in the business department there, and worked full time nights on WOUR. I have been sick of driving that boring Thruway ever since! Another big part of the early days of radio were the albums we played. We played those classic vinyl albums, as this was before CD players came into play. Every now and then, the records would skip or warp, so you had to keep an ear on what was going out over the air. Contrasting with today’s era of pre-recording shifts (voice-tracking) and bringing in syndicated shows, back in the day someone was always there in the radio studio, working live 24/7. It was a great training ground and some of those crazy overnight escapades are still laughed about today. Was it much like we saw on WKRP? Our people were much cooler than Herb Tarlek and Les Nessman, but we had similarities! Hey, Doctor Johnny Fever was a Dr., too, right? The station brought a great many stars and soon-to-be stars to this area. What are some of your fondest and favorite concerts and meetings? Plenty to remember. I’ve met the following and interviewed most of them. At the Utica Aud: Doobie Brothers, Journey, KISS, The Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Whitesnake, Mötley Crüe, Rush, Bob Seger, BTO, and Alice Cooper. At The Stanley Theater: Stevie Ray Vaughan (my favorite interview), Peter Gabriel, Asia, Chicago, Robert Cray, The Animals, Ted Nugent, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, George Carlin, Howie Mandel, Jay Leno. At the Syracuse War Memorial, Landmark Theater, Carrier Dome: Genesis, Pink Floyd, Sammy Hagar and Billy Joel. At Turning Stone (where I used to introduce all of the rock acts): George Thorogood, Steve Winwood, Todd Rundgren, Little Feat, The Outlaws, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Styx. I still have quite a collection of photos and ticket stubs. Great memories. Plus, we did many concert caravan bus trips with our listeners to see great concerts like The Stones in Buffalo, Pink Floyd in Toronto, and The Who in Glens Falls. For many years WOUR was an independent station. What transpired the changes to cor-
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porate? Corporate radio station owners were on the lookout for profitable stations that were solid with their listeners and their standing in the community, and WOUR fit the bill. I remember in one stretch of nine years through the ’80s and ’90s WOUR changed hands five times—Bunkfeldt, Devlin, Bendat, Dame Media, and Clear Channel.
I had the record for the longest continuous run as an afternoon rock jock at one particular station in the entire U.S.
What prompted all these changes? What are the pros and cons to being a corporate run radio station? We were lucky. The corporate bosses came in and, thankfully, they left us alone. At some other stations, they brought in their list of 100 hit songs to play and that was the new format. We avoided that by having great ratings numbers, a talented staff and programmers, and a great connection with the community. It wasn’t broken, didn’t need fixing, and they didn’t want to mess with success. We had great ratings and our age demographic was a very desirable one from a sales viewpoint. Our listeners were right in the middle of the prime 18- to 34-year-old demographic in the early days and they grew up with us to extend into 40- and 50-year-old consumers. While many men were listening, we had a good share of female listeners, too. Prime advertising targets for everything. Cars, furniture, travel, clothing, home improvements, you name it, and, oh yes, beer. We made a ton of money selling ads to the beer companies.
After you left WOUR, were there ever plans to start an Internet radio program? I was never involved in Internet radio. I never saw that as anything more than just a personal hobby, pretty much broadcasting to yourself. Not interested. You also were involved in The Stevens-Swan Humane Society. I know that has been a passion of yours for a long time.
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92.7 The Drive is your new radio home. It’s a return to independent radio and a staff of familiar names. How did this evolve and what are the goals for the station? I took five years off the airwaves with no desire to get back in. As far as radio work, I came, I saw, I had a great time. But I was fine working at the Humane Society. I did keep in touch with my friends Tom Starr, Alison, Genesee Joe, Dave Phoenix, Rick DeVoe, Jack Moran, and others who were part of my former radio crew. I opened the door to returning if I could keep it part time and bring in guests, get a bit deeper musically,
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I decided to leave WOUR in 2007 after climbing every mountain I wanted to in the local radio business. We had the best on-air programs, promotions, and co-workers. I actually was planning my exit strategy when word came out that new owners were coming in yet again. At that one point I had the record for the longest continuous run as an afternoon rock jock at one particular station in the entire U.S. at 30 years. I was ready for a change. Our radio competitors, Galaxy, took over, but I had no interest in working for them, so I took a severance package from Clear Channel and decided to take a break. After a little while, I was ready to go again and took the job at the Stevens-Swan Humane Society to help them out and, of course, I loved working to help the shelter animals every day. It was an interesting five years there as the Public Relations/ Development Director. You see the whole range of animal treatment: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Much of the abuse doesn’t get the media’s attention and it is heartbreaking. The workers there (and at shelters across the world) are heroes for dealing with what they do every day of the year. The good stories and pet adoption successes help to make up for the struggles. Shelter staffers bond strongly with the animals there. I stay in touch with the crew there. And my beagle, Dolly, is an alumnus.
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