The Vibe was a test Andrew Z and his morning radio crew passed with flying colors.
Last July, Cumulus Media took a risk, offering unemployed radio host Andrew Zepeda a morning slot on its new low-wattage station 100.7 The Vibe, despite Zepeda’s ongoing legal issues.
In March, Cumulus promoted the show to higher-wattage Star 105 (105.5 FM), displacing “Tim and Jeff in the Morning,” which moved to Cumulus’ Northwest Arkansas market. Now Zepeda and his team have signed a multiyear contract to keep “Andrew Z in the Morning: The People’s Show” on Star 105 through December 2015. Th e morning show airs from 5:30 – 10 a.m. weekdays.
“[The Vibe] was basically a tryout to see if this town could support another Top-40 radio station and if this station would support me again and overwhelmingly the answer was yes,” Zepeda said.
Listener support
Matt Spaulding, Cumulus Media vice president and Toledo/Monroe market manager, said Zepeda is correct in feeling Th e Vibe was a test.
“That’s absolutely a true statement,” Spaulding said. “He did a tremendous job on The Vibe. The public, the listeners, they truly supported him even though he had some minor signal-related or coverage issues. He still had a tremendous following at that station. It was only a matter oftime, I guess I would say, before he earned the right to move over to Star 105.”
The Vibe, now known as 100.7 The Zone, is 87 watts while Star 105 is 4,300 watts.
“You can’t even describe how small that is,” Zepeda said of The Vibe. “It didn’t even cover all of Toledo. When the wattage is that small, even the weather can affect it tremendously. There were days where we couldn’t even get it [at home] in Perrysburg. Now we’re playing on a fair plane with all the other signals in town.”
Spaulding said he is confident Zepeda’s show will be competitive.
“There’s really no doubt in my mind,” Spaulding said. “We’re already starting to see the effects of it, where various features, components, ideas, concepts he launches on his station are being mimicked with competing stations right here in the market, which I think it is a tribute to him.
“His energy is infectious. It’s a rarity in this industry to have somebody who’s so hands on. It’s not as if he shows up to a shift , gets on-air, does his shift , a little prep work and heads home. He lives it, he breathes it, he sleeps it. He’s constantly calling my phone, at least three to four times a day, with new ideas or new ways of doing things or concepts, you name it. I mean, you want to talk about an aggressive competitor, Andrew Z is absolutely it.”
Nothing changes
Listeners won’t notice any changes to the show as the result of the new contract, Zepeda said.
“Nothing changes; it’s just more permanent now. Th ey don’t want us to change anything, which is why they signed everybody to make sure everyone stays together,” Zepeda said. “They’re also talking expansion (syndication), possibly into other cities so that we’re excited about that.”
Cast members Brandon Doriot, Donny Palicki, aka “Donny P,” and Calen Savidge said they are proud to have earned a multiyear contract, but know they can’t stop striving.
“Just because we have a contract doesn’t meant we have job security,” Doriot said. “If wearen’t good, they’ll fire us regardless of whether we have this contract.”
“It feels good knowing they want us to be in it for the long haul, but just as in anything else, there’s no guarantees,” Palicki added. “If we don’t kick some serious butt we won’t behere in threeyears, so it’s just more of an incentive to kick some serious ass.”
The contract boosts Zepeda to earning “a considerable amount more” money than he was making at Clear Channel’s KISS FM, Zepeda said.
Clear Channel did not renew Zepeda’s contract in December 2010 shortly after he pleaded guilty to three felony charges related to failing to pay sales taxes and orchestrating an October 2010 break-in at a pizzeria he formerly owned at Levis Commons in Perrysburg.
Zepeda avoided prosecution by entering an intervention program for alcohol abuse. All charges will be cleared from his record if he successfully completes the two-year
supervision program, which ends Feb. 4, 2013.
Zepeda said staying out of establishments that serve alcohol — one of the stipulations of his intervention — was difficult at first, but getting easier.
“Oh my gosh, it was so hard, but you have to accept it. Otherwise it will drive you crazy and there’s nothing you can do,” Zepeda said. “It’s easier for me now because I’m so used to it. I’ve missed so many big fun events, I’m just kind of over it. It doesn’t faze me. I’m just chugging along. I’m about three-quarters of the way done. Of course I still have to pay the restitution and then it will be completely over with.”
More to prove
Zepeda said he feels somewhat vindicated, but isn’t finished proving himself.
“We still have roads to go. It’s only been a couple of months. We’re starting to get some success. That’s why they moved us. But until we’re back at No. 1, to me, that’s when it will fully hit,” Zepeda said. “There’s going to be people that like you and there’s going to be people that don’t and you’re not going to change anyone’s opinion. All we can continue to do is do what we think is good radio and fun and just have a good time.
“The worst time was not having an outlet to do what I’ve done for over 20 years. Th at was the hardest time, but now that we get to do this every day and just have a good time and hang out with my friends, everything else will fall into place and it has.”
Zepeda has already lived in Toledo longer than anywhere else in his two-decade radio career. By the end of his new contract, it will be 10 years.
“In this business, it’s hard to find any stability. You’re always moving around,” Zepeda said. “It’s nice to know you’re going to be stable and you’re finally at the point where you’ve reached enough success that you don’t have to move around anymore. We love it here. Our kids were born here,we have a house here, our family moved here. We’re going to be here a long time.”
