Even though they had known each other for a decade, Curtis McSchmurtis and Connie Kellie joined forces for the first time in August of 2010 as WRNW 97.3 Radio Now's morning drive DJs.

Prior to WRNW, the station was WLTQ "The Brew" which featured Kellie in another morning program called "Connie & Fish." Today, the station is Top 40 and has a sister station in Madison, WZEE. Connie and Curtis' show is simulcast on both stations.

It has been a year and a half since Connie and Curtis hit the airwaves, and they feel like they've found their groove. OnMilwaukee.com recently stopped by the station and chatted with them about their dynamic, whether or not they're "morning people" and their thoughts on recreational vehicles.

OnMilwaukee.com: How did you get into radio?

Curtis McSchmurtis: My dad was a morning DJ in Casper, Wy., so I grew up knowing how cool this job can be. By the time I was 8, I knew I wanted to do this. So I went to college in Eau Claire, but you couldn't get on the radio until your junior year, so I left college. I was a beach and ski bum for a while, and then I went to Brown Institute in Minneapolis.

I got a job at a tiny station, KG95, in Winona, Minn. I met my wife there. She moved to Madison, so I took a job in Platteville at WPVL because it was closer to Madison. Eventually, I got a job at WIBA-FM in Madison. I was there for 11 years, but then this job opened here.

Connie Kellie: I'm originally from Michigan. I went to Central Michigan University for television, but one of my professors suggested to me during my junior year that my personality was more for radio rather than TV. I got some jobs doing voice work and then was hired full time at WCFX in Mt. Pleasant. I worked nights, but when the afternoon guy left, they let me be his replacement. I wanted to keep the job, but they said they didn't want a woman doing afternoons long term, so I quit.

I went to KIWR in Omaha, and worked with the same morning partner for 15 years. We went from Omaha to Lansing, Mich., Grand Rapids, Mich., to the unemployment line, then Jackson, Miss., and then to Madison and finally, here.

OMC: Would you consider yourselves "morning people?"

CK: I am totally not a morning person. But the people who like nights and the nightlife usually make the best morning radio people, personality-wise. It's really great in the summer, getting off so early in the day, but it really sucks when you're sick. After all these years, I still complain when the alarm goes off at 3:50 a.m.

CM: I would like to point out that I get up at 4:25 a.m. and I shower everyday. I hate when that alarm goes off, but as soon as we talk, even just for a minute, I'm instantly into it. This is the best thing I have ever done in radio. It's awesome.

OMC: What do you like about this gig so much?

CM: We really get to open up and be ourselves. There's no disconnect between the real me and the radio me.

OMC: Why do you think you two have such a good dynamic?

CK: We've known each other for 11 years, since back in the days when we both smoked. During smoke breaks we'd talk and I always thought he would be great on mornings. And you either have chemistry, or you don't.

CM: We have a similar sense of humor.

CK: Yeah, I laugh at his stupid jokes.

CM: Stupid jokes? Hey, I'm right here ...

CK: And in real life his sense of humor is perfectly matched to mine, but Connie On The Radio and Connie The License Protector has to be a little more responsible.

CM: It's not that I try to push the envelope. It's just what I'm thinking and so I say it.

OMC: Do you hang out outside of work?

CM: I have three daughters. My life it a million times different. I have Girl Scouts and ballet and baton. Connie goes shopping and eats a sandwich whenever she wants.

CK: I have vacations to take and shoes to buy.

OMC: How old are your daughters?

CM: They're 9, 6 and 5.

CK: I can't wait until they get their periods. All those snotty teenaged girls. It's gonna be a mess. It's gonna be great.

OMC: Do you listen to Top 40 when you're not at work? What kind of music do you like the most?

CM: Nine times out of 10 I'm making fun of the song we're playing on air. But I like a lot of music. The kids and I have death metal night and freestyle rap parties at the house. I taught them how to mosh.

CK: I live every place when it comes to music, except country.

OMC: What do you have on your bucket lists? You know, what do you want to accomplish in your life?

CK: I want to sell my home, move Up North on a lake, buy an RV, travel the country and hang out in every state.

CM: I would like to stowaway in that RV. Sounds very affordable and I wouldn't have to do any driving.

CK: I want to move somewhere where I can snowmobile to the bar and grocery store.

OMC: You have both had a lot of experience in other markets. What do you think about Milwaukee radio?

CM: For as urban of a city as Milwaukee is, the popularity of country surprises me. Of course, we hope to be up there with them someday.

CK: I grew up in Detroit where there were a lot of choices. I think there's a lot of choices here, too.

OMC: You both moved from Madison to Milwaukee. Which city do you prefer?

CM: I like it here. We were right in the middle of Madison, and here, we found the perfect house and have a lot more space.

CK: They are both fun cities. I like them both in their own ways. But politically, they couldn't be more different.

OMC: Do you two discuss politics on air?

CK: We don't really go there. We talk around it, like recently we asked people if they ever unfriended anyone on Facebook because of their annoying political views.

OMC: Do you have more of a male or female listening audience?

CK: We have as many male listeners as female. We're lucky. A lot of Top 40 stations don't care about men because all of their listeners are female. But we do. We like persons.

OMC: People often think you have the best job in the world and that you sit around and chat about whatever you want on the radio. What do you think about that?

CK: It's not just this, sitting in here and telling boob jokes and fart jokes. There are a lot of meetings, there can be stress, but this part, being in here, is really awesome.