Twin Cities Radio: Black Crowes Drummer Joins KQRS Morning Show

Steve Gorman (right) joins the KQRS Morning Show

Former Black Crowes drummer and syndicated radio DJ Steve Gorman is the new host of the 92KQRS Morning Show. He’s stepping into the role filled by Tom Barnard, who spent 36 years at the station before leaving in December.

The Pioneer Press reports Gorman, 57, will join co-hosts Brian Zepp, Tony Lee and Candice Wheeler starting Wednesday on the show, which airs from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays.

“I understand what KQ is and has been,” Gorman said in an interview Friday, his final day living in Nashville before moving to Minneapolis. “I’ve been aware of it since the first time I came to Minneapolis on the Black Crowes tour in 1990. I love the city and it’s a great station. I was thrilled to get the call, it’s as close to a no brainer as I’ve ever had.”

Gorman joined what would become the Black Crowes in 1989. The following year, the band’s debut album “Shake Your Money Maker” went multi-platinum and they went on to score a series of hits including “Hard to Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Remedy,” “Seeing Things,” “Sting Me” and “Thorn in My Pride.”

Gorman played drums for the Black Crowes through 2015, and also performed with numerous other acts, including his band Trigger Hippy, which features St. Paul natives Nick Govrik and Amber Woodhouse. But as sports talk radio began taking off in the late ’90s, Gorman decided to give that a shot as well.

Steve Gorman began his radio career in 2011 with Steve Gorman SPORTS!, which aired in Nashville. The show was later syndicated nationally on Fox Sports Radio. After leaving the Black Crowes in 2014, Gorman penned his memoir, “Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of The Black Crowes”. Gorman launched Steve Gorman Rocks! with Westwood One, America’s largest audio network, in August 2019. As a musician, Gorman toured the world relentlessly for three decades, performing as a drummer with artists who are mainstays of Classic Rock playlists today, from AC/DC to ZZ Top, including the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Heart, Metallica, and Jimmy Page.

Shelly Malecha Wilkes, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Minneapolis, said: “We are very excited that Steve has decided to join the KQ Morning Show. Steve is intelligent, authentic, funny - everything we were looking for and more. I am very much looking forward to our next chapter.”

James Kurdziel, Vice President of Classic Rock, Cumulus Media, and Program Director, KQRS-FM, said: “When looking for someone to drive The KQ Morning Show, we needed a big personality with quick wits, brilliant storytelling, strong work ethic, will to win and most importantly, someone who wants to be a part of our community. We found all those things in Steve Gorman. Adding him to our established team of Zepp, Tony and Candice makes our show energetic, dynamic, topical, and all about Minnesota. We’re fortunate to have landed our big fish.”

Steve Gorman commented: “When I got the call gauging my interest in the KQ Morning Show, I thought at first it must be a prank. A unique and truly iconic rock station in one of my favorite cities on Earth? Incredible. Easiest decision I’ve ever made. I can’t wait to get started.”