Matt Burger

THE TIME MACHINE is out of the norm in radio programming when it comes to "the station's voice". You know the drill. It's that one voice you hear pretty much all the time on your favorite radio station. Well, we have more than one and they are all important to our programming; Monique Chachere (film actress and voice over goddess), Laura Lee (Armed Forces Radio and Jazz DJ legend), Bill St. James (Nick@Nite, The Discovery Channel and 98% of motion picture previews - yes that voice!), Rick Dees and Matt Burger. Along with Matt, these talents have been an integral part of our programming. In addition, St. John, Brian James and Sean Caldwell have done wonders for us in the past. Brian still continues to be "our go to guy" at WILD 105.5 FM.

Thru it all, Matt has been there from day one of THE TIME MACHINE. Matt's presence began at KMVI and continued to KPMW FM, KONI FM and KEAO FM. It was Matt who supplied our presentation even while in a foreign country. His voice never left our airwaves since 1991 and we salute him by showcasing his professional life in cyberspace. In addition to his "backstage announcer" duties, Matt is our chief comedy writer and performer. Most of our fake commercials, spoofs and parodies come from Matt. Heaven forbid when both Matt Burger and Michael McCartney get together on an idea. Maui radio has been unprepared for the audio that the two of them have unleashed and we are forever grateful when they are locked up in a studio creating "radio magic". If all of this wasn't enough to handle, Matt also held; a weekend airshift, acted on stage, did some indie film work AND worked his okole off five days a week as a staff member of The Maui News.


The Time Machine's Matt Burger and producer Jenny Leong.


Matthew Burger's radio career has spanned over sixteen years and three countries, beginning on Maui as a graveyard shift DJ at the age of twenty. Matt then moved on to Honolulu radio, working at KSSK AM/FM for over three years doing everything from filling in for the traffic-watch guy to producing "The Perry and Price Morning Show." Matt also did afternoons on Honolulu's STAR 101.9 KUCD. He kicked Oahu into gear with the new adult alternative format that stations like San Francisco's ALICE had success with. Hawaii was ready and the station still enjoys success to this day.

Not long after completing his journalism degree in 1997 with a minor in Russian, Burger soon found himself living in Moscow, Russia, and back on the radio again, this time as a foreign correspondent for Community Radio Taiwan, on top of his other jobs in the former Soviet Union.

"It wasn't quite Maui, but I enjoyed the edge that living in Russia gave to every aspect of my life." For the next two years, along with his radio duties, Burger worked first as the sports editor for the Moscow-based English daily newspaper The Moscow Times and then as a full time Assignment Editor / Internet Contributor for NBC Worldwide News.

Despite the excitement of working for a national network, the pace of the job was something Burger was glad to leave behind. "It's great to be away from television news!" says Burger, who doesn't miss the egos, chaos and ambulance chasing of TV. "Working for NBC was like working in an emergency room! People yelling and screaming, over-inflated egos left and right, having to coordinate live satellite feeds at the drop of a hat."

Burger, a Maui native and a 1990 Baldwin High graduate, made plans to permanently settle down on Maui after being away for more than six years.

"Living in Moscow made me realize more than ever how special and lovely (and clean!) Maui really is," says Burger, adding: "I realized that I was 100 percent a small-town kind of guy. Big cities were just not meant for me. They're great to visit, but I like to see the stars at night."

Burger also made plans to get more involved in the community, starting with his neighborhood, Olinda. "I always wanted to do more in terms of contributing to the community around me," he says. "But in Moscow, the situation will just eat you alive; there's so much that needs to be done. Here, I feel I really can do something for a place that I truly care about."

Burger works full time on the news desk at The Maui News, culling the wires and helping put the paper together. On "The Time Machine", though, he relished the opportunity to get back on the radio airwaves. "It¹s a great feeling to be on the air on Maui again and at a place like "THE TIME MACHINE", where I can have fun on stations whose product I believe in and whose listeners are, simply put, the best!"




Air Talent MATT BURGER with his former boss from NBC - TOM BROKOW



Da Worm



June 26, 2006 8:42 PM

Hey Matt Burger was my classmate @ Baldwin. We both graduated the same year 1990. Damn I'm getting OLD!!!