Having a Beer with Alex and Kevin

WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

Alex Taylor and Kevin Flynn, the hosts of “The Need to Know Morning Show” on AM 1100 The Flag, are two peas in a pod. Flynn even says Taylor is his “sister from another mister,” and they often think of what the other person will say before it’s spoken.

On a rainy autumn day, the two seasoned radio hosts joined me at Drekker for a beer or two as we chatted about dolls vs. clowns, risky life choices and other hot topics.

Good Life: How do you handle your unusual working hours? Kevin Flynn: I get up at 3:20 every morning, drive about an hour to work, we do our thing, and then I drive an hour back to the lake. I’m just loving life in the north country. Alex Taylor: I can beat that. I get up at about 2-2:30 a.m. I get to work at 4 a.m., hit the computers and see what I missed when I was sleeping. I get a nap every day at 2 o’clock, so that’s a bonus. I’ve been working at The Flag for probably 5 or 6 years, and I love morning radio. I’m done by 9:30 most days. After that it’s like I didn’t even work. KF: I, on the other hand, started morning radio so I could make a 1 o’clock tee time. That’s pretty much my motivation. I started exclusively doing mornings in ’85 in Arizona. Last fall was my 40th year of

being on radio. Talk radio is even better for me because I don’t have to shut up.

GL: Are dolls or clowns creepier? AT: Dolls. I’ve seen some scary dolls. Chucky is probably scarier than Pennywise. I think I could reason with Pennywise. I don’t think I’d have a chance with Chucky. KF: Clowns, no doubt. They’re living and breathing. They could be anything.

GL: What’s the worst gift you’ve ever been given? KF: Probably a bottle of liqueur that was the most rancid, nasty stuff I’ve ever tried in my life. It was like toxic, rotten licorice. AT: I’m not a big fan of surprises. I’m the one who picks out my gift and says, “This is what you got me!” Then he doesn’t have to think and everybody’s happy. You don’t waste your money on junk I don’t like, and I get what I want.

GL: When you were a kid, what did you think would be a bigger problem as you grew up? I—and every other child of the ’80s and ’90s— thought hot lava was going to be a way bigger issue in life than it has been. KF: Authority. GL: How did that turn out? KF: Okay, thank goodness. For a lot of reasons, I had a certain disdain when I was younger for authority, but I came out of that. The good Lord said I wouldn’t be that guy. AT: I was never really scared of anything, but my dad tried to make me water ski once. He was like, “Get up. You have a life jacket and you’re going to waterski.” We must have been out there all afternoon before he gave up on me. I just didn’t want to. I didn’t know how to swim, and I didn’t

want to be in water over my head. I don’t like my hair wet, and I just want to float—nowadays with a beverage. GL: What’s one current cultural thing you’d be happy to see go? KF: For me, it’s some of the language. “To be honest,” “Honestly,” “Right?”—it drives me crazy. I could go down the list. AT: All this politically incorrect stuff. KF: Too much freakin’ wokeness. AT: You can’t say what you think anymore. I’m sick of people being sensitive and offended. I think it was better when we could all just say what we wanted and you got over it. You don’t have to agree with me, and I don’t have to agree with you, but we’re all entitled to our opinion.

GL: What’s the riskiest or weirdest thing you’ve done in life that actually ended up turning out well? AT: I went to college as an older student. I was a hairstylist for a few years. Then I had my son and decided that once he was in 1st grade I’d go back to school. It was a different experience as an older student, but I knew why I was there. KF: Mine was buying a lake lot 25 years ago with money we didn’t have. It worked out.

GL: What does living the good life mean to you? AT: Having fun. Making every day the best day because every day is a gift. If you’re not having fun, don’t do it. Why waste the time? Just have fun. KF: I worked for a guy whose mantra was, “Dare to be great.” He ended up being the VP of FOX Sports Radio. I always liked his mantra, but it seemed long to me. So I just started saying, “Be great,” and tagged it on everything. Being anything else is shortchanging yourself. •