Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2007 > December > 10
Monday, December 10, 2007
12/11: Star’s Morning Mess starting soon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: A shot off star94.com from the Morning Mess’s recent party with the Backstreet Boys. That’s Marco, MIkey and Shannon, left to right.
Star 94’s new Morning Mess with Marco, Shannon and Superphat Mikey from Indianapolis was originally going to start in early January, but Marco intimated on stage at the Star 94 sold-out Jingle Jam Monday night that they may start sooner than that.
After Steve & Vikki made a bittersweet departure in early November after 17 years on the station, Star 94 ran a “best of” until Thanksgiving. Since then, night-time jock Nudge and traffic gal Shannon Holly have been ably holding the fort.
Marco, Shannon and Mikey have been at work but not on air since Dec. 1. Instead, Star 94 staff has given them a quick intro to Atlanta. General Manager Mark Kanov in October said they were supposed to spend the month in Atlanta traffic, meeting advertisers and learning how to properly pronounce words such as “Gwinnett.”
The trio, in one of its first public appearances as the new Star morning team, introduced headliner Avril Lavigne Monday night. (Lavigne during her one-hour set showed far more verve than she did at the recent American Music Awards, where she seemed languid and comatose. You have to give that gal credit— she’s a singles machine whose songs appeal with laser-sharp focus to suburban teen. Radio is already playing her fourth single “Hot” off her current album.)
On stage, Marco told the 10,000 mostly young teens (many who screamed nonstop for the Jonas Brothers), “We are the new morning show. We’re starting in the next few days.” Marco introduced Shannon (no, not Holly, the other Shannon, who wasn’t offered a full-time job in the new world order) and Mikey and explained “phat” stands for “pretty hot and tasty.”
I’m set to talk to them soon. Based on comments from fans in Indianapolis and videos on YouTube, the threesome will offer a significantly different (and younger) vibe from Steve & Vikki.
Meanwhile, the final count at Project 9-6-1 was more than $104,000 for the Empty Stocking Fund, more than doubling the value of the amount stolen from the charity’s warehouse a couple weeks ago.
And over in TV news, the final day for Cynne Simpson as anchor/reporter at WGCL-TV was last Friday. She sent an email out to friends noting her new destination: a strong ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington D.C., a comparable-sized market. She starts there January 7.
Here’s an excerpt from the email:
As you may know, I went to Howard University in Washington DC and have lots of family and friends there. I am super excited about returning to my old stomping grounds. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up!
Stephany Fisher will now co-anchor the 4, 6 (where Cynne had anchored) and 11 p.m. news and WGCL will hire a full-time reporter as a replacement. Bill Gaines will continue as co-anchor at 4, 6 and 11 p.m.
12/10: Cledus T. Judd new Bull morning host
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And the new morning hosts keep on comin’.
This time, 94.9/The Bull has dumped its syndicated Big D. & Bubba after just a few months in favor of a locally-based show starring Cledus T. Judd, the “Weird Al” Yankovic of country radio.
Judd, who is calling his show the “Cledus T. Party,” wanted to move closer to home. (His mom is in Cartersville). Mid-day host Paul Koffy will co-host. The show stars January 7, just a few days after Star 94’s new morning team, the Morning Mess, launches. Dave FM’s new morning show with Zakk Tyler will start soon after.
Judd, 42, recently left a morning show post at a Tampa country station WQYK-FM because he wanted to be home. “I had a great run there,” he said Monday. “They were some of the nicest people in the world. But my mama wasn’t doing well. I wanted to be with my friends and closer to my daughter [who lives in Kentucky.] I was dying a slow death mentally in Tampa.”
He has done parody songs playing off popular tunes by the likes of Toby Keith (“How Do You Milk A Cow?” for “How Do You Like Me Now?”), Alan Jackson (“Gone Funky” for “Gone Country”) and Travis Tritt (“It’s a Great Day To Be a Guy” for “It’s a Great Day To Be Alive”). He was recently on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club” and had some lovely run-ins with Screech, er… Dustin Diamond.
Judd said he loved his time doing “Fit Club” although he said he starved himself on a diet of chicken and broccoli to get down to 190 pounds (from a peak of 290 long before the show even taped.). He is at about 200 pounds now. He said VH1 broadened his appeal. “I’ve been well known in Waffle Houses. After ‘Fit Club,’ I now have a monster black following.”He said he became friends with everybody except Dustin (“he’s a cocky, arrogant bastard,” he said) and stays in touch with rapper Warren G. and Maureen McCormick (AKA Marcia Brady).
He said his show in Tampa had about six or seven songs an hour and he expects the same on the Bull. He’s still rounding out his morning team of four and he’s looking for a good female sidekick. He promises to be accessible and if people want to stop by the studio, he’s open to that. He will bring listeners to his home on a regular basis. “When people call, the phones will be answered. We’ll talk about the military and family will be first and foremost. I will do damn near anything for kids.”
He loves doting on his three-year-old daughter Caitlyn (who lives in Kentucky with his ex wife) and based on his Tampa show, he will talk about her frequently.
“He knows this town,” said Bull Program Director Clay Hunnicutt. “He has a great relationship with the Braves players. It just made a lot of sense. Listeners are going to love him. He’s just real.”
Judd grew up in Cartersville and graduated from Cass Comprehensive High School. He became a hair stylist in the 1980s, working at Van Michael in Buckhead and Don Shaw Hairdressers. Judd moved to Nashville in 2001 and after struggling for a few years, making just $15,000 a year, he scored a record deal with Razor & Tie, an independent label. He has created 23 videos and sold more than two million albums total. Here’s his discography.
“I may not be the best morning person in the world,” he said. “I may not have that Steve McCoy voice. I do have the ability to relate with that guy in the pickup truck making $11 an hour who hates his job. I understand that same guy who has to drop off his daughter with his ex wife and a stepdad whose teeth he’d love to knock out… I’m just an ordinary guy from an ordinary town who went out and did some extraordinary things,” he said. “I want to share in my good fortune with my friends, my family and my listeners. It ain’t worth a damn if I can’t share them with other people.”
Do you think Cadillac Jack & Kristen Gates over at Kicks or Rhubarb Jones and Dallas McCade at Eagle should be quaking in their boots?
