THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JASON SPENCER, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: EDENTON, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
AMID THE half-empty cans of soda, scattered newspapers and hundreds of CDs, EJ and Buzz, the ``Two Stupid White Guys'' who perform the morning show for Rock 102.5-FM have found a place to call home.
Decorated with photographs from their many adventures down the comical path they have traveled together, this shrine to contemporary alternative music has issued an enthusiastic wake-up call to northeastern North Carolina and parts of southeastern Virginia for more than half a year now.
EJ, 25, a heavy-set man with a long blond ponytail, began at a Christian college with an art major; Buzz, 32, who likes to emphasize that he LIKES GIRLS, launched his career reading announcements over the intercom during his junior and senior years in high school.
Now, armed with degrees in radio and television broadcasting, the dynamic duo of Rock 102.5's morning show have created more craziness in the surrounding area than any other northeastern North Carolina station. And station officials are planning an upgrade soon that will allow Rock 102.5 to reach even more Hampton Roads listeners.
``Two Stupid White Guys'' airs every weekday morning from 6 to 10 a.m., and the play list overflows with current alternative tunes from bands such as The Presidents of the United States of America, Alice in Chains and the Foo Fighters.
Loud music, coupled with the divine spontaneity of EJ and Buzz, keeps things lively during otherwise dull off-air moments. ``Fun'' is first on their list of priorities.
``Sure, the job's monotonous as hell,'' EJ says. ``But the show's definitely the best part. . . . That makes it a lot easier to cope.''
The half-hour before air time each morning is hectic as EJ and Buzz rush to finish recording segments for the approaching show. The spots include Tricky Dick Delvecio's Sports Spotlight and TC's Poetry Moment - ingenious poetry by a black street poet forced into the greeting card business.
Mock commercials are also sprinkled throughout the broadcast, like Smooth Shadows Panty Hose for Men or the Kevorkian Hotline (the 800 suicide service).
The icing on the cake is Rock 102.5's traffic helicopter dilemma - the chopper is broken down - and the infamous ``Rude Awakening,'' a prank phone call waking some poor soul every morning.
Program director Mike Monahan, 42, started his career after a bar buddy in Portsmouth asked him to cover for him on his radio show one weekend. Mike said he had no experience, but the man at the bar had no problems with that.
Mike, who assembles the station's play list and encourages the insanity that drives EJ and Buzz, worked at 89.7 WNOR-FM in Hampton Roads and then at Capitol Records before ending up at Rock 102.5.
EJ and Buzz, Mike says, ``filled the void'' that existed in regional morning radio. No other northeastern North Carolina station airs anything that's remotely as lively, and ``Two Stupid White Guys'' so far has avoided the mistake of airing too much talk and jokes at the expense of music, he says.
While the music plays, if EJ and Buzz aren't doing their ``little dance'' or waking a victim for later on or scanning a newspaper for talk material - well, anything goes.
The ``Two Stupid White Guys'' have developed a habit for making things happen.
Some visiting dweeb may be manipulated onto the ``Mating Game,'' competing for an all-expense paid date to Burger King, or a musically inclined teenager may land a free CD for correctly answering a trivia question in the ``Clever Endeavor.''
Rock 102.5's morning team has a way of popping up everywhere - the Haunted Forest in Elizabeth City, the Hatteras Teen Center, even a Super Bowl Party at Awful Arthur's in Nags Head. EJ and Buzz are always on the go.
``We're here for the community,'' Buzz says with a sly smile.
NOTE: If you know someone who needs a practical joke played on them, you can set them up for a ``Rude Awakening'' by calling 1-800-825-WERX. EJ and Buzz will not air the wake-up call without the victim's permission, so there's nothing to lose. MEMO: Jason Spencer is a senior at Camden County High School.
by CNB