On the Southside of Chicago, a radio fizzles out of static and the sound of voices come through announcing they will be waiting for their next guest to call in. Kevin Kellam already has his hands on the telephone dialing down the recited phone number the radio hosts are listing like they’ve done countless times before. The ringing starts and then after a second a “Hello?” comes out of the phone, Kevin answers back and is given a “Hello, you’re on air.”
Growing up in the Southside of Chicago in the 90s, Columbia graduate of 2007 Kevin Kellam’s best friend was the radio. He would call his favorite radio shows to call in and be part of the experience, like impersonating celebrities and telling jokes.
One of those times was in 1996 where he impersonated Saturday Night Live’s version of Frank Sinatra on Richard Roeper’s show where Kellam’s father recorded him on tape.
“It was really precious to me because I walked out of that silly bit and I was like, ‘Well, this is what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life.’”
From that moment on, Kellam took every opportunity to follow that passion from joining Brother Rice High School’s radio station BRTV, as well as working for Saint Xavier’s college radio next door, WXAV.
Aside from radio, Kellam was also in love with performances of comedy he’d see on TV. Shows like SNL and comedians on the radio influenced him to join The Second City, a Chicago based improv project made to host shows as well as to teach comedy skills. Kellam would take these classes on Saturdays at his high school where he’d be able to practice his skills and even perform in front of other students.
Though he loved both experiences of the two Kellam knew that he’d have to study a more job stable industry which led him to major in radio at Columbia, as it was one of the only colleges he had looked into that provided a radio-focused degree, while also taking comedy classes on the side never leaving his two passions.
On some occasions a person might dive into two or more pools of interest like Kellam but he has never confined himself to one stage. Radio and comedy feed different sides of his creativity
“Radio is fun, but you’re isolated, it’s still performing, but there’s a lot of intimacy with the audience that’s completely different,” he said. “When you’re live in front of people and they don’t know who you are, or they do know who you are, and they don’t know what you’re going to say, and you can get them to laugh, there is something insane about that.”
With the help of Tom Joyce, internship and career advisor at Columbia’s Career Center, Kellam got the opportunity to intern at Q101 from the fall of 2005 until 2007, eventually working full time to this day.
“Kevin was a transfer student from Saint Xavier, and it was immediately clear to me that his talent was abundant,” Joyce said. “What he needed was mentorship and repetitions to refine his skill set. When an internship opportunity came up at Q101, he was the perfect fit.”
Kellam has also had the opportunity to work with Columbia students, being a part-time instructor leading a podcasting class that was unfortunately cut short seven weeks in as Columbia’s CFAC union strike that began Oct. 30, 2023. Kellam had been talking with people involved with the communications department and the radio classes he was in when studying at the college.
“I’d be happy to come back and teach. But I know it’s just a matter of hopefully if and when,” he said.
In his comedy sets, Kellam prioritizes intersectionality and relatability, choosing topics such as mental health, insecurities and anxiety among others. Kellam, who has struggled with undiagnosed ADHD and addiction issues, finds it cathartic being able to laugh about things and invite other people to laugh who have been in similar situations.
“It means a lot to me. It’s a big part of my identity, if you have any level of anxiety and you know how to deal with it, it’s very loud and chaotic and cathartic to get that stuff out,” he said.
Ariel Julie, a fellow comedian and artistic director of Chicago’s Windy City Comedy Fest, invited him last year to perform at the festival and record his comedy album, “Kevin & Hell,” a title inspired by Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell.”
Julie first saw Kellam at the open mic “Trigger Warning” in August of 2019 where comics sat in a circle around the performer and heckled on purpose where she saw Kellam crush through his set with confidence and his signature flannel.
When Julie stepped into her first year directing and producing a comedy special for Windy City Comedy Fest, she knew she wanted Kellam on the lineup.
He was a Chicago comic she trusted, a friend who had never recorded an album before and someone she was excited to spotlight.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s at a bar show, a packed comedy club, a 300-seat theater, or the back room of a bar at a silly open mic,” she said. “When Kevin is holding a microphone, he is having an absolute blast — and watching him is a blast for the audience too.”
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
