Alternative Famous Firsts
Lynn Barstow
Program Director
KROX (101X)/Austin
Callout research/programming grunt at KTKS Dallas-Ft Worth.
Springsteen 12/8/78 (E-Street Radio on SXM was playing it just last night!). My big sis took me. She hated it, but she hung in there.
I dabbled in both Country and shitty 8-Tracks as a kid, but the first vinyl rock record was Utopia’s Adventures In Utopia (first purchased CD was Queensryche’s Empires, but you didn’t ask that LOL).
Book Of Love, Rio Grande Valley, TX.
It may not have been the first, but the most memorable early one: Night #1, overnights at KKYS Bryan-College Station, TX. The radio station was in a mall, and during a song, I ran outside through a set of unlocked double doors to grab something from the car. I came back to “the doors” immediately & found them locked. Completely distraught, I started thinking about what I’d do for my next career, before realizing that I’d come out a different set of double-doors. Got back to the studio to a turntable thumping along at the end of a 45 record. No one ever knew.
Sophia John
PD
KIWR (89.7 The River)/Omaha
KTGL, 92.9 The Eagle, Classic Rock in Lincoln, NE. I worked overnights and the first song I played at 11:56pm was Carly Simon “You’re So Vain”. Second song I played at 12 midnight was, Carly Simon “You’re So Vain”! I wasn’t about to go off the log, it was my first gig!
INXS (Original Sin Tour) It was like a movie, there was smoke all over the room and INXS was everything you could ever dream them up to be. It was a perfect first show.
(New Order/Low-Life) Ok, I need to confess, my first record purchased was Eddie Grant’s “Romancing The Stone”, but that isn’t as cool as New Order which was actually my fourth purchase!
Live -Ed Kowalczyk made it a point to correct me when I said “The Live”…there is no “The” in the band’s name. I’ve never done that with another band since!
Too long ago for me to remember. Is that a good thing?!
Alex Mac
Evening Host
WWDC (DC101)/Washington, D.C.
I started as an intern at WRXL in Richmond, VA knowing nothing about radio - just a huge music fan. I worked under Dustin (the artist formerly known as “Fletcher”) Matthews, and look what happened! The band is back together at DC101.
I remember seeing ZZ Top with my dad when I was super young, but the show that I saved up for with my first job, ice cream scooping money was My Chemical Romance with MUSE as the opening act at William & Mary in 2007 - which totally tracks.
I bought Led Zeppelin III on cassette at a flea market because I thought the cover was cool. I remember playing it in my mom's minivan just being blown away hearing the “Immigrant Song” for the first time.
Oof it was Glass Animals at the National in Richmond, VA. I was only a month or two into my first gig doing nights on WRXL, and let's just say it was not my best work... Nice guys though!
Most recently, I turned the board over for my first live shift on DC101, and the station went off IMMEDIATELY. Dustin, Tamo, if you're reading this - I swear it wasn't my fault!
