By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Sebastian Davis, known on Rock 100.5's morning show as Sebas, is moving to Los Angeles for a higher-paying gig with the Woody Show at Alt 98.7.
He said Rock 100.5 counter-offered but he felt the L.A. job was just a wee bit better.
Sebas, who loves going out and picking up funny audio at night events, is leaving on good terms. The morning show will be giving him a hearty farewell on Friday, his final day at the station. He isn't coasting. He is attending tonight's "Fast and Furious 7" movie screening.
He starts at the Woody Show on Monday, taking a mere weekend break between jobs. He said he is single with minimal belongings so moving will be easy.
Sebas is one of two remaining on-air survivors from 99X, the once powerhouse alternative rock station which Cumulus killed off a few years ago. (The other is Matt "Organic X" Jones , who mostly does promotion now for Cumulus but still hosts a weekly public affairs show. Former Rock 100.5 afternoon host and 99X star Axel Lowe recently left to program a rock station in Ohio and has been replaced by Jay Philpott .)
He started at 99X as an intern and worked over the years for Leslie Fram (now running music strategy for CMT in Nashville), Fred Toucher (now a huge sports talk morning host in Boston) and Sean Demery (now a program director in Milwaukee), among others.
Sebas said his relatively paltry pay and ability to do a lot of jobs kept him employed even as Cumulus Media took over, buried 99X and debuted Rock 100.5.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
In 2008, he joined the Regular Guys show and spent years going out at night interviewing drunks, homeless people and concertgoers. I've seen him work. He's indefatigable.
Sebas said his favorite bits were "Under the Influence" (asking trivai questions to the inebriated), "Casting Couch" (for fake movie sequels), "Buy Curious" (douchebag outfit 'Price is Right') and "Sebas 180" (press questions with an intentionally wrong premise.)
Last year, Sebas was promoted to executive producer, spelling Tim Andrews, who remains on the show.
"Southside" Steve Rickman, a host on the morning show, said he's been a huge backbone of the show. "Not nearly as douchie or snarky now that Larry [Wachs] is gone," he said. "I'm going to miss his work ethic. He lives to work."
He said Sebas has never owned a car worth more than $1,000. And if the vehicle is broken down, he'll take Uber, Lyft or MARTA. "He's lived at the radio station. He's lived at a trailer by a strip club. His permanent address is the radio station." Rickman said he's sold all his belongings except two boxes of clothing and his laptop for his move to L.A.
On the morning show, Andrews will deliver the newscasts for the time being and everyone will step up until a replacement is found, Rickman said.
"Sebas is wildly talented," said Eric Von Haessler, a former Regular Guy who is now heard every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. on News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB. "I don't think his abilities were ever fully appreciated by management. He was the best at what he did (man-on-the-street segments) in this city. I think he'll do great in L.A. and I wish him the best of luck."
Jimmy Baron, who worked with Sebas a decade ago at 99X, said Sebas "gets it. He has great instincts and, in a job where fast decisions often have to be made, having good instincts is a very valuable commodity. He will do great in LA."
In 2013, Sebas caught video of a shooting in East Atlanta.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Larry Smith, who joined CBS46 as sports director in July 2013, is leaving for Washington D.C. to work at ABC affiliate WJLA as anchor for "Good Morning Washington."
He took over the sports programming after the station dumped 790/The Zone as its outsourced sports department. The station recently hired Fred Kalil as its first full-time sports anchor since 2009.
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