Paul & Al
Paul Fuller and Al Matthews, better known as Paul & Al on
94 HJY, have been making Rhode Islanders laugh every morning for 22 years. The duo met in Mobile, Alabama before coming to the Ocean State, and have lasted longer than most marriages. Together they took time out of their busy lives to humbly answer 10 Questions about comedy, how they have lasted this long, and what the secret is to their success.
1. Twenty-two years is longer than most marriages last. How have you made your relationship last for so long?
Paul - "It's a mystery... to last 22 years when the sex, to be honest, is not very good is inexplicable!"
Al - "I think we both approach things from a different perspective, so it stays fresh. We're lucky that we both find similar things to be funny. And we are very lucky to have Jim Shorts on sports and Kevin Mulhern, our producer on the show with us. Those two guys keep us in line and add an extra element of surprise and laughter to the show that keeps us on our toes."
2. What is your secret for being so funny so early in the morning?
Paul - "Not sure about the 'funny' part but we sound awake early in the morning because we get up EARLY, EARLY every morning... up before 4AM (unfortunately we've been doing it so long that I'm up at 4AM on the weekends too!)"
Al - "Lots. Of. Coffee. We're funny?! You can over-think comedy sometimes. In the early morning, I'm so tired that there's no time for that. If we're talking live, I just spit out the first thing that comes to mind. Working with someone else for 22 years, you can almost anticipate what that person is going to say before they say it, and so it becomes a fun game of a battle of twits--I mean wits. Our produced bits require a little more focus and polish. Very often, those are created just before we go on the air--or even as the show is running."
3. A lot of your comedy is based on local topics, especially politicians. Does being based in Rhode Island make your job easier?
Paul - "We came from Mobile, Alabama where THREE former mayors were in jail at the same time! I think all areas have their corruption but, yes, we DO have lots of colorful characters...and a few Kennedy members standing."
Al - "Absolutely. When we moved here in 1990, we didn't realize just how much comedy material was waiting for us in New England: Buddy Cianci, Bruce Sundlun, Claiborne Pell, Lincoln Almond, David Ciciline, The Kennedies, and the hilarity continues with Linc Chaffee."
4. Has there ever been a joke or a bit that you regretted doing or had to later apologize for?
Paul - "Some stuff crosses the line of good taste and, on second thought, were better left unsaid but that's the risk of trying to put on a topical, somewhat edgy show. I can't remember apologizing...our management once apologized for us to Don Henley who's lawyers threatened to sue us over a bit we did about his outrageous cocaine usage when he was younger!"
Al - "Sometimes we say something that we thought was funny but perhaps went beyond the limits of good taste. Our listeners have no problem calling us up and chewing us out...letting us know that we stepped over the line. Very often, that phone call makes for an even funnier bit that we will play on the air. So we ask for forgiveness, but we get another great bit in return."
5. How much planning, and what is the process, that goes into each show?
Paul - "I do about four hours of 'homework' every day...usually in the late afternoon or evening after the news of the day has happened. It's basically scanning several news web sites..we have a few 'radio show prep sites' that we check daily too."
Al - "We all go home after the show and do our own thing. We search for bit ideas from various sources. Then we come in the next morning and share our ideas to see what we've got. Sometimes we have full scripts written. Other times, just an outline--or simply a funny title for a bit. Sometimes, it happens spontaneously: I'm listening to a song on HJY, I start changing the words, and I get an idea for a song parody. I run into a studio next door, and write and produce it on the spot. The bits that are timely go first...the generic comedy stuff can go any time."
6. How has your show, and comedy in general, changed over the past 22 years?
Paul - "Ironically we have to be a bit more careful with off color humor... the FCC cracked down on media during the Bush administration...also our big company doesn't want any lawsuits or issues with the license being pulled. Also we came in after Carolyn Fox who made a name with her blue humor!"
Al - "Funny is still funny. But that being said, the world has become a much more politically correct place. And so as much as we like to go against the status quo, we find that there are more roadblocks than before. Some of that comes from management. Some comes from the world around us. What has changed in our show is that the bits we do are shorter and more concise than ever before. In the old days, a 3-minute long bit was common. Now we try to keep it under a minute and a half."
7. What are some of your most memorable moments working together?
Paul - "I think we really enjoyed broadcasting from London live... we interviewed a ton of our favorite British rock musicians over a few days."
Al - "As much as we've had some great laughs, I think the most memorable times are when you can do something for the community. We've raised a lot of money for the 'Amos House' through radio marathons...brought awareness to bone marrow transplants back in the day when it was still in its early stages. It gives us the opportunity to say: "Sure, we're douchebags, but we're douchebags that care." "
8. How much time do you spend together outside of the radio station?
Paul - "Not much!!! We're sick of seeing each other more than we see our wives!!! Also, Al and I have very different interests... I do something athletic every day right after work...either going to the gym, playing tennis or hitting the golf course. Al's a food freak! I think our differences have helped with the longevity of the show.. it adds balance to the show and to our lives."
Al - "Other than radio station promotional appearances, not all that much. Besides the fact that Paul lives in North Kingstown and I live in Tiverton, we have over the last 22 years, always had very different lifestyles, interests and obligations outside of the radio station. When I was single, Paul was raising 3 kids. Now all of his kids are out of college, and I am married and have a 5-year-old daughter. I think it's good to have time away from each other, too. It makes the show fresh on Monday morning."
9. If you weren't working in radio, what would each of you be doing for a living instead?
Paul - "I was accepted to law school out of college so probably wearing a suit and filing motions (ahhhhh!)...although I can live that path vicariously; my oldest son is a JAG officer in the Marine Corps...so he gives me some interesting legal stories!"
Al - "I've become food obsessed over the last decade. (I write a food blog on 94HJY.com) I would probably have gone to culinary school to become a chef or to work in the restaurant industry."
10. You must know each other pretty well now. Is there something you could reveal about each other that would surprise most people?
Paul - "Al is a REALLY gifted chef! He could easily do a kick ass cooking show!!"
Al - "Don't let the beard fool you: Paul is a girl."
Big thanks to Paul & Al for taking the time to answer 10 Questions. Congratulations on 22 years on 94HJY, and here's to many more! You can listen to them live weekday mornings on 94 WHJY in Providence, RI and visit their page at www.94hjy.com.
94 HJY, have been making Rhode Islanders laugh every morning for 22 years. The duo met in Mobile, Alabama before coming to the Ocean State, and have lasted longer than most marriages. Together they took time out of their busy lives to humbly answer 10 Questions about comedy, how they have lasted this long, and what the secret is to their success.
1. Twenty-two years is longer than most marriages last. How have you made your relationship last for so long?
Paul - "It's a mystery... to last 22 years when the sex, to be honest, is not very good is inexplicable!"
Al - "I think we both approach things from a different perspective, so it stays fresh. We're lucky that we both find similar things to be funny. And we are very lucky to have Jim Shorts on sports and Kevin Mulhern, our producer on the show with us. Those two guys keep us in line and add an extra element of surprise and laughter to the show that keeps us on our toes."
2. What is your secret for being so funny so early in the morning?
Paul - "Not sure about the 'funny' part but we sound awake early in the morning because we get up EARLY, EARLY every morning... up before 4AM (unfortunately we've been doing it so long that I'm up at 4AM on the weekends too!)"
Al - "Lots. Of. Coffee. We're funny?! You can over-think comedy sometimes. In the early morning, I'm so tired that there's no time for that. If we're talking live, I just spit out the first thing that comes to mind. Working with someone else for 22 years, you can almost anticipate what that person is going to say before they say it, and so it becomes a fun game of a battle of twits--I mean wits. Our produced bits require a little more focus and polish. Very often, those are created just before we go on the air--or even as the show is running."
3. A lot of your comedy is based on local topics, especially politicians. Does being based in Rhode Island make your job easier?
Paul - "We came from Mobile, Alabama where THREE former mayors were in jail at the same time! I think all areas have their corruption but, yes, we DO have lots of colorful characters...and a few Kennedy members standing."
Al - "Absolutely. When we moved here in 1990, we didn't realize just how much comedy material was waiting for us in New England: Buddy Cianci, Bruce Sundlun, Claiborne Pell, Lincoln Almond, David Ciciline, The Kennedies, and the hilarity continues with Linc Chaffee."
4. Has there ever been a joke or a bit that you regretted doing or had to later apologize for?
Paul - "Some stuff crosses the line of good taste and, on second thought, were better left unsaid but that's the risk of trying to put on a topical, somewhat edgy show. I can't remember apologizing...our management once apologized for us to Don Henley who's lawyers threatened to sue us over a bit we did about his outrageous cocaine usage when he was younger!"
Al - "Sometimes we say something that we thought was funny but perhaps went beyond the limits of good taste. Our listeners have no problem calling us up and chewing us out...letting us know that we stepped over the line. Very often, that phone call makes for an even funnier bit that we will play on the air. So we ask for forgiveness, but we get another great bit in return."
5. How much planning, and what is the process, that goes into each show?
Paul - "I do about four hours of 'homework' every day...usually in the late afternoon or evening after the news of the day has happened. It's basically scanning several news web sites..we have a few 'radio show prep sites' that we check daily too."
Al - "We all go home after the show and do our own thing. We search for bit ideas from various sources. Then we come in the next morning and share our ideas to see what we've got. Sometimes we have full scripts written. Other times, just an outline--or simply a funny title for a bit. Sometimes, it happens spontaneously: I'm listening to a song on HJY, I start changing the words, and I get an idea for a song parody. I run into a studio next door, and write and produce it on the spot. The bits that are timely go first...the generic comedy stuff can go any time."
6. How has your show, and comedy in general, changed over the past 22 years?
Paul - "Ironically we have to be a bit more careful with off color humor... the FCC cracked down on media during the Bush administration...also our big company doesn't want any lawsuits or issues with the license being pulled. Also we came in after Carolyn Fox who made a name with her blue humor!"
Al - "Funny is still funny. But that being said, the world has become a much more politically correct place. And so as much as we like to go against the status quo, we find that there are more roadblocks than before. Some of that comes from management. Some comes from the world around us. What has changed in our show is that the bits we do are shorter and more concise than ever before. In the old days, a 3-minute long bit was common. Now we try to keep it under a minute and a half."
7. What are some of your most memorable moments working together?
Paul - "I think we really enjoyed broadcasting from London live... we interviewed a ton of our favorite British rock musicians over a few days."
Al - "As much as we've had some great laughs, I think the most memorable times are when you can do something for the community. We've raised a lot of money for the 'Amos House' through radio marathons...brought awareness to bone marrow transplants back in the day when it was still in its early stages. It gives us the opportunity to say: "Sure, we're douchebags, but we're douchebags that care." "
8. How much time do you spend together outside of the radio station?
Paul - "Not much!!! We're sick of seeing each other more than we see our wives!!! Also, Al and I have very different interests... I do something athletic every day right after work...either going to the gym, playing tennis or hitting the golf course. Al's a food freak! I think our differences have helped with the longevity of the show.. it adds balance to the show and to our lives."
Al - "Other than radio station promotional appearances, not all that much. Besides the fact that Paul lives in North Kingstown and I live in Tiverton, we have over the last 22 years, always had very different lifestyles, interests and obligations outside of the radio station. When I was single, Paul was raising 3 kids. Now all of his kids are out of college, and I am married and have a 5-year-old daughter. I think it's good to have time away from each other, too. It makes the show fresh on Monday morning."
9. If you weren't working in radio, what would each of you be doing for a living instead?
Paul - "I was accepted to law school out of college so probably wearing a suit and filing motions (ahhhhh!)...although I can live that path vicariously; my oldest son is a JAG officer in the Marine Corps...so he gives me some interesting legal stories!"
Al - "I've become food obsessed over the last decade. (I write a food blog on 94HJY.com) I would probably have gone to culinary school to become a chef or to work in the restaurant industry."
10. You must know each other pretty well now. Is there something you could reveal about each other that would surprise most people?
Paul - "Al is a REALLY gifted chef! He could easily do a kick ass cooking show!!"
Al - "Don't let the beard fool you: Paul is a girl."
Big thanks to Paul & Al for taking the time to answer 10 Questions. Congratulations on 22 years on 94HJY, and here's to many more! You can listen to them live weekday mornings on 94 WHJY in Providence, RI and visit their page at www.94hjy.com.