Over coffee with Kennedy
With the dust barely settled from the Democratic National Convention, it seemed appropriate to chat with a Kennedy. We chose the 28-year-old former MTV personality and current talk-radio host on KQBZ-FM (100.7), "The Buzz." After rejecting the Elephant Car Wash (the outspoken young Republican has one tattooed on her, uh, trunk), we settled in for a playful dialogue at the Speakeasy Cafe in Belltown. Her drink: an iced decaf soy latte.
Q: Is that your first name or your last name?
A: It's my middle name.
Q: What's your whole name?
A: It's Shannon Betsy Ferguson.
Q: Is that the truth?
A: No.
Q: You have to tell the truth.
A: No I don't.
Q: So will you tell me your real name?
A: No, I want you to go find it. Work for it.
(Note: It's Lisa Kennedy Montgomery.)
Q: OK, you're turning hostile witness. You must hear a lot of Kennedy jokes.
A: Yeah, and they're funny, too. (Sarcastically.)
Q: What's the funniest one you've ever heard?
A: More people have died in Ted Kennedy's car than have in nuclear-power accidents.
Q: I haven't seen the stats on that. Speaking of Ted Kennedy, what's your favorite cocktail?
A: I'm not really a big drinker.
Q: You're outspoken about politics, so think fast on these: Lieberman.
A: I think Joseph Lieberman is a dangerous kind of liberal, because people associate liberalism with open-mindedness and freedom, which is classical liberalism. And he is a contemporary elitist liberal who thinks he knows better than other people, because he has a certain moral and ethical code that he lives by.
Q: George W's I.Q.
A: I think he's probably pretty smart. I think he's one of those guys - he's well-bred, he went to a good school, he's probably a lot smarter than people give him credit for. (Goes into a lengthy discussion in which she claims President Clinton has a pathological need to be liked which makes him a better public speaker.)
Q: You wrote a book called "Hey Ladies! Tales and Tips for Curious Girls." What are three things that women should know?
A: "The Price is Right" is an excellent source of inspiration. Naps are vital to productivity and enlightenment. And don't become a snake-handler unless you're prepared for the cobra to bite.
Q: Now that you've got some time behind you, what's your perspective on your experience with MTV?
A: I loved it. I don't look back and see bad experiences. I was definitely tired at the end. . . . On MTV, we didn't get to talk about anything. We had to introduce the same videos over and over again. You have to say something cute within 45 seconds, and they're always wrapping you, and telling you that your skirt's crooked. I was thinking that if someone called me and told me that I had to go do 10 segments for afternoon videos, it would reduce me to tears. It would be so boring for me. And there are people who can't comprehend why I would ever leave MTV, because it seems like the coolest job in the world. And it was great, it was amazing. From age 20 to 25, it was the best. But it just got to be the same thing day after day, and you really want a challenge, and you want to be opinionated about some things.
Q: What are you listening to these days?
A: Rocket from the Crypt. The Souvenirs. Destiny's Child. I like teen pop a little more than I would like to admit. I like Britney Spears - I secretly I want to be her, with her plastic boobies and her blond hair.
Q: Do you have role models?
A: I got into radio because of Howard Stern. And I was already interning at KROQ when Howard came on the radio, which must have been fall of '91 . . . I thought he was the most sincere and frightening person all at the same time. He said he couldn't stand DJs that got on the radio and didn't say something. And I was thinking, ". . .That's so true!" I told myself that if I ever got on the air that I was going to say what I thought, and I wasn't going to hold back.
Q: What are the last three books you've read?
A: A book of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, "All Too Human" by George Stephanopoulos and a book called "On Marriage and Family Life" by St. John Chrysostom, a Greek saint.
Q: You were married recently. How did you meet your husband?
A: We met at snowboarding camp. He was a coach and I was a camper. We met in Canada at Whistler, five years ago.
Q: Let's talk eyewear: What do you look for in a pair of glasses?
A: I have to like the way they look on my face. It's pretty simple. I could spend five minutes in an optical place or I could spend two hours. And I have my special little place in New York that I go to a couple of times a year.
Q: How many pairs do you have?
A: I don't know. A lot of them I've lost or they've been chewed up. . . . I've got some that I'm going to reintroduce into the collection from 5 or 6 years ago, so probably I've got a rotation of 10 pairs right now.
Q: Winner in a fight: you or Downtown Julie Brown?
A: Oh, me. But she's got the edge - spindly. (She's a lovely woman, and she would talk her way out of an actual fight. I actually really like her.)