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Thursday, February 5, 2009
2/5: Whatever happened to… Kelly & Alpha? Also, Ben Carson interview
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kelly Stevens and Alpha Trivette were the morning team at B98.5 for nearly a decade until last summer when the station ousted them in favor of Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke.
I had lunch with them recently at Taqueria Del Sol in West Midtown to catch up. They have been together as a team for more than 20 years and are still seeking a job. Though they’d like to stay in Atlanta, they are flexible and willing to go virtually anywhere.
“We’ve got a good brand name 21 years running,” Kelly said. “We need one more good home to last us a little bit longer.”
“The object is not to pack up, sell and move,” Alpha said. “It’s like an endless first date if you have to move to a new city.”
Unfortunately, the economy is horrendous and the job market all but barren.
Locally, there is no obvious place for them though they could potentially take mornings at True Oldies 106.7 if the station decided to drop Don Imus. Or if another station with ratings issues (such as Dave FM or 94.9/The Bull) decides to go soft rock.
“We did get a lot of respect from advertisers in town,” Kelly noted. “A lot of them are waiting for us to land so they can come back and invest in us. Good things are going to happen. Good things happen to good people.”
Kelly, who went into alcohol rehab in the spring, said he’s been sober nine months. He spends Sundays playing Bingo with some older brethren. Otherwise, he’s on his Harley a lot. (He took a trip up the coast last year after he left B98.5) Alpha is playing golf and keeping the yard in order.
Kelly, by the way, is single and looking. (Alpha is married.) “But who wants to date me?” Kelly said, half facetiously. “I don’t drink anymore. But I do play Bingo!”
Over the years, they’ve led the typical “have job, will travel” life of morning jocks going from Kansas City to (briefly Billings, Montana) to Tampa/St. Pete to Denver to Atlanta. B98.5 was their longest stay at one station.
At B98.5, the pair kept patter to a minimum because that was the mandate of the bosses, not a personal choice. It wasn’t a reflection of their talent either. It was a strategy that worked well for Cox Radio stations nationwide and helped B98.5 over the years outrank Peach 94.9. It’s fair to say Kelly & Alpha were not let go for poor ratings. Rather, Cox nabbed Steve & Vikki after they were let go from Star 94 because the pair have a huge following and the move would help prevent any rivals from starting a second soft rock station. (B98.5 has had that territory to itself since late 2006 when Peach went country.)
At times, Stevens said, the restrictions “drove us crazy.” But they were good foot soldiers, never complained about their situation publicly, playing eight songs an hour plus brief phone conversations with listeners on a choice topic and a few lighthearted bon mots. It was never enough to make them true “personalities” like Steve & Vikki, the Bert Show or Frank & Wanda.
Relatively speaking, I’ve gotten far more inquiries from radio listeners about Ike Newkirk, Porsche Foxx and still, the Kimmer. But Kelly is philosophical about his fate in life.
“A lot of people are worse off than we are,” Kelly noted. “I see people living under the overpass. I’ve already picked out my spot.”
“Maybe a dumpster?” Alpha cracked.
“McDonald’s has to throw out their fries every hour and a half!” Kelly added.
-I also did a story for the print edition today about Ben Carson, the famous black neurosurgeon who was able to separate Siamese Twins. His biopic (starring Cuba Gooding Jr.) airs Saturday night on TNT at 8 p.m.
