Static Live Magazine March 2019

Behind the Mic: Riggs
Hello again, friends. Very big congratulations to the
staff of Static Live for cranking out this first year of
quality publishing. This magazine is truly a rare and
valuable resource for entertainment and I am proud to
be a small part of this machine and happy to have a
print and digital reference for culture, music and more
in our community. I love writing these entries and hope
that they give you some laughs and insight into my
weird world.
It seems like a good time to let you in on some pit stops
in my writing career.
“The Sports Hogs” - An overly energetic fast talking
host with an obnoxious announcer voice and his gruff,
salty co-host break down sports action with wildly
inaccurate statistics and misguided callers.
“Hot Licks” - A parody of the instructional guitar VHS
tapes that were all the rage. Leather jacket, shades,
a bad British accent and actual inability to play guitar
made these segments authentic and hilarious. And I
busted a tooth using a potato as a slide… don’t ask.
My first job was at a Pizza Inn in Marietta, Georgia. I
was a dishwasher with lofty aspirations of making pizza
one day. My obsession with pizza made the whole
dish thing tolerable until one day opportunity knocked.
There was this contest to come up with a slogan for our
marquee. The winner got $50 and some free pizza. I
nailed it with this beauty… “Our pizza, Our people, Our
pride… A Winning Combination”. BOOM! Those finely
crafted words beamed from the partially lit sign in front
of the restaurant for at least 5 weeks. Business may or
may not have increased but at least those who dined
knew they were eating where WINNERS go. I kept my
ego in check, kept sloshing away with the dishes, and
never got that promotion to cook. I did, however, get a
slotted pizza baking pan that I still use today. Winning.
In college, I worked at a local TV station and gained
experience in virtually every aspect of television
broadcasting. WNGM TV-34 was my launching pad to
becoming a superstar. One of my roles was teleprompter
entry and I wrote copy for the newscasters and show
hosts. Grammar and phonetic spelling were keys to
success and while the creative side was hampered, I
did keep those who read copy on-air from any “Ron
Burgundy” moments. I partnered with a friend to start
a weekly music video show, which turned into music/
comedy program and I wrote sketches and
bits for the weekly entertainment of our
small but loyal audience and, of course,
for ourselves. “Classic” comedy writing
included ….
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