My buddy and former radio co-worker John has been going through the tapes he recorded of his shows, making videos of them with photos from the stations he worked and posting them on Facebook. It inspired me to do one of my own. The aircheck in this video is from Sunday, June 24, 1994. I was about two months away from leaving Terre Haute and radio forever. I was all of 26 years old, and I was at the top of my game. I found a couple photos taken of me while I was on the air and added one I took of the logo from a station jacket I still have, and stitched them together with the audio in Windows Movie Maker.
A few things you’ll hear:
- Me talking, but only the beginnings and ends of songs. This is called a “telescoped aircheck” in the radio business. A tape deck in the studio was set to automatically record the station’s output whenever the microphone was turned on. After my shift, I’d listen to my aircheck and look for ways to improve. My boss would sometimes listen too, and give me pointers.
- Me tripping over my tongue a couple times. D’oh!
- Me giving the legal ID as “WZZQ WBFX Terre Haute.” WZZQ simulcasted on WBFX, an AM station at 1230, in those days. I started my pro radio career on that AM station when it was WBOW and had its own programming.
- Me talking about how some bands were starting to offer some of their songs for download on the Internet. Yes kiddies, this was brand new in 1994. iTunes was still years away.
If you dug this and are just dying to hear more, hightail it to this post where you can hear me on all the stations for which I ever worked.
