#94wysp

[mcgruff708]

May just be my phone but couldn’t download here when transferred to app from KiddChris.net. I did get it there however. Was at that show super early and traded a beer for a shirt a dude caught next to me. KiddChristian for life.

[barbshd]

The winner Vinney Porrett! NEXT FRIDAY JANUARY 30th 94.1 will be holding the official WINGBOWL! barbshd is a sponsor at the event! #winner #wings #wingbowl #contest #94wysp #

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

So, Howard Stern Called Me Skippy

I've always been a big fan of Howard Stern. Even though I haven't listened in about five years (when he wasn't on at work, I just didn't have the time), there's no question his show is my favorite radio show of all time. 

After working at 94WYSP for the better part of 14 years, to have the opportunity to interview Stern on the air, on the last day of the station, on my final show was truly an honor. He is truly a radio hero and idol of mine. 

People have told me the interview was great, but I certainly attribute that to him. He was gracious and honest (at least it seemed), and it made for compelling radio. Howard Stern being compelling is nothing new. The best thing I did was let him talk, and speak as a fan.

The interview not only provided closure for him, but for me and for the station as well. It was over and done, and put to bed the right way. 

And then, today, I woke up. 

I saw a few tweets telling me that Stern was talking about me (NO WAY!). I found out from them (and later Lisa G from Howard 100 News), that he didn't remember my name, and called me "Skippy." I laughed. Somehow I think Howard's got a Google alert on his name and read mine several times. That's just what Howard does. I've laughed at him do it to other people hundreds of times. 

After listening to the segment (someone put it on sendspace, you can download it here), he also questioned my decision on how to proceed with my career saying that "if you're not getting paid, you're not in the industry." He went on to say that to blog and podcast was a horrible idea and likened it to biking around the world (something a Stern show staff member quit to do).

At this point please take note that I have a) interviewed Howard Stern and b) been talked about on Howard Stern and c) appeared on Howard 100 News in the last week. It's been a good week. 

Please also note that he criticized me for not immediately jumping back into the industry that he proclaimed dead and buried. 

Though Howard and I did spend an intense 45-50 seconds discussion my future endeavors, I think I should clarify what I meant and what I'm doing.

I've been lucky enough to spend almost all of my career doing something that I find inspiring. The fact that I got paid to do it makes me lucky and was an absolutely thrill. 

Toward the end of my run at 94WYSP, I found the job itself to be a little less inspiring, and found myself pursuing other things like writing, sports talk podcasts, and local music to stay engaged mentally. 

When WYSP came to an end, it was sad for me that the station wasn't going to be there, but a bit of relief for me personally, as I wouldn't have to decide to leave. The decision was made for me. 

I don't want to write and podcast because I feel like it's going to make me enough money to live off of (though Adam Carolla seems to make it work). That's not the plan. I'd love to get a chance to do sports talk radio or music radio that I find exciting (though the music chances are few and far between), for a real radio station. Or to write for a real, live media outlet. 

If someone calls and says "hey, we want you to write and talk for us," I'll be quite confident that I can do it.

I want to write and podcast because I've been doing it for years under the umbrella of 94WYSP, and I think it's about time people associate the things I write and say with me and only me. God bless Danny Bonaduce, but it's kind of hard to think about what I've written when his face is smiling above the words on the screen. 

Most of all I want to write and podcast because it inspires me and makes my brain work. I'm doing it because I'm good at it and I enjoy it. I'm not on a hippie mission to follow Phish and pick apples, I've just got a little free time. 

Isn't this Howard Stern we're talking about? The Howard Stern I grew up listening to believed in himself, and did it his way until everyone else conformed. And when they stopped conforming, he went and did it somewhere else. Going and doing a job somewhere that I don't believe in seems like the least Howard Stern-like thing I could do.

Besides, if he had asked me what else I was going to do, he'd have found out about all the XBox I'm going to play and that I'm going to watch every episode of Mad Men. 

[barbshd]

They are feeling full! Keep shoving them in guys! #wings #barbshd #contest #94wysp

[barbshd]

Al Morganti and Bella are ready to judge to see who downs the most wings! #barbshd #wings #94wysp #wingbowl

[barbshd]

The contestants are ready and hungry! #pjwelihans #wings #contest #94wysp (at Barbs Harley-Davidson)

[barbshd]

The crowd is ready!!! Wing destruction is about to go down! #wingbowl #94wysp #wings #pjwelihans (at Barbs Harley-Davidson)

[barbshd]

The Wings are here the contest is almost ready. Still time to get in contest. Thanks to PJ Whelihan's for providing the awesome wings. #wingbowl #94wysp #wings #contest (at Barbs Harley-Davidson)

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

I was on Howard 100 News this morning with Lisa G. 

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

The day Howard Stern called into my show. 

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

My Final Hour Of Music On 94WYSP

I had about two weeks to say goodbye to 94WYSP, so I played a lot of what I wanted to play before the final day.

I thought my last hour of music on YSP should be reflective of me, but not stray too far to what the station has come to mean for so many people. I also wanted a lot of the songs to speak the time and the mood. 

Today was about a lot more than music, and it was a pretty amazing day. I'll have some thoughts on that soon, but until then, the music:

1. Metallica - Don't Tread On Me

2. Alice In Chains - Brother

3. The Black Crowes - Descending

4. Against Me - New Wave

5. Nirvana - Serve The Servants

6. Blind Melon - Change

7. Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have

8. Skid Row - Slave To The Grind

9. Silverchair - Straight Lines

10. Boyz II Men - It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

11. Marvelous 3 - Radio Tokyo

12. Octane - I For One

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

Loud And Local Goes Out With A Bang

The final Loud and Local on 94WYSP was last night, and it was more fun than I could have imagined. We went just a little long. Well, we went until 11:30 (started at 9:00), so we went a little longer than a little long.

Thank you to the bands who were part of the show last night, and have been part of the show for the two years I've been doing it. In addition to the bands who were part of it for the last decade and a half. 

I enjoy every minute I get to spend on the radio, but the sixty of them per week I spent doing the show are special. Saying something is "all about the music" is cliche, but is rarely true. Loud and Local was all about the music. Thank you.

I got an email from a member of a band who was here last night that said the following:

A lot of the 'local' features on radio stations have an impersonal feel.  It's like the DJ's don't know the band's songs or really care about them.  It feels like an obligation they are fulfilling, in my opinion.  It never felt that way when talking to you or listening to the show.  It always came across that you are/were a real fan of the bands you are playing and are actually very familiar with the music of the bands.  That is a special thing, I think, for both the bands that you are playing (it feels good to know that a radio DJ is genuinely listening,genuinely paying attention, and genuinely digging what you are doing) and I think that fans of the show can also hear that and it helps them make a connection to the bands.

That's pretty much the best compliment I or the show could ever receive. Also, I used that email without permission. Sorry dude. 

I intend to do anything I can to continue working with Philly bands, and will for sure keep you updated on any progress in that respect. 

I will put the video and audio from the farewell shows right here on spikeeskin.com in a couple of weeks. 

Thank you to the bands:

Brian Bortnick - who made me sing and knew he would make me sing all along. 

Desoto Jones - Your first Loud and Local was the last Loud and Local. Way to make an entrance.

Paintbox - The Paintbox from Japan has nothing on you guys.

Brian Hannon - Bro, we're gonna eat so much ramen together. 

The Better Half - A great band, and even better guys. 

The Bailey Hounds - An acoustic cover of "The Great Southern Trendkill?" Amazing. I want to keep doing a local music show just so I can continue to play your band.

City Line - Kudos for being brave enough to play first, even though I didn't give you much of a choice.

Terrible Things - The first ever giant, group sing-along in Loud and Local history. I was proud to be a part of it. 

The Fleeting Ends - You better be serious about giving me those +1's guys. 

Brian Cassidy - I'm not entirely sure if anyone listening loved the loud electric guitar coming in and out of commercials, but I did, and it's my show. You are rock n' roll dude, thank you a ton. 

The Nitty Gritty - Hahahahaha. 

And thank you to the people:

Valerie - For being a great photographer and the best girl. 

Bernadette - If I ever had a doubt as to whether I wanted to do Loud and Local every week, you erased it. Thanks for your passion.

Tito - What a co-host!

Taz - YSP to the core. One of the best dudes I've ever met. 

Michelle - For getting all that water. 

Rock Hard - For working extra on two consecutive Sunday nights, just because I asked. 

[spikeeskin-blog-blog]

Rock Isn't Dead, Just Rock Radio

With last week's announcement that 94WYSP would be no more, I heard the rumblings again. 

More proof that rock is dead!

Nah, not true.

Rock isn't dead. Rock radio is dead. Rock radio is dead because rock n' roll killed it. Like a coup of an evil dictator, rock n' roll has stepped in and made corporate rock radio step down from their post as representative of its music. 

The music I hear and the people who listen to it assure me that there is good rock music being made and consumed every single day. The local music show I hosted for two years on 'YSP and the bands who sent me their music, they're pretty sure that rock is alive. If you listen closely, and to the lower numbers on the radio dial, you can hear radio run by people who say rock is still alive.

I'd even venture to say there's more rock music being made and listened to now than in any point in my life. It just doesn't want big companies telling it what to do anymore. 

Rock was never about rules, never about genres and classifications, and certainly never about shutting up and being told what to do. So when big companies decided to homogenize playlists, keep the DJ's quiet, and concentrate on the old guys, rock and roll decided to grow wider, bigger and younger. 

I don't blame big radio companies for doing what they did. They've got to make money, and as the Internet grew, it became harder and harder to make money with rock music. Rock fans didn't all like the same thing anymore, there was no consensus.

First, rock n' roll told MTV to get lost, go make silly reality shows. It took a little longer with radio, but it finally got there.

It's harder to make money with rock music overall these days, but maybe that's all part of rock n' roll's plan. It was never supposed to be about the money anyway. 

Rock n' roll didn't want to be told how to look or sound anymore. It tried to tell us that it once looked like the Beatles and Elvis, and then it looked like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, then it looked like Ratt and Poison, and then side stepped and looked like Duran Duran. It looked like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

It changed so much to assure us that rock n’ roll wasn’t supposed to look like anything. We wouldn’t listen, so it changed so much and looks like so many things that we can’t even figure out what it looks like.

Rock is not dead. Rock is alive and well and stronger than ever. And rock is just not going to take our shit any longer.

Long live rock.