Meet AMP 97.1 FM’s new ‘The Morning Mess’ crew before their first LA radio show

On Monday morning, Southern California’s Entercom-owned AMP 97.1 FM will welcome a brand-new morning show crew as it debuts the Los Angeles edition of “The Morning Mess.”

Hosted by on-air personalities Joey Boy, Aneesh Ratan, Jeana Shepard and Karla Hernandez, “The Morning Mess” will air weekdays from 5-10 a.m. Though the show is actually based at AMP’s sister station, Live 101.5 FM in Phoenix, Arizona, it will air in both markets and strive to offer Los Angeles- and Southern California-specific content for listeners here.

Host Joey Boy grew up locally in Highland Park and later lived in Burbank where his parents currently reside. He was a DJ on Power 106 in the mid-’90s and worked at stations that broadcast in Ventura and Riverside before getting hired at Live 101.5.

“My parents are so excited to hear their baby boy back in SoCal,” he said during a video chat ahead of the first show.

The morning show crew, who all participated in the video conversation, have a fun dynamic together. Joey said it’s because they’re all actually friends off-air; he said they manifested the arrival of “The Morning Mess” in Los Angeles when they all made a trip together to the area back in October.

“It was so meant to be,” he said. “We went to an AMP promotion event out there, and there was just such a vibe that fits our vibe, so we knew it would be a perfect fit. I took these guys to all of my favorite hamburger and sushi spots and we saw my dad’s salsa band play in Alhambra. The diversity of this show fits SoCal, so when we got the call I was like ‘Yes!’”

So how exactly will a morning radio show based in Phoenix be able to simultaneously speak to L.A. audiences? Michael Martin, senior vice president of programming and music initiatives at Entercom, jumped in the chat to better explain.

“What COVID has shown us all is that we can do our jobs from anywhere,” he said.

While there will be certain evergreen bits and topics that are more universal, he added, these will be two really different shows; the music programming will be curated differently as well.

“What’s popular in Los Angeles isn’t what’s popular in Phoenix,” he said. “So they’re working off of two separate music logs and that was key to the structure of this whole thing. Another thing COVID has forced us to do is utilize technology and push it to be able to have us do simultaneous content delivery for different places and target it so that when you listen to [‘The Morning Mess’] on AMP, you’ll be hearing about Southern California and not what’s happening in Phoenix.”

“The Morning Mess” calls their listeners Morning Messengers, and just like they have in Arizona there will be a dedicated phone line for the talent to be able to speak directly to the Southern California audience as well.

Ratan said he’s stoked to be able to interact with L.A. fans. He joined “The Morning Mess” in 2015 and is an advocate for numerous LGBTQ+ organizations. Growing up in Arizona, he had dreams about moving to L.A. that never fully came to fruition.

“The fact that this full-circle moment is happening right now is wild,” he said.

Though Shepard, who joined the show last year, was born and raised in Phoenix, she said she’s excited to get to cover and experience some of Southern California’s offerings, including outdoor activities with her husband and kids that don’t include Arizona’s sometimes 120-degree weather.

“I love foodie cities and I know L.A. has so many good spots,” she said. “I love coffee and I hear there are amazing coffee shops out there, and I want to experience the farmers’ markets and dig into more local produce and locally owned things. And L.A. has more than double the population that Phoenix has, so there will be a lot of options for me.”

Much like the radio stations in Los Angeles, “The Morning Mess” crew spent weeks finding its footing while working from home during the pandemic.

Hernandez, a Napa native who moved to Phoenix to attend Arizona State University, had the most interesting experience working from home in quarantine as she shared space with several roommates who were taking courses at ASU.

“One girl would be in a really loud Zoom meeting with 100 classmates in one room, so we tried [broadcasting] from the bathroom, living room, my room and eventually I had to build a fort with blankets and pillows,” she said with a laugh.

“The fort was our favorite,” Joey added, noting that they decided to keep all of their audio bloopers in the show since it mirrored their listeners’ working-from-home experience and was pretty relatable.

“She literally built this fort with blankets and pillows for echoing and it was hilarious,” he continued. “The Morning Messengers were just along for the ride like, ‘I feel you, Karla; I’m in the same boat’ after we put up a visual with Karla sitting criss-cross applesauce in the middle of the floor doing a broadcast.”

“The Morning Mess” is back in-studio now — with precautions, of course — and they teased that they do have some special surprises and bits up their sleeves that are special to the L.A. audience.

“We’re just excited,” Joey said. “We can’t wait.”