Instrumental Invasion, 5/20/20 May 21, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Technology.add a comment
The May 20, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the eighth show to air. It was the first to include liners provided by fellow WCWP alumni Bruce Leonard, Father John Commins, Jay Mirabile, and Pete “The Body” Bellotti.
The playlist was created on April 11 with annotations on the 14th and 15th. The show was recorded on the morning of April 23 with a talk break rerecord in the afternoon. I said “but first” twice while talking up the last two songs of hour 1 and initially missed the mistake.
David Benoit‘s cover of “Eye of the Tiger” marks the first time I’ve played a song off a cassette as his Waves of Raves album only came out on cassette and LP. I was unaware this compilation album even had an original track until last summer. Once I found out, I checked YouTube and found this:
Then, I bought a cassette on eBay. After it arrived, I connected a USB phono preamp to my cassette deck and recorded the track to Adobe Audition, saving as WAV and MP3 files. The WAV file is what you heard on the show, a decision unrelated to originating on Waves of Raves.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 5/13/20 May 14, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video, Video Games.add a comment
The May 13, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the seventh show recorded. By this time, I had eschewed theme weeks in favor of five segment formats:
- 1984 & earlier
- 1985-1995
- 1996-2006
- 2007-2016
- 2017-present
The formats can be implemented in any order and one can be used twice. In this show, and most shows going forward, that honor goes to 2017-present.
The playlist was created and annotated on April 5 and the show was recorded on the 6th. The current photo for the blog header and about page was taken after recording the first segment.
After hearing arrangements of Super Mario World music in the Splash Wave retrospective on that game and its sequel, Yoshi’s Island, I just had to seek out the game’s two-CD soundtrack album. The arranged music is on the first disc and Koji Kondo’s in-game music is on the second. My favorite arranged track is “Welcome to Mario World,” based on the title screen song, thanks to Sadao Watanabe on saxophone. Once I got my theme weeks out of the way, I found a spot for the song on Instrumental Invasion.
If you’re interested, here is the Splash Wave video:
“Welcome to Mario World” is heard during the end credits.
7/25/21 UPDATE: While preparing for the September 8, 2021 show, which included another cut from the arranged disc (“Thank You, Mario!”), I realized I incorrectly referred to the Mario World Band as “the Mario Club Band.” I don’t know what led me to believe that was right.
I like my regal talk-up for “Proclamation” by Metro at the top of the show and the risque talk-up for Spyro Gyra‘s cover of “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream. It’s also fascinating when I crack myself up as I did back-selling “Katy’s Groove” by Jay Rowe.
Click here to download the aircheck or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 5/6/20 May 7, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The May 6, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the last of the six shows I recorded between March 25 and 30. During my phone conversation with Jeff Kroll two hours before recording, Jeff told me I should work the legal ID into my hour 2 intro in case it doesn’t run in automation. So, I did. When he spoke to me again via text as the April 1 show began, he clarified that I should do it at the top of both hours, which I started in the May 13 show. As it turns out, the legal ID has run for all but the first segment of that first show.
The playlist was made March 23 with annotations the next day and during the recording session on the 30th. I had to redo talk breaks for the second hour’s first segment on the morning of April 30 due to a factual error in the original record. In a callback to Nelson Rangell‘s “By Light,” which Jay Rowe co-wrote but did not appear on, I noted that he was the keyboardist on Ken Navarro‘s “Walking Each Other Home.” A check of the liner notes last Thursday morning revealed it was really Dan LaMaestra. The redo instead acknowledged Rob Holmes playing three saxophones and Ken and Greg Grainger playing virtual drums. To get the segment to 18 minutes, I also had to shorten the top of the hour intro and back-sell of “Rise” by Ben Tankard. With that complete, I edited the playlist scan to remove my incorrect annotation.
I only cited album release dates in this show and the one on April 22. During the outro, I neglected to mention that Keiko Matsui‘s Echo came out on February 22, 2019.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 4/29/20 April 30, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 29, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the fifth to be mixed and recorded between March 25 and 30. It was the last show with hours dedicated to one year.
The playlist was made on March 23 with annotations the next day and while recording on the 29th, exactly one month before it aired.
The way I said “Spoons” while talking up Eric Marienthal‘s song was a reference to The Tick‘s catchphrase, established in this scene from the episode “The Tick vs. Arthur’s Bank Account“:
I missed an opportunity to call back to Gerald Albright‘s bass work on “Sassy” by Bobby Lyle while backselling “Highway 70” in the 2010 hour.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 4/22/20; Show banner April 23, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 22, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show was the fourth to be mixed in Adobe Audition 2020. The talk breaks were recorded March 25, but I had to pad a few out during the mix on the 28th. David Benoit coincidentally hosting a show on another 88.1 FM – KKJZ-FM – had to be acknowledged. I was listening to it while writing the first draft on April 1.
I made the playlist on March 23 and annotated it the next day. I made additional annotations while mixing and re-recording.
After recording this show, Dan Cox, WCWP Director of Broadcasting, informed me that my show would be airing weekly starting the following week. He suggested I should also record a promo:
The excerpts I included in that promo were inspired by what I had played:
- “To the Top” by Adam Hawley
- “Feel It Still” covered by the aforementioned David Benoit
- “Tidal Wave” by Nelson Rangell
- “When We Dance” by Ken Navarro
For the second week in a row, the show aired flawlessly. Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Four days earlier, on April 18, WCWP‘s social media handler, Kim Brander (a.k.a. The Original DGunboats) suggested I make a logo or banner for Instrumental Invasion. After 45 minutes in Adobe Photoshop CS2, I came up with this:
The keys are from my Yamaha YPG-625 located in the basement, which I photographed with my iPhone 11. The WCWP logo is from the icon toward the bottom of the station’s website homepage. If you right-click “view image,” you get this. From there, you can “save image as” or just do that directly from the homepage without opting to view it.
Kim is another male, just like the ones I referenced after playing female Kim Scott‘s “Take It to the Rink.”
Instrumental Invasion, 4/15/20 April 16, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 15, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the third I mixed between March 25 and 30, but the fourth show I recorded talk breaks for.
Like the first three shows, work on the playlist began March 22 with annotations on the 24th along with the other five.
I’m proud of the anecdotes about listening to “Heartbeat” by Spyro Gyra on the way back from my sister’s college graduation and Jessy J writing my name and then signing hers for my copy of My One and Only One. I also liked the allusion to Batman while talking up Jessy’s “The Tango Boy” and quoting Chieli Minucci’s March 7 Facebook post. I regret forgetting to say his last name, forgetting that I played Jeff Lorber in the first hour while talking up “Right On Time” in the second, and not acknowledging the Pat Bianchi Trio’s album, A Higher Standard, while talking up their song and signing off. I got wrapped up in the “from the bottom of my heart” segue.
The show was correctly programmed into automation and aired flawlessly. Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 4/8/20 April 9, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 8, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the second I mixed between March 25 and 30, but the third show I recorded talk breaks for.
I made the playlist on March 22 with annotations on the 24th and while recording on the 26th. It seemed like a good idea to share my love of that Gil Shaham recording that I first heard on The Weather Channel 25 years ago, but it’s such a long title. As I said on the air, I’ll just stick to jazz.
Due to a technical error, the April 1 show initially reran. I got in touch with Dan Cox, WCWP Director of Broadcasting, and he corrected the error after the second segment of the first hour.
Below is the show’s aircheck (or click here). The ones from the first two segments and the start of the third are directly from my mix with the broadcast multiband compressor effect applied. The rest is from the FM stream.
Instrumental Invasion, 4/1/20 April 2, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 1, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the first of six shows I recorded from March 25 to 30. My foolhardy plan was to livestream my recording of talk breaks for all six shows on March 25. It took way too long just to record the first show’s talk breaks. Not only that, but few people watched the stream. So, I abandoned it before recording a second set of talk breaks, which became the fourth show. That was as far as I went.
I encountered issues in Adobe Audition 3.0 while recording the second aircheck of the first show. The program constantly froze. I had issues recording with my USB interface before, but that was the last straw. So, I subscribed to Adobe Audition 2020 and the problem went away.
I was only able to mix multitrack sessions for this show on March 25. I’m required to record three segments per hour, six in all. I used one of Audition’s templates: Radio VO with Music Ducking. It was the only time I’ve used a template, so this show will sound different from the ones to follow.
Work on the playlist began on March 22 with annotations on the 24th and while mixing and re-recording. I miscalculated time remaining in the second segment of hour 2. I had to replace “Sorceress” by Return to Forever with the shorter “No Mystery” and redo the talk break coming out of it.
Unfortunately, each show has the potential to have anywhere from part of a segment to none of the show airing. The last few minutes of this show were cut off. I’m glad that was it.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
4/24 UPDATE: I recorded the May 20 show yesterday, which included another song from Chet Baker’s She Was Too Good to Me album: “Autumn Leaves.” I turned don’t know why my brain turned “to” into “for,” but I realized my error yesterday. I missed the error with “It’s You or No One” in the premiere.
Ryan and Mike at LIU Post, Teddy and Abe on exhibit October 30, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Art, Education, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
I concluded my Monday post this way:
With a pair of loose ends successfully tied up, it’s on to the next post, whenever that may come.
It turns out you only had to wait two days for the next post. The focus this time is another trip to LIU Post, including a stroll down memory lane as I recall my undergrad years.
I walked the campus with my friend, Ryan Grabow, who graduated with me in 2004:
I also had a chance encounter with another friend of mine, LIU Post artist-in-residence Dan Christoffel, leading to a tour of his latest art exhibit. More on that later.
For many years after graduating, Ryan Grabow had been living in Fort Myers, Florida, where he directed newscasts for two TV stations owned by Waterman Broadcasting. This year, he decided to look for the same position upstate in Orlando. He now directs the morning newscast at WOFL-TV, FOX 35 Orlando.
My trip back to LIU Post with Ryan, one week removed from Homecoming Weekend, was arranged in a text message conversation we struck up during Instrumental Invasion on Friday, October 18, after I played a song by the Rippingtons. As I wrote in my comprehensive recap:
… [M]y friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
You can watch the aircheck here:
Ryan told me he was driving up to New York for a week-long vacation and chose Monday the 28th as our day to hang out. He would pick me up at 10AM.
This was our first time at Post together in two years. I brought along my Nikon D5500 camera and the two CDs I made to alternate between for my show. As we listened to the music on the ride to Brookville, we told one another what we’d been up to lately and I provided commentary on what was happening in my show as each song played on the CDs.
Once we arrived on campus, Ryan acknowledged the change in color on the signs, which I had first seen ten days earlier and photographed a day later. Case in point:
He quipped that the speed bumps hadn’t changed. The reference was a running gag that originated with a TV production project: “Speed control: good idea or just plain nuts?”:
Naturally, our first stop after parking was WCWP, where we spoke to receptionist Janine Celauro, my mother Lisa’s bowling teammate, and Dan Cox, Director of Broadcasting.
Ryan’s next task was going to the bursar to update his alumni contact information. So, we walked north to Kumble Hall, passing signs with alumni names on them. One of them was Fred Gaudelli:
Fred is the executive producer of NBC’s Sunday Night Football and was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Another was Brian Kilmeade:
Brian, a Massapequa native, co-hosts Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, hosts The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio, and has authored a handful of books about American history. His latest is called Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History.
Passing Brian’s name reminded Ryan that he helps set up remote guests for Fox & Friends and other national Fox broadcasts for the aforementioned Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, and Fox Sports 1.
I photographed Kumble’s exterior before we walked inside:
Kumble was a place I visited when meeting with my academic advisor each semester. My aunt Robin Rose was an advisor in the 1990s and early 2000s, which is how I ended up at what was then C.W. Post. Her presence was invaluable. It helped that she knew so many faculty, which made things easier for me in my first two years. It turned out the place I had the most success, WCWP, didn’t require her connections.
The bursar’s office directed us to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building, which housed the campus bookstore while Ryan and I were students.
On the way, we stopped in the Crafts Center, home to ceramics:
Professor Frank Olt was among the faculty that was connected with Aunt Robin and she recommended one of his courses to me in my second semester when I switched out of photography. I couldn’t handle film development or manually setting aperture and F-stop. It was overwhelming. I thrived in ceramics, sculpting many works that semester. I would sculpt more works in the spring of 2002, after switching out of an intimidating journalism course, and fall of 2003, the only time the course was my first choice. Via grainy digital camera photos from 2003, here are a few of my works:
I don’t know what happened to those, but here is what I was able to find in my house this morning, starting with the first thing I ever made in 2000:
I called it “Hertz Fieldhouse” because I was inspired by Conseco Fieldhouse, the recently-opened arena in Indianapolis. Since I made an outdoor stadium, I should have just called “Hertz Field.”
Lastly, a piece I photographed on film in April 2000:
I hadn’t visited Frank Olt in years – he wasn’t there when Ryan and I walked the campus in 2017 – so we were both happy to see each other. I told him about the jazz shows I had been to recently: the aforementioned Rippingtons in March, David Benoit in June, and the Bob James Trio last November. I forgot to tell him about seeing John Scofield two weeks after Bob.
Frank and I posed for a picture as he sat at a pottery wheel:
I’m so glad to know Frank, and to have known his colleague Linda Marbach while she was a professor.
This was Linda in April 2000 with graduate student Ji-Hyun:
Frank directed me and Ryan to the back room where Dan Christoffel was situated. I hadn’t seen him since he attended his friend and fellow artist Charlie Fillizola’s exhibit at Wantagh Public Library in 2013; six years and two days before Monday, in fact. Dan told us that he was about to present his latest exhibit in the Steinberg Museum of Art on the lower level of the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library. Ryan would have to wait before updating his alumni contact info. Luckily, he didn’t mind.
Dan spoke to an audience of LIU Post art majors (at least, I think that’s what they were):
Shortly after Ryan and I came in, Dan had us introduce ourselves.
Here are some of Dan’s works, starting with Now He Belongs to the Ages on the Abraham Lincoln wing of the exhibit:
Unfortunately, I can’t make out the title on the left, but the painting on the right is Thinking Beyond:
Justice, a trompe-l’œil (deceive the eye) painting:
Two paintings of Walt Whitman: Oh captain, my Captain, inspired by Whitman’s poem after Lincoln’s assassination:
Walt Whitman in His Prime:
On to the Theodore Roosevelt wing:
In his deepest hour:
Colonel Roosevelt:
Sagamore Hill:
Nobel Prize:
Rough Rider:
At the Elk Horn Ranch, Dakota Territory:
1901 – A Very Young President:
A Young Assemblyman:
Fighting the Good Fight:
A portrait of Booker T. Washington to mark a milestone occasion: First Black Man to Have Dinner at the White House:
His Love of Reading:
Little Texas:
T.R. – His Wife and Mother Died on the Same Day; He Went out West to Deal with His Deep Grief:
The exhibit concluded with Taking the Bull by the Horns:
A Newsday article on Dan’s artistry:
A picture with Dan before departing:
Thank you, Dan, for inviting us to your exhibit. It was wonderful. I highly recommend the exhibit if you, the reader, will be at LIU Post in the near future.
Ryan and I made our way east to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building:
Leftover from Homecoming:
Ryan was given a notepad to write down his new contact information and that was that.
We took the scenic route back to Hillwood Commons:
Ryan stopped in the Arboretum Walk so I could photograph him with his iPhone for a Facebook post. I also took a photo with my camera:
Ryan has been inside The Doll House, but I never have:
Post Hall:
As an undergrad, the southwest corner of the building was home to the Academic Resource Center. It was my home away from home. I made many friends in the form of fellow students, directors, learning assistants, and annual social work interns. I remain in touch with some of them.
The northeast corner of Hillwood:
Before going up the stairs to the current campus bookstore, which was once home to the museum, we passed a sign that explained the presence of Dan Christoffel’s exhibit:
Once in the bookstore, I planned on buying a sky blue polo shirt that said “Long Island University,” convinced to buy one after seeing Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) sporting them during the Homecoming game:
I was hoping for a shirt that said “LIU,” but when I initially visited the bookstore ahead of my radio show, it seemed only shirts emblazoned with the full name were available. But seeing Jeff and Neil in the shirts convinced me to buy upon my return with Ryan. On this day, I searched the rack where the shirts hung to look for my size: medium. Once I saw the letter M, I blindly reached for the shirt, and was surprised to find the holy grail: an “LIU” shirt!
Meanwhile, Ryan bought a windbreaker that said “Long Island University,” something to wear on cool winter mornings in Orlando. I’m proudly wearing my “LIU” shirt as I write this post, and it will be part of my warm/hot weather rotation.
We made one more stop at WCWP to say goodbye to Dan Cox and Janine Celauro. I had Janine take our picture:
Coincidentally, our friend Bernie Bernard was on the display behind us.
Ryan planned on stopping at Wendy’s on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale, but it was closed for renovations. So, we proceeded to our next stop – Micro Center in Westbury – looking for a place to eat on the way. We settled on Applebee’s in Roosevelt Raceway Center. Inside, besides eating our entrees, we talked about Ryan’s job at FOX 35 Orlando, about former WCWP Director of Operations Joe Manfredi (now at SUNY Old Westbury where he serves as station manager for OWWR), and other things. We walked around Micro Center for 45 minutes, browsing but not buying. Ryan didn’t leave empty-handed, though, buying a few mouse pads.
Ryan was nice enough to take me grocery shopping at the Levittown Stop & Shop, then we hung out at my house for an hour. After talking about a few YouTube channels in the car, he recommended the channel Technology Connections. I chose a couple of videos to watch on the CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc). (A third video on the subject was released yesterday with a fourth still to come.)
After that, we said our goodbyes until his next visit. It was enjoyable 7 1/2 hours.
It’s always great to see you, Ryan. As I said on the air, you’re a dear friend. I hope you don’t mind that I dipped into the archives with the speed bump video.
2019 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend October 21, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Military, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, Video, Weather.2 comments
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022
Another WCWP Homecoming Weekend has come and gone at LIU Post. This is a recap of all three days of the campus radio station’s alumni-hosted block of programming, including coverage of the LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming game against the Saint Francis Red Flash.
Before the proper recap, an explanation about what’s changed since last year. Starting with the fall 2019 semester, Long Island University athletics for the Brooklyn and Post campuses have merged, which means one color set, one team name, and one big move to NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers are now, collectively, the LIU Sharks. Now, the recap.
Two days in advance, I scheduled an Uber pickup at my house on Friday at 10AM. The driver was prompt, parking at the curb. With my equipment in tow, I hopped in the backseat and the drive began. I was dropped off at the Abrams Communications Building, home to WCWP, at 10:28. I set down my equipment and set up my laptop in studio 3 on one of the computer tables. After visiting the campus bookstore in Hillwood Commons, I returned to the station and set up the tripod, camcorder, and shotgun mic in studio 4. I was going to record the first show of Homecoming Weekend: Art Beltrone’s PostScripts talk show. Back by my laptop, I connected a portable radio tuned to 88.1 FM to an audio recorder and began recording at 11:50. Then, I walked into studio 4 and waited for PostScripts to begin.
To my left was this banner:
The Long Island University colors are blue for Brooklyn and gold for Post. As you’ll see in the Saturday pictures, the campus’s green signs were all painted sky blue.
Show time:
Art’s first guest was Joan Yonke, the LIU Post Campus Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement (I accidentally left out the “Employer and” part in the show video):
Art’s next guests were Jeff Kroll, who engineered the show…:
…and his wife Pat, who coordinated the guests:
After playing the Krolls’ (and the Yonkes’) wedding song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli, a milestone was acknowledged:
Exactly 58 years ago – October 18, 1961, at 12:15 PM – WCWP signed on as an AM carrier current station. Art Beltrone was the first student voice ever heard on its air. In honor of the occasion, the sign-on was played at 12:15 in 2019.
Art listened fondly:
When the first non-student voice, Dennis Sullivan, tossed back to Art on the tape, Jeff cued Art in the present:
Following “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong, Bill Mozer dropped by:
Jeff Kroll joined in the conversation:
For the last hour, Art spoke to fellow alumni and Vietnam Veterans, Jack Cassidy and Mike Padula:
Jack Cassidy:
Mike Padula:
Art, Jack, and Mike also spoke to guests over the phone, including John LiBretto, Jim Harley, and Ron Zappardino. I had to leave studio 4 at 1:30 to set up for my show, Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri, in studio 2.
Here are portions of PostScripts, some of which were photographed above:
When 2PM came, Art handed off to me, I played a legal ID, and began my show. I thanked Art and all of his guests, then played my first song: “Flash Back Friday” by bassist Julian Vaughn, guitarist Nick Colionne‘s nephew.
As the song played, I went back into studio 4 to take a picture of Jack Cassidy, Jeff Kroll, Art Beltrone, and Mike Padula:
While my second song, “Illuminate” by Steve Oliver, was playing, Pat Kroll took the obligatory photo of me at the board in studio 2:
There was also time for Art’s friend Ed Keller to take our picture:
The show proceeded from there with little to no hiccups. Here were my surroundings:
During my show, Bill Mozer moved the livestream webcam from studio 4 to 2. We spoke while I was off mic. One of the liners I played was of Dan Ingram, legendary New York DJ and commercial voice talent, while visiting the station in 1968. Back then, the university was known as C.W. Post College. The liner went like this:
Hi there, Kemosabe. This is Big Dan Ingram. Whenever I’m on the Merriweather campus, and my bosses in New York don’t know about it, I always listen to WCWP, at 88.1, in Brookville, New York. Love it.
“Merriweather” referred to Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Bill, who worked with Dan at WABC, remarked that he was never “on the Merriweather campus” – besides that day – so he therefore never listened to the station. I replied that he was humoring the students that recorded him.
Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., complimented my playlist on Facebook, and my friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
Before I knew it, I was signing off and playing my last song: “Nu Som” by Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion.
Here is the show aircheck…:
Direct link
…transitions, with the aforementioned Dan Ingram liner…:
Direct link
…and the video:
Jeff Jensen was next at 4PM:
Here are a couple of his talk breaks:
I headed home just before 5:00 and was home half an hour later. After editing the airchecks that you heard above, day 1 was complete.
I started my Saturday by editing videos, synced with the aircheck audio, and photos. Then, I got ready to return to LIU Post. While waiting to turn onto Northern Boulevard, I took out my camera so I could photograph what once was green and now is blue.
It was 1:05 when I turned into the campus’s east gate:
MyWCWP, which was WebRadio WCWP when I was a student, was renamed The Wave:
The Wave is also the name of a Southern California radio station that used to play smooth jazz: 94.7 The Wave. Since I’m not on this Wave, there’s no smooth or contemporary jazz to be found.
During the second quarter of the Sharks’ Homecoming game against Saint Francis, I walked over to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to take in some of the action:
I was given media access, which allowed me to go up to the press box…at least at first. Saint Francis did not bring a crew to broadcast the game, but LIU did, from the roof. To get there, you had to climb this ladder:
Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) called the game:
A view from the top:
Considering the Sharks were winless coming into the game and were unlikely to score while I was on the roof, I left after I took the above pictures. Before I left, I had Pat Kroll take a photo of me:
2:25 PM UPDATE: Jeff informed that the NEC (Northeastern Conference) had a room in the press box for the video feed and conference announcers. He added:
The video equipment is also used for all play reviews. Cameras manned by WCWP students! Ours was the only radio broadcast of the game.
The walk back to WCWP:
Pioneer Lane is now Shark Street:
The Sharks fell to 0-6, blown out by the Saint Francis Red Flash 30-0. It was 9-0 after three quarters, but SFU exploded for 21 points in the first six minutes of the fourth. Factoring in the Pioneers past, this was the team’s first loss on Homecoming since 2011. It was also the first loss Jeff and Neil called since the Pioneers lost to the Iona College Gaels 9-2 in 1989.
Air traffic was moderate and a couple of planes were low enough for me to get high resolution crops. This is a DHL plane:
I think this might be Alitalia:
After the dust had settled on the Sharks’ loss, studio host John Zoni ran the “highlights”…:
…and listed the scores elsewhere in the NEC:
Due to a lung infection early in the week, Bernie Bernard was unable to make it up from Florida. Bobby G. and Mike Riccio expanded their show to fill in for her. Due to the short length of the football game, the show began at 3:45, 45 minutes early.
Bobby flew solo while Mike was in transit:
Hanging out in the studio were Jay and Arlene Elzweig…:
…and Jett Lightning, who I wanted to get a picture with:
I would pose for more pictures later.
Mike Riccio arrived in time for Bernie Bernard to call in:
Wanting to be a part of the call, I got on my knees by Bobby’s mic, holding up a Rick Wakeman CD at one point:
Once Mike was at the controls, the playlist turned to artists that appeared at Woodstock:
I came on at one point to promote the rest of the weekend, including my second Instrumental Invasion that would air at 2AM:
The big WCWP Hall of Fame announcement was set for 6:00. Before then, I went outside to the barbecue for a burger and hot dog, and some cookies for dessert.
Then, I got to meet fellow alumni Joel Mahan and Jerry Reilly, posing here with Bill Mozer:
I was so glad to see M.J. Lonardo and K.J. Mills:
M.J. complimented me on my running, which I had been writing about on Facebook, with a few milestone posts on Twitter and Instagram.
2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee Pete Bellotti made the announcement:
Here’s how things looked on the livestream webcam during this segment (courtesy of Ted David):
The 2020 inductees are…:
Alan Seltzer and Christina Kay!
I stood in front of the camcorder and applauded the inductees:
With the announcement complete, I began to pack up for home, but not before taking the obligatory shot of Mike and Bobby:
John Zoni’s postgame and the segments from Mike and Bobby’s show can all be seen here:
Me with John Zoni:
Dan Cox:
I owe my career in radio to Dan. He was my Broadcasting 4 professor in the spring of 2001 and recommended me to then-station manager Judy Cramer the following semester. A few weeks later, on October 5, I was on the air for the first time.
Bill Mozer:
…and Pete Bellotti:
Joel Mahan wanted a photo with Pete, as well:
The last pic of the weekend for me was Bill Mozer and Alan Boritz, who followed Mike and Bobby at 10PM:
Bill photographed the weekend with his own DSLR camera. Via the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group, here are his photos – with “no film in the camera” – starting with John Zoni during his 6PM show on Friday:
Jay Mirabile and Pete Bellotti during Friday’s 10PM DFK Show:
The picture was taken with Jay’s phone, but Bill cropped it.
On Saturday, it’s Art Beltrone and Jay Elzweig:
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Pat Kroll and Lew Scharfberg:
And at the mic for his 10PM show, Alan Boritz:
From midnight to 4AM, WCWP had the one-two punch of Strictly Jazz with Hank Neimark, John LiBretto, and Rita Sands – which they recorded in late August – and the second Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri – which I recorded at home back on September 26. It was chocolate and peanut butter back to back. In SiriusXM parlance, they were Real Jazz, I was Watercolors. Hank told the aforementioned Facebook group he was listening to the station, including his own show, from Greece, expressing what a thrill it was.
Here is the aircheck for Strictly Jazz…
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…and Instrumental Invasion:
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And of course, the latter show’s transitions…:
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I try to work in as many of the notes I write on my playlists as I can, but some notes stay on the paper.
Unfortunately, Magick Mike Hendryx’s show didn’t run, making for the second year in a row where that’s happened to a file designated for Sunday at 4AM. Strictly Jazz reran at 6AM as scheduled.
I spent Sunday working on this post and periodically listening to WCWP. Like last year, Jay LaPrise (“la-PREE”) had the first live show of the day at 8AM. Here are his last two talk breaks:
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The ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak, were next at 10AM. Here are their first four talk breaks:
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Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) followed at noon. He was later joined by Joey C. (Joe Conte) and Big L Lou (Lou Raio). Here are talk breaks from Billy’s first hour:
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Bill Mozer photographed Billy…:
…Joey C. …:
…and Lou Raio:
Billy the Kid was followed at 2PM by Joe the Honerkamp. Here are five talk breaks from his show:
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And one picture of him by Bill Mozer:
That is his index finger, not the other one.
The last three photos in this post were taken by Pat Kroll.
At 4PM, Lew Scharfberg:
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Jeff Kroll ran the board:
6PM had a Homecoming Weekend edition of Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
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Next to last was Alana at 8PM with The Rockin’ Sunday Show, following an introduction by Jeff Kroll:
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And turning out the lights on the 60-hour block was Jeff himself from 10PM to midnight, following Alana’s lead-in:
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I was singled out in Jeff’s credits:
Mike Chimeri! Oh, Mike, a great jazz show; in fact, two of them this weekend. And always with the pictures and the videos. Thanks so much, Mike.
Thank you, Jeff. This is a labor of love for me as I know putting together Homecoming Weekend each year is for you and Pat. If it means I have restless nights as my brain contemplates what tasks I have left to do, so be it. The fruits of my labor make it all worthwhile.
It was great catching up with my fellow alumni throughout the weekend. It warms my heart to be among you.
Thank you to those that stayed with this recap to the end. I leave with Jeff’s last words last night:
Thanks to all here at WCWP. It’s been a wonderful 2019 Homecoming Weekend. We’ll get the schedules together and see what happens a year from now. And it’ll be a new decade: 2020! Thanks for tuning in to the WCWP Homecoming Weekend.
And for posterity, the schedule:
MikeChimeri.com 
