Page 25 - the NOISE November 2013

For Amy & Derrick Ross, RIP
the people who made KWHY possible, especially all the folks at that house, them Dragons boys, Greco, and Dan. Thanks to all the other DJs; had I lived within range I would’ve listened to every show I could. Thanks finally to my imaginary listener (a twelve year old girl in Virginia, some- how) who heard all of my shows and loved ev- ery second. I got to fly my freak flag high.
Thanks, DJ Heckno
Thinking about the end got me thinking about the beginning. My first broadcast was with my close friend, DJ Dr. Peter Venkman. We called our show “after the rapture.” (That first night we were DJ farmboy and DJ dread pirate roberts). It was a show to celebrate our love of rap music. The last song we played that night was “I’m Outta Here” by Diamond D. A few days later was the first shutdown of KWHY (if memory serves, due to a few incidents including when some guys whom no one knew walked by the house and said something along the lines of
“that’s the radio house.” Paranoia took over...the radio took a break).
We waited. We felt such a rush doing that first show. We wanted more.
When KWHY started up again we were back at it. We brought in another good friend as DJ Ray. Together we drank beers, played rap music, watched movies on mute, and talked about all the things going on in our lives (occasionally having that quick rush of panic when forget- ting to turn down the talkback mic). There were moments when each one of us accidentally said our real names on air due to inebriation or dis- traction (the movie Secretary got me). We had guest hosts, played requests, tried to spin as much vinyl as possible, always improvised our set, and kept a detailed record of every song played on air. We shared the gift of music with each other (as well as an interesting moment on Chatroulette). On those nights, during those shows, we were truly together and we did the best we could to spread our love of rap music to everyone who was listening (shout out to the Del Taco crew!)
DJ Dr. Peter Venkman moved to Colorado after a couple years. DJ Ray and I continued do- ing our own shows. I always enjoyed playing the music I wanted to hear, not knowing if anyone was listening, and not caring. However, those nights with my boyz DJ Dr. Peter Venkman and
DJ Ray will never be forgotten. Life was great af- ter the rapture.
I’m outta here, DJ Egon
Four years. Who woulda thunk it. KWHY had a damn good run, lasting longer than I expected. Being the host of The Happy Fun Time Radio Show it was a blast putting together a strange mélange of musical weirdness. My main goal was to play music that normally would not be heard on the “public” airwaves. My musical fetishes lay bare for all to hear. Italian movie music, punk rock women, pirate metal, bizarre covers, TV and movie themes, industrial, lounge music, the 17 second Rick Rolls, celtic metal, 70’s funk & soul, the Hour of Slack, etc. If you ever heard any of the 57 Happy Fun Time Radio Shows you know what I’m talking about.
I will miss putting these aural assaults to- gether. Deciding what cover should be played with the original, where should the Rick roll should go, what instrumental should start and finish. There were a few themed shows that I am particularly proud of: the Chumbawamba, Frank Zappa, 1986, and the Love shows. I would to thank all those who did listen to The Happy Fun Time Radio Show and I’m gonna leave you with one last word, not sure when you’ll read this maybe tomorrow, yesterday, next week, 23 years from now: Tootle Loo.
Platypus Figjam signing off.
My last song was “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles. DJ Heckno’s was “Rip Off” by T. Rex. DJ Jacob J’s was “Cancer” by Meat Beat Manifesto. When the cord got yanked on Sat- urday afternoon, DJ F5 was playing “Dance Little Sister” by the Rolling Stones.
While cruising to the store the day after my final show, I flipped the car radio to 106.9 and hit “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It” by The Mothers Of Invention. On the way home it was something by Sleater-Kinney. They both sounded fantastic. Those were the last things I heard on KWHY.
Thanks to everyone for all your support. We had a blast, hope you did too. This is DJ Tony BallZ, signing off.
And from the entire KWHY staff, good night.
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