Almost 30 years ago, Tim Andrews took a chance and moved to Atlanta. Despite working at small radio stations in Pennsylvania and New York, he believed that settling in Atlanta and finding a supplementary job could help him achieve his true passion for radio.
He used his background in food service to work at a local Fuddruckers while he pursued his goal. Andrews persisted in applying to several part-time radio jobs until he was finally hired for a promotions job, eventually leading to commercial work and working with Eric Von Haessler, who had launched a popular show called Regular Guys that dominated the market for a while.
Andrews developed his unique skillset early on by driving his grandparents up the wall with his impressions, including Richard Little, a “Man of a Thousand Voices.” Little recorded nine comedy albums and numerous television appearances, including three HBO specials. Andrews idolized Little and others, and their characteristics shaped who he is today as a performer and member of The Von Haessler Doctrine.
WSB is a popular station, possessing the fourth largest cume in the country’s seventh largest market, and is a massive player in the news/talk genre with elite talent.
Growth levels and goals are inevitable when you believe in yourself. Andrews, who has played a key role in some top-rated morning shows, sees himself hosting his own show. He has been working on it for years, talking to great programmers like Ken Charles and Pete Spriggs, honing his production skills, and watching one of the greats in, Eric Von Haessler.
Andrews understands that listeners have a choice of what and who they want to consume. He also understands that talk radio is more than a platform to shout your opinion.
Tim Andrews spoke with Barrett News Media about his path to WSB, his talent for comedy and character creation, his relationship with the cast and crew of The Von Haessler Doctrine, and his thoughts on the future of talk radio.
Ryan Hedrick: What was your first paid radio gig?
Tim Andrews: The very first job where I got paid outside of college radio was at WNBT-FM in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. I grew up in that town, near that town, so of course, that radio station had been a part of my life for years. Everything was done on carts, and the board had dials instead of sliders, and it was in a house.
It was a quaint little place, and it had a good signal. My first job was putting commercials into a show on weekends called “Super Gold.” So, I would spend six hours, two nights in a row, playing commercials, smoking cigarettes, and drinking coffee all night.
RH: When you moved to Atlanta, your goal was to work in radio. You achieved it through non-traditional means. Can you share your process?
TA: Prior to that, I think it was the summer of 1991. I worked at a country radio station in Elmira, New York, and after that, I didn’t work in radio again until 1996, when I moved here (Atlanta).
I knew it was a good market. I had friends here, and so I came down. I was working as a manager at Fuddruckers’s, and that was my way in. One of the things I did was I started looking for part-time jobs at radio stations, and I finally got one at Z-93 (which is currently 92.9 FM The Game), and it was in the promotions department.
RH: Did you enjoy working in promotions? If yes, what did you like or dislike about it?
TA: I liked working in promotions quite a bit. I immediately stopped working as a restaurant manager and just started working part-time to supplement my income. I was a cook and waiter and worked at a comic shop.
I didn’t really at that time have any idea or confidence that I was going to be on-air, other than being a DJ; that was kind of what I wanted to do. There’s a company called IQ Television Group (IQTV), and I got a job there making commercials for radio stations. So, I went from working part-time at Z-93 to producing commercials and meeting program directors from all over the country, and that really sparked my interest.
I was meeting all these program directors, and I knew their names. So, I did a commercial for 96rock (Heritage Rock Station that’s no longer around). The program director invited me to lunch after the session and offered me the job of Promotions Director because the station’s promotions director was leaving. So, now I’m full-time at 96rock, and this was in 2000.
RH: How did you and Eric Von Haessler meet? Was it at 96rock or WSB?
TA: The morning show was The Regular Guys show (Von Haessler co-founded the show), and they had just come into the market, and I was doing little voices and impressions, and Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler heard me doing these impressions, some of them for other shows.
They insisted that I start doing characters for them. Slowly but surely, my interest in being the promotions director waned, and my interest went toward sitting and being a third or fourth mic.
RH: What characters did you create for the show? How did you learn to perform different voices?
TA: Doing impressions and kind of mimicking people goes back to my childhood. I used to drive my grandparents crazy doing voices. I was a media kid, so I was constantly watching TV, and I loved Rich Little (impressionist and actor). Anybody that did impressions, I would worship, and I would try to do impressions.
The Regular Guys would have a premise like a state senator who proposes a crazy law, and you call in, and then we’ll take calls from people. (This scenario really happened).
I went home the night before and created this creator that had a Southern drawl. Performing those characters while I was in my promotions director’s office set me on the course to where I was going.
The Regular Guys got fired in 2004, and Bob and Tom replaced them, so I didn’t have an avenue to go on the air anymore. I decided to leave, and I became a marketing director at CBS at a station called Dave FM, but I had had that taste, so I just kept on trying to get back into it.
The Regular Guys got hired again at 96rock, and when they got hired again, they brought me in as a fourth mic, and I started doing impressions. It grew from there, and I started to be myself and tell jokes. I owe both Regular Guys, Larry [Wachs] and Eric [Von Haessler], my career.
RH: Tell me about The Von Haessler Doctrine. How do the cast and crew work together?
TA: Eric Von Haessler created The Von Haessler Doctrine. It’s me and Eric, Autumn Fisher (former Regular Guy intern) she connects from Maryland, there’s Greg Russ (another former Regular Guy intern) who connects from New York City, and our producer Jared [Yamamoto].
Everybody involved in that show, other than Jared, we have all worked together for 20 years. So, Eric has a team of people where we all know each other and have good chemistry; we can sort of do and improve dance while we’re talking about issues.
Eric will bring up a topic or an issue. Sometimes, it becomes something more serious; other times, it becomes insanity, comedy, and doing voices and things like that. There are 5-6 primary people on the show under Eric because his name is on the banner. Eric does a half-hour preshow that streams on YouTube, and then we do a bit of prep, but 80-90 percent of the show is improvised.
Then we do the live afternoon show from 4-7, and then we do a half-hour post-show. Then we put it all out as a hybrid podcast radio show.
RH: I read that WSB Program Director Ken Charles believes the future of talk radio lies in entertaining content that goes beyond politics rather than hosts yelling at their audience. What are your thoughts on this approach to news/talk radio, compared to a more solemn and serious tone?
TA: Let me first say about Ken; I first started working at Clear Channel in the fall of 2000; Ken was programming WGST, which was the news/talk station that Clear Channel owned alongside 96rock. So, I knew him then, and I remember thinking, ‘Man, this guy really cares about his radio station.
There was a lot of passion there. You fast forward to Pete Spriggs, who was the program director for years. I had talked to Pete over the years because I wanted to come over to (WSB) in any capacity that I could get. I had that same conversation with Pete Spriggs in 2014 or 2015 about how I think the future of talk radio is less advocacy, shouting people down, and being angry and more about entertaining.
Now, Ken saying that he is right about that. I have a Saturday show where I focus on pop culture and stuff that is tied to Atlanta. The show we do (The Von Haessler Doctrine) tries to be like The Daily Show but without a political point-of-view.
To answer your questions about the angry [hosts], I don’t see that going away; I think there’s a market for that. I sample a lot of different things because I’ve always been a fan since I was a little kid of just listening to people talk. To compete with podcasts, I think you have to have something that people can’t get on podcasts or at least be super entertaining to where people are going to listen to you.
