What's Your Favorite...Brian and Kellie

KFDI's morning show hosts share their favorite things.

After 16 years on the air together, Brian Pierce and Kellie Michaels, hosts of “Mornings with Brian and Kellie” on 101.3 FM, know each other so well that they could probably pinch-hit for one another in an interview. We’re talking about the ultimate team on The Newlywed Game. “A big key to what we do is that we’re around each other so much that every conversation is a dry run that might go on air,” says Brian. “It doesn’t take long listening to us to realize we’ll talk about almost every single intimate detail.” The radio duo moved to Wichita to work for KFDI in July, after 14 years of hosting a popular radio morning show in Springfield, Illinois. “At this point in our careers, we could pick where we wanted to go, and we wanted to be a part of a station that had a legendary reputation,” says Brian. To the couple’s delight, Wichitans embraced them right away. Listeners called and welcomed them from their first morning on air, July 30, 2007. “You can have an instant friend when you’re out at the store here,” says Kellie. The couple recently sat down with us after a morning in the studio.

First Concert:
Brian: The Supremes with my mom and dad in 1966. We sat in the front row, and I wore a suit and tie. I remember Diana Ross looked at me and sang at one point in the concert. How do you beat that?
Kellie: For me, it was the Electric Light Orchestra at the DuQuoin State Fair in Illinois as a teenager.

Sports Team:
Brian: St. Louis Rams.
Kellie: The U.S. curling team from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
Brian: Oh, good answer!

What’s in Your CD Player:
Brian: Nothing. I really love radio because it provides something a CD never will. I want information that provokes the mind and spurs thought.
Kellie: Trisha Yearwood. And The Carpenters at Christmas from October through Christmas.

Restaurant:
Kellie: Probably B.G. Bolton’s. Brian always orders the sweet pepper bacon burger.
Brian: And Kellie usually gets the chef salad or buffalo chicken.

Most Memorable Interview:
Brian: Seinfeld. This was in Boston, 1987. He was a working comedian at the time. I had these walkie-talkies, and I gathered up $13 from everyone in the studio and asked Jerry to go out and hand out dollar bills to people on the sidewalk. He ended up literally chasing them down because they didn’t want to make eye contact. He did this bit for 45 minutes during rush hour. Of course, the irony is that nowadays he’d be mobbed.
Kellie: David Cassidy—you know, Keith Partridge from The Partridge Family. I told him I was his biggest fan and that I had this huge crush on him, which was a huge confession from me. Of course, he responded,
“I hear that every day.”

Band/Musician:
Brian: For Kellie, it would be Rascal Flatts or The Carpenters.
Kellie: And Brian would say Chicago or Steely Dan.
Brian: Don’t forget Grand Funk Railroad!

Book:
Kellie: Honestly, it would have to be The Bible.
Brian: That’s easy. Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head and Whack Your Porcupine by B. Kliban.

If You Could Sit Next to Anyone On a Plane, It Would Be:
Brian: Elvis. There are a few things I want to get to the bottom of.
Kellie: No one. I’d want the space.

If You Could Choose Another Career, It Would Be:
Kellie: Interior design. We’re in the process of redecorating our house, so I always watch design shows on HGTV.
Brian: A professional blackjack player, or a professional athlete. I was actually very active back in high school. I did everything—fencing, boxing, football, baseball, you name it. I would have been 100 pounds lighter and retired 20 years ago.

Something People Don’t Know About You:
Brian: How in the right light, I look just like Mel Gibson.
Kellie: The right light is no light.
(They laugh.)
Brian: I know her better than
she does. It would probably be that she worries about the world,
and she always wants to help people. Oh, and she can’t cook.
Kellie: I can, too!