Kicks 101.5 adds CJ Lusk, Ali Mac to Cadillac Jack morning show

Ali Mac and CJ Lusk join Cadillac Jack in mornings on Kicks 101.5 starting June 22, 2017. CREDIT: Twitter photos

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Ali Mac and CJ Lusk join Cadillac Jack in mornings on Kicks 101.5 starting June 22, 2017. CREDIT: Twitter photos

This was posted on Thursday, June 22, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk

C.J. Lusk and Ali Mac have been added to the Kicks 101.5 morning show, replacing Dallas McCade, Cadillac Jack announced this morning just after 6 a.m.

Both air personalities joined the country station 18 months ago. C.J. came in at first as the mid-day host, replacing Jenn Hobby, now on mornings at Star 94.1. Two weeks later, he moved to afternoons from 3 to 7 p.m. for Chris Carter Ali Mac, instead, took over mid-days.

'This is so stinkin' exciting," C.J. said on air at 6:44 a.m.

It appears McCade will take over mid-days. She also will take over as music director, as announced earlier this week.

Cadillac on air said he fully supported her move.

ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

icon to expand image

Credit: Rodney Ho

The station has seen ratings go up in recent months but it still skews significantly older than rival country station 94.9/The Bull. This will make the morning show much younger.

Caddy, 43, has been with the Kicks since he was 19 years old, with a short break over at former sister station Eagle. He took over the morning show about a decade ago, first with Kristen Gates (now at the Bull), then McCade. C.J. recently covered for Caddy when he spent a month recuperating from a heart attack in March.

At 6:21 a.m., Cadillac introduced a daily feature focused on "positive news" called "Kickstart the Love." Today's story is about six inmates who saved the life of a deputy having a heart attack in Pope County instead of trying to escape. They were ultimately rewarded with pizza and shorter sentences. An hour later, Caddy did a modified version of his "Beat Caddy" pop culture quiz and he beat a listener as usual.

C.J., who is married with a young daughter, previously worked in Memphis, Portland and Charlotte. Chicago native and Duluth High School graduate Ali Mac, who is single, worked for a time as a night jock at Star 94.1, where current Kicks 101.5 program director Scott Lindy used to work before he came over to Kicks. Both Ali and C.J. have done mornings in other cities.

Lusk was Kicks' fifth afternoon host since Bill Celler left the post in early 2010 (He is now a realtor out of Marietta.). The four intervening hosts were Tim Michaels (2010-2011), Mike Macho (2011-2013), Tug Cowart (2013-2014) and Carter (2014-2016.) That spot is now open again.

Unfortunately, the pie can only grow so much. Kicks dropped morning producer Jeremy "Fat Kid" Powell, previously at B98.5 and 99X, to shave a few bucks. He had just joined the station a few months earlier.

Kicks also dumped its old slogan in favor of "Georgia's Country For Life," which is similar to the "Country for Life" line used by the corporate Cumulus Nash country brand. Lindy, in a press release, described it as "a phrase that embodies what Kicks 101.5 has meant to Atlanta and North Georgia for years."