(SPOT.ph) Lewis and Clark, Batman and Robin, and even Beavis and Butthead. Chemistry? Check. But good rapport is just part of it. It takes balance, adaptability, time-tested endurance, and of course, an audience that, hopefully, will want to stick around. In the local radio world, no team-up exemplifies this more than Chico Garcia and Delamar Arias, co-hosts of SPOT.ph’s top-ranked The Morning Rush on Monster RX 93.1.

You might have listened to them—on the way to school or while driving to work: that jocular banter that’s half joking, half arguing, half folly, but purely entertainment. An unflappable dynamic has made them the station’s No. 1 radio show, as well as one of the longest-running programs on FM radio. More energizing than a fresh cup of coffee, this tandem has been making traffic-stricken drivers and heavy-eyed commuters laugh with their witty insight and comedic antics since July 1996. But having an award-winning radio show is only beginning. Through the years, the duo that brought us the "Top 10 Funny Gay Quotes" and other outrageous lists have come out with an album (yes, you read right), a TV show, a newspaper column, and now, a best-selling book featuring the best of their quirky Top 10 lists.

With a lot more spunk left in them and a new co-host (Gino Quillamor), it’s safe to say that this team will continue to entertain listeners well into the far, far future. SPOT.ph sat down with Chico and Delamar to talk about 15 years of The Morning Rush; friendship—and how theirs used to be nonexistent; their new book, The Best of Chico & Delamar’s The Morning Rush Top 10; and how their show can change the world.

The Best of Chico & Delamar's The Morning Rush Top 10 is out in book stores nationwide. Book-signing is on January 28, 1 p.m. at Robinson's Galleria (activity center).

From airwaves to book pages. Click for more.

The Morning Rush has been airing since 1996; can you give us a brief history and background of the show?

Chico: Before, the format of RX was just jocks, all of them were male, and the females were newscasters. So it was pretty clear the delineation between jock and newscaster. At that time, I was the morning jock and then the newscasters would rotate. Some days they’d be in the morning, some days in the afternoon, some days in the evening. There was a time when it was Delle’s turn to do the morning so she was there for… how many months? Five months?

Delamar: Eleven

C: Eleven months?

D: On your show? Kasi it was just The Morning Rush with Chico Garcia. And then every time I get here with him in the morning, I’d do the news for him and we’d end up arguing. Like really arguing so we did that for about 11 months on and off, on and off. And then all of a sudden parang management got a lot of comments na why don’t you just bring the two of them together on a show. So on July 8, 1996, they decided to make it The Morning Rush with Chico and Delamar.

When was it just The Morning Rush with Chico?

D: Kasi in 1995, FM radio was so different then. It was the time when RX started this interactive FM radio where we had the Internet and the pager and all shows really wanted to hear more from the listeners. There was a higher participation from the listeners—that was the campaign and the direction of RX then.

C: Actually RX is one of the first to… Before it was just like this DJ would be 6 to 10, the next DJ would be 10 to 2. We started it where there was a title to the show.

C & D: There’s something happening per show which is different.

C: Parang it became like…

D: Like TV!

C: Like there was a show title, there were like portions in the show. Before when I listened to the radio, it was just lots of jocks (with a fixed timeslot). Very interactive. We were one of the very first to do that.

When did the Top 10 lists start?

D: That’s a little tricky because obviously we left RX for a bit…

C: Three years.

D: And in the time we were not in RX, we had actually done that portion. So we had the Top 10. When we came back, that was something that we decided we wanted to do. We just continued it. So The Morning Rush Top 10 actually started in 1999. So we’ve been doing it for 13 years?

C: I think so.

Did you know each other prior to becoming co-hosts?

C: No. We met here.

D: Right off the bat we were fighting. Even as strangers we were fighting.

Was it difficult to develop chemistry as strangers?

C: Actually the so-called chemistry evolved. The chemistry before was a very volatile chemistry. We didn’t get along but I guess we sort of like didn’t get along with style?

D: You don’t need to get along to have chemistry. Some people can fight and it’s not entertaining.

C: A lot of people think that chemistry is just getting along perfectly. Actually sometimes chemistry is just the way you interact. There’s a certain way that you either clash or get along well together—

D: —That’s entertaining. Kasi the fights were real. The fights that we used to have were very real. I was tempted to walk out on the job. But the listeners thought it was a scripted thing like a joke. But it really wasn’t, it was real. So I guess that was chemistry. I think it was, as soon as we found our words, we were really interacting, it became really obvious that the chemistry was there.