Not spoiling anything, but the late Danny Schecter had two of the best stories ever in the movie. We really need Danny now.
Someone mentioned "Kum Back" up above. I grew up with this CD version of the broadcast, which was always a fun listen, as it includes ads, banter, etc.: The Beatles - Posters, Incense And Strobe Candles I missed the heyday of WBCN, but listened to a lot of Charles L on WZLX during his time there.
I understand that, I’m aware of the Pride of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada: Garry Lee & Showdown. It was not Dr. Demento that made it a beloved well known ‘local Boston classic’. It was Charles Laquidara ‘Duane Ingalls Glasscock’ who played the uncensored version hundreds of times during his show. That put Rodeo Song on the map and part of Boston - BCN folklore.
I never went to any of the Rumbles but I went to the strike benefit at the Orpheum with The Stompers, Sass, The Fools, James Montgomery band and some other obscure band that showed up unannounced (but everybody had heard rumors).
This is a recording I made (on an 8-track cartridge) from 'BCN while they were doing a live broadcast of a show I was too young to attend due to the liquor laws. The show was bootlegged for decades using a later rebroadcast recording that skipped this track to keep the show under an hour, and then officially released, also without this track. On the last track of my tape Oedipus is blabbing over the music talking about how they have "a album out".
I remember hearing that a few times. I had no idea until seeing it on Youtube that it was making fun of Gene Simmons. I didn't know what the hell it was about.
And then 40 years later, Oprah bought his house. Berlitz Ebonics Sound From The Big Mattress - Soundboard.com - Create & Download Free Sounds, Sound Effects, Mp3, and more
Some random stuff I remember hearing on BCN: 1) Charles playing Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" from the Carnegie Hall jazz concert as a way to spotlight Gene Krupa as the best drummer who ever lived. 2) Congress of Wonders' "Pigeon Park" bit about Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh meeting in the park as senior citizens. This one stuck with me for a long time and I didn't hear it again until the Napster era. 3) The Firesign Theater. 'Nuff said.
Does anyone have a link to the Fools "Psycho Chicken" uncensored? All I can find are live performances from the '90s or later. It was a staple on 'BCN, but I can't recall if they played the naughty version.
The change was gradual. I only came on board in early '71, and then as a young-un, but the music was palpable and nothing like any other radio station I'd ever heard (I don't remember the genre diversity so much, but it was still the best station around). I'd say that despite the format changes, 'BCN was very integral to my life up through '77 or so. And then the music I don't particularly care for took over. Then I moved somewhat toward WAAF and WCGY.
WBCN was my favorite station until WFNX came along, and I think they at least tied BCN in my world. The problem with BCN for me was that I lived in central towards western MA, and sometimes I couldn't pick it up without a lot of static. So as a result I ended up listening to a lot of AAF which I always considered second to BCN. But I liked AAF well enough. One of my favorite BCN moments was when someone called into the Charles Laquidara show and said, "I love that Charles Liquid Paper!" And every Friday afternoon they'd play Rundgren's "Bang On The Drum All Day," but sometimes they'd say silly stuff over it. I was a teen during the 80's, so that's the period I'm remembering. I do remember the Bob & Zip show on AAF, and I remember when one or both of them moved to a station in Baltimore, I think, and then that era ended. To me, AAF was more of a meathead radio station. Like all the rock you'd hear on MTV you'd get on AAF. BCN had more of it's own personality, but by the time I started listening BCN played nothing but rock, I'm fairly sure. FNX would play the "weird" stuff--as I recall, they played "alternative" rock even before it was called that.
I may well have confused WCGY with WFNX. Hard to do, I know, but I think my Mom listened to a station that played soft rock and that might have been WCGY. She loved Margaritaville without knowing what it was about. Too long ago, but not forgotten.
Sometimes when a station changed ownership, there would be 180 degree format changes, so who knows. I just remember that all of a sudden FNX appeared and was a really cool station. Southern NH in the early 90s had a killer rock station, but i can't remember the name of it. I listened to it for about two years and then the programmer moved to Cincinnati, and it was never the same. That was the station where I heard Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" for the first time.
When I first started listening to 'BCN when I was around '14, my audio system was a clock radio. I used to record stuff by holding my cassette recorder mic up to the speaker to see if they played anything I liked, and I'd rewind and tape over anything I didn't want. These were 3/$1 cassettes without cases, so I'd try to figure out what I recorded (they didn't always say what it was) and keep a piece of paper listing what was on each tape. I remember having Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually-Aroused Gas Mask, which I only kept because it was so weird.
Wolf was the original (or close) overnight DJ. He left in '69 or early '70 when the Geils band started to take off. He came back on many of the March 15 anniversaries, bringing his big box of records and his wild DJ patter, which was based on the great '50s & '60s NY R&B DJs. He still records and tours, and is a Boston music scene regular. Maxanne was there from 1970-1977 when she left to do A&R for Elektra, signing The Cars ad Richard Lloyd (ex-Television) among others. She went on to other label & radio gigs (including WNEW-FM in NYC) and is now retired. Unfortunately, Richard's terrific "Alchemy" LP didn't sell worth a damn. It's worth seeking out. Billy wasn't on the Sidewinders' LP - pretty sure he joined afterwards and then went on to play with Piper who did 2 LPs for A&M. After leaving Piper he signed with Capitol and became huge for a few minutes in the mid-80s. Maxanne also produced the Reddy Teddy LP. And you can file this in the "who-really-cares" dept. but Matthew MacKenzie's brother Charlie, along with Paul Aharn discovered the group Boston, became their managers and got them signed to Epic. Like his brother he died young, in a 2002 car crash. During the years I worked at BCN I spent a lot of time with Charlie. He was quite a character.
There is a cool doc film on the early beginnings of WBCN that it getting promoted recently. You can rent it through making a donation to participating independent radio stations. WBCN and The American Revolution
