Radio is ephemeral. It's built to be heard once, laughed at during a soul-crushing commute on the 405, and then lost to the ether. But for three decades in Los Angeles, Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter created something that felt permanent. When the show ended its legendary run on KROQ in 2019—and following the messy, unceremonious firing of Kevin in 2020—fans realized something terrifying. Most of that history was gone. If you're looking for a kevin and bean archive, you've likely realized that finding a complete library is basically impossible. It's a scavenger hunt through dead links, old hard drives, and fragmented podcasts.
The Struggle to Preserve KROQ History
The problem with a kevin and bean archive isn't a lack of content. It’s the legal red tape. KROQ (and its parent company, Audacy, formerly Entercom) owns the master recordings. Unlike modern YouTubers who own every frame they shoot, Kevin and Bean were employees. When the show dissolved, the "official" archives stayed behind a corporate curtain.
Honestly, it’s a tragedy for radio nerds.
We are talking about thousands of hours of interviews with icons like David Bowie, No Doubt, and Beastie Boys before they were household names. You've got segments like "Breakfast with No Doubt" or the legendary "Kevin & Bean's Christmas Albums" that defined a generation of Southern California culture. Some of this stuff is on YouTube in grainy 240p, but the high-fidelity masters? They're sitting on a server somewhere, or worse, gathering dust on DAT tapes in a storage unit.
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Fan efforts have been the only thing keeping the lights on. Sites like the unofficial Kevin and Bean Archive (frequently moving domains or existing as Google Drive links) try to piece together what listeners recorded off the air. It's a patchwork quilt of low-bitrate MP3s and old cassette rips.
Why the Archive Matters More Than Ever
Most people get it wrong. They think a kevin and bean archive is just about nostalgia. It’s actually a time capsule of the alternative rock explosion.
Think about the "Showbiz Beat" with Ralph Garman. Ralph’s impressions weren't just funny; they were a daily satirical record of Hollywood’s absurdity. When you listen to old clips of "Ed-ucation" or the "Man on the Street" segments with Psycho Mike, you aren't just hearing jokes. You are hearing the evolution of the Los Angeles psyche from the 1992 riots through the 9/11 era and into the social media age.
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The Ralph Garman Factor
When Ralph was let go in 2017, it was the first crack in the armor. Fans started hoarding clips then, sensing the end was near. Ralph has since moved on to his own successful Hollywood Babble-On and The Ralph Report, but the chemistry he had with Kevin and Bean was lightning in a bottle. You can't replicate that. That’s why the search for the kevin and bean archive usually starts with people looking for specific Ralph characters like "The Batman" or his spot-on Jerry Lewis.
Where to Actually Find Clips Today
If you are hunting for audio right now, don't expect a one-stop shop. You have to be a bit of a digital detective.
- The Official Podcast Feed: If you go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can still find the "Kevin & Bean" or "Kevin & Bean Show" feeds. However, these usually only go back to about 2015. It’s the "Greatest Hits" era, mostly heavily edited segments rather than full three-hour broadcasts.
- YouTube Enthusiasts: Channels like "KROQ Kevin and Bean Fans" have uploaded old VHS recordings of the "Kevin & Bean TV" specials. These are gold.
- Internet Archive (Archive.org): This is your best bet for the "classic" era. Users have uploaded bulk ZIP files of shows from the early 2000s. It’s messy. The file names are often just dates. But if you want to hear Bean complaining about the rain in 2004, it’s there.
- The "Astro Chimp" and "Petros and Money" Crossovers: Sometimes the best clips live in the archives of other shows. Kevin Ryder has been a frequent guest on various LA podcasts since his departure, often sharing "behind the scenes" stories that provide context to the old archive clips.
The Legal Nightmare of Music Licensing
One reason a formal, paid kevin and bean archive doesn't exist is the music. In the 90s, they played music constantly.
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To release those shows today, Audacy would have to strip out every song or pay astronomical licensing fees to labels. It’s why old episodes of Saturday Night Live or The State were edited so weirdly on DVD. If the background music isn't cleared, the clip can't be legally sold or streamed. For a show that ran 30 years, that’s a legal mountain no corporate lawyer wants to climb.
How to Build Your Own Archive
If you’re a die-hard fan, you’ve got to take matters into your own hands. Don't wait for a "Complete Collection" box set. It isn't coming.
Start by searching for specific segment names on Reddit, specifically the r/kroq or r/kevinandbean subreddits. Long-time listeners often share mega-folders there. Be careful with links, obviously, but that’s where the community lives.
Also, look for the "Best of" CDs. They released several volumes in the 90s and early 2000s for charity (The Friends and Helpers Foundation). These are physical artifacts. You can find them on eBay for ten bucks. Rip them to FLAC. Save them. They represent the only "officially" curated kevin and bean archive that exists in high quality.
Actionable Steps for the Dedicated Listener
- Download the existing podcast back catalog now. Corporate entities often delete old feeds to save on hosting costs or during rebranding. If those 2018 episodes are still on your app, use a tool to save them locally.
- Support the creators' new ventures. Kevin Ryder is active on social media and has done various projects like "Greatest Hits Radio." Bean is back in the UK. Following their current work often leads to "storytime" segments where they recount classic bits, which is the next best thing to hearing the original audio.
- Search Archive.org specifically for "KROQ." Use the "Year" filter to narrow down the era you miss most.
- Check the wayback machine for the old KROQ.com. Sometimes, the old "Crap of the Day" links still point to active (if hidden) media servers.
The legacy of Kevin and Bean isn't just in the audio files. It's in the way they transformed morning radio from "wacky morning zoo" nonsense into a genuine, vulnerable conversation between friends. Even if the kevin and bean archive remains scattered across the internet like digital ruins, the impact of those 30 years on the streets of Los Angeles is permanent.