Queen Bee’s Kenny Mitchell back where he belongs: on the radio

ALBANY — With his return to Albany radio at Q-102 — The Queen Bee, Kenny Mitchell is back where he’s belonged all along.

A self-proclaimed “radio junkie” who got to know local DJs at Bainbridge-based Power 97, which had a strong signal in Albany, by calling them regularly as a teen to chat about music, Mitchell talked himself into a job at the station the minute he turned 16.

“I wanted everyone at the station to remember me, so when I called I had my own name: ‘Crazy K,’” Mitchell, who will be on the air weeknights from 8-11 p.m. on Q-102 starting Jan. 27, said. “The minute I turned 16, I called the station manager and told him I was ready to go to work. My many calls paid off, because they hired me. I was attending Westover (High School), so when I got out of school every day I’d go home and try to get a few hours sleep. I was on the air from midnight to 6 a.m., so I’d have to drive to and from Bainbridge every day.

“But it was a great way to break into radio.”

Mitchell, an Albany native whose on-air name was Kenny O’Neil, continued to work in local radio — at Magic 97 (which Power 97 became when its studio was moved to Albany), B-100, Rock 103, Q 101 and Mix 107 — before taking a job at Z-93 in Atlanta, where he worked for five years before leaving the airwaves.

“I’d been exposed to production work, so I basically became a club DJ, mixing my own tracks,” Mitchell said. “I got into Eurobeats Radio and, after talking with the guy who runs it, talked myself into a weekly one-hour program on the network. It’s based out of Italy, and you don’t hear much about it in the States, but you go to European countries and they know all about it.”

Mitchell returned with his wife to Albany, where he bartended and worked in the family’s insurance business for a period. Last year, though, he started looking for a return to his passion, and he got the call from Tara Dyer Stoyle, who is the station manager at Q-102 — The Queen Bee.

“I am so excited about radio again,” Mitchell said. “What Tara is talking about doing is doing radio right. I’m excited about playing cool music for the people in the community, and I’m pretty sure our on-air people will be the only ones around doing live shows.

“My show is going to be called ‘Generation X Revival, and it will showcase some really great music from a great era. I’m so excited to be on the air live again and not to have a set music list. And how cool will it be broadcasting from the brewery? I hope I can snag some people in there and drag them on the air … sober or not.”

Yep, radio is where Kenny Mitchell has always belonged. And now, he’s back where he’s supposed to be.

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher