Straight From the Mouth

ten years, and we found very early on, like in the first week, that our best stuff is spontaneous. We got lucky. We have great chemistry. We found in the first week that we were finishing each other's sentences.

What do each of you bring to the show?

She brings in her material. I bring in my material. I quarterback the show, and she's very quick to respond to whatever I bring up. She is heavily into television and movies, the Oprah side of life. I am more into other things. So we come from different angles.

Who is the male version of Oprah? If a woman is on the Oprah side, then what would the man's side be? Springer? Jimmy Kimmel?

We have a complicated relationship, because she is also heavily into sports, and I'm not. I have more of a feminine side than I think she does, a lot of the time.

Give me a couple of the best bits you've ever pulled off on the air?

One of the best things we did here, that we still hear about, was an April Fools gag. April Fools Day was on a Monday and the time change was the next week, but we acted like it had already happened. And so we started an hour early, and we did everything an hour early. Any phone calls that we aired were pre-coached to make sure that they played along. It completely threw thousands of people off. One person went to their job at a bank an hour early and set off the alarms. It got to the point that the General Manager had to come on an apologize to the audience.

That was probably was the first time in radio that a General Manager apologized and it was legit!

We didn't get thrown off for a day or anything like that. That was really great.

Do you and management ever lock horns over content?

I get along with management very well. I find that if we can just keep the

going well.

Winning... a great relationship tool.

It really is. We really don't disagree that much. I always wish that we had a little more money to work with, but we're still doing very well with what we have. Again, coming from small market, I've found that I can work with little and make more out of it. We didn't have anything to work with when I started to work, and we ended up doing some really great things, out of gerryrigging things and making tape machines work that didn't work. I was just talking to our Program Director, John Roberts, the other day about how I admire people who started in bigger markets, but I wouldn't have thrown my small market experience away, because I think it teaches you to appreciate anything you can get. I remember when I was working in college and we finally got a cart machine. I couldn't wait to hit a commercial, because I could actually touch a cart machine. That kind of wiring in my brain has allowed me to not get too carried away with success.

Where was your biggest career break?

My biggest career break was when I went to Columbus. I was ready to take a job at a station that wouldn't have been the right station for me. I'm actually from Columbus, so I was able to go back to my home town. I was waiting in the lobby for Randy Raye and Mark Todd to meet me, and the last time I had been in the lobby I was 12 years old picking up some White Castle hamburger coupons from a contest I had won.

Like most everyone else, you've experienced ownership changes. Have you ever been directly affected by these changes?

I don't feel the change on the air. Right when you get off the air, that's when I notice the difference. There is a lot more talking about the business than we ever did before. Before it was like when Nationwide owned us, once a year, ' Steve Berger is coming in next week, make sure your desk is clean.' That was about it. That's all we heard from corporate. Then consolidation and we started rolling over to a couple different companies, then you start having more insurance meetings and then people just start speculating a lot more. Then everyone crowds around the fax machine to see what's going on. use to be.

If you got into radio today for the first time, knowing what you know now, is there anything that you would do differently?

I would have acted on internships more when I was younger. I would not have been as bashful as I was at the beginning. When I had a chance to first be on the radio at WTVN, I was going to college. They actually acted interested and they said, 'if you just bring a tape by I think we have a spot for you.' I never came back, because I thought they might actually put me on the radio. I wasn't ready. So, I wish I had started a little quicker. I feel that I have been very fortunate and I work very hard. I don't have a lot of regrets.

Who impacted your career most? Was there a mentor?

I would say Brian Douglas, who was Program Director in Tallahassee.

Where is he at now?

Greensboro. He really molded me into somebody who could actually do a morning radio show. I don't talk to him that often anymore, but when I do he completely recharges me with his passion for radio. Not the good ole days kind of radio talk, but what's going on now. I get to play golf with Scott Shannon a few times a year when he comes down to Florida, and it's the same kind of thing. Just the energy that you get.

What did you like about his management style?

I feel like he had the whole package. He knew music and he knew how to get the most out of me. He would give me some brutal aircheck sessions, days in the row where he would play the same bit over and over again. Then he would give me suggestions on how to do it differently. It a constructive thing and it put me through a boot camp that made me a much more relatable morning guy.

If you could spend a day with any morning show of your choice, who would it be?

Scott Shannon would be one, and probably Jeff & Jer' would be another. I think we are doing similar radio, and sometimes I will listen on the internet, not to steal bits, but to get the vibe.

What are your favorite topics?

I love relationship stuff, more psychological studies of people and why we do what we do. When we had Dr. Phil (McGraw) on, it was perfect for our show, not just because it attracts that kind of demographic, but it's right up our alley. Erica and I always thought that we could do some kind of relationship talk show. My wife is a psychologist too, so I'm surrounded by this stuff. We are always into the relationship thing.

Are relationship topics key to AC?

Relationships are key. Our old PD, Pat Paxton, use to call it the 'Small Mammal Theory,' if you can, talk about babies and puppies. In fact we had the pet guy from the Today Show on this morning. As much as everybody stresses local, we do keep an eye on local and we do a good job with it, but I'm not one of those morning guys who has to localize the show to a fault. I feel like entertaining radio is going be entertaining radio. People don't really care where it originates from, as long as they are being entertained.

Are there elements of the show that you don't do anymore, i.e., Battle of the Sexes? Stunts?

We still do Battle of the Sexes, but we do our it our own way. The contests and little gimmicks we do are never about the gimmicks themselves, they are more of a vehicle for us to be ourselves and for the audience to come on the show.

What's your version of Battle of the Sexes.

It's more of the rivalry that has built up over the years, because we keep score everyday and we total it up at the end of the year. The men have never beaten the women. I have come up with different songs to play at the end when the women win and when the men win. To tell you on the phone sounds a little dry, but it is more of a rivalry.

Who else is on the show with you?

Jay Edwards is our on-air producer. Zack Skylar is also an on-air producer.

What do two producers do differently?

I need to find that out.

As soon as we're off the phone, right?

Well, they each have strengths. Jay is really good with working with local people, as far as getting interviews, Zack is really good at turning over rocks and finding things to talk about and finding ways to get around publicists and get into the bigger name celebrities. Zack is a pop culture freak. Jay is better at getting things we need to set up the show, like when we have live music in the studio. We have been fortunate to have some pretty big names in to play for us.

Speaking of guests, who have been among your favorites?

Michael McDonald, the guy from the Doobie Brothers. He came in and spent had Kenny Loggins for an hour. Dr. Phil was a homerun, we had him on for 12 consecutive weeks.

Which guest wouldn't you ask back?

Well, we had Norm from "Cheers," George Wendt. In fact we still mention him on the air. We do great celebrity interviews, if I can blow our own horn. We try not to be just the next station in the tour. We try to make it a fun time for them. But George Wendt had made some kind of statement about when he was out jogging that morning and we laughed and he was serious. From that point on the interview went straight down hill. People just can't picture him as a guy who wakes up early and runs.

When you were a kid growing up, did you always know that you wanted to be a dj?

Yes. I started out listening to WNCI in Columbus. I would listen to a guy named Dave Anthony in the afternoons. I would just come home and listen to him all day, which is no different than a lot of kids do. It was always assumed that I would become a dentist like my Dad, because I had showed some interest there. So, I wrote a letter to Dave Anthony and I said, 'what do you do, to do what you are doing?' He gave the letter to his Program Director, which at the time was E. Carl. And here's this 12 year old kid writing a letter to a radio station. E. Carl took the time to write this long letter back outlining exactly what he thought I should do. I never forgot that. So, I pretty much followed his formula.

Have you ever talked to E. Carl since then?

No, I never have.

Would you mind if I mailed him a copy of the magazine and put it in there?

That would be great.

What was the worst slip you ever had on the air?

In my first job, everything was sponsored. In local radio everything is sponsored. We had the time check, "12 noon brought to you by Haines Brothers Jewelers, 12 East Parkway from the Square downtown. Haines Brothers has been serving the Newark area since 1894 with the finest of jewelry and gifts." I'll never forget that, everyday at 12 noon. Then there was another time check brought to you in the afternoon, when I was doing afternoon drive on the AM station. It was brought to you by Kentucky Fried Chicken. I said, 'Kenfucky Tried Chicken.' And the second day I was concentrating on not saying, 'Kenfucky Tried Chicken', and I started to say it again and I stopped. So I said, 'This time check brought to you by Kenfuck...Kentucky Fried Chicken.'

You mentioned earlier that you occasionally golf with Scott Shannon, how do you do against him?

He beats me by two strokes every time.

Is that a 95 to a 93 or is it an 81 to a 79?

I 'll give you a Scott Shannon answer. We are right around 80.