Bert Show’s Moote bids farewell to Atlanta airwaves

Personality signs off ahead of move to L.A. morning show.

Brian Moote came to Atlanta two years ago from the West Coast eager to learn and grow on the Bert Show and contribute in a positive way.

Now he’s taking t hose skills to a Los Angeles morning show on top 40 station AMP 97.1. He will co-host a show with former New York morning host Edgar Sotelo starting next month.

Monday morning, Moote bid an official farewell on the syndicated Bert Show, based and heard locally on Q100.

He told Q100 listeners his new show is “coming together well … When it comes to thinking about morning radio, most of it comes from my experience in the last two years with you guys,” he said. He appreciated how Bert Weiss instilled in him the need to show vulnerability and authenticity. He doesn’t plan to just talk about the Kardashians, who he hates.

“The last three weeks or so, I have felt tired and sad but I felt happy at times,” he said. “I’ve been a whirlwind of emotion.”

He will still do a charity boxing fight Feb. 17 for Bert’s Big Adventure.

Weiss repeated how bittersweet this is. “We’ll miss the chemistry of the show” with Moote around, he said on air. But he can’t blame Moote for taking a show in the No. 2 market in the country while being closer to his family.

Moote said the show will live on fine without him and it has a deep bench. Weiss said he is going to take his time to find a replacement.

“I wasn’t the lynchpin holding this thing together as much as I like to think,” Moote said, tongue half in cheek.

Earlier this month, the AJC spoke to Moote about his reasons for leaving Atlanta after just two years.

He said had no intention to leave Atlanta and was ready to sign another contract He had with even the Bert bought Show. a town home in Smyrna last year. He was not hunting for ano ther job. But then the offer came up around Thanksgiving. The wife of the program director for AMP is a radio consultant who loved the Bert Show and contacted Moote’s agent Heather Cohen about the job opportunity. It was hard to turn down a job where his name would be attached to a show in such a large market while being nearer to his mom and godson, who live in Seattle. He said since com- ing to Atlanta, he had felt detached from his mom and godson and others on the West Coast. Being in L.A. should also help Moote’s stand-up com- edy career. While Atlanta has its fair share of film and TV production, the impor- tant people who could more directly boost his exposure on TV are largely in La La Land. “Even with the Internet, you lose a bit of traction when you leave Los Angeles,” he said. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

Moote reiterated how mixed his feelings are about leaving. “This is not per- fect timing professionally because I love the show I’m on. I love the Bert Show. I love the freedom we have,” he admitted.

He hopes to emu late Weiss in L.A. “I’m a competitive person,” he said. “I’m never afraid to take risks. Bert took a risk and built something that is respected nationally. The love and support he’s earned from the cities we’re syndicated especially Atlanta is something really special. I benefited by grow- ing as a radio personality and coming up with ideas.”

Moote’s marriage collapsed while he was in Atlanta and he said that was tough to navigate on air. “It was a learning expe- rience,” he said. “I think what endears you to lis- teners is when they realize we’re no different. We have flaws. Bad things happen.” He said he felt like a solid third co host: “You can swing for the fences and if it fails, you can laugh about that,” he said. Moote’s favorite bits, besides his Yelp reviews and spam email bits, was lyrical slam poetry. His humor, for the most part, was silly and light, melding well with the show’s overall mission. He was happy to see that in a poll I posted when the news came out, more than 70 percent of readers said they’ll miss him and only 8 percent said they won’t. (The rest were indifferent.) For now, he plans to keep his town home in Atlanta. His brother Patrick, who is an actor and entertainer as well, will continue to use it for work he has in Atlanta.