Armstrong & Getty
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"Armstrong & Getty" is a morning drive radio show airing in Northern California on several Clear Channel stations. The "call-in format" talk show is a mixture of political commentary, observations on both local and national news and reflections on social issues presented with humor. The show's studio is located in Sacramento.
Stations
"Armstrong & Getty" airs live on KSTE-AM in Sacramento and KNEW-AM in San Francisco. A televised version of the show titled "Armstrong & Getty: Radio on Television" airs on KFTY TV50 in Santa Rosa, and can also be watched on the station's website.
Rebroadcasts air on some of the stations at different times, including "The Best of Armstrong & Getty" on KSTE and "Armstrong & Getty at Lunch" on KFTY. As of March, 2007 they can also be heard on KFI-AM on a two hour Sunday afternoon show.
History
Jack Armstrong became a radio DJ in Kansas the late 1980s. Around the same time, Chicago native Joe Getty was also working as a DJ. According to statements made on the air, Joe trumped the competition to land his first job because he was the only one who typed his cover letter.
The two began working together in 1992, hosting morning shows in Kansas, before taking their show to a bigger market in Charlotte, NC. The two often recall back to their days as typical DJs, calling out soft rock hits and the occasional promotional radio stunt.
During the August 25, 2006 show, they talked about their time in Wichita, when they did a show every single Friday morning from a grocery store; the two were told to walk around the store, talk to shoppers, and look at the products. They continued on to describe the spidery garage, card table setup in the front of the store, and bonuses paid out in donuts.
The pair moved to Sacramento, CA in 1997 and again found themselves in a format show, going by the name "Out of the Sack with Joe and Jack." That show aired on Adult Contemporary KYMX-FM in Sacramento, a stint later referred to by Joe as "nightmarish".
On August 31, 1998 the duo debuted as the current "Armstrong & Getty" show.
The Hosts
Both Armstrong and Getty are semi-professional musicians. Getty plays guitar with what he sometimes calls his "garage band", the Mighty Josephines. Armstrong's band, the Painkillers, occasionally performs in local bars and clubs.
Chicago-native Getty is married with three children. Their schooling, little league games (which Joe coaches) and interactions with their mom often provide material for his anecdotes.
Armstrong is from a small town in rural Kansas. He has no children[1] but a fictional child, Jack, Jr., is a running joke that Jack uses on the show to relate whenever the topic of raising children is addressed. Jack currently lives in the city of Davis.[1] On January 2, 2008, Jack announced he is engaged. He proposed to his intended on New Year's Eve 2007, and they plan on having children together. During the same show, Armstrong confirmed he'd been through a divorce a couple of years earlier, but didn't like talking about it on the show because his ex-wife wouldn't have a chance to give her side of the story.
Politically, Jack Armstrong tends more toward Libertarian views, while Joe Getty is more conservative. However the show attempts to take a decidedly moderate view.
The Show
Both Armstrong and Getty are fiscal conservatives but very moderate on many social issues. Common themes of the show are wasteful government spending, social responsibility, personal accountability, all surrounding current events. They have interviewed such figures as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Senator Tom McClintock, former UN Ambassador John R. Bolton, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, and former US President Jimmy Carter. In April 2006, they renewed their contract with Clear Channel and contracted for additional TV simulcasts to cover all of the San Francisco Bay Area set to begin in late May. By July 2006, TV simulcast coverage had expanded to nearly all of Northern California, and worldwide via podcasts available on iTunes.
Additionally the duo has become popular as emcees for various events in Northern California, participating in "The Great Debate" against Willie Brown and Ed Schultz, opening for a few of political commentator Michael Savage's live shows, and hosting the California legislature annual softball game. They also received an invitation to 2007's White House Correspondents Dinner.
Up until recently, the main theme song for the show is an edited version of Wilco's "Monday". During a recent theme show song contest a listener Jeff McIntyre's song was picked by voting, however a remixed version of "Monday" currently airs as the theme song while A&G "give it a rest for a little while".
References
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |
- ^ Armstrong & Getty, October 29th 2007 show, hour 4, Jack: (during a discussion about a study showing a tentative connection between autism and older fathers) "As a guy who is over forty who has yet to father children I have followed that preliminary study, and we know how preliminary studies go..." http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/SANFRANCISCO-CA/KNEW-AM/ang%204%20102907.mp3