KNIX's Barrel Boy Filled with Gratitude 15 Years After Stepping Into
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2021 AUGUST 23 CountryInsider.com | Sign Up For Daily Email Here KNIX’s Barrel Boy Filled With Gratitude 15 Years After Stepping Into Costume. On Aug. 26, 2006, Barrel Boy had yet to don a barrel. He was in his early 20s and came to work at iHeartMedia KNIX Phoenix (102.5), hopelessly hungover after a night of heavy drinking at a bowling alley. Barrel and friends were celebrating the first night of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s “Soul 2 Soul Tour” doubleheader in Phoenix. His PD sent him home, told him to pull himself together and return to cover the second shift. Retribution, he said, was in order. Barrel Boy wasn’t in trouble, but the PD wanted to have some fun at his expense. (Continued on page 4) COUNTRY INSIDER TOP 5: WUBL’s Angie Ward: From College Radio To Country Radio Hall of Fame. Beasley Media Group Joins Cumulus, Urban One Requiring Employees To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine. Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” Is Now An Applebee’s Commercial - Complete With Oreo Shake. 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The 30-second commercial promotes an Applebee’s date night featuring the singer’s “Fancy Like” with patrons dancing along to the viral hit. Additionally, the restaurant has brought back its Oreo Cookie Shake as highlighted in the song. “For years, my wife Laney and I have been regulars at Applebee’s for date night, and I’ve always wanted to write a song about it,” Hayes said in a release. “The response to Fancy Like, the dance and the fan love has been a dream come true – plus, Applebee’s even brought back their Oreo Cookie Shake! What’s better than that?” Carrie Underwood Stars In Show-Open For “Sunday Night Football.” Carrie Underwood will kick off the debut of the 2021 show-open for “Sunday Night Football” Sept. 12 on NBC. “Shooting the new show open for Sunday Night Football is one of the highlights of my year,” Underwood said. “I just love the fact that we get to reinvent it every year. The team behind these shoots is incredible and it’s always a really fun day, especially this year getting to work with such amazing state-of-the-art technology.” Nate Weaver Named PD At iHeartMedia Wilmington And Salisbury. iHeartMedia has named Nate Weaver Promotions Director for the Wilmington and Salisbury markets, effective immediately. The cluster comprises more than 11 music, talk and news stations including country “Froggy 99” WWFG Salisbury-Ocean City, MD, and WDSD Wilmington (94.7). Weaver also will be an on-air personality, and reports to Josh Wolff, VP of Programming for iHeartMedia Allentown, Lancaster, Salisbury and Wilmington. Charlie Daniels Posthumously Receives Pandora Billionaire Award. Pandora posthumously honored Charlie Daniels last week with its Billionaire Award at the “2021 Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels.” The recognition marks 1 billion streams on the digital streaming service. The Marshall Tucker Band’s Doug Gray (C), a longtime friend of The Charlie Daniels Band, surprised Daniels’ widow Hazel Daniels (L) and the couple’s son Charlie Daniels, Jr. (R), with a plaque from Pandora on stage. “This special award and the entire night brought tears to my eyes, to see how much his fans loved him, because he loved them, too,” Hazel said in a release. Pandora Country will now play Daniels on its Pandora Billionaires station. 3 | AUGUST 23, 2021 CountryInsider.com KNIX’s Barrel Boy Celebrates 15 Years In His Barrel. (Continued from page 1) When he returned, his punishment was to put on enough to cover his monthly bills. Barrel Boy the station’s barrel costume and schmooze the took a job as a doorman at a local hotel to fill in crowd at the concert. The barrel fit like a dress, the financial gaps. However, the radio station resting on his bare shoulders and exposing his calf recognized the marketing value in Barrel Boy and muscles and bowling shoes. gave him as much work as they could. Years later, he attempted to try out for “American Idol” wearing Barrel Boy never wanted to take it off. Fifteen his barrel. He wasn’t allowed to audition because years later, he’s still wearing the barrel – and he’s the corporate logo was on his costume. However, one of the most beloved and recognized radio the show’s producers were so amused by his antics personalities in country music. that they filmed some spots with Barrel Boy talking “When Barrel Boy walks into a room, everyone about the weather and used them in the season’s wants a picture,” said Steve Geofferies, iHeartMedia debut episode. He was parking cars at the hotel Phoenix Regional Senior VP of Programming. “That’s when his phone started ringing incessantly in his a powerful tool for the KNIX brand. What people pocket. His family in Michigan saw him on television don’t see are the countless hours Barrel Boy has and couldn’t wait to tell him about it. spent helping people. If there’s someone in need, “The station logo, clear as day, for millions to see on Barrel is there. His contacts give him the ability to the barrel - that’s amazing,” he said. “I was all over connect people and make things happen.” ‘American Idol’ having a quote-unquote ‘it moment,’ Barrel Boy grew up farming in Michigan and moved and there I was parking cars. I was like, ‘I don’t want to Phoenix after high school to attend college. He to do this anymore.’” was a communications major but didn’t have his Barrel Boy sought the help of fellow iHeartMedia heart set on a radio career. When he fell into it – employees who lobbied upper management to radio and his giant barrel – it was a natural fit for his give him a full-time outgoing personality. job. His official hire “I was like, ‘Wait, this is my punishment?’” Barrel Boy date as a full-time recalls. “’Act a fool and take pictures with people employee was a few and smile and have fun? Well, that’s what I do well.’” months later. The night was a smash with listeners, and a couple When people ask of weeks later, he stepped in his barrel and bowling him why he didn’t shoes again. The PD decided immediately to “get a real job,” the suspend use of his real name and brand him Barrel answer is simple – Boy for promotional purposes. Today, he said, his radio is fun. And the given name is such a secret that people who work format allows him at KNIX don’t know what it is. Because Barrel Boy to positively impact was born as social media was gaining strength, the people on a large scale. absurdity of (what looked like) a naked man in a In 2010, country singer Jimmy Wayne mounted his barrel emblazoned with the radio station’s logo was Meet Me Halfway walk from Nashville to Phoenix internet gold. to raise awareness of at-risk and homeless teens. “You had companies across the world trying to Barrel Boy joined him on his trek across Arizona and figure out how to get their logo and increase brand was there to help when Wayne broke his foot. awareness on social media, and people would “I’d walked nearly 1,500 miles, and by then I thought take pictures of me with a gigantic KNIX logo on I had seen and heard it all,” Wayne said. “Then, a the barrel,” he said. “Nobody was doing what I was naked man showed up wearing a barrel held up by doing.” suspenders and bowling shoes. Barrel Boy brought At the time, Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) so much joy during the last 200 miles. We laughed didn’t have mascots. Radio was amid workforce every step of the way.” reductions, and his part-time position didn’t pay (Continued on page 8) 4 | AUGUST 23, 2021 CountryInsider.com WUBL’s Angie Ward: From College Radio To Country Radio Hall of Fame. While attending Auburn University, Angie Ward remember to tweak that, which gets back to thinking handled PR for the college radio station when the about who is on the other side listening.” sports reporter didn’t show up. She also records a weekly show for the iHeartMedia “The sports director at that time just handed me a country channel that can be streamed or heard on script and shoved me in a little room that I now know about 65 stations. of as a studio,” she tells Country Insider. “He said, ‘When I point to you, talk.’ And I did.