Back To The Basement

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the new state-of-the-art studios of 88.7 FM, WNHU. It was impressive seeing new equipment being put to use in a renovated house.

The annual alumni meeting was held in a nice, newly- constructed basement. It was a far cry from the old days where I spent the majority of my four years in a dilapidated basement. Allegedly, a deceased janitor walked the halls and ghosts of old orphans from the 1950s bounced dodgeballs in the bowels of the building.

We were encouraged to share our experiences and stories of the past. It's hard to encapsulate four years of memories in an email without the reader losing his or her focus. I did my best to summarize my life at WNHU to the new station manager. Here's what I wrote:

In September of 1994, I walked through those glass doors in the basement of Maxcy Hall and began the greatest four years of my life at WNHU. I loved sports and new alternative music, two distinct entities that garnered the largest audiences but didn't seem to mesh in the world of college radio. 

The stereotype was that the Sports Department consisted of wannabe jocks who lived vicariously through student athletes and spewed endless stories about their favorite teams and the New Music Department consisted of wannabe musicians who chainsmoked and spewed endless stories about their favorite bands. When I expressed a desire to work in both departments, both cliques embraced me. I learned that both groups shared common ground. They all had a desire to learn their craft at a radio station that boasted a 30-mile radius and gave them the forum they sorely needed. 

By the Mid '90s, sports was an undeniable presence at UNH. The baseball program was decorated and the football team was entering their glory years. WNHU not only broadcast every football game, but also broadcast numerous baseball and basketball games throughout the year. The station played a major role in increasing the prestige of the athletic department. 

I had the privilege of working with some great WNHU Sports alum and future commercial radio personnel like Scott Criscuolo, George Ribellino and Matt Mentone. They tasked me with reading scores and news until I was comfortable with doing actual play-by-play and commentary. They shared endless stories of the road, but more importantly, they shared their experiences on the radio. 

I had the great fortune of starting in the New Music Department during the heyday of Alternative Rock. My first New Music Director, Liz Waytkus, gave me spot shows in my first year during odd hours. This way I could get used to working the board and cueing songs for a smaller audience so that when the time came for my own show, I was seasoned and ready. Often times, I would just come down to hang out in the basement and listen to other student DJs play their favorites. Obscure, forgotten artists like Spring Heeled Jack, Babylon Zoo, Menswear... Whatever Britpop and Techno people like Len Halas and Mary Tyler would play. Sometimes i just rummaged through the throwaway CD bin next to the mailboxes. This was how I discovered most new bands before I was old enough to go to 21 & over shows. WNHU was my life.

The most important part of my tenure at WNHU was meeting and befriending the late Jim Abbott. Every student-run station needs a few community volunteers to help steer them in the beginning. JIm never stopped mentoring me throughout my entire four years at the station. He was a UNH graduate, station alum and local DJ at KC101. Jim had a looming yet calming presence and that unmistakable, classic radio disc jockey voice. He was a walking music encyclopedia whose record collection took up an entire back room of the station. 

He was always willing to help out the sports department and always willing to offer advice on how to be a better disc jockey. Often, Jim would give me advice that stretched beyond the radio world. In short, Jim Abbott was a father figure to me and a friend to many. He loved WNHU and did everything in his power to keep it going when we were short-staffed. He even let me do some of his 60's shows when i was a senior. He liked to call me "The Boy Wonder," but in many ways, Jim was greater than Batman. He's the first person I think of when I think of the station.

I am pleased to see how the station has outgrown its former basement home. It's wonderful to know that its current crop of students exhibit the same passion and dedication as my old friends and colleagues. I look forward to the future of 88.7 FM, WNHU.