Remaining Regular Guys honor Larry Wachs on air

Sebastian Davis, who compiles most of the audio for the show for comedic purposes, led the show instead of Wachs.

"You may have heard in the Atlanta Journal Constitution," Sebas said, "it's going to be a little different. Larry is no longer on the show. We wish him well. He has a lot of fans."

But he decided not to discuss the situation so early. "We'll have more info on that at 8 a.m.," he promised.

Instead, over the first half hour, they jumped into drunken fans from the SEC Championship game over the weekend. Then they played audio and commented about the "Eaten Alive" dude  on Discovery who tried to get eaten by an anaconda and the Seth Rogan/James Franco spoof about "Naked and Afraid," both which aired Sunday night.

A Regular Guys feature, "Under the Influence," where drunk folks are quizzed about trivia, was played during the 6 a.m. hour. Sebas said many of the same bits will remain. We'll see how former 92.9/The Game host Jason Bailey, when he joins the team next Monday, will add to the equation.

At 8 a.m., each Regular Guy member spoke about Larry. They didn't theorize why management got rid of him but they did express how important he was to their lives and career, particularly "Southside" Steve Rickman and Tim Andrews.

Rickman: "There were high points. There were low points. I felt a lot of the Regular Guys died when Eric left us a year ago... Larry is a great air talent. The guy is more comfortable in front of a mic than he is comfortable anywhere else... He's been doing it since he was 18 years old. He's used to being fired. He takes it better than anybody."

He said he is sure part of Wachs is hurt but part of him is also excited for the future. "Part of him is enjoying sleeping in," Rickman said. "He told me months back that he thought he could only do this a couple more years. He wanted a different shift. The Regular Guys had a great run in Atlanta. They were an institution. Everyone who was on the Regular Guys the past [seven] years are in this room except Larry and Eric. It was time for a change."

Rickman said what Atlanta needs is they want to laugh: "It's time to really engage the listeners. That's what I hear anywhere I go...  That's what Jason Bailey is doing. He used to work at 92.9. He worked in Orlando a number of years. He was known as 'Buckethead.' He had a long run. He just wants to entertain, compel and inform. We all agree on this. Nobody is more important than you the listener. I wish Larry all the best in the world. It was a great run. You have to embrace change. To Larry Wachs, yeah c'mon and one last peteetong."

Andrews came to 96rock in 1996 in the promotions department. After hearing him do voices, the original Regular Guys Wachs and Eric Von Haessler gave him a chance on the air, first as a producer and later as a full-fledged Regular Guy member. "Larry saw something in me," he said. "He groomed me in those days... I have no animosity toward either of them. I love both of them. They helped me get my career going. Larry is a great broadcaster. He can do whatever he wants, whether it's podcast, on air, whatever he does will be compelling and interesting. I thank him and wish him well."

I have to give them credit for talking about Wachs in an honorary way, unlike the Rude Awakening down the hallway, where Perry Laurentino's absence was not mentioned at all at 93.7 FM and 680/The Fan.)

Larry himself on Twitter had a sense of humor about the situation by posting John Rocker's classy rejoinder: