Straight From the Mouth

coverage and written up in the newspaper. We have a great balance of personalities on the show as well. We're all very different and have very different opinions on just about everything we talk about.

Andy: We don't have a clue. But if we have to answer... I think that we have good chemistry on the air. Alison and I disagree on a lot of things and it makes for interesting arguments. Most importantly, our PD allows us the freedom do the things that we feel work. We also have a great producer. That allows us to put our focus on our performance and not worry about logistics.

How does the CMA and A&A connect? Do you have to campaign?

Andy: No campaign for us. You send the CMA an entry that consists of an aircheck, biographical info and community involvement information. Then, it's judged by the CMA.

Alison: We've been nominated 4 times and lucky enough to win twice.

Let's talk about the show. Who does what?

Andy: I "lead" the show on the air do the characters and am the conservative "family guy." Alison is the single mom and more of a liberal on issues. We both talk about our lives, my kids and wife, her dating and boyfriends.

Alison: Although Andy and I are close in age (Andy's 5 years younger) we lead very different lives. I'm a single mom who has been divorced for the past 20 years. My son is a junior in college and is about to turn 21 this year. Jimmy (Holt) is our producer and is a single, never been married and 33. He's always having relationship problems with women and we love to talk about it. All our roles put together an interesting mix.

Do you start out each day with a plan?

Andy: Jimmy fills out our "daily sheet." He plugs in the regular features, contests and bits. It's always subject to change of course but we do have an outline each day.

Give us a bit that every show is crazy if they don't try?

Andy: We're a college football town, but this bit could work anywhere. The Friday before every football game, we sneak a marching band into someone's bedroom while they're sleeping and wake them up with a live version of Rockytop (the UT fight song). Our "victims" are set up by friends and family. It's a lot of work but worth it. Our band is usually 8 members, trumpet, tuba, drums, trombones, etc. We call it the Andy & Alison Big Orange Wakeup Call.

Obviously, the indecency issue hasn't been a problem for most country stations, but have you ever drawn a listener complaint?

Andy: Do you mean today? Of course. Weekly.

Alison: Almost every day somebody is complaining about something. We even get complaints from listeners thinking they're listening to us but really listening to someone else.

Who keeps the show in check? Do you ever go over airchecks?

Andy: We all do. If we go completely insane our PD would let us know. We all have a good idea of where the show should be and we know if something didn't go well. We listen back to specific bits, but we don't have regular aircheck sessions. We did with an earlier PD and we ended up planning the show for the aircheck sessions instead of the listener.

Outside of listeners, whose input matters most to you?

Andy: My wife is good at telling me if something sounded "stupid" or was funny.

Alison: Yes. I'll listen to my boyfriend, son, friends, etc. If they think something sounded stupid, they don't hesitate to tell me. They also let me know what they thought was great on the show as well and what they'd like to hear more.

How about role models? Who along the way influenced you?

Andy: I listened to Rick Dees back in the 80's I loved the way the Billy in high school. We compete against JB&B in syndication now. I also used to listen to Imus at WNBC via satellite at a station where I worked.

Alison: I always admired Sherri from Bob & Sherri in Charlotte, NC. I worked in radio there for a while and I would listen to her every morning. She's strong, opinionated and funny.

In seven years, have you ever had a serious falling out?

Andy: Do you mean today? Of course. Most of the knock down - drag out fights happened years ago. We still disagree on things but we work them out in a more civilized way.

Alison: We had few rough years in the beginning. Even though we worked together for 5 years at the same station in Charlotte, NC, we had never worked with each other on the same show. It took a lot of adjusting. It's only been in the last few years that my hair quit falling out and the nausea went away!

What's your favorite radio story?

Alison: There was a bomb threat in the building where I worked at WTDR Charlotte, NC. The entire building was evacuated... everyone had to get out. I was on the air at the time and my PD (who felt like it was more important that I stay on the air and get blown up) told me that there was just a crazy person in the building and I had nothing to worry about. The General Manager of the station called me on the hotline ordering me to leave the building because it was a bomb threat and it was supposed to go off in 3 minutes! When I got outside I was yelled at by the bomb squad!

Andy: There are so many. Most of them are from my days of working at my hometown AM station. I worked at a small AM station in Blowing Rock, NC, while I was in college. It was in a small mobile home on the side of a mountain and if you walked to heavily, the turntables skipped. One day we were down to one turntable and one cart machine because the cold weather used to make the carts drag.

How about sharing an embarassing story about each other?

Alison: We took several listeners on a WIVK Cruise a few years back. Andy had too much to drink in a Cancun nightclub one night and fell off a podium on the dance floor flat on his back. He then threw up at the table and also all the way back in the cab that took us back to our cruise ship. You've got to know Andy and how much this is out of character for him. We have pictures and still blackmail him all the time.

Andy: Gil Gerard - hit on Alison when he was in the studio. He even got her number and called to ask her out. It was uncomfortable for her. Hilarious for us.

Single funniest thing you ever did on the air?

Alison: I took a week off for vacation to visit my sister in Portland, OR. While I was gone, Andy and Jimmy hired a painter to paint the outside of my house orange! They picked orange because it's the collegiate color for the University of Tennessee. What they didn't know is that my flight hadn't left yet and I heard their entire scheme on the radio. I decided to get them back by calling the police and having them arrested when they showed up to paint. It was great! All of my neighbors were freaking out and running out of their homes to see what was going on. We had cop cars swarming my house.

Is it tougher finding material for women than men?

Alison: Not at all. There's tons of material out there. Women's magazines, Oprah (I love Oprah), the View, etc. I belong to a supper club where all my girlfriends get together at someone's house for dinner once a month. The material you get just from your friends is endless. Listeners love topics on relationships, dating, etc.

Final thoughts, Bush or Kerry?

Andy: Bush!

Alison: Still Undecided

Any advice to either candidate?

Alison: More free t-shirts!