''The Regular Guys'' was a terrestrial radio show that started in Los Angeles, California, by DJs Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler. The show added Atlanta based DJs "Southside" Steve Rickman and "Action Plan" Tim Andrews when the show resumed in Atlanta, Georgia, during its later runs. Former Atlanta Falcon Bob Whitfield was added to the show during its last run. The show's primary
demographic target was men aged 25 to 49.
Show history
Origins
Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler met in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while doing radio and engaging in phone conversations in various capacities in
New York. They later sent demos of what work they did together to various markets, ultimately landing interest in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. The show was a conversational mix of comedy, skits, and talk-radio, which came to form in 1995 on the Los Angeles station
KLSX 97.1 FM. However, Wachs and Von Haessler were later fired from KLSX in 1997 after an on-air meltdown over station management interference with the show, to which the station's management thought differently.
Move to Atlanta and the Clear Channel years
In 1998, Wachs and Von Haessler resumed the show on
Clear Channel owned Atlanta station
WKLS, which was branded as 96 Rock at the time until just after their second firing in 2006. During The Regular Guys' first stint at Clear Channel, the show was voted "Most Likely to Be Fined by the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
" in a ''
Creative Loafing (Atlanta)
''Creative Loafing'' is a U.S. city monthly paper serving the Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territo ...
'' survey. However, Wachs and Von Haessler were never fined by the FCC, in spite of their two firings from Clear Channel.
Wachs and Von Haessler were first fired from WKLS on April 9, 2004, at the height of their
Arbitron ratings success, when a graphic interview with pornographic film actress
Devinn Lane
Devinn Lane is a former adult model, pornographic actress, writer, director and producer. She is sometimes credited as Devin Lane or Devon Lane.
Biography
Lane became pregnant at 16 and began stripping to support herself and her child in 1990 ...
was accidentally aired over a
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
commercial. That interview was intended to be played backwards, dodging FCC censorship, in a bit called "backwards smut," when the show returned from that commercial break. The intent was to mock the Federal Communications Commission indecency crackdown at the time, which stemmed from the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy.
Their sidekick "Southside" Steve Rickman was retained by Clear Channel, as he had a different contract.
Wachs and Von Haessler were rehired by Clear Channel in early 2005. They returned to the air on March 21, 2005, on sister station
WGST 640 AM. However, the news radio format did not fit their narrative style and they returned to 96 Rock in May. This did not include an immediate reunion with Rickman, as he was doing the afternoon drive
time slot
Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule.
Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation ...
with Tim "
Rhodsie" Rhodes who previously did the mid-day shift on 96 Rock. Starting around late September 2006, Rickman began making guest appearances on the show on a nearly daily basis.
On October 23, 2006, Wachs and Von Haessler were dismissed from Clear Channel for the second time due to a lawsuit by then
Viva 105.7 morning
DJs
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
Yogi and Panda. Von Haessler's Mad Pundit Radio program, which was broadcast Saturday afternoons on WGST, was also dropped. The suit claimed that Wachs recorded Yogi and Panda, without their knowledge, while having a discussion in separate bathroom stalls. That recording was part of a bit that was played on the show, which Wachs said was approved by station management.
In March 2007, the criminal case against Wachs was dismissed by the
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most-populous county and its only one with over o ...
district attorney for having no merit. Consequently, Clear Channel agreed to settle Wachs'
breach of contract claims against them in an agreement under which terms were not disclosed.
Third Run on Cumulus (2008 to 2014)
The show returned to Atlanta airwaves on January 28, 2008, on a new rock station
Rock 100.5 which is not owned by Clear Channel, but by
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...
.
In April 2009, it was announced that the show would also be
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...
on
KDBN FM 93.3, a Cumulus station in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. The show was later dropped from the Dallas/Fort Worth station in September 2009, due to a format change. In October 2009, the show was once again simulcast to a second market at
Rock 105.5 in Macon, Georgia. Rock 105.5 was at the time owned by Cumulus.
In Independence Day 2010, Larry Wachs made a special guest appearance as a clown in
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
's ''
Squidbillies
''Squidbillies'' is an American animated television series created by Jim Fortier and Dave Willis for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. An unofficial pilot for the series aired on April 1, 2005. The series later made ...
''.
In January 2011, the show was given a 3-year contract extension keeping the show on the Atlanta airwaves through 2014.
Eric Von Haessler was fired from the show on September 30, 2013. Co-host Larry Wachs posted on Twitter saying that he made it clear to fans that this was management's decision and not his, more controversy arose as rumors were circulating that an alleged sexual relationship and extra marital affair was taking place between Southside Steve and longtime Atlanta morning show host, Rhubarb Jones.
When the show returned to the air after the 2013 holiday break on January 6, 2014, the show's content, time-slot, and run-time had shifted slightly. The show, for the remainder of its existence, aired live from 5:30 AM to 9 AM. Before this, the show had always aired from 6 AM to 10 AM.
By this time, the show started a retool containing more celebrity interviews and pop culture news, while doing less comedy bits and political talk. Past entertaining bits from "TRG 3.0", which is considered to be the 2008 to 2013 time-frame, included Homeless Karaoke and Shoot Steve, among other skits, were dropped in favor of celebrity news. The final "Regular Guys 4.0", in 2014, was geared to have a more positive tone and appeal for the female demographic.
December 5, 2014, marked the end of the show as Larry Wachs was “dumped” by Rock 100.5 management, as the station decided go in a different direction with the morning show. Tim Andrews, “Southside” Steve Rickman, and other members of the show stayed for the station's new morning show. Wachs was replaced by Jason Bailey who spent a year at
WZGC
WZGC (92.9 FM) – branded 92-9 The Game – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Atlanta, Georgia, covering the Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WZGC is the Atlanta affiliate for CBS Sports Radio; the flag ...
before getting let go in the summer of 2014. It is said that Wachs owns The Regular Guys name, so, the new morning show does not carry on under that name.
Radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com
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Fourth Run on Dickey Broadcasting (2017)
The show returned to the Atlanta airwaves on July 24, 2017, on 1230am The Fan 2. During this time the show changed its format from becoming a political talk show to a Sports Talk Show. Larry Wachs brought the show back since he owns the trademark to the name and had Former Atlanta Falcon Bob Whitfield as his Co-Host. Brandon Joseph (formerly of Q100) was hired as the shows producer while John Radcliffe served as board operator. Larry also brought his protege Vinny Bucci back to the show as the Director of Fighting, Conflict, and Drama where he covered combat sports and did Man On The Street interviews. The show was taken off the air on November 14, 2017, due to creative differences.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Regular Guys, The
American radio programs