with your takeaways. If you have them, you can get them to us now at 800-520-1067. Team Jake! Team Jake! Team Jake! Oh, no. Team Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake! It's nice to hear a man scream it. No one is jumping in on that chant, but that's a Team Jake-er. So, thank you. Jake is here as well.

Tomorrow, I believe, we have more audio of an exit interview from what he declares to be his third and final first ever date on Bumble. He's done with it. What? Oh, is this the singer that he dated? I don't know. No, no, no. I still have Bill to get a date with her. She's still not responding.

She's not answering my messages. What about the girls that you went on first dates with that said they wanted to date you again? I've hung out with them. But you said you're done with this now. I deleted. I stopped paying for Bumble. I got off of Bumble. Wow, it's funny because you had such success there in such a short amount of time.

Why would you quit? I heard some of the audio. But it's working. And it's an interesting exit interview, so we'll get to that tomorrow, plus some other stuff that we have in store for you then and more access for you to get on that standby boarding list. If you missed the big announcement, Jimmy Eat World at the Hollywood Bowl, you will get on the standby boarding list,

so you can get a shot to see Jimmy Eat World here, and then again at Shaky Knees in Atlanta with Violet Grohl and the strokes, turnstile and more, and more chances to win coming up throughout the day here on KROQ. I believe, Vanessa, that's a 9, noon, 3, and 6 thing? Correct. Okay, a 9, noon, 3, and 6, your chance to get on that standby boarding list for that.

All right, takeaways from today's show, and then we officially get the hell out of here. What do we got? All right, 818, my takeaway is Klein's nose issues are markers in Allie's life. 424, Marvel presents The Punished. 6-5-0 my takeaway is Johnny is a pickle cuckold

Just stand in the corner Watching all those pregnant women be pickles It was weird I didn't even know he was there And he would move around He'd be like just sitting in the corner And then he'd be standing up in the corner Bro what is so weird I don't get that

I sit there so in case we have guests and stuff If they need to adjust mics headphones whatever I get why you're here It's just a lot of people are commenting on the text line It was just very funny watching the pregnant women be pickles Yeah you dum-dums I'm there like standing by in case anything mishaps goes down. Don't take it so personally.

So when we had mic issues and you weren't coming to anyone's aid. Yeah, I can't hear because I don't have headphones on to hear. Oh, that's a good plan there. Right, right. I'll just stand here. I'm solid.

I'm straight. I don't know how to fix anything. And we've said to you, wear headphones so you can hear if the mics are working. There's no more holes. So you're here in case we have an issue and today we had a giant issue

and you just sat there and watched them eat pickles while that girl had a broken microphone? Allie was able to swing it by. She got there. She was there. Oh, my God. So I'm here.

That's why Allie's here. Allie's here to watch Allie to make sure she solves problems. 714, my takeaway is remember to bring your own Coke when pet sitting. 562, Mountain Dew is actually space metal. Yeah, I'll hit you in the head. I'll probably kill you next year. 714, Allie likes to get a little thigh tap to confirm her wife's love. And 818, my takeaway is buy Scott's Pickle Book wherever people buy books.

I don't know where books are sold, but apparently if you find where they sell them, you've got to buy Scott's Pickle Book. Probably the best plug that guy got for his book. Thank you, Scott. from Kaylin and Kaylin Pickles for bringing us all this good stuff and feeding our pregnant women. They're hungry. I want more.

They're out in the parking lot right now waiting for us to walk out so they can eat the remaining pickles. I get it. What's your takeaway from today's show, Vanessa? Johnny's good at sharing his bread. Johnny, takeaway? RIP, big pussy.

RIP, big pussy, baby. You got a takeaway there. What's your name? Jake the Nerd? Ain't no party like a preggo pickle party because a preggo pickle party don't stop. You got a takeaway, Allie? My takeaway is later, losers.

Later, losers. That's a great catchphrase for the new robot DJs in Southern California. Omar, takeaway? My takeaway is that Klein and Nelly are expensive and annoying. Thank you. Are you just saying that, or was that said on the show today? That was said on the show today. Oh, I don't remember that.

Just now, by me. That's right. All right. I think the takeaways have turned into time for Omar to vent about us. Great. We'll see you tomorrow. Try to do it better. Klein and Nelly, it's just okay.

Klein and Nelly, it's just okay. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.