The Monsters In The Morning
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The Monsters In The Morning is a radio show on WTKS Real Radio in Orlando, Florida, USA and XM Radio Channel 152. Former affiliates include Tampa's WXTB, West Palm's WZZR, and Jacksonville's WPLA. It is a morning show that runs from 6 am-11 am EST.
The Monsters consist of Russ (Triple R) Rollins, Dirty Jim, Bubba "Whoop-Ass" Wilson, Rev. Daniel Dennis, Blackbean, Tuddle, Drunky The Bear, and Tiffany. Ocassionally, former members Jeff Howell & Bo "The Big Man" Rhodes will stop by.
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[edit] History
Russ Rollins made his first foray into radio by paying for airtime to promote his party rental business on an Orlando AM station. After his first show with his buddy Bo Rhodes, they brought in Russ's then brother-in-law, Dirty Jim.
The Russ & Bo Show with Dirty Jim was on Saturday mornings, when they were offered the evening timeslot at WTKS. The show picked up the Sexy Savannah, Jeff Howell and The Musical Genius Bubba "Whoop Ass" Wilson.
When Ed Tyll departed WTKS for a syndicated show on the West Coast, The Russ & Bo Show with Dirty Jim moved to middays. Bo Rhodes, Russ' longtime friend, was asked by WTKS to enter rehab for an alleged drug problem. Bo refused, and left the show.
Before Bo left, the show was renamed The Monsters of the Midday. With Bo gone, Bubba took up the slack and the show became popular in the Orlando market. It was during this time that the show picked up Daniel Dennis, formerly with the Drew Show, and Blackbean, an intern, as producers.
When Howard Stern was removed from Clear Channel stations, The Monsters took up the morning slot. The Monsters in the Morning had a rough start, with low ratings in its first year.
In addition to being placed on XM Satellite radio the show was unsuccessfully simulcast in several other markets. It was eventually cancelled in Tampa and other parts of Florida and Georgia.
In January of 2005 Jeff Howell announced that he would not be returning to the show, claiming that the early mornings were too rough for him to adjust to, and that he wanted to spend more time with his son. Later in the year, the Sexy Savannah unexpectedly left The Monsters for The Shannon Burke Show; she was terminated February 6, 2006.
The show searched for new talent: Drunky the Bear replaced Jeff Howell, and Tiffany, a talent contest winner, has succeeded in replacing Savannah as the "Monster Chick."
In spring 2006, the Monsters returned to #1 in the local ratings.
[edit] Format
The show is a mix of current events, comedy, and stunts. Discussions involve the serious to the total bizarre. Guests include comedians visiting the local Improv comedy club, local celebrities, and sometimes national celebrities. Stunts have involved skywriting, hanging a Monsters banner on a local eyesore, getting married, to blowing oneself up with firecrackers.
[edit] Segments
- The 6 things you just knew we'd talk about - A Monday morning bit in which callers try to guess the six big things that happened over the weekend that Russ deemed "segment worthy."
- Drunky the Bear's one minute of comedy - Drunky the Bear mumbles his way through a "minute" (more like ten) of comedy, usually complaining about married life with his wife Elizabeth Longhair. Drunky's segment is hit and miss, and is always a point of argument among fans. The actual "one minute of comedy" refers to the fact that no matter how long his segment is, it supposedly contains at least "one minute of comedy," something questioned by Russ's bosses Katherine Brown and Linda Byrd. Fans are still trying to find the "one minute of comedy". Drunky is a modern day Foster Brooks.
- Correct me if I am wrong - Bubba's daily rant on the world as he sees it. Occasionally, this segment is used to introduce new songs into the Monsters' Songbook, and is then referred to as "Correct Me if I am SONG."
- Movie Dork - Unscheduled rambling diatribes on film by Black Bean. Sometimes he gets so worked up they have to calm him down. He claims that part of his knowledge comes from being a subscriber to imdbPRO. Slightly lisping and indignant, especially after Jarhead fell short of his expectations, the other Monsters called him a "movie citizen"- a term to describe the less informed movie-watching public.
- 'Stump Tiffany - Callers (typically naive sounding women) are put against Tiffany in a round of what should be simple questions that Tiffany almost always gets wrong.
- Prize Hoopty / Drunky's Prize Cave / Tuddle's Fanny Pack - The presentation of the prizes are awarded to listeners in the Orlando area, which the Monsters call home..
[edit] Cast
The show has been rocked at times by the tumultuous relationship of the Host Russ, and the Sexy Savannah. In 2005, citing a hostile work environment, Savannah abruptly left the Monsters. The fallout lasted a few weeks, and finally Clear Channel stepped in and asked the parties involved not to discuss the situation anymore. Savannah has moved on to a competing local radio show.
Russ 'RRR' Rollins (or The Commissioner) - A graduate of Edgewater High School, Russ Ray Rollins got into radio as a way to promote his party rental business. Russ is the mastermind of the show using the rock group Kiss as a model. He pays very close attention to the quality and branding of the Monsters. Russ is very involved in wrestling, has wrestled matches for the WCW, WWE, and TNA. Oftentimes you can see the scripted nature of wrestling come through into the show. Russ Rollins was engaged to former Monster Savannah. Russ has recently become married to his current wife Kate, whom he met on the show as a possible contestant in a stunt.
Dirty Jim (Jim Colbert)- Formerly married to Russ' sister, Jim was often a source of tension on the show as his caustic personality often rubbed other members of the show wrong. Jim is often accused of making things up. This is a result of the Catfish incident, where Dirty Jim claimed that Catfish can stab people's hands with their whiskers. The "Dark Hitman of Comedy's" sense of humor is very wry and he is generally seen as the show's resident prick; and or the biggest whiner on the show. He is also great at crossword puzzles.
The Musical Genius, Bubba Whoop-Ass Wilson (Burt Wilson) - Bubba is the source of anything musical that comes from the Monsters, including The Monster Band. Bubba has played with many famous musicians throughout his career, and was allegedly a member of the allegedly well-known band Clutch, a 50's revue band. He is able to come up with a song in an instant. He once met professionally with Michael Jackson and is inseparable from his best friend "Everett the Drunken Piano." In January of 2006 Bubba took a medical leave from the show citing problems with his diabetes. He was continually citing problems with his diabetes because he could not keep up with what was going on with the show. In June, after previously informing Russ that he was in "Diabetes Boot Camp," he admitted to his "Boss" (Russ) that he had a relapse in his painkiller habit. With the help of Jeff Howell, Bubba checked himself into a rehab center for 10 days to get himself straight. He contacted Russ to let him know how it went and let him know that he would be back better than ever. He has since returned to the show.
Rev. Daniel Dennis (Daniel Lee Dennis) - Daniel Dennis started out at WTKS as producer for the midday host Ed Tyll, then moved on to the Drew Garabo Show. Drew eventually made the workplace unbearable for him and Daniel quit WTKS. When Russ heard of the situation, knowing Daniel's talent, he picked him up immediately. Daniel voices many of the colorful characters that can be heard on The Monsters.
Blackbean (Carlos Navarro) - Blackbean was an intern who almost missed his opportunity. Russ barely knew who this intern was, when his then girlfriend Savannah insisted that Blackbean join them on an outing. It was during this outing that Russ discovered just how funny Blackbean was. Blackbean is also the voice of many of the Monster characters. Blackbean was recently arrested and charged with assault for assaulting former night host Drew Garabo, sustaining a broken nose. According to police reports, Blackbean said that Garabo called his girlfriend a name.
Drunky The Bear (T.C. Vann) - A drunk guy in a bear suit. Drunky provides comedy for the show, and performs stunts, along with his daily "One Minute of Comedy".
Tuddle (Patrick Fowler)- Former intern turned former stunter turned former Monster turned former Drew Garabo producer turned loser. Tuddle and Drunky the Bear are always in some form of competition for the coveted #1 Stunter Dog Tag and Million Dollar Belt.
Tiffany (Tiffany Martin) - Tiffany was introduced to the Monsters in 2005, as a contestant in the Makos/SuperSlow Challenge. The fan response to her during this challenge prompted Russ to ask her to sit in shortly after Savannah left the show. She has become a fan favorite. An on-again/off-again bit with Tiffany is "Tiffany Trivia", where she competes with a caller to answer five grade-school level questions.
[edit] Former Monsters
Bo "The Big Man" Rhodes - Lifelong friend of Russ Rollins. Left the show after refusing to enter rehab for an alleged drug problem.
SBK - Soul Brother Kevin (Kevin Caswell) left the Monsters to work in another market, he has returned to Orlando as co-host The Shannon Burke Show in the middays following the Monsters.
Jeff Howell - Jeff Howell left the show in January of 05. The official reason is that he was not adjusting well to the early mornings. Recently Jeff has been making random appearances on the show throughout the week. He is still a friend of the show.
The Sexy Savannah Heather K. Boan - Left Mid 2005, citing a hostile working environment. She is now on "The Morning After Show" on O-Rock 105.9.
[edit] Russ & The Sexy Savannah Relationship
The show has been rocked at times by the tumultuous relationship of the host Russ, and the Sexy Savannah. The two met socially at a strip club (where Savannah worked as a stripper) and eventually dated. Savannah joined the show soon after the start of their relationship. In 2005, citing a hostile work environment, Savannah abruptly left the Monsters for The Shannon Burke Show. Russ continues to lead the Monsters in Orlando, Florida and is married. She now co-hosts a morning show on O-Rock 105.9, WOCL.
[edit] Fan base
The fans of the show have been alternatively called "The Monsters Militia" or "The Chronics". The Monsters Militia is based on a sponsor of the show producing military type dog tags for the show, and eventually for the fans. The dog tags are numbered, with the Monsters dog tags starting with #001 belonging to Russ Rollins. The fan version of the dog tags are stamped with "Monsters Militia" and are also numbered.
The "Chronics" is based on discussions on the official WTKS webboard (which has now been disbanded and replaced with an unofficial webboard). The name stuck with Real Radio fans, and even the station's email newsletter is now called "Club Chronic".
[edit] External links
- Monsters in the Morning Official Website
- Real Radio 104.1 (WTKS) Official Website
- Unofficial Monster Fan Forum
- Monsters Militia MySpace page
- Monsters Biography
| FM radio stations in the Orlando, Florida and Melbourne/Titusville markets (Arbitron #34 and 94) | ||
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By frequency: 87.7¹ | 88.3 | 89.1 | 89.9 | 90.7 | 91.5 | 92.3 | 93.7 | 94.1 | 94.5 | 95.3 | 96.5 | 97.5 | 98.1 | 98.9 | 100.3 | 101.1 | 101.9 | 103.1 | 104.1 | 105.1 | 105.9 | 106.7 | 107.7 ¹ Audio for TV channel 6 (CBS) |
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