5 Years Ago the Music Died

Nice story in the Boston Magazine today on the 5th anniversary of WBCN's last day on the air. You can always listen to Free Form WBCN on line or on HD radio 100.7 HD-3  in Boston.

"On August 11, 2009—following a weeklong farewell from many of the station’s past contributors—WBCN died to the strains of Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.”'

See the full article here:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/07/29/wbcn-oral-history/

WFNX-FM Is Latest Casualty On Boston Airwaves

By Bruce Kettelle

On a snowy Saturday morning in 1984 I was invited to the WFNX-FM studios as a guest DJ. There was no training, just show up, sit down, figure out the board and start spinning vinyl. There was no posted rotation of songs, no hot song of the week that must be played, no pile of records in the studio you had to play during your show. It was totally free form.

I had brought along a few of my own records and browsed the adjoining extensive library and put together what i hoped would be an interesting assortment of what I was calling modern rock music. I wish I had saved a copy of my playlist that day. So many great songs, so little time in those short four hours. 

I had another job at the time and I spent a lot of time on planes crisscrossing the country to consult with customers. I carried a Walkman with FM and made a point of listening to FM radio everywhere I went. Rarely was I satisfied with what I heard and I never stumbled onto a commercial station that came close to what the was the WFNX experience.

About an hour into the show the phones started to ring. The first call was an old friend I had worked with at the Ski Market on Comm Av. We had lost touch for 5 years and we had a nice chat. I was having so much fun being back on the air I almost forgot this little dynamic station in Revere had a pretty large listenership of faithful fans.

Other listeners called to ask about songs I played or making a request. The time went too quickly and the 2pm jock had just showed up and my little taste of airtime on WFNX was over.

Fast forward twenty years and as of yesterday it is over for WFNX. It seems like yesterday the station played their first new wave and punk tunes and time has slipped by to the end of their show. (At least on FM, they will continue in some form on the internet.)

A new owner of the station has other ideas. That is their prerogative. It is Boston's loss. In this age of maximizing profit few seem willing to run a station with a small comfortable profit to keep us entertained and informed on the cutting edge sounds of the day as well as WFNX did for 29 years.

I played a very small part in its history and wish I could have contributed more. But so have countless others that graced their airwaves. My hat is off this morning to each and every one that put the music first on WFNX-FM to make it a part of the Boston and national fabric.

There is a short story from the Boston Phoenix this morning which includes a recording of the last hour.

Movie About WBCN's Early Days

Some of the station founders are collaborating on a WBCN documentary movie project. You can see a brief trailer and help get the project off the ground by visiting

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lcmedia/the-american-revolution

Meanwhile Carter Alan is nearing the finish line on his book covering the entire history of WBCN. We'll provide updates on that project when they become available.

WBCN 104.1 Lives On In Weird Ways

Just when you think you've seen it all one of those little coincidences happen and reminds you of the magic that happened on the air at WBCN. I just reviewed the daily visitor totals for this web page and there it was. The total number of visitors on the first day is, you guessed it, 104.

Scroll down for lots more pictures.

WBCN Will Be Missed In Boston

The WBCN sales staff, producers, accounting, and even listener line volunteers were on hand to see their old friends. The reunion included most everyone that worked at the station from 1968 to 2009.

Charles Laquidara and Tracy Roach

Oedipus got the crowd giong.

Tracy Roach did evenings from 78-83

WBCN Listeners Have Their Own Favorites Too

Danny Schecter the news Dissector went on to CNN news and can be heard on his daily blog.

Carter Alan moved over to sister station WZLX in the 90s

Mark Parenteau did afternoons and was famous for the 5pm smoking lamp.

Everyone crowded the Paradise Club stage. Nearly 400 attended the WBCN reunion on 9/25/09.

WBCN Even Launched A Few Hollywood Careers

Billy West provided extra voices on the Big Mattress and later on the cartoon series Ren and Stimpy


Willie Loco Alexander, Peter Wolf, Gerry 'Duke of Madness' Goodwin


Mark Parenteau introduces some of the old WBCN air staff

WBCN Was All About The Music

Yours truly finds his old music intern Melanie after 30 years.

The Stools put on a great set for the WBCN crowd


Judy Imber and Carter Alan

WBCN Family Says Goodbye At Paradise

The Paradise was packed

Sam Kopper (right) introduces three generations of BCN. Sam is keeping the station's sound alive with the online streaming Free Form BCN

WBCN Reunion Party Pictures

The Fools give a rousing version of Psycho Killer. The Fools and hundreds of other local bands give WBCN credit for helping give them radio airplay.


Bruce Kettelle, Carter Alan, Clint Gilbert

BCN Reunion 2009

The Fools lead singer Mike Girard has the crowd eating out of his hands.

Clint and Bruce admire the marquee.


Willie Loco Alexander is still rocking 30 years after getting his band's tape first played on WBCN.

Peter Wolf Was Sad To See WBCN Go Off The Air

Peter Wolf got his start as a DJ on WBCN before leaving to sing with the J Geils Band.

Links To More WBCN Reunion Photos

Besides the pictures on our site, do you know where there are more pictures from the reunion? Add those links in the comment section of this post. If you have some pictures you would like to share but can't put them on line email them to us and we will add them here. Our email address is TheEbyFarm@compuserve.com be sure to put WBCN somewhere in the email subject line. Include your name and who is pictured and we will give you credit.