As the nightly DJ on KQRC 98.9 The Rock, Jason Nivens makes listening to head-banging metal feel authentic. The antithesis of the modern shock jock, he tells great stories but not obnoxiously. He doesn't use bathroom humor or rant. He's witty and irreverent, but he's no misogynist. He's homegrown and proud of the fact that he has stayed in Kansas City. And unlike most nationally syndicated schlubs spouting rock trivia in sound booths, the gravel-voiced hulk has lived the life: After interning at the station in 1998, Nivens wandered the country for a few years before returning to graveyard shifts and earning his weeknight role last March. "I just dig songs. I don't get too caught up in it [the hype]," Nivens says. While other stations in town have converted to rock formats in an effort to win listeners, Nivens hasn't changed a thing.
