For a few days, you might have heard a hip-hop station called Streetz 102.9, which disappeared on April 8 as mysteriously as it arrived. (The Web site is gone, too.)

Here’s a possible reason why: litigation and accusations of employee misconduct, breach of contract and stealing of proprietary computer data.

Radio One, which owns Hot 107.9, sued the purported operators of Streetz, first on March 20, but amended last week on April 16 to include more details. Kevin Ross over at radiofacts.com broke the news of the lawsuit, which is also on his site.

The defendants include two former Radio One execs Steve Hegwood and Wayne Brown. (Except for his quick comment to me April 8 denying his involvement with Streetz, neither he nor Brown have returned calls to me or anybody else I know of in the press. I’ve also left messages with the respective attorneys on both sides.)

The lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court alleges that Hegwood, while employed with Radio One as operations …

Continue reading 4/21: Morning Mash with why Streetz 102.9 was so shortlived, Kiss 104.1’s lineup for its Flashback Festival »

WSB-TV got an exclusive interview with the new “Real Housewives of Atlanta” Kandi Burruss, a former member of the band Xscape.

A few weeks ago, Burruss told my colleague Sonia Murray she couldn’t do interviews while “Real Housewives of Atlanta” was in production. Bravo publicists said she wouldn’t be able to talk until closer to air date, probably in the fall.

Yet WSB-TV convinced her to talk without a Bravo publicist’s knowledge. Burruss did keep talk about the show itself to a minimum, focusing on her music and such.

Read the Kandi Burruss interview (or watch it) here at WSB-TV.

WSBTV.com: Last season, we saw a lot of cliques on the show. Is there any fellow cast member that you would align yourself with on the show?

Kandi Burruss: I can’t really say…you’ll have to look forward to that…but I will tell you I’m a cool person that can just blend in with anyone.

Continue reading 4/20: Morning Mash with WSB-TV’s exclusive interview with Kandi Burruss »

UGA’s own Herschel Walker got the boot by the Donald Sunday night but the Trump Man did it with a heavy heart.

“I am not a gay man and I love you,” Trump said. “Herschel, you’re fired.”

Somehow, country star Clint Black keeps surviving despite his argumentative ways and not-so-competent work thus far.

Walker, who runs a chicken company, decided to be the project manager for the second challenge of the night in which Schwan’s home delivery frozen foods wanted a new meal. Walker honed in on chicken, though he revealed an odd fact. He doesn’t actually eat chicken. Odd.

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Anyway, Black chose his wife’s ginger soy chicken recipe but it was way too salty so Joan Rivers saved it by adding orange …

Continue reading 4/19: Celebrity Apprentice recap: Herschel Walker gets the boot »

99X, the biggest rock station in Atlanta in the 1990s, is back on the FM dial today after 15 months online only, this time at 97.9.

Cumulus, which owns Q100 and Rock 100.5, recently took over 97.9, which is called a “translator.” It’s a relatively weak in-town signal emanating off the Q100 tower at 250 watts (vs. 100,000 watts for Q100). Even at 250 watts, it’s a “line of sight” issue, so at 1,000 feet, it can carry reasonably well for a 20-mile radius from a Briarcliff Road tower in DeKalb County. Folks in Acworth and Woodstock have been able to hear the station.

“There’s a whole lot of excitement,” said Gary Lewis, the general manager. “The day feels different. The sun is back in the sky with 99X back on the air.” He noted that 5,500 people joined a Facebook page lamenting the end of the station on the FM dial.

Continue reading 4/17: Morning Mash with the return of 99X — to 97.9 »

For Generation Xers, Hall & Oates were a guilty pleasure imbued with white-boy soul, instantly hummable tunes and that oddly enthralling John Oates’ mustache.

But despite their success (29 top 40 hits), they never had the resonance or respect of their ‘80s counterparts such as Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Yet there they were in December on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” serenading the departure of Alan Colmes from “Hannity & Colmes” with a tongue-in-cheek parody of “She’s Gone.” Then they popped up recently on “Dancing With the Stars” crooning “Maneater.”

And ABC’s new dramedy “Cupid” in its very first episode March 31 featured a plotline revolving around — you guessed it — Hall & Oates.

What’s going on?

Lead singer Daryl Hall isn’t sure but their core fans who grew up with them, now in their 30s and 40s, are in positions of influence as critics and producers of TV shows. That’s helping keep them in the spotlight.

And many of the duo’s fans will be singing along …

Continue reading 4/16: An interview with Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates »

CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Cadillac Jack, morning host at Kicks 101.5, plays a DJ in the Georgia Ensemble Theatre take on “The Buddy Holly Story” at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, running through April 26.

Outside a small bit in high school and modest speaking part on the sitcom “Hope & Faith” a few years ago, Cadillac has virtually no acting experience. “My stomach is in knots every night,” he said. In this case, he plays Hipockets Duncan, a DJ and manager/buddy of the late singer Buddy Holly. He has several speaking lines in a show that’s heavily music and dance. Caddy says he’s the only actor who doesn’t sing and dance (and he claims no talent in either category.)

He said Bob Farley, the director, came by the radio station last fall and when he saw Caddy in the studio, he thought he’d make a perfect Hipockets.

“It’s been awesome so far,” he said. “I’ve had a good time with it. I’m glad I took on this project. My family has been super supportive, as has Kicks.” He …

Continue reading 4/16: Morning Mash with Cadillac Jack, “Drop Dead Diva” casting call »

Perhaps Michael Vick was inspired by T.I.’s “Road to Redemption” series: the incarcerated football star is now shopping around his own reality show in which cameras would follow him around after he gets out of prison for dogfighting charges.

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Hollywood Reporter “said eager producers even visited the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback in prison in the hope of signing him. As a result, there’s a few different parties claiming to have his rights, which is confusing the industry playing field.”

Vick could use the money. He owes millions to creditors.

Continue reading 4/15: Oh, boy. Michael Vick is shopping a reality TV series »

Radio revenues in Atlanta dropped an alarming 15 percent last year compared to 8.5 percent nationwide, according to stats compiled by research firm BIA Financial.

The Atlanta radio market drew about $326 million in revenue in 2008 vs. about $386 million in 2007. That’s a whopping $60 million that has disappeared into the ether. BIA is not optimistic of a recovery in 2009: it predicts revenues to fall to $290 million, levels the market has not seen in many many years.

Virtually every radio station saw revenues fall. But a caution note: these estimates are not always accurate and are not audited figures so take them with some grain of salt. Last year, a source told me, for instance, the V-103 and WSB-AM numbers for 2007 were WAY low. And I find the discrepancy between Q100 and Star 94 a bit too wide given that Q100 is now clearly the ratings leader.

If anybody in the know can feed me more accurate figures, email me at rho@ajc.com or call me at 404-526-5688.

Rank. Station, …

Continue reading 4/15: Morning Mash with falling Atlanta radio revenues, Metalsome Mondays & a Morning Mess sighting »

Lists engender debate, usually in pure fun. Here’s one that certainly will get movie afficionados talking: Atlanta-based Turner Classic Movies has released its 15 most influential movies of all time. Note the word “influential.” Naturally, Atlanta’s iconic “Gone With the Wind” is included.

These aren’t necessarily the “best” films per se but those that had the most impact in terms of what came afterwards.

And the network noted in a press release:

In assembling the list, many films fell just short of making the cut. TCM looked at everything from silent pictures to modern movies. “There was only a little shouting involved in our debates,” said Charlie Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for TCM. “For example, we talked about including Pulp Fiction, a hugely influential independent film.” TCM also considered surprising choices like Goldfinger, a 1964 movie that helped cement James Bond as film franchise that has endured for nearly 50 years.

The Birth of a Nation …

Continue reading 4/14: TCM’s 15 most influential movies of all time »

Until earlier this month, Denis Leary’s edgy, critically acclaimed FX drama “Rescue Me” had been off the air for nearly 19 months, save for a few Webisodes last summer. Blame the writer’s strike.

But like Fox’s “24,” another strike victim, “Rescue Me” fans didn’t forget.

On April 7, the season five debut brought in 2.3 million viewers, on par with the 2007 season four average. As an insurance policy, Leary has been doing a multi-city comedy tour with two of his “Rescue Me” castmates Adam Ferrara (Chief Nelson) and Lenny Clarke (Uncle Teddy). All three have standup comedy backgrounds.

The show stops at the Fox Theatre this Saturday.

“We come into your town and through an evening of very fun live entertainment, get everyone excited about ‘Rescue Me,’ ” Leary said in a phone interview last month. “We have fun as opposed to coming into town and boring everyone.”

Leary, based on performances in other cities, will play a few songs with his band the Enablers, many with song titles …

Continue reading 4/14: Interview with Denis Leary of “Rescue Me” »