Ep. 30: Lauren Michaels An episode one year in the making and a new show for the first time in six months. We may not be back to regularly scheduled episodes, but we’re happy to share this with you. Laurie Amos-Fox joins Rick Schmidt and I for a nostalgic look back at her time at 104, her radio story and where it led her.
Tim Bajkiewicz was one of WRUF's five tool players, and his experience in Gainesville took him on a slightly different route than most of our guests: he became a university professor! Tim joins Spano and Dan to discuss how he made the most of his time at WRUF and how he's sharing what he learned with the next generation of radio and communications professionals.
PSAs, AM and FM on-air, and... Soviet and East European Studies? One-of-a-kind WRUF alumni Maureen Donaghy did a little bit of everything at the station, including organizing a huge Earth Day event that included an exclusive interview with Gainesville's favorite son.
Rick Gangi arrived at ROCK104 in 1987, left, and came back for more in the early 90s. Dan and Spano speak with Rick about his coast-to-coast career in radio, which has been firmly established in NYC for over twenty years. Rick also shares a story about the best parting gift from WRUF that we've heard yet.
On-air talent, Promotions Manager, and Harry Guscott clone, Joey Mazzaferro, or "Lil Gus", made the most of his four years at WRUF. He's now approaching his thirtieth year in Gainesville, once again working for UF. Dan and Spano catch up with their former colleague, and in Dan's case, his former middle school classmate.
Spano and Dan take a trip down memory lane with our old APD and good friend Alex Miniak. Alex did a little bit of everything at WRUF before his radio career took him to New England, but he ultimately settled down in California for a career with Major League Baseball.
What happens when you're one of the original 104 jocks and a station in Gainesville hires you away? Harsha Ramayya fills us in on that and more. A long career in radio began during the very early days of ROCK104 and Harsha tells us about the excitement in town that surrounded the fledgling station... at a time when Zeppelin didn't fit the format. GASP!
Mark Therrien, Mark T, Mark Steele, Jonny Pots ‘n’ Pans… the man of many names! Mark stops by to talk about his early radio influences, working radio and tv jobs at UF, and a long career in TV production.
Dave's time at WRUF wasn't quite as long as some, but that didn't stop him from securing a Monday-Friday slot and using his airchecks and experience to land a spot at one of South Florida's top rock stations and a career producing material for Miami's pro sports teams.
Monica Rix stops by for a conversation on overcoming immediate negative feedback in the WRUF hallway (before she'd ever stepped foot in Harry's office) to winning the Red Barber Award, covering top news stories for TV and radio, and settling in as a national news reporter in New York City. Also: arm wrestling at remotes (she didn't) and receiving jail mail (she did.)
From prospective journalism student to Music Director to aviation photographer. Matt Scafidi (Matt Irons on-air) continued his radio career after leaving ROCK104. He shares with us his WRUF experience and what he's been up to since his days in Weimer Hall.
Part Two of our interview with Rich Fields, who shares the details of the recurrence of his health problems after leaving Gainesville and the interview process for The Price is Right.
Part One of our interview with Rich Fields, who was one of the inaugural student staff members of ROCK104. Rich overcame incredible odds, starting with securing an on-air role at the new FM station, on the way to becoming the announcer for The Price is Right.
A Gainesville native, Drew Copeland literally grew up listening to ROCK104 and eventually had his band's music played on the station. Drew joins us this week to talk about the mid-90s music scene in Gainesville, hearing Sister Hazel's breakthrough song on American Top 40, playing to a massive hometown crowd at Gator Growl, and more.
Before he was a South Florida radio legend and a UF CJC Hall of Famer, Paul Castronovo was just like everyone else... he had to work the overnight shifts at 104 and run the board on AM 850. Paul talks to us about his quick move to mornings at 104, taking early career lumps, moving from one SEC town to another, and the early days of his morning show in South Florida.
Tim Reed, who went by Jason Alexander on-air (but didn't appear on Seinfeld), chats with Spano and Dan about the (relatively) early days of ROCK104 when Bryan Adams and Huey Lewis were in rotation, the truth behind the top five most requested songs, and his We Rock Cancer organization and the importance of skin cancer screenings.
Billy Berrios joins Dan and Spano to talk about his career journey, from WRUF to Paramount, with a stop as a sorority house busboy in between. WRUF on-air talent, Music Director, and local show host... Wild Bill made the most of his time at ROCK104.
Bus chaperoning to Monsters of Rock and stories about obsessed listeners are just a couple of the topics we get into with Brian Singer, or Brian Jordan when on-air in the late 80s. Brian eventually found his way to California, and we also get to hear about his time working with the three-peat L.A. Lakers.
A supersized DTTG with Mike Killabrew (Mike Mondell IRL) as the three of us take a trip down memory lane to talk about our time together at ROCK104. Mike also talks to us about early struggles at WRUF and finding stability in the instable world of a career in radio.
This week we're joined by Jack Wich, who was on-air talent while he was still in high school, which sounds much more interesting than stocking shelves at Publix. Jack shares how wanting to give more to the listeners led to interviews with well-known artists (Slash!), showed off some sweet material he got from WRUF when 104 changed formats, and how he incorporates radio into the professional world of craft breweries.
Spano goes solo this week and speaks with Sid Kafka, who spent time at multiple stations inside Weimer Hall, including ROCK104. Sid also shares stories about working behind the scenes on a few Gator television productions, being on a first name basis with Steve Spurrier, and old vs new Metallica.
Sean made a big splash early at WRUF - literally! - on a remote, proving he was willing to do anything to move up at the station. That determination has continued through his career, which has seen him work on both coasts and multiple stops in the midwest, where he's currently on-air and behind the scenes in Detroit.
Yeosh joins us for a wide-ranging talk on his time at WRUF, which included working in AM, FM, on-air, promotions, and Wal-Mart! Plus, we chat about where he is now, and how he may be the only former staffer who still works (outside UF) with a WRUF colleague.
A delightful conversation with Eden Kendall and Tim Reasoner, each four-year veterans of WRUF's "Eddie Money Era." Although they took separate career paths, Eden and Tim have an interesting story that has kept them connected since their days in Gainesville, plus a fun look back at their roles and responsibilities at ROCK104.
Rick joins Spano and Dan to discuss his career, which actually began in Arizona before he was a Gator.
Spano's off this week, so Dan has a one-on-one chat with Joel Haberli, who arrived at WRUF in 1984 as its new Continuity Director. Joel spent four years in Gainesville, before ultimately moving from behind the mic to in front of the camera.
Television's loss was radio's gain... Jeff Worthington now has over twenty-five years in radio. Dan and Spano catch up with the original 850 In the Morning host and we even get into a bit of group therapy about our recurring nightmares.
Radio, voicework, commercials, TV, and an upcoming film... Brad Abrell has accomplished quite a bit since his time in Gainesville. But, everyone starts somewhere, and like many of us, Brad spent a few impactful years at WRUF. On this episode, he shares some of his stories with Spano and Dan.
Gainesville native Jason Burns (Jason Hines IRL) joins Dan and Spano to share a couple remote horror stories, talk about touring the country after leaving UF, and how he became known as "Roach."
WRUF was our SNL… we all have stories from our experience there and it’s time to share them. Each episode, we will talk to someone associated with the radio station and hear how working at WRUF impacted their life.
