By Joe Hyde
Publisher
June 1, 2007

Shock radio is something that may get immediate attention, and possibly higher ratings temporarily, but it cannot sustain a 25 year career as an on-the-air comedian team like Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold have with the Bob & Tom Radio Show, heard Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m. on 96.5 FM KNRX “The Rock” in San Angelo. “Imus actually had terrible ratings to begin with,” Tom Griswold explained. Even without the racist remark that earned Don Imus a firing by CBS radio and MSNBC cable, Griswold thinks he could have lost his job sooner based upon his dwindling ratings.

The award-winning Bob and Tom Show is one of the longest-running comedy acts on radio today. The show began in 1983 and was syndicated nationally in 1995. Bob and Tom host the show, along with Chick McGee (real name: Charles Dean) who acts as a sports commentator, and Kristi Lee (real name: Theresa Reneé Ritz), the news anchor. Bob and Tom have actually been working together since 1980, when they joined up at a Detroit radio station. “At the time, I was only looking for something that would last for more than a year,” Griswold said. Now nearly 30 years later, they are still together.

The Bob and Tom Show uses the daily news as a launching pad for their daily comedy act. Because there is so much material in the daily national and international news, the show never runs out of new material. “We open up the paper every morning and find stupid stuff to talk about,” Griswold explains. “Like the guy that electrocuted himself with a PS3, or the guy who invented the fastest piece of furniture. It’s not hard to find new stuff all the time,” Griswold said. (The inventor of the fastest piece of furniture strapped a 220 horsepower Rover V8 engine under the cushions of a recliner and drove it down an airport runway in Britain to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records with a speed record of 87 MPH).

They then take emails and calls from all over the country. “This is where we really try to tie in with the local listeners,” Griswold explained. In addition to listener calls, Bob and Tom have invented a long list of characters that “call in” to engage in what Griswold says is terrific comedy. Among the characters is Kenny Tarmac, the busy salesman who is constantly yelling into his phone. He refers to the cities he is in by the airport abbreviations (like SFO for San Francisco or ORD for Chicago). Then there is Donny Baker who relates anecdotes involving a good friend who had a semi-relevant experience, usually ending in a lewd or scatological punch line before getting kicked off the air. Other call-in characters include Floyd the Truck Driver and Jumbo the Elephant. Famous people are also impersonated, like the late Johnny Carson (live from heaven), Larry King, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and the Pope (who has a heavy Italian accent).

The characters Bob and Tom and the producer Dean Metcalf create are an important hook of the show called “running comedy,” that add theater to the show. “We’re bringing in new characters all the time,” Griswold explained.

While using the daily news and a long list of funny characters in their running comedy is entertaining, the show also has become a showcase for national comedian acts to gain national exposure. “I’ve known Tim Allen [of the TV show Home Improvement] since before he was a national name,” Griswold said. Allen was on the Bob and Tom Show before he became famous, and he has returned about ten times since becoming a household name.

One of Griswold’s favorites, though, is Jeff Foxworthy. “Jeff is a total professional,” Griswold said. “He comes on and talks about things you don’t get to see in his comedy act. Like the other day when he was on the show complaining that even though only 2 percent of his act are the famous ‘You might be a redneck when...’ jokes, tons of people always come up to him asking him if they would be a redneck if they do this or that,” Griswold said. “Foxworthy is a terrific guy. When he first came on our show years ago, he was selling cassette tapes at truck stops.”

If you listen to the show, Griswold suggests you especially pay attention to the comedians whom you’ve never heard. “These guys and gals are hungry. They work harder to be really funny and entertain,” he said. Griswold listed a few to look for, including: Mike Birbiglia (“A great young comedian. He is in talks with a major network right now for his own TV show,” Griswold said.), Daniel Tosh, Roy Wood Jr., and Drew Hastings.

“We have tons of guests and we’re known as a Mecca for the comedians,” Griswold said. The show doesn’t hire the performers to come on the show. “They all come on the show for the exposure,” Griswold explained. Recent guests also include Larry the Cable Guy, Rodney Carrington (from Longview, Texas), and even Ozzy Osborne. “Ozzy came on and talked about life, and was really good,” Griswold said.

Griswold is bullish on the future of radio. “Talk radio is more popular than ever,” he said. “I think a lot of people want to hear a human being. They can relate to that,” he said. Meanwhile, Griswold quotes Mark Twain on the suggestions that satellite radio and the Internet are about to kill terrestrial radio. “Rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated,” he said. “Look, XM and Sirius are trying to merge because they can’t get their business model to work. It was a great idea, but its not working well now. I believe they have about 3 percent of the listening market. Right now, we’ll take the remaining 97 percent,” Griswold said.

The Bob and Tom Show is broadcasted from their Clear Channel affiliate WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana. They have a staff of twenty, including ten on-the-air personalities, four of whom are the core of the show. In 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2006 the show won the prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. Their radio show is the only five-time Marconi Award winner.

In addition to the radio show, Bob and Tom have a Web site, over 40 comedy albums, a seasonal show on the Comedy Channel, and a live act called the “The Bob and Tom Comedy All Stars Tour” that has sold out at over 100 performances across the nation.

Griswold emphasizes that the Bob and Tom Show is not in the shock jock genre. He can only recall one performer they had to kick off the show. “Oh I guess 20 years ago we had a comedian show up here who started snorting coke on the coffee table before going on the air. We got him out of there. Besides that, he wasn’t really that funny anyway,” Griswold said. “We’re not investigative reporters, we are just entertainers that want to brighten your day,” Griswold said.

“We are a news-based comedy show. We don’t play music. Should you decide to tune in to our show, you’ll hear a couple of guys with a news gal, you’ll probably also get to hear a comedian or two. When you listen, you’ll be laughing within ten minutes,” Griswold promised.

Tune in to The Bob and Tom Show weekdays from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m. on San Angelo’s KNRX 96.5 FM “The Rock.” For more information on Bob and Tom, see their Web site at www.bobandtom.com .