RadioVegas.Rocks founder and “Rocking Comedy Show” host dies at 48

His last gift to her was a “Weird” Al Yankovic Chia Pet.

The present underscored two things about Las Vegas radio mainstay and RadioVegas.Rocks owner Jay Bird, according to its recipient, local musician and podcaster Lizzie Offt from the band Pet Tigers.

One was his lifelong love of the aforementioned parody musician, whose loopy yet clever comedic sensibilities directly informed Bird’s similarly fun, far-out persona.

The other was his ability to home in on a person’s likes and bring it out of them — often on the airwaves, where Bird cultivated a large, diverse roster of talent as outsize as his personality.

“He always knew what everyone’s interest was, and was able to bring that to the table,” Offt explains. “When he gave you the opportunity, it helped you get out and do something creative.”

Fostering a creative outlet for hundreds will be a large part of Jay Bird’s legacy.

On Feb. 1, the local radio fixture passed away at his Las Vegas home from natural causes, according to his sister Tori Bird.

He was 48.

But with his RadioVegas.Rocks internet platform, he has left an enduring impact on the airwaves here and beyond. The site featured dozens of programs, from classic rock to punk to ’80s hits to Bird’s signature “Rocking Comedy Show,” which he hosted since 2004.

A platform for the people

In many instances, Bird gave aspiring broadcasters, musicians and comedians their initial exposure to radio audiences around the globe.

“In my mind, he pretty much broke everybody into radio for their first time,” says Scott Williams, a musician who’s been handling social media for RadioVegas.Rocks. “Whether you were an artist, and it was your first radio interview, or whether you were trying to be a broadcaster, he helped you broadcast. If you were a comedian, he tried to help you get an interview — anything to help you boost your content.”

Artist and musician Brian Gibson, who long fronted indie rockers Wax Pig Melting, was recruited by Bird last summer to start a podcast with his girlfriend, photographer Tiffany Salermo. Called “Dirty Window,” it was their initial foray into the medium.

“He just loved radio,” Gibson says of Bird. “He wanted to start a circuit, and he did.”

A native of Pocatello, Idaho, who relocated to Anaheim, California, when he was 7 years old, Bird began his radio career in Southern California in the early ’90s with “The Crazy Jay Show,” which was inspired by the bizarro sounds of his childhood favorite on-air personality, Dr. Demento.

In 2000, Bird relocated to Las Vegas, running a studio out of his garage, then his bedroom, then both, before eventually building a studio in his backyard.

Four years later, “The Crazy Jay Show” became the “Rocking Comedy Show” podcast, a raucous mix of music, banter, interviews and tongue-in-cheek games such as “I Don’t Think You Should Be Eating That” and “Truth or Drink.”

In 2o15, Bird launched 24-hour station RadioVegas.Rocks, its flagship program being the twice-a-week “Rocking Comedy Show” with an audience of more than 30,000 listeners for each episode.

Building a brand for everybody

During the years that followed, Bird provided an outlet for countless aspiring creatives seeking to be heard.

“He was just trying to platform as many interesting people as he could and make an honest connection with nothing behind it besides, ‘You’re trying to do something? Let me give you one opportunity to show my chunk of the world what you’re trying to do,’ ” explains Joseph “Woz” Wozniak, the platform and tech manager for RadioVegas.Rock, who will help keep the “Rocking Comedy Show” on air, with the station continuing as well. “It didn’t matter how small-time someone was.”

One of many of these up-and-coming talents was Jeannine “J9” DelGrosso, a stand-up comedian and English teacher whom Bird brought on as co-host of the “Rocking Comedy Show” last year.

“The opportunity that he gave me was an opportunity of a lifetime, because it’s something that I wanted for so long,” DelGrosso explains. “I can’t go in on a regular radio station right now with a full-time teaching job. He trusted in me and believed in me.”

Though he was running a business, Bird famously wasn’t preoccupied with the bottom line. For instance, Gibson and Palermo were pregnant with their first child when Bird enlisted them for their podcast, helping them with the costs of the show.

“We were like, ‘Look, we’re saving for a baby. I can’t afford to do this, pay for this studio time. I’m sorry,’ ” Gibson recalls. “But he worked with me to where we could do work for him around the studio and still have our two-hour slot every week. He was always working with us and other people monetarily, because that’s what holds a lot of people back.”

And for Bird, it was all about holding nothing back.

“He was always just really supportive. Always,” Offt says. “He really did affect a lot of people in such a great way.”

Jay Bird is survived by his father, Lawrence Bird, and sister Tori.

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @JasonBracelin on Twitter and @jbracelin76 on Instagram