Carson Daly Joins The L.A. Morning Drive Time Radio Wars This Morning

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Carson Daly takes over the KAMP-FM (97.1) "Amp Radio" morning drive show this morning, pitting him against fellow radio-DJ-turned-TV-star-and-producer-yet-still-a-radio-DJ Ryan Seacrest (who's replaced Rick Dees on KIIS-FM in 2004).

The L.A. Times recently spoke to Daly, who stressed that his show would focus much more on music, and less on chatter, compared to Seacrest:

Daly, who'll be on from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays, promises no sidekicks, no celebrity sleaze, no morning zoo. "This is about music. I'm not going to go on for four hours and talk," he said...

The parallels are striking -- for example, both used L.A. radio as a springboard, Daly at KROQ and Seacrest when he was on afternoons at KYSR-FM (98.7) until 2003. They've hosted TV music shows that became pop culture phenomena -- "Total Request Live" vs. "American Idol." Both have branched out as executives on the other side of the camera or microphone. And now they helm morning-drive shows on the two most popular contemporary-hits radio stations in L.A.

"I get it," said Daly, 36. "Ryan and I laugh about it. We're friends. We have dinner every year this week," when both are in New York hosting their respective New Year's Eve countdown shows, Daly on NBC and Seacrest on ABC.

So don't expect any feuding or a blacklisting of guests who appear on the rival's show. Instead, they might even guest for each other.

"We'd be foolish not to try and put our brains together to try and do something cool," Daly said, then paused: "I think we'd be better served to do something charitable. Like something for Earth Day."

Here's where the small world factor comes in: Daly got his start as a 16-year-old intern for Jimmy Kimmel at KCMG-FM in Palm Springs. Kimmel, the one-time KROQ sports guy, was until recently the executive producer of Adam Carolla's morning show when 97.1 was "FM Talk" KLSX-FM. Daly is now taking over that slot.

MEANWHILE, Daly's hire finally completes the missing DJ link for KAMP, joining midday DJ Chris Booker, afternoon drive time host Ted Stryker and nighttimer Casey McCabe. Strangely, all four -- Daly, Booker, Stryker and McCabe -- came to KAMP with a modern rock DJ background. Now, instead of spinning Rage Against the Machine, they're the voices intro'ing Lady Gaga.

That brings us to this question...