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BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – For almost 17 years, Brad Cash and John Reynolds have entertained the region every weekday morning from the KISM studio in Bellingham.
As the duo enters another year of their morning show, Cash and Reynolds continue to evolve as both broadcasters and personalities that join listeners from the Space Needle in Seattle to Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C.
Prior to broadcasting on KISM, Cash and Reynolds had their own unique starts in the radio industry that brought them together after stints in other markets in the U.S.
Reynolds began his radio career in America’s Dairyland, also known as Wisconsin. When he was in the 8th grade, a Milwaukee-based radio station was looking for a kid to pick football games better than a computer. He built a relationship with that station and this played a monumental role in shaping the rest of his radio career.
At the age of 17, he heard of a local radio station looking for someone to do sports, news and talk radio. He was immediately drawn to sports radio where he covered high school sports but quickly progressed to covering professional sports within a matter of months. He knew right away that a career in radio was perfect for him and never looked back.
“There was no fallback, and there was nothing else I wanted to,” Reynolds said.
After a few years of covering sports, Reynolds started his career in morning radio. He then spent over 20 years in different markets like Springfield, MA, Springfield, IL and Virginia Beach before settling in Bellingham with KISM.
For Brad Cash, the birth of his radio career was based on both fate and chance.
Cash was working construction in the Seattle area when he heard his favorite DJ, the late Bob Rivers, play his famous “Twisted Tunes” on KISW. At the time, Cash was also performing songs in a local bar band inspired by these parody songs and decided to send the Seattle station his own parody song. Impressed, Rivers and the staff at KISW invited Cash to intern for the station. From that point forward, Cash never looked back and let his new career in radio blossom.
Cash spent some time broadcasting in the mornings in Anchorage, AK before seizing the opportunity to come back to Washington state as a host on the KISM morning show. His original plan was to work the Bellingham market for some time before moving on to a different market with the ultimate goal of working in Seattle once again.
“Then you have a couple of kids and start realizing that Bellingham is a great place to live,” Cash said. “So 25 years later, I’m still here.”
In October 2008, the Brad & John Show was born. With Reynolds new to the area and Cash already familiarized with the Northwest, the two hit it off and began making their mark on the radio landscape many listeners know today.
“I’ve had a couple of different partners along the way, but none as good or as steady and as funny as John,” Cash said.
Recently, KISM unveiled their new app for listeners to download for free on mobile devices. With the progression of technology, listeners can tune in and listen to the Brad & John Show from anywhere in the world. Just last month, a listener called the morning show to let Brad & John know that he was listening in Mexico while inside a hyperbaric chamber.
“I’m glad we can cross this off our list,” Cash said during the show.
The Brad & John Show is an eclectic yet synchronized morning show with segments like “Whidbey Island 911,” “I Can’t Believe It’s News,” and their popular “9:30 Knucklehead” segment, which shares stories of people who have done outrageous things and made headlines.
Aside from their regular segments, Brad & John debuted a new week-long show format called “Harvest Week” in fall 2024. The morning show interviewed local farmers from Whatcom and Skagit Counties to show listeners what it takes to be a farmer, where the region’s food comes from and to raise awareness for the next generation of farmers.
“You know you drive by farms, you fly over farms. But how often do you actually get boots on the ground and then talk to the farmers,” Reynolds said.
Brad & John say that they will bring Harvest Week again this year to highlight more farmers in the region.
Like most radio stations, KISM does its fair share of giveaways on-air in the mornings and afternoons. Through March 21, the KISM “Pick Your Patio” contest is underway with your chance to win a free patio upgrade. For more information on the Pick Your Patio contest, head to kism.com.
We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.