Always wanting to work in radio, he began attending Long Beach City College in 1984 to pursue an associates degree in telecommunications.
[1] Some notable moments from his tenure at KNAC include: Being the first DJ in the world to play Motley Crüe's "Dr. Feelgood", when the band brought in a test pressing,[1] debuting the band Guns N' Roses,[1] and providing a video voice-over for "Painkiller", the last Judas Priest album featuring front-man Rob Halford.
During his time there, he hosted segments for Comedy Central's "RadioActive Television", and Tommy Chong surprised them with a guest appearance on their final broadcast.
[5] After leaving WTFX-FM, Gonzo went straight to work at KCAL in San Bernardino, California, where former KNAC co-worker Rick Shaw was now program director.
[6] Gonzo's next stop was WKRK in Detroit, Michigan, when it was K-Rock, to work for legendary programmer John Gorman.
He began working there as host of the PM drive, until the format was changed to "Extreme Radio", during which time he moved to afternoons.
Highlights from The Big Dumb Show include "Who Wants to Get Married at XFEST" (featuring reality TV star Rick Rockwell), where Gonzo dressed as the Pope, and their "Pumpkin Propulsion" competition, which made international news.
[8] It was not long after their departure from X103 that Gonzo and Nicole were approached by KVGS in Las Vegas, Nevada, to host the morning show at the new Area 108.
The internet radio stream regularly features complete podcasts of various incarnations of the show, usually on the anniversary of their air date.
After a several-year stint working as the sound engineer for the Nuclear Bombshells (a post-apocalyptic burlesque troupe), Gonzo is now the program director for Highway Radio.
Among Gonzo's influences was WRKO-AM morning host Dale Dorman; his first time on the air was calling in to win a contest.