Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > July > 10 > Entry
7/10: No punishment for Giant Brian show, Kevin Avery in heels, “Last Comic Standing” locals, Warren Savage on Dave FM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Project 9-6-1 morning hosts “Giant” Brian Carothers and Shaffee won’t be punished for their comments about the teen who died when he was hit by a roller coaster, according to their boss Clay Hunnicutt, who was just promoted to a senior vice president job for programming for Clear Channel.
“We weren’t going to yank them off the air,” he said.
Six Flags Over Georgia pulled advertising from the station last week after they heard the pair facetiously discuss what to do with a decapitated head and interviewed a local company BioTrauma that cleans up death scenes. They deemed the comments “insensitive.”
Hunnicutt said the station is in talks with Six Flags and “they’re coming around. I don’t think it’s as bad as people make it out to be. They didn’t like the subject matter. That’s their call. They’re great clients. We respect their opinion.”
-He also said former Kicks morning co-host Kristen Gates is “in the mix” to replace Jamie Massey to be the female sidekick on the Cledus T. Judd morning show on the Bull but no final decisions have been made yet. Gates, who was booted from Kicks in the Leap Day Massacre at Kicks/no-longer Eagle, is now working part time at the Bull.
Hunnicutt’s reaction to Massey leaving for her Air Force pilot boyfriend in Phoenix, where she’ll work part-time at another Clear Channel country station: “She’s chasing love and you can’t argue with that.” Massey’s last day with Cledus is July 18.
-Warren Savage, the mellifluous former WSB-TV morning anchor who just got out of rehab for cocaine possession, spoke live for the first time Thursday morning to talk about his addiction and what led to him quitting in 2005.
He spoke with Jimmy Baron, subbing in this week for Zakk Tyler on Dave FM. He said he quit because he was fed up with the way the business was going, citing the Runaway Bride as frivolity he didn’t like. He admits it was “an unprofessional departure” because he broke his contract and didn’t even give the station two-week notice. He simply arrived, wrote a goodbye note and left. “In retrospect, I wouldn’t have done it that way.”
As a bass player, he joined a cover band in Las Vegas and said he got caught up in cocaine. “These guys were major partyers,” he said. So he left the band. But the coke habit did not stay behind. “When I returned from Vegas, I had a lot of money and a lot of time.” He was caught in 2006, first for marijuana possession, then a few weeks alter, cocaine possession. He just completed an 18-month rehab program and isn’t sure what he will do next, though returning to TV anchoring is a possibility.
“I pray and seek God’s voice,” Savage said. “I pray for His direction and His will in my life… If it involves another stint in media, I certainly would consider it.”
“I was an arrogant, egotistical person,” he added. “I really needed humility in my life.”
Early last year, a man who buys stuff from abandoned storage places ended up with some of Savage’s personal possessions and passed them on to me. I have pictures of Savage’s two cats and family (plus shots of him with Peter Jennings and Colin Powell) as well as awards he won over the years. There were also pawn shop receipts for items such as a Mac and a mountain bike. Warren, you can reach me at rho@ajc.com if you’d like your stuff.
-On a lighter note, Kevin Avery of 104.7/The Fish wanted to know what it was like to be in heels, an often torturous affair for women to look good. Here’s the photographic evidence of him with his on-air partner Taylor Scott:
-I wrote a short piece for the print edition about two former Atlantans who are finalists on “Last Comic Standing.” The story is here.
Here’s some video of Ron G, who lived here from 1999 to 2005 and worked at the Punchline and Uptown Comedy Corner.
And Louis Ramey(right), who worked the Punchline as a host in the 1980s and has headlined the club a couple of times this decade. He left town almost a decade ago but still considers Atlanta home.
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