No two syndicated radio shows ever follow the exact same path to stardom, but many share the same goal. Some want the biggest national reach to build their profile as a talent. Others are looking for a way to make more money than what’s available at just one station. Some just want to talk all over the world. For Greg “Woody” Wood, Chris Wilcox, and Chelsea Paxton, better known as The Woody and Wilcox Show, their entry into syndication was more about ‘career stability.’
“Self-preservation is why we decided to syndicate. We figured maybe if we’re on enough stations they can’t fire us,” explained Wilcox.
For many shows, that would be a facetious answer. But talk to the team for a while and you get the sense they really mean it. In one form or another, Woody and Wilcox had already been fired by iHeartRadio and CBS before they landed together in Anchorage at Classic Rock KBFX, where the show truly came together.
“What sold me about going to Anchorage was when I asked how much music they wanted us to play,” said Wilcox. “The response was ‘I guess you can play some if you want to.’”
Woody says being given that freedom was important to the growth of the show. He referenced it to being given the set of keys to the car before the big race. The program stayed at KFBX for four years before making it known inside iHeartMedia that they wanted to return to the lower forty-eight.
“When we told them we wanted to move the answer was ‘of course you do, we never thought you’d stay that long,’” said Wilcox.
Eventually, that request brought them to WEND in Charlotte. The move unexpectedly kickstarted their syndication when the company decided to continue airing their show in Anchorage. Everyone associated with the program expected that initial simulcast to last a year or two. Twenty years later, it’s now the market’s longest-running show.
Charlotte is also where Chelsea joined the team and quickly gelled with the program. That instant friendship and chemistry led them to increase their syndication efforts to build more ‘career stability.’
“What makes the show work is the three of us and the relationship we share,” says Woody. “We love each other. That means we can give each other the business without being mean. The dynamic is so familiar to people. When listeners tune in they immediately identify with it.”
Like most families, they spend more time talking about their personal lives than anything else.
“We’re not into pop culture or Dancing with the Stars,” says Chelsea. “We do talk about topical things. Most of them are ridiculous and that’s the draw of it.”
The show has also made a conscious decision not to talk about politics, providing a respite for listeners. That wasn’t an easy choice, and it’s something Wilcox says they still wrestle with on the program.
“It’s harder now because everything is political. We made the decision not to talk about it, but I still wonder if we’re doing the right thing,” questioned Wilcox.
That doesn’t mean they shy away from serious topics that affect the team, which included Chelsea’s personal battle with breast cancer. The topic touched home for so many listeners, and was a big part of the program’s content. There was also another incident involving Chelsea’s child bring involved in a horrible car accident.
“She got the call while we were on the air,” Woody continues, “Wilcox and I started making fun of the situation until it turned out to be serious. Then we immediately fell on the sword saying, ‘man we are such a-holes.’”
Like most family units, each has a defined role. It starts with Woody, whose opinions might make him sound like an alien. However, he knows what his job is and where his towel is trying to get a rise out of his fellow teammates and listeners.
“I’m the antagonist,” he explains. “I’m the guy who makes you look down at the radio, cock your head sideways like a dog and wonder ‘did he just say that,’” said Woody. “I want them to think what I just said was so outlandishly wrong. But I said it with so much confidence that they have to correct me. If I can do that without making anyone super angry, I’ve done my job.”
As for Wilcox and Chelsea, the approach is much different than Woody. Wilcox’s main role is the straight man, while Chelsea is the smart one of the ensemble.
“When she speaks, it’s with the passion of someone who feels very deeply about things with the intelligence to back it up,” says Woody. “Both Wilcox and I are two goofballs who can’t believe she read an entire book in a weekend.”
Wilcox favors their dynamic because it’s different than many traditional radio morning shows. In many cases, typically the woman in the studio was only there to laugh at or agree with the other guys. Not in this case with The Woody and Wilcox Show.
“It cuts against the grain of most rock shows with two guys and a woman,” says Wilcox.
In addition to the three of them, there is their producer ‘Cool Beans.’ She served as an accountant for the IRS before deciding she hated the job and moved into radio. Wilcox considers both ‘Cool Beans’ and Chelsea to be overqualified for the positions they keep.
Being syndicated across five time zones by Radio Resources has created a loyal group of listeners who regularly contribute great content. Some of the mainstays include Chuck Diapers, Hooters Eric, and Woody’s little league coach.
“We have such a unique group of people out in the world. Everything we talk about someone will call in and know something about it,” says Chelsea.
Unlike many talk-heavy shows, none of the callers air live. Instead, every call comes to Wilcox as an audio file that he edits before it hits the air. There’s strategy in that method to ensure that momentum is never wasted on a day-to-day program for the audience.
“When you take a live phone call, you always could have cut ten to fifteen seconds out. That’s what Wilcox does for four hours,” explains Woody. “These callers have never been on the air. They don’t know to get to the punchline and never had a PD yell at them. So Wilcox is saving them from an aircheck session.”
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
