When Rahny Taylor left Milwaukee radio in 2013, he did so without a new job waiting for him.

"I left because I wanted to leave," says the former morning co-host on KISS-FM. "I wanted something new, and I ended up having no job. I had just gotten married. It was the greatest thing you'd ever want to tell your spouse: ‘Congratulations, I just quit my job.’

But that didn’t last long. He moved to Sacramento to work at a Christian station – "That's my faith, and I loved the format," he says – but Taylor missed Milwaukee.

So Thursday morning, he’ll be back on the air as the morning host at 97.3 NOW. It’s been a secret Taylor’s been keeping for a while now, and now it’s ready to come out. Taylor will replace the "Elvis Duran Show," a syndicated show on the station. Unlike his last gig in town with Wes McKane and Ally Faith, he’s doing this one solo.

We met with Taylor, 39, last week at the iHeartMedia offices for this latest Milwaukee Talks.

OnMilwaukee: What was Sacramento like?

Rahny Taylor: It was great. The thing is, it gave me chance to come back with a different level of skill set, because format aside, I think we all want certain things. We want a little bit of positivity, so just to be able to experience it from that, I come back with new tools in my bag, and that's one of them.

In 2013, you left KISS-FM without another job lined up. Was that scary?

I was in a non-compete, so I thought I was going to be at Walmart on National Avenue. K-LOVE started December of that year.

Why did you choose to come back to Milwaukee?

This city is home. I know that I wasn't born in Milwaukee, but Milwaukee is the most rewarding radio market, I believe, I have ever experienced.

Why is that?

I think it's because once you make it into the circle, you're family. Radio has changed, I believe, so much over the years, and we still connect. We love our town, and we love our traditions here, and I just absolutely miss the enthusiasm for Wisconsin.

You're switching companies, from Entercom to iHeartMedia. What's that like?

I worked for Clear Channel, and I love it. Great talent, great people. I think that's the thing: now, coming out of what I came out of, because I was in a big Christian format working for a big company there, perceptions are always these things that happen on the street. And then, you get in, and it's nothing like what you hear. I know a lot of the people here, so I'm super excited to work with these guys.

What's the new show going to be like?

Hopefully it's going to be fun. Hopefully it's going to be local. I just want it to be positive. I would love to be able to bring some of the things I've learned doing my last couple years of radio. I want to just give you an escape from your day-to-day pressure, and get you out the door with what you need to know.

No one knows that you're you’ve been here prepping for the new show, right?

I didn't even tell my parents. My parents found out on Google. They found out on some leaks chat room.

Have you spoken to your former co-hosts about your return?

No, no.

Do you still have a relationship with them?

I do, yeah. Needless to say, my phone has buzzed a lot, people going, "Are you coming back? Are you coming back?"

Are you nervous?

I think it's like that feeling that you had before you went back to school. It's an anxiousness that I feel. I just love this city. It didn't feel good to leave, and I'd always hoped that I would come back. But, it was just one of those things, that it went, "I don't know if I'll ever get that opportunity to be back in Milwaukee."

It's such an honor to do mornings, because it's a different allowance that you get from the audience. I think it's because we're all tired, so they'll put up with a little more. But, to be able to be a part of starting someone's day for 10 years, it's a big deal.

Do you expect those butterflies to go away one your mic is live?

I hope so! I think iHeart's hoping so. Being back in the city, I'm just excited. You were asking what I'm going to do. I'm excited to get acclimated back into the town. I would love for the Zoo Interchange to get done now that I'm home, because it seems like that's been under construction since I've been away.

What kind of stuff do you do when you're not on the radio?

I used to just work, work, work. When I was at KISS, it was the morning show, and then I was at Bucks, and then I was working little bit with FOX 6. Fish fry, maybe, if we can stay up real late.