When Rob Weaver was building his team for a new adventure in radio, Tony G finagled a job interview for a young man he had met on the fringe of a university town here in the Hoosier State.
The prevailing wisdom at the time was to overdress for such a meeting, so here’s how a young Mr. Rouse presented himself to his potential boss:
Rouse once worked as a page in his hometown library. During his first round of schooling at the aforementioned medium-sized university, he was forced into servitude on campus at one of its dining halls. Steve took a break during his father’s recovery from a serious illness, but later returned to the same campus, earning extra money by taking notes in class for hearing-impaired students.
Finally, he cracked the code and entered the secret world of radio, learning the arcane art and suspicious craft of broadcasting at the campus station.
Upon leaving university life once and for all, Rouse donned the uniform of (and squeezed a few dollars from) a local pizzeria until they forgot he actually worked there.
Soon after he had wrapped his last batch of silverware in a bright red napkin, Rouse hoodwinked a very tall man into believing he knew his way around a radio console. There, Rouse played the hits from a format known as AM Gold, and was later promoted to the FM side, where he unleashed some of his favorite music on an unsuspecting public. With his first big paycheck, Rouse bought a Rock-’n-Roll keychain and never looked back.
Steve leaned into this life because he loved music and the stories behind the songs. He learned to enjoy making commercials and has been asked to lend his voice to the news now and again.
It’s possible that Rouse remains in radio because Mr. Weaver has been a better boss than most. Radio also gives him a natural outlet for the wisecracks that build up in his warped brain.
“They let us have fun,” Rouse says, “and I’m grateful for a job like that.”
At home, Rouse likes to sleep. When he’s not sleeping, he has been known to read, listen to music and watch movies.
Rouse no longer wears a tie to work.
