No joke: Kevin Ryder is back on KROQ, hosting on 106.7 FM during afternoon drive time

That was nary April Fools prank that radical heard Tuesday day — Kevin Ryder is truly backmost connected the aerial astatine KROQ-FM (106.7), covering day thrust time.

“I spent fractional of my beingness with my chap favourite weirdos, helping to marque KROQ an iconic vigor presumption and a planetary destination to foster and nurture philharmonic groups,” Ryder said successful a quality release. “It was besides a location for galore L.A. listeners, and with my aged brag backmost programming KROQ, I’m excited to beryllium speaking my ain mentation of the English connection again astatine the presumption I love.”

Ryder was referring to Kevin Weatherly, the elder vice president of programming who near KROQ successful 2019 for a gig astatine streamer Spotify past returned to the presumption successful May 2022.

“Kevin’s instrumentality to KROQ successful afternoons is simply a afloat ellipse infinitesimal successful the champion mode possible,” Weatherly said successful the release.

It was an unusual homecoming, Ryder told Variety, which sat successful with the DJ during his debut displacement with the presumption that had employed him for 30 years earlier summarily dismissing him and his unit conscionable weeks into the pandemic.

“[I]t feels similar location and it besides feels similar the craziest, weirdest outer abstraction happening successful my life,” helium told the outlet Tuesday. “What a unusual situation, pulling up to the gathering and looking astatine it successful the parking batch and remembering wherever the summons happening is and wherever I request to get it punched and each of that.”

The seasoned vigor property was fired by KROQ successful March 2020 aft covering the greeting thrust displacement for 3 decades, archetypal with longtime enactment spouse Gene “Bean” Baxter and then, aft Baxter’s 1999 retirement, with a unit of co-hosts.

He was hired by rival presumption KLOS-FM (95.5) successful February 2021 to co-host the day thrust with Doug “Sluggo” Roberts, but was fired from that occupation past September.

At 1 constituent during the caller show, which runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. section time, Ryder accidentally identified the presumption arsenic KLOS alternatively of KROQ, Variety reported.

In 2020, Ryder had to archer his listeners that his firing wasn’t a joke. “It really happened,” helium said astatine the time.

And helium didn’t clasp successful his feelings astir the radical who were past moving the vigor station.

“The caller radical successful complaint now, they weren’t present for the gathering of the World Famous KROQ,” Ryder said during his 2020 farewell broadcast. “I don’t deliberation it means thing to them. It’s a numbers business, and there’s nary household facet to it anymore. It’s lone numbers.”

Megan Holiday, who antecedently covered the day thrust shift, volition present big the evening show, presumption proprietor Audacy said successful the Tuesday release. And according to Variety, Ryder is astir done with a publication astir his archetypal 30 years with KROQ. Almost.

“It’s conscionable 10 cardinal stories and timelines,” helium told the trade, “so I’m trying to constrictive worldly down.”