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A Conversation with KROQ’s

MEGAN HOLIDAY

August 18, 2024 by Jimmy Alvarez

In our ongoing Industry Report series, we turn back to the legends of radio broadcasting, The World Famous KROQ. In our last visit to this iconic radio station, we covered where they’ve been and their re-trajectory.

Program Director Kevin Weatherly is redefining their sound, and he has put together the voices that deliver to their listeners. With a solid morning show (Klein / Ally) and a daytime lineup featuring Nicole Alvarez (middays) and Kevan Kenney (evenings), we turn to their afternoon host, Megan Holiday.

Holiday has a story that is very much off the beaten path and is beyond inspiring. To tell this story, we had to go back in time, to the beginning, to understand where we are and where we’re headed on this sonic journey.

Holiday was born on October 14th in the Year of the Tiger. She is the middle child of three siblings – an older brother and a younger one. She lived a very normal childhood in Rancho Cucamonga, California; that is, until she didn’t.

All origin stories have triggers that make our subject who they are or were. Holiday had a fate which would play into a solemn journey into an abyss. The kind of journey we all know far too well – directly, or indirectly – by way of someone we know who has been on that path.

For Holiday, her trigger event took place when she was just 11 years old. As she recalled, it was a normal day, just like any other. She was out riding her bike with her 7-year-old brother. In the blink of an eye, her life changed and so did her brother’s. They were kids just being kids, then a neighbor who was under the influence and behind the wheel of a vehicle hit her brother, ran him over, and just kept on driving.

The event was traumatic for each sibling. For her brother, it left him hospitalized for three months recovering from several broken bones – he eventually lost one of his legs to amputation. It’s taken a lifetime, but her brother has learned to deal with that event and life has gone on from that horrible accident. But for Megan Holiday, that moment triggered her mind into an emotional quagmire that saw her turn to alcohol at a very young age to deal with the vivid images of what happened that fateful day. She said, “I remember feeling lost. I wanted to be strong, but I just lost my way.”

Like most people going through trials, she was able to function in her day-to-day, but like most people feeling the grip of addiction, she was chasing a form of salvation that would never materialize – at least not at the bottom of a bottle. Then, as it does, the disease moved on to a deeper spiral that involved a variety of drugs.

What I found remarkable is that Holiday has taken ownership of her past and wanted to talk about where she had been and what happened. She said, “By talking about it openly, anyone who hears my story doesn’t feel so alone. I want people who are struggling to know there’s a light at the end of that tunnel.”

Let’s flashback to her days in high school at St. Lucy’s in Glendora. There she said the grips of addiction had really taken root. As she went through college at Dominican University in Marin County, she was able to get by, but she was never really free of that beast; it was a constant struggle.

She eventually landed an internship in San Diego at 91X; an internship she truly loved. She grew to embrace the idea of working in radio in some capacity thanks to a friend by the name of Menace – more on him later. It wasn’t until the end of her term there that she really thought she could make a living out of it. She was a natural behind the mic, but that addiction demon was still part of her soul. No matter how positive life could be, addiction still held on.

She relocated to Northern California to Bay Area juggernaut Live 105 where she rejoined a radio broadcast team. There she worked with that previously mentioned cat named Menace.

Megan Holiday | Menace

Mornings on Live 105

The run there was solid, but short. Holiday conceded it was a short stay as a result of the mess she created. Not anything anyone else did at the station, but what she did to get let go from her dream gig.

That’s the part of her story that really impressed me. She said, “To get better, you have to accept responsibility for when you fuck up, and that’s what I did there.”

Megan Holiday with Garbage at Last Year’s Acoustic Christmas

I have chosen not to go into detail on what happened; just know Holiday laid down her cards and told me the sordid details of her past. I felt the sincerity in her voice when she told me all the ways she let everyone down, including herself. I am sure we can all read between the lines on some of the thing that she regrets as it is a common story how addicts let their family, friends, and employers down.

Holiday lost it all. Family and friends for a bit. Her job. Her place to live. Most importantly, she lost a piece of her soul. That’s what addiction does.

Like most stories along these lines, you could already guess this wasn’t rock bottom. But with all origin stories, rock bottom finally came, and when it did, it was the death of someone close to her. It was then she had a choice to make. Did she want to stay on the path she was on, or did she want to try a different life?

Luckily, she didn’t burn through all her relationships and still had someone in her corner. That friend was there to help her get into and finish rehab, and take the next step towards finding the sun in that perpetual nightmare where darkness resides.

As Holiday got clean, she never thought she would ever be able to get back into radio. But one day the Fates came knocking in the form of another familiar name to us in SoCal: Nicole Alvarez. She knew Holiday through mutual friends and knew just how good she was on the air. Alvarez told her she would be taking time off for maternity leave and management would be looking for someone to cover her shift. Alvarez suggested she reach out to the station to inquire about the opportunity.

Nicole Alvarez Middays at The World Famous KROQ

I would like to say the rest is history, but that would be shorting us of the redemption part of this story. Holiday did as Alvarez suggested and reached out to set up a meeting between Lisa Worden and Kevin Weatherly. They were the management staff at KROQ back in the day that would give Holiday a thumbs up or down. At that meeting, Holiday laid out her cards and told them what happened at Live105. She took responsibility, convincingly and with sincerity pleaded her case that she loved radio broadcasting and would work very hard for them and not blow the opportunity to be back on the airwaves.

Holiday believed that it was just good practice to be honest about her past, but because of that past, she did not think she would be back on the air soon. Fortunately, shortly thereafter she got the word that KROQ would take a chance on her. She found herself filling in for Alvarez and other time slots to give her a chance to make it or break it, so-to-speak. Now we can say the rest is history, or at least the beginning of a new one for Megan Holiday.

Since then, Holiday has made it her mission to talk about addiction and make sure people have outlets to find help. As for this survivor, she is living her best life working afternoons at KROQ. You can also hear her in NoCal back at Live105. Between you and I, just know that same infectious smile you hear in her voice on air, yeah… she is that same person off air.

She said life has been a wave of ups and downs, and those lows almost did her in. She went on to say her brother is doing better, but “it’s day-to-day for both of us.” With a big smile, she said her brother plays on a hockey team as a goalie and he’s living life. The radiance in her face when she talked about her brother was one of joy and pride.

In the end, there is something all high-profile DJs have in common in their stories: Music saved their life in one way or another. For Holiday, music is life. With a different outlook nowadays, she wants people to know they are never alone or on an island. She is, and will continue to be, an advocate for people suffering from addiction and mental health issues.

That all being said, the measurement of being successful in this business is defined by many variables. Despite all the ways to gauge success, there is only one matrix that stands above all, the one money can’t buy. It’s the respect you have earned from your colleagues.

I asked around and had no shortage of people that wanted to chime in. But the one response that stood out and best fit the frame of this article came from broadcasting legend, Matt Pinfield.

Now to the fun stuff. I asked Holiday about music that is important to her. She smiled and said, “I can’t tell you how much ‘White Pony,’ by Deftones means to me.”

In fact, the band is so beloved by her, she flew up to the Bay Area to see them play with System of a Down last weekend.

There’s a very good chance you’ll see her at Dia de los Deftones in San Diego.

I asked about new music KROQ is playing today that she likes. She said she hopes to see the band bby blow up. She suggested we keep an eye on them: “I love their song ‘kinky.’ It just makes me smile!”

When asked what group or song is her favorite of all time, she answered quickly, “The Beatles, ‘In My Life.” Those lyrics mean everything to me.”

I asked Holiday what her favorite, most surreal moment has been working at KROQ. She smiled and said, “That’s easy. Meeting Gwen Stefani. I mean, she’s a successful woman that I listened to as a kid. And she is down-to-earth and still loves to come to places like KROQ and pay us a visit. I felt like a teenager standing next to her taking photos in the studio.”

Also very noteworthy, Holiday has started a non-profit called Life of the Party. Developed with the intent of helping to reduce opioid overdoses, their mission statement reads:

“Our mission is to reduce opioid overdoses, protect vulnerable individuals, and build a supportive network embracing harm reduction principles.

At events like music festivals and community gatherings, we aim to empower people with the knowledge and tools to recognize an overdose and administer naloxone.

By normalizing naloxone use, we believe we can save lives. Together, we can create environments where lives are valued, health is prioritized, and communities unite to save lives. You too can make a difference.”

With a smile that can light up the New York skyline and a laugh that can brighten anyone’s day, Megan Holiday is living proof that bad things happen to good people. But, if they believe in themselves, work hard, and try to help their fellow brothers and sisters whenever possible, then redemption through good deeds is very possible.

No matter what challenges appear before her, the future looks very bright for Megan Holiday.

Jimmy Alvarez and Megan Holiday at KROQ Studio

You can hear Holiday weekdays on the World Famous KROQ from 2 – 6 p.m. Also make sure to check out Life of the Party. It will be the best click of your day.

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