Phil Hendrie was born September 1st, 1952, and was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia. Phil spent much of his youth traveling with his parents, transplanted Canadians, on lengthy road trips, during which he became enamored of the sounds of American radio coming through the car speakers. By the age of 5, young Phil knew he'd found his calling. At 14, he discovered Dylan Thomas, and he considered a career as a writer, but as his interest in radio grew as well, he began hanging around Pasadena's KRLA, watching the likes of Casey Kasem, Bob Eubanks, and "Emperor" Bob Hudson.

Phil attended Pasadena City College for two years, but dropped out and moved with friends to Orlando, Florida to work as a construction laborer/cement finisher in the middle of the early seventies Central Florida building boom, and contributed to building Walt Disney World as well. According to Mr. Hendrie, he "...still entertained ideas about being a writer but didn't really write anything."

Realizing that he'd need a job to support himself if he was ever going to get down to the business of writing, he unwittingly chose his career... "I landed a gig as a disc jockey at WBJW 1440 AM in Winter Park Fla, a suburb of Orlando. I never really did start writing anything. And for that matter never did anything of note as a disc jockey for some 16 years, drifting from Orlando, to New Orleans to Miami and then home to Los Angeles, spinning records and hating it. Real waste of life..."

But despite "hating it", Phil rose quickly through the ranks as a D.J., until he was fired from his final job as morning man at KLSX in Los Angeles. It was then that he realized he had to find a position which would better serve his talents, and began his career in talk radio at KVEN in Ventura, California, in 1990. For the most part "fed up" with the business of radio, Phil accepted the position for a meager "...$1,500 a month at the age of 38."

According to one interview, his current show format was in part borne from a lack of calls on the board. Once he discovered the enthusiasm his outrageous guests brought about in his listeners, he knew he had an intriguing new format with which to work... and it's been one which has served him well.

But for Phil, it's more than just parody of the medium. In fact, in many respects, Phil doesn't care for the very industry in which he works. For Phil Hendrie, as well as for many other listeners of the medium, talk radio itself has become too self-important and too self-congratulatory. Its hosts take on extremist viewpoints merely to keep calls on the board... from callers who often just parrot whatever the host says. Worse yet, talk radio believes it makes a difference in the issues, when it rarely if ever does.

And perhaps worst of all... if it's on the radio, people believe it as an absolute truth, despite the fact that most of what's on talk radio is simply opinion. What Phil Hendrie does on his program manages to demonstrate that rather accurately, each and every night.

In this respect, be forewarned - through often outrageous humor, Phil Hendrie regularly exposes the media for what it is. But most of all - Phil's show is about poking a little fun at ourselves... and he and his listeners have a damn good time doing it.

While Mr. Hendrie insists that he still has a longing to write... most of his fans would probably agree that he's already found his niche.