“I grew up listening to Z100 [100.3 FM] when it was the Z Morning Zoo,” says Skeery Jones, on-air personality and executive producer of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. “From the time I was 8 or 9, I would call in, try to win contests and request songs just to hear my voice on air.”
Before calling, he’d make sure he had a cassette tape ready to record so he could listen to himself afterwards. This passion for radio continued as he grew older. As a junior at Brooklyn College, he did an internship with Cousin Brucie at WCBS FM radio and also had his own radio show at the college station, WBCR. While working there, he made a phone call that would change his life.
“We found out that CDs were being stolen from our college radio music library,” says Skeery, “We had no real catalog system, and I wanted to see if there was a way of keeping track of the CDs to prevent theft. So, I made an innocent call to Z100 and asked for the music director, which was very brazen.”
It turned out that the director, like Skeery, was from Brooklyn and they had a lot in common. He not only helped him with the theft issue, but also invited him to interview as a phone operator. “I drove to Z100, and here I was trying to contain my excitement, because I had listened to this station my entire life. I was freaking out when I got there. They showed me around, asked me some questions and hired me on the spot!”
That was in 1995, and although he was still in college and only working part-time, he was often paired with Elvis Duran, who was doing an afternoon show at the time. A year later, he graduated from college, Elvis was moved to mornings, and Skeery was about to join one of the most successful radio morning shows of all time.
“It was me, Greg T and Danielle all in similar roles - answering the phones and doing whatever was asked,” he says. “They were putting together this new morning show and later that summer they offered me a full-time job to work with Elvis and Elliot [Segal].” He was on his way.
Now, 27 years later, Skeery is still thrilled to go to work every day. “Elvis is super kind to everybody, and he's a very unselfish talent. He allows other people to shine and develop their personalities and stories. He is the star of the show, of course, but he’s confident in the sense that he was able to build this incredible ensemble cast.”
He says they all work together as a team and have a chemistry that is magic. “Danielle is my radio sister; she's just so kind and generous,” he says. “Froggy and Nate are also a great part of the main show and Gandhi is one of the newest members. How she has been able to come into that role after our show has been going on for so long speaks volumes about the kind of person she is and how connected we are. We all spend a lot of time together and genuinely love each other.”
For listeners who have tuned in for many years, this morning crew feels like family. “We're in a situation now where many top artists grew up in this area and when they come into the studio, they are almost as excited to meet us as we are to meet them,” says Skeery.
Lady Gaga is one of these fans. “When she comes into the station and she has the headphones on and hears Danielle's or Elvis's voice, she stops what she’s doing. She says, ‘I just have to take a moment. I grew up listening to you, and I was so obsessed with this show that when I used to have to go to school, I had my mom record the rest of the show on cassette tapes. She had to flip the tape over every 45 minutes.’”
Today, Elvis Duran and the Morning Show is on 85 stations around the country. “We’re owned by iHeartRadio, but we're not just radio,” says Skeery. “We're podcasts, we're streaming. Today, when you work in radio, you're working in pretty much every media.”
In addition to the radio show, he’s also involved in two popular podcasts. He hosts The Brooklyn Boys once a week with former morning show colleague and fellow Brooklyn native, David Brody.
"It's not a podcast about Brooklyn," he says. "It's our offbeat take on the world and things going on in our lives and pop culture seen through the lens of two guys from Brooklyn. We debate things, we argue, and we riff on each other in a playful way. We're uncensored, so we can get away with more and be a little bit more risqué. That's our playground - our fun little treehouse.”
He hosts Speaking Volumes with long-time friend Cher (Cheryl) Cosenza as well, which is a lifestyle pop culture podcast about everything from friendship, relationships and fashion to entertainment, pop culture and more.
Skeery moved to New Jersey when Z100 was stationed here, and when the show relocated to New York, he stayed. “I'm a social butterfly and I love that New Jersey is accessible to everything,” says Skeery. “You can go upstate, you can go across the state to Pennsylvania, and you can go down to the Jersey Shore. It has beautiful beaches, and I love spending time in Asbury because of the revitalization. There’s a lot going on there. I also love the towns like Morristown, Red Bank and Hoboken. I love the different neighborhoods, the different communities. Plus, I can easily pop into the City.”
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“We're not just radio. We're podcasts, we're streaming. Today, when you work in radio, you're working in pretty much every media.”