DJ's go Wylde

A bright pink RV is parked outside a Manassas Park restaurant on a humid August afternoon. Inside are two men with a talent for radio and the outspoken personalities to match.

Kevin Shafer, one-half of Wylde-Style Radio with Kevin and Rock, ribs his co-host, Rocky Parrish, after the two competed in a friendly football kicking competition at Osbourn High School in Manassas. Parrish apparently didn't do so well.

"All of my friends were excited when I handed you your ass and then, all of a sudden, it wasn't that important to win punt, pass and kick. I mean, why do you kick left footed when you are right handed?" Shafer asked.

"I wanted to win … but I wasn't going to say I was proud to be a winner of kicking and punting," said Parrish, quickly brushing off Shafer's remark.

While the comedic duo takes shots at each other on the air, the two couldn't be better friends. Both are in their 30s and have been working on their radio show for more than two years.

What started as an Internet radio show broadcast from a makeshift studio at a Tysons Corner restaurant has turned into a mobile circus, by way of a pink RV with the name of their show plastered on the side.

Converted into a working radio studio, the two have parked the RV at various locations around Manassas and Prince William County to broadcast their show.

Taking the show on the road was a way for them to draw a crowd and build a name for their Web site, where more than 500,000 listeners visit three nights a week to hear the Kevin and Rock radio program.

Geared toward men aged 25 to 54, the two talk about their daily lives but also make jokes that appeal to any listener. Both are also happy to have a large female audience.

As of late, the two have spent more time talking about Washington area sports, as the Wylde-Style boys were given the chance to show their talents on a local radio station -- WJFK-FM, now known as 106.7 The Fan.

The station, long known for its guy-talk format and home to the now defunct Washington radio staple -- The Don and Mike Show -- recently changed their format and went all sports talk.

It was a risky move, one that could alienate longtime listeners, but also provide another outlet for sports talk -- from a station not owned by the owner of the Washington Redskins. Since it's so new, it is hard to tell if the new format will work.

Shafer and Parrish hope that it will, and have also begun hosting a Friday night show on the station while maintaining their weekday Internet show.

Their Friday show starts at 6 p.m. and both said working in the traditional broadcast realm took some getting used to.

"The first week that we were on we were both just scared but were just happy that it came off like it looked like we knew what we were doing," said Shafer about their first show on The Fan. He described the experience as being more nervous than anything else.

By the second week the two became a bit more comfortable inside the radio station's studio. Shafer said they did a better job of stopping for required commercial breaks -- something they don't have to do on their Internet show.

But for them, their Web show feels like home. Shafer spent more than $5,000 of his money to build the studio where both learned to perfect their craft.

Shafer and Parrish know they have large shoes to fill at The Fan, even if they are only on during the weekends.

Mike O'Meara, who for more than 20 years was Don Geronimo's radio sidekick on the Don and Mike Show, and who briefly dabbled in the restaurant business at O'Meara's restaurant in Old Town Manassas, is one of their major inspirations.

Both worked at O'Meara's restaurant before it closed in 2008.

"Mike is my hero when it comes to radio. I grew up listening to Don and Mike and I was late every morning to first period because I was listening to their morning show. I always thought this was something that I wanted to do," said Shafer.

Shafer, who also is a firefighter, first stepped into the spotlight on ESPN's Firefighter Combat Challenge. The gig, which he got after a local Memphis television news personality forgot to show up, took him to cities across the country.

He admitted the show, which aired at 2 a.m., didn't have a wide audience, and the strenuous travel requirements took a toll on the broadcaster.

But it was enough to make him want to come home and try his hand at radio.

Shafer was hired by O'Meara's to DJ some of the contests held at the restaurant. Parrish was brought in to promote those contests and the restaurant itself.

They met during one of those contests. Shafer was the DJ and Rocky was a judge.

Their friendship immediately took off.

"We used to sit on the back wall and make fun of everybody, and when Kevin came to me and asked what I thought about doing a radio show, I told him that we should do the same thing that we did when we stood on the wall," said Parrish.

It wasn't long after that the two began making online audiences laugh.

Parrish, who has a love for sneakers, also conducts marketing focus groups to see which ones might sell best. In that job, he entertains mostly pre-teens and talks about colors and styles of shoes, and then takes that information back to the shoemaker.

Many of their first online listeners were the same people who wanted to hear about the shoes Rocky was pushing.

The he took advantage of an opportunity to market shoes with several pro-basketball athletes in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. That left Shafer without a co-host.

"I can do the show without Rocky … yeah, I can talk about stuff … but it just wouldn't be the same without him," said Shafer.

Rocky moved back to Northern Virginia, in part, because he missed the area and its sunshine -- a stark contrast he said from the cloudy gray skies in the Pacific Northwest.

Together again, it was full steam ahead for their radio show.

Through their Mike O'Meara connection, Shafer began to host parties held by other personalities on WJFK, including the Sports Junkies -- the only show to remain intact after the recent format change.

After a festival Shafer hosted at a riverside restaurant, WJFK called them and asked them to audition.

They went in and scored. The two were given a Sunday afternoon slot on the station.

If they become successful, they hope both their online listeners will follow them, as well as some of the personalities who help to make their Web show so successful.

But for now, the two said they are going to enjoy the feeling of being on the air.

"We are just two very lucky guys. When we are in the station we shake hands and say things like 'yes sir' and 'thank you, sir.' We try not to come off like big shots at all. We love where we are at," said Shafer.

You can listen to Kevin and Rock every Friday at 6 p.m. on 106.7 The Fan. You can also listen to the radio duo during the week, to new and past shows, at wylde-style.com.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.