George Stroumboulopoulos returned to where it all started Tuesday evening, pulling an impromptu overnight shift at 104.7 The Lizard, The Rock of Kelowna (CKLZ-FM).
In town to speak at another event, the Order of Canada inductee started his broadcasting career at the station in 1993, hosting a late-night metal show called High Voltage and serving as the station’s lizard mascot.
“Strombo” posted to his TikTok account late Tuesday as he was headed to the Pattison Media station, saying he had reached out via The Lizard’s Instagram account.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to go and get back on-air at the place you started,” he told viewers.
@stromboLet’s do it again. Kelowna♬ original sound – George Stroumboulopoulos
“I’m actually really excited about this, this is fun,” he said in a subsequent video. “This is how you know I love this business. I’m at this age and I’m jacked to do an overnight show in Kelowna.”
@stromboLet’s do it!♬ original sound – George Stroumboulopoulos
Afternoon host Chris Roach took to the airwaves with Stroumboulopoulos at midnight.
Roach, who wasn’t sure the shift was actually going to happen until around 8 p.m., says the possibility of the veteran personality coming in resulted in a “ton of excitement.”
“I was born in ’93, so I grew up watching him as a VJ on MuchMusic,” said Roach, who has been on-air with The Lizard for five years and in radio for a decade. “He’s one of those guys you watched as a kid who made you fall in love with the industry and to go full circle like that is just so so cool.”
While Stroumboulopoulos stayed on-air until about 2:30 a.m., Roach said he has no doubt he would have hosted the shift through 5 a.m. if he didn’t have another commitment in the morning.
“It was unbelievable,” said Roach. “It was such a cool experience…you could see the passion this guy had for the music and radio industry as a whole. He would have gone all night if he didn’t have a gig this morning.”
Stroumboulopoulos interspersed playing songs from artists like Metallica, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Mermaid Island, Alice in Chains, and Rancid – a playlist curated on the spot – with stories ranging from his time at MuchMusic to babysitting Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher’s son.
“If you name a band he has a story about them,” said Roach, who was most impressed by Stroumboulopolous’ enduring appreciation for the medium of radio.
“It was like we were doing him a favour and not the other way around,” said Roach. “How humble and nice he was after 35 years in the industry…it struck a chord with me to see how much he loves it genuinely and to be able to watch it live…I was just awestruck. The energy he brings and the passion he brings.”
“I don’t think he ever wanted to sign off to be perfectly honest,” Roach added. “He really didn’t want to go and that was cool to me too. To have that passion for the overnight shift…as busy as that guy is and to bring that energy blew me away.”
Morning show co-host Ryan Connop also came into the station at 11 p.m. to do an interview with Stromboulopoulos, which aired on the morning show.
Stromboulopoulos most recently hosted a show on Apple Music Hits channel after wrapping up an 18-year run on CBC Radio 2 and CBC Music, hosting the Sunday night Strombo Show, which aired on the public broadcaster from 2005 to 2023.
