Thank You For 30 Years Of Rockin’ With Me At WRIF…More To Come – Meltdown

It's hard to believe, but November 1st marks my 30th anniversary at WRIF. Three decades have flown by. From overnights, to 7 - midnight, then afternoon drive, where I've been since February of 2009.

Let me take you back to October of 1995. After losing my job in June of that year, I thought I'd get the call to join another station pretty quickly. That didn't happen. Days turned into weeks, into months. By the fall, I had a job, sort of, lined up in mid-state New York. As I write this, I can't recall what it was about that gig, but I wasn't thrilled with it and didn't accept right away. It's a good thing.....

That fall, I was starting to think that I might have to do something else. Maybe radio wasn't in my future. That's when I got the call to come to Detroit. I wasn't doing anything else, so why not? I was hired mid-October, and they asked me when I'd like to start. I thought November 1st was a nice round date, so that's what I picked. That gave me a couple of weeks to straighten out some things back home and find a new one in Michigan.

My dad told me to "Give it 6 months. If it doesn't work out, you can always come back and sleep on the couch." Man, I'd say it worked out.

I recall driving to the station on Halloween night, listening to a CB I had in my truck. I remember a truck driver voiced his displeasure that the city wasn't one fire.

My first break was around 2:10 a.m. Yes, I was hired to do 2 AM - 5:30 AM. I talked out of the Alice Cooper song Elected, but I can't remember what song I talked into. Man, I was fired up! I hadn't been on the air in 5 months...I was ready to go!

After a few months, night jock Mark Thompson left the station, and they restructured our hours. I was bumped up to Midnight to 5:30 AM. That would last for a couple of years before I was moved to 7 PM - Midnight. That's where I stayed until February of 2009, when I slid into the afternoon drive shift. Not an easy task considering a legend, Arthur P., had held that slot for almost 4 decades. I'll be honest, it took me a couple of years to feel like that was my shift. To his credit, Art has always been very supportive of me, and I appreciate that. It's insane to think that The RIFF turns 55 next year, and he and I are the only ones who've done afternoon drive! Crazy!

One of the things I'm really proud of is my podcast and all the interviews I've done. I started my podcast around 2013 or thereabouts, with the goal of doing one interview a week. That's turned into about 120-140 interviews a year. My first interview was a favor I called in from my friend, Chris Henderson from 3 Doors Down. After that, it took off.

I've talked with almost anyone you can think of. The craziest interview I did came in the fall of 2016. I was interviewing David Lee Roth. Talking with him is like herding cats. You have to keep reeling him back in. I just threw out this question: "Are you bummed you couldn't tour with Van Halen this past summer?" He went on to talk about how Van Halen was finished as you know it, and that he's taken over the band de facto. That comment earned my little podcast a story on Rolling Stone about three hours later!

I love interviewing the bands. I've made some life-long friends with some of these guys. I have two things I try to accomplish while talking with them: 1, to get good content for the listener, and 2, to make them look good. My goal is not to ambush anyone or to feed them dumb questions.

When I first came here, all I really knew about was the Big 3. I'm an American car guy, so I couldn't have been happier. Then I get here and discover that this is where the cool music comes from, too. Nugent, Cooper, Seger, and so on. Since I've been here, it's been Kid Rock, Eminem, The White Stripes, I Prevail, Sponge, and more.

Total honesty - I've had SEVERAL artists over the years tell me, on and off the air, how much they enjoy playing Detroit. Almost always unprompted. The grit and grind of the working hard, playing hard fans make this city the perfect storm for people who love to let loose.

I came here with a mattress, a dog, a Harley, and a pickup truck. They're all gone, replaced with other dogs, more mattresses, bigger TVs, kids, a house, and more Harley-Davidsons.

I've made life-long friends. I've done things I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. I could go on and on about how the last 30 years have exceeded my expectations.

I first have to thank my coworkers. I was going to list them all, but I know I'd miss some and they'd be pissed. So this is a blanket Thank You! I've had the privilege to work with some of radio's best! You know who they are.

Thank you to all the listeners who've listened, whom I've met, who have shared their rock stories with me (don't get me started talkin' rock in a bar..LOL), who've interacted with me on social media (which wasn't around when I started), who welcomed me with open arms.

When I'm in Buffalo, or here in Detroit, I get asked the same question: What's Buffalo/Detroit like? They're the same city, but one is twice the size. I think that's part of the reason it didn't take me long to acclimate. Even though I grew up 300 miles away, I share a lot in common with those who grew up in the D.

Like my bio on socials says - I was born in Buffalo, but Made In Detroit. That's the truth!

Thanks You for 30 incredible years...more to come.