Alternative Famous Firsts
Zack Skyler
Programming Assistant
ALT 99.5 and 102.3 WGBJ/Fort Wayne, IN
My first full time job was at CHR WDJB (B-106) in Fort Wayne. I hosted middays and this was just prior to Nirvana hitting. We had a weekend show called On The Edge, which we did ourselves featuring alternative. John O’Rourke and Trey Alexander made me the producer of the show. It was great fun! What made my time with the Killer Bee so special was the staff I worked with, John O was PD, Trey was the MD and went on to MTV, E!, Fandango and other places and still lives in LA, Phlash Phelps was a master and is now on Sirius XM and Timmy V, better known in ALT circles as Tim Virgin.
First rock concert would have been when I was in elementary school and it was the Stray Cats. They blew my mind! Just prior to the Stray Cats, I saw this little country artist named Dolly Parton and she was spectacular.
The first single I purchased was I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and my first album was The Police.
My first artist interview was Firehouse. I’m still friends with Bill from the band to this day.
I don’t remember my first dead air experience, but I had it happen a couple of times prior to automation. Weird story, we always want more money and ways to get it, so I told management that we should have our dead air sponsored by a funeral home. It was a joke, but the funeral home bought a schedule. We didn’t have intentional dead air, but had fun in promos talking about any dead air you hear is laid to rest by so and so.
Andy Hawk
Regional Brand Manager
KKDO (ALT 94.7)/Sacramento & KVIL (ALT 103.7)/Dallas
I learned radio in college as an intern at 91X/San Diego. The day after I graduated, I moved to Phoenix for a weekend shift at KEDJ, showed up everyday and got hired on fulltime.
In the 6th grade I saw MC Hammer with En Vogue as the opener. I was really bummed Vanilla Ice had canceled that night. Thank God for Nirvana.
Beastie Boys - License To Ill
I loved this band in college called Common Sense. I still listen to this So-Cal reggae rock band today.
There were so many at both KEDJ, and KWOD. Those old school Denon were the dumbest thing any of us ever dealt with. I remember 1 night only having 1 working jewel case and having to play long enough imaging to switch the songs or do a talk break at the same time. Yeah that did not go well. I still have nightmares about dead air all these years later. I like now that it's totally an engineering issue.
Eddie Ybarra
MD
WFZZ Wisconsin's Alternative 104.3 The Fuse. Green Bay, WI.
I did all things promotions as a street team member at The Eighties Channel 103.1 WXXY in Chicago. Back in 2000
Spanish Alt Rock Band Cafe Tacvba at the Hawthorne Race Track Chicago back in 1994 or 1995
He's the DJ I'm The Rapper - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince on a white cassette. Bought it at a Kmart when I was 10.
Bowling For Soup February of 2005 before their show at the Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont.
It was brutal. It was 2001. WXXY just flipped to Spanish AC and I was doing a 6p-Midnight shift. We had Enco Automation for spots and I was told horror stories about the software locking up. Time came for my first stop set and it locked up. I had no clue how to reboot it. It took me like 20 seconds to realize I should just play more music and page engineering. Luckily, all music was still on CDs.
