voices from the past...
 In the radio industry, an air-check is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or radio disk jockey to a prospective future employers. A scoped air-check contains only segments where the announcer is actually talking. An un-scoped air-check is simply where all programming is left intact, including music, commercials, newscasts, or whatever happened to be on the air at the time the recording was made. (Definition lifted from the Wikipeida)
 Having worked in radio of many many years, I have boxes full of nasty old cassette tapes and even (showing my age now) reels of air-checks. Clearly these are things that are best transferred to electronic media since who even has a reel-to-reel player anymore?
 WAYY 1150 AM - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
(Circa 1981)
A day-time only AM radio station that had a Big Band Format. How's that for a first gig? Technically, the format was called "Music of your life" and it is still around. I worked weekends for a while, then I worked the afternoon news block from 4 till we went off the air. It was a good first gig. I am still looking for a tape, I probably have one somewhere. I am actually kinda afraid to find it, could be pretty brutal.
>> Currently Not Available
 WOLK 1050 AM- Eau Claire, Wisconsin
(Circa 1984)
Your basic full service AM from the late 70's and early 80's. Lots of chatter, lots of "Personality", lots of plates spinning. "Jim" Drake at the controls of the “Niffy-Ten-Fifty”. We always had something going on, never a dull day.
>> WOKL Aircheck (WMA Stream)
>> WOKL Aircheck (3.9 MB - MP3)
 WDXR 1450 AM - Paducah, Kentucky
(Circa 1885)
This was another Music of your Life station. But we also did a TON of sports, like local football and baseball coverage and Cardinals baseball and other fun stuff. I worked the Mid-day shift so I heard many many many baseball games. I even had the (good?) fortune of being drafted to do the live radio coverage of the local high school football and baseball teams. Go Blue Tornados!
>> Currently Unavailable
 KHFO 98.1 FM - Memphis, Tennessee
(Circa 1986)
Hard core classic rock. We played 500 songs. Songs that I personally decided were classic rock. When we changed formats, I played a 3 month commercial free music jam... that made for some pretty kick ass sweepers .... "Your in the middle of a 3 month commercial free music marathon... crank it up so everyone knows you know how to rock!"
Fun stuff.
>> Rock 98 Aircheck (WMA Stream)
>> Rock 98 Aircheck (14.1 MB - MP3)
 WAAW 103.7 FM - Murray, Kentucky
(Circa 1986)
This was a start up station, and I was added to the staff to give it that professional punch (whatever that means!).
Creepy concoction of album type rock with some really weird eclectic track selection. I worked mornings and was there for a couple months... My main memory was that we played a lot of actual vinyl albums, and they skipped... NIGHTMARE! Especially when you are in the restroom getting rid of coffee....
>> WAAW Aircheck (WMA Stream)
>> WAAW Aircheck (2.5 MB - MP3)
 WISM AM 1050 - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
(Circa 1986)
This station was a real hold over or throw back to the classic top 40 stations of the 70's and early 80's with all all too cool puker jocks that talked over the music. What made it even more of a throw-back (or an artifact) was that it was an AM station that was still playing music. And the DJ's were seldom penalized for breaking the format, so you could really make the show your own. Hell, we actually played records! All in all, I was glad that I was able to work in this environment, because it is long gone now, replaced by cue card reading computer jocks.
>> WISM Aricheck (WMA Stream)
>> WISM Aircheck (4.8 MB - MP3)
 WMAD 92.1 FM - Madison, Wisconsin
(Circa 1987-90)
What can I say? This was a totally awesome radio station. Pretty much a pioneer in what is now commonly called the AAA format. We were called Alternative at that time, and we were definitely alternative... most of the people that worked there did so out of a true love of radio and what we were doing, cuz god knows the payroll checks bounced often enough!
>> Currently Unavailable
WJJO 94.1 FM - Madison, Wisconsin
(Circa 1991-93)
Actually a bit more refined attempt at the AAA format. Little bit less eclectic and more adult. A little bit less hard then what we did on WMAD. The approach was more to take a classic rock/adult contemporary station and sprinkle in some new stuff. The kind of station that you could leave on at work and not offend your people, but would not put you right to sleep. Challenging. Which is why this station is now the hard rocker that it is....
>> WJJO Aircheck (9 MB - MP3)
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The wait is finally over... the new boat is here, and it actually floats. When it is not going really fast...
Here are a few pictures from my birthday this year... I like to keep it low key.
It's cold up here, what are we supposed to do when the temp gets up to zero? We go a little goofy...
Lots of festive action in the northwoods. Turkey and cookies. Presents and goodwill towards men. Still working on the peace on earth thing, but I think we have a shot!
Try to imagine a place better then the north shore of a tropical island paradise... Does your brain hurt? It should.
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