Former KCCQ 105.1 FM disc jockey and ISU alumnus Kyle Moss has met musical acts such as 311, Korn, Linkin Park and Jack’s Mannequin. What do all these bands have in common? They are all based out Los Angeles, where Kyle has taken his new life.

Kyle, an Urbandale High School graduate, came to Iowa State in 1998 knowing he wanted to somehow be involved with the mass media.

His interest stemmed from a high school play.

“In high school I did a lot of acting. Once I played a radio guy and I stole the show. Afterward, everyone was telling me how I had a good radio voice,” Moss said.

Kyle dove right into the mass media world. He started writing for the Iowa State Daily before he was even enrolled at Iowa State – one of the perks of having an older brother as one of the paper’s editors. He continued to write for the newspaper each of his five years in college.

Kyle said his interest in getting out of Iowa began when he did a summer internship in Chicago with the radio show “Mancow’s Morning Madhouse.”

The internship also expanded his radio knowledge, and enabled him to get a part-time job for KISS 107 FM in Des Moines running the control board. It was there he met the current 105.1 program director Jamie Matthews.

“He seemed eager to want to learn new things,” Matthews said.

“He was always on time and responsible and he was serious about it. You can find out quickly when someone is serious about radio – it’s not always the most glamorous of jobs.”

When Matthews became program director in 2003, he wanted to make some “changes” at the station, and it just happened to be when Kyle was graduating with a degree in journalism and mass communication.

“Before Jamie was program director, he knew of me,” Kyle said. “He wanted younger, eager guys to DJ Channel Q and asked me to come on and I did the midnight to 3 [a.m.] spot.”

Kyle had prior DJ experience from working for a business his brother Corey started in 1999, called Moss Mobile Business. The brothers DJ weddings and other events. Kyle said most of their gigs are now in Los Angeles, where they both live, but for special circumstances they’ll come back to Des Moines.

Between Moss Mobile and Channel Q, Kyle was absorbing experience at a rapid rate.

“Channel Q was amazing for me,” Kyle said.

“When you’re at a station that’s small, you learn everything so much quicker because you have your hand in every aspect of the station.”

Current Channel Q morning host and Kyle’s former co-worker, Tony Tarbox, said Kyle was a great DJ because of his “great command of the English language.”

Tarbox also frequently commented on Kyle’s “pretty hair.”

Eventually Kyle and his “pretty hair” felt a ceiling had been reached in Ames and after some conversations with people at work he decided to bolt to Los Angeles.

“In the spring of 2006 I left for L.A. It was something I always wanted to do,” Kyle said. “I went to college to work in the entertainment industry. There’s not much in Iowa as far as that, and L.A. is a hotbed for entertainment. I also wanted to golf all year round and just take my degree elsewhere and get some money from it.”

Kyle is still missed at Channel Q, but his co-workers understood his decision.

“I cried like a school girl when he told me he was leaving for L.A.,” Tarbox said. “I have a man-crush on him, I cry myself to sleep every night.”

Matthews presented two outlooks on the situation he had when faced with Moss’ departure.

“On a selfish, personal level, I didn’t want him to go because I didn’t want to have to deal with replacing him,” Matthews said. “In radio, people come and go, and when someone gets along with the staff and is good on air, you want to keep them around as long as possible. As a friend though, I knew it was probably the best thing for him to do.”

Tarbox will often have Kyle on his morning show, “Morning Breath,” as a guest speaker to talk about what’s happening out in Los Angeles.

Kyle has been in Los Angeles for just over one year and has landed nicely on his feet. He currently works as technical producer for “The Jim Rome Show,” “The Dr. Edell Show” and has his first job in L.A. FOX Sports Radio.

Restriction to just one job is something Kyle has never liked and wants to avoid in the future.

“My goals out here in L.A. are to just keep expanding,” Kyle said. “I don’t want to be stuck in the same job. Eventually I want to take my career in radio and expand it to TV.”

One of Kyle’s greatest influences is his older brother Corey, who also lives out in Los Angeles and works successfully within the mass media industry.

“Kyle is super talented and proved himself quickly in Ames, especially at Channel Q,” Corey said.

“In Los Angeles, or Moss Angeles, as I jokingly call it, he’s a small fish in a much bigger pond, but he’s already accomplished so much. This is a city of opportunity and he’s seizing it. Sports radio is a great fit and he’s just starting to crack the voice work world.”

Kyle loves his new life in Los Angeles, so don’t be expecting a short-lived stay for him out west.

“I miss my friends and family, and sometimes I miss the small-town community. Mostly though, I don’t miss Ames; I love it out here,” Kyle said.