DJs Johnson and Tofte return to a.m. on AM

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 9:22 a.m.

They're back.

One year after morning DJs Ken Johnson and Jim Tofte's abrupt departure from KKLZ 96.3-FM -- a final show (unknown to them) that involved driving over a German chocolate cake in a Volkswagon Beetle on Hitler's birthday -- the duo is back on the radio.

For three weeks they've been delivering crude and clever witticisms, shameless pranks and unfettered musings on current events and pop culture on KSFN 1140-AM (Hot Talk).

This following a painstaking job search that led Tofte to working spots on syndicated stations, and Johnson to the Wal-Mart on Centennial Parkway where he worked (one day in training and another on the floor) in electronics. He also participated in a training session for a computer company that never culminated in employment.

"So basically, Ken worked a total of six days," Tofte said jokingly last Friday, while inside their studio on West Sahara Avenue.

Last December while Johnson was seeking part-time work from Infinity Broadcasting Inc., which owns several local stations, he met Gavin Spittle, program manager for KXNT 840-AM (KSFN's sister station).

The two began talking about the state of radio, and before long Johnson was pulling a demo tape from his car and playing it for Spittle.

"I'd never seen someone so excited in my life," Johnson said, with a laughing Spittle standing nearby.

And on April 9 Johnson and Tofte went on the air at KSFN for the first time.

"They're truly reviving the AM dial," Spittle said. "KXNT has cut its way through FM. Hot Talk is going to do the same thing. Las Vegas for some reason never had an AM presence."

The 9 a.m.-noon weekday talk show, with more air time than the two could ever have imagined, is a new venture for the morning personalities, who have been a team for nearly 20 years.

"We have a lot of respect for people who do (talk radio)," Johnson said. "Talk radio's a beast. You gotta be prepared.

"It's kind of like a high-wire act. You gotta have backups."

"Which we don't," Tofte added. "So if you hear 10 minutes of dead air on our show, that's why."

The duo brought Ed in the Booth and Big Fat White Guy, their morning "sidekicks," to the new station. Guests such as Amber Brkich, a contestant from "Survivor II," and Roger Lodge, host of the syndicated TV show "Blind Date," have appeared on the show, for longer stretches than they would have enjoyed at KKLZ. Having guests on the show was something the two did on their other morning show.

"We did that but didn't have much time," Johnson said. "Before, they were breathing down our neck to play another Boston tune.

"I think music will be irrelevant in our society," he added jokingly.

Johnson and Tofte joined the morning radio scene in Las Vegas nearly 11 years ago on KKLZ, where they developed a following among 18-34 year olds, fans who boosted their ratings.

But last April, when Johnson drove away the Volkswagon Beetle while the two were on the air, he left behind a mess that prompted Tofte to jokingly comment that this is how he imagined their last show would be: Johnson driving away leaving a mess for Tofte to clean up.

At the time the two had no idea that this was their last show. They were dismissed from the station and replaced with Mark and Brian, syndicated morning radio personalities from Los Angeles.

"That was not what led to our (dismissal)," Tofte said of the cake prank and the discrepancy as to why they were fired. The two are standing by their belief that they were fired from the station as a way for the station to cut their costs to make the station more attractive to potential buyers.

"We were replaced with Mark and Brian at one-fifth of the cost," Tofte added. (Earlier this year Florida's Beasley Broadcast Group acquired six Centennial Stations, including KKLZ.)

"It was just the last straw they needed," Johnson said.

Both said that finding radio work was much more difficult than either expected. "We were hitting the streets for jobs in radio," Tofte said. "We had these offers on the table that seemed to fizzle away magically (one in Detroit, another in Houston). "It was getting depressing," he added. "This was not a year to be unemployed. There are shows around the country this past year that have gotten the ax."

"Downsizing is the new mantra," Johnson said.

Although they were close to pulling out of town, the two didn't want to leave Las Vegas.

"We had our for-sale signs on the front lawn," Tofte said. "We have families, kids. It would be tough to have to them move to another city."

Instead, they are enjoying their new digs. The station, housed in a Mediterranean-style building surrounded by fountains and palm trees, is commonly referred to by the duo as their "Columbian Drug Lord" mansion.

The two see the return to morning radio as a blessing.

"We feel like we're home," Johnson said. "Look for a welcome back party."