This Ending Has A Great Beginning

For Tony Randall and Kris Rochester, known as "Tony & Kris" on the radio for the past 25 years, it was a happy – albeit short – ending.

A mere 46 days, to be exact.

This week, the pair were anointed successors to the retiring, 20-year morning team of Andy & Alison at Cumulus' iconic Country outlet, WIVK/Knoxville. If you recall, back in May, Tony & Kris announced the conclusion of their syndicated show on United Stations Radio Networks (USRN) – and not just that show, but the end of their on-air partnership. Period. The word "retire" was never uttered, as the guys had plans to embark on separate ventures after a successful partnership that began in 1991 when they met in the Gadsden-Anniston, AL market six or so years into their careers. They first hooked up as a morning team at WHMA/Anniston-Oxford, AL soon after, but quickly found themselves making a quantum leap to KSON/San Diego for mornings, where they enjoyed a strong 10-year run.

Quick sidebar: My first-ever encounter with Tony & Kris occurred in 1993 during CMA week in Nashville at the radio broadcasts. They may not recall this, but Tony & Kris showed up for their KSON broadcast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, wearing PJs, bathrobes, and carrying toothbrushes.

A year later, this time in San Diego, I was standing with Tony & Kris as we cringed through what I've since considered a bellwether for the most awkward, horrible rendition of our National Anthem ever witnessed by man. How awkward? This nightmare took place on board an active Navy ship, in front of a crew in service dress whites, with lyrics rolling on a teleprompter in full view. True story.

Aaaand, we're back! After being lured to then-Clear Channel's crosstown KUSS to help launch San Diego's second Country outlet (it flipped to Talk in November 2011), they went national in 2008, first with Premiere Radio Networks, then with USRN.

When Tony & Kris announced the end of their run in May, Randall told All Access, "We'll continue to be best friends; we'll continue to make each other laugh."

Good thing, because they'll need to keep doing that every morning – again. Now that their ending has um, well … ended, Tony & Kris find themselves at the beginning once more with a monumental opportunity in Knoxville. When they sit behind the microphones at WIVK for the first time in a couple of weeks, they'll be just the fourth morning show in the 53-year history of WIVK.

But hey, no pressure!

"We're most excited about that," Rochester told me, hours after the WIVK announcement. "You can't do the fun, locally focused stunts and events when you're on a syndicated show. I missed the station atmosphere; It was just Tony, me, and a producer, and we got a little bored. Being local is something we are very pumped about – just the idea of really getting back to radio; we've already been mapping out a few things we're excited about for the next six months."

The impetus for getting back to a local level began quickly – and, unexpectedly – after they signed off at USRN, says Rochester. "[Cumulus VP/Country] Charlie Cook called me and said, 'Look, I know you said you were done, but hear me out on something. About 30 minutes ago, Andy & Alison told us they're retiring.' We're talking legendary station, legendary jocks here; I called Tony, and he said, 'I'm in.' It all fell into place very fast." From a personal standpoint, things also worked out ideally for Rochester, who – while mulling what would come next – did not want to be more than a few hours driving distance from his parents in Gadsden.

On Wednesday (7/12) of this week, Tony & Kris were formally introduced to WIVK listeners live as guests of Andy & Alison's show that morning. I asked how they'll approach being the new guys at a station that boasts generations of listeners, many of whom have only heard one morning show during their lifetime. I've always believed personalities in that unique situation should approach it like showing up at a party where you don't know anybody: wear the lampshade on your head at the END of the evening, not at the beginning.

"Absolutely," said Rochester. "You know as well as we do, everybody hates the new guys. It happens every time. Some people will not like our sound right away. They'll say, 'You guys don't do the weather right,' or whatever. We have to come in, introduce ourselves, and prove we want to be a part of the community. We need to demonstrate that we know what we're doing. We won't try to dazzle or overwhelm anybody – we'll just do the same, mediocre radio we've always done (laughing). As they learn more about us and get comfortable, we can start ramping it up." And Rochester added, "It's like I told the local TV station in Knoxville yesterday: 'I hope you won't be doing this story again in a month.'"

A proud Alabama native, Rochester already sees a running joke on the show quickly developing, as he enters ground zero for Tennessee Volunteer fans. "Oh yeah. I've already been attacked on that," he said, laughing. "It's pretty funny. That's the first thing the lady on the news brought up. Everybody has that one crazy uncle that pulls for the wrong team – I'll be that guy." Rochester added that one member of the sales team suggested he burn all his Alabama gear. Rochester's comeback? "I said, ‘National championship trophies don't burn.’"

Hiyoooo!

I asked if Andy & Alison offered any suggestions for ingratiating themselves to WIVK listeners. "We've only spoken to them briefly, and they were very nice to us on the air," said Rochester. "This is the first time we've replaced a show that is passing the torch – as opposed to someone else being escorted out – and then and we helped launch KUSS when we joined them. Everybody we've met has been fantastic – we love [PD] Nikki Thomas. The OM, Jeff Jarnigan is great. Do You realize how long it's been since I caused problems for an OM? I'm sure Jeff can hardly wait for me to be in his office daily." Then, turning serious for a moment, Rochester added, "I cannot tell you how much of a dream this is. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Having known Tony & Kris for 25 years now, I detect a strong sense of renewed energy. As Randall alluded to earlier, even though they were originally planning on separate projects, they remained close friends – right? "To be clear, I never liked Tony," quipped Rochester. "But honestly, we drove over to Knoxville together over the weekend and had a blast – it was just like the old days when we worked in Anniston."

I wondered, after the 20 years of success just completed by Andy & Alison, if Tony & Kris are aiming toward a similarly long, well-decorated run? "I can tell you that long term thinking, or how we finish out, is not even on the radar for us. Tony and I want to be the buzz of the country. We want everybody asking, 'Did you hear what they did this week?' We are both energized and excited – we're 25 years older than the first time we did something like this, so hopefully, we won't make all the same stupid mistakes. Instead, we'll make all new ones."