PRINTDynamic Duos: Monica Senecal and Chris Kellogg
Chris and Monica go off the air to talk about their friendship that spans from a.m. to FM
Leah Beane
Monica Senecal’s and Chris Kellogg’s opposite personalities are the key to their seven-year working relationship on Chris & Monica in the Morning.
April 26, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Think of a conversation between a 50-year-old guy and a new mother in her 30s. Chances are good Chris Kellogg and Monica Senecal have had that conversation. Their taste in music or television makes the age gap of nearly 14 years obvious at times, Chris says. One time, Monica sang word-for-word the lyrics of “Waterfalls” by TLC and left Chris aghast because she had never heard of The Partridge Family.
Chris and Monica also joke about the posters they had on their bedroom walls growing up. Monica went with Michael J. Fox; Chris, on the other hand, had Farrah Fawcett.
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But they both realize that part of being a good radio pair involves treating their working relationship like a marriage in which they learn more about each other over time.
Chris and Monica are co-hosts of KPLA’s Chris & Monica in the Morning and have been since August 2005. The show airs weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. Monica, a native of Owensville, and Chris, a native of New Haven, grew up less than an hour apart and attended the same church at one point, which is something Chris describes as a bizarre coincidence.
They also met in an odd way. Monica interviewed for a position at the station even though she had no intention of working there. She remembers thinking that Chris would be a good person to work with, but she had no clue that he would be her partner on the show.
Divided by more than a generational gap, Chris and Monica also have oil-and-water type personalities. Chris, the high-strung one, carries on like he’s had too many coffees in the morning. He laughs loudly. He’s a control freak. Monica is more mild-mannered. She isn’t humdrum, but is comparatively quieter.
Yet Chris and Monica meld together to create a cohesive unit. Their distinct personalities actually make the show work, Monica says. Monica is the idea person, and Chris is the one who keeps her on task.
“I’m not very regimented, and my brain goes everywhere,” Monica says. “And so I’m the bouncing ball, and he’s the box that keeps me from flying all over the place. He keeps us on time and keeps everything sounding sane.”
Chris and Monica, therefore, don’t have to use a script. They write down a couple of words or names on a slip of paper before each show. During a segment, they can talk endlessly about one thing on that paper. On one occasion, they wrote down “Gabe,” the name of Monica’s 5-year-old son. Gabe has an obsession with repeating: “Well, you know what they say.” Chris laughs about Gabe’s latest catchphrase. That laughter, however, doesn’t drown out his partner.
Oil and water can mix. Chris and Monica have their own laws of chemistry. Monica, who came here not expecting to stay, now has a seven-year working relationship.
“I expected to do it about a year, and here I am seven years later,” Monica says. “So, obviously, I’m having a good time.”
