2022 LIU Post & Homecoming Weekend, WCWP Hall of Fame Announcement October 22, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Internet, Interviews, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, Travel, Video.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Four months after going into the WCWP Hall of Fame, I returned to the campus of LIU Post for part of WCWP‘s Homecoming Weekend programming block, the first under new station manager Pete Bellotti. (The list of 2022 HOF inductees comes later in this recap.)
Friday, October 14
This year, Homecoming Weekend started an hour earlier, at 11AM, making for 61 hours of alumni-run shows. In August, Bernie Bernard earned a Master of Arts degree from Florida Atlantic University. Her aural thesis on pirate radio led off the weekend:
The second show, at noon, was also prerecorded: a compilation of select episodes of Bill Mozer’s WCWP Alumni Career Path Podcast:
I have a dedicated blog post for my live edition of Instrumental Invasion at 2PM, but here is a snippet:
… I did not draft a talk break script; a live show calls for spontaneity, albeit with annotations to work from. I ended up referencing [my family trip to Dutchess County, subject of a blog post next week] during the show.
I feel like I wasn’t my best without a script, but all that matters is what listeners thought, and they liked it. Naturally, [the show] started with a technical glitch. Automation didn’t switch off [after Bill’s show ended], allowing me to go live from studio 2. I relayed the problem to station manager Pete Bellotti and he had me start the show even though the first minute or so (54 seconds) would go unaired. …
What a coincidence that David Benoit’s latest single of A Midnight Rendezvous is “Pioneer Town.” That allowed me to allude to the days before the One LIU merger when the Brooklyn and Post campuses had separate athletic programs.
For my official archive of the show, I included the unaired part, re-created from the liners I played (mostly as heard on my restart) and amplified/noise reduced camcorder audio. Here is the scope video:
I faded the last song out just in time for automation to kick back in for John Commins at 4PM. To keep listeners from tuning out, I did not acknowledge that he was prerecorded. Within 20 minutes, I had packed up my equipment and headed for home. My video equipment was a Panasonic HC-X1500 with VW-HU1 detachable hand unit, both bought in late March, and my tripod of nearly seven years: a Magnus VT-300. Mozer recommended a Magnus tripod in a discussion at the 2015 Homecoming, but not the one I chose. I don’t remember which one. The HC-X1500/VW-HU1 combo was in lieu of an HC-X2000 built with the hand unit. I didn’t want to pay more for 3G-SDI output. But enough about video gear.
WCWP was entirely live from studio 2 from 6PM to midnight. John Zoni had the 6PM show:

Alan’s final show was Seltzer with a Twist, starting at 8PM:
There was about 30 seconds of dead air after Alan’s last song finished, so Jay began The DFK (Disco and Funk King) Show seconds before 10PM:
The Young Prince K.J. Mills stayed up late to host The Storm 2.0 at 2AM (I’m counting this as part of Friday’s lineup):
Saturday, October 15
I returned to LIU Post at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. This time, I brought along my GoPro Hero 7 for shooting B-roll. Unlike last year, I did use it, thanks to a flexible tripod I bought in November, inspired by the video of Joe Honerkamp’s show.
In a bold move, I opted not to walk down to the football field to catch part of the LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming game. Considering they were creamed by the Saint Francis Red Flash, 57-7 (box score, recap), I made the right decision. As the game carried on, I sat at my laptop and spoke to any alumni that walked into studio 3, where my laptop was set up for web browsing on my downtime, but otherwise to aircheck the shows following the football game. My aircheck equipment, used Friday and Saturday, was a Behringer U-Phono UFO202 pre-amp connected to a Sangean HDR-16 radio. WCWP also uses the UFO202 for airchecking off FM tuners, doing so to clip key plays in Sharks games. Home airchecks were recorded in Audacity, either on my computer or the guest room computer, then edited in Adobe Audition.
One such alum to drop by during the football game was M.J. Lonardo, known as DJ M.J. during her time at WCWP. The photo I took of her and station manager Pete Bellotti is the first in a series of two-person photos taken throughout the day:
On to photos from Bernie Bernard’s Barbecue Bash (by golly), starting at 4:08 PM:
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh, longtime host of Rock ‘N Soul Gospel, and Hugh Hammill, Bernie’s friend from her WBAB days Jett Lightning joined Chris in studio 2 with Bernie At 5:11, Bernie announced the 2022 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees, who will be inducted in ’23. In the order listed on Bernie’s sheet below, they are: Travis Demers, Dan Reagan (reegan), Cosmo Leone, Roger Luce, Kim Dillon, Jon Cole, Suzanne Langwell, and John Mullen. Cosmo, Jon, and John all called in during the show. You’ll see and hear them in the video and audio below this stacked gallery. Technical assistance was required to fix the telephone hybrid audio. The quirky sound that afflicted Cosmo Leone’s interview was mitigated while speaking to Jon Cole. I had to cut away to some of these photos during that part of the video because my view of Bernie was blocked. The tradition of Mike Riccio (sitting) and Bobby Guthenberg (standing) following Bernie with their countdown show continued this year. Bernie spoke with them beforehand.
Here is the aforementioned video:
Anyway, here is the audio version with longer lead-outs and the start of the first talk break in the video:
Mike Riccio and Bobby G.’s countdown began at 7:03 PM. Mike couldn’t find a legal ID to run in WaveCart, so I approached the board and picked one. Then, the show began with “Wooden Heart” by Elvis Presley. Editing video of this show has left the end of “Wooden Heart” ingrained in my head. First, the photos:
A group photo with Alan Seltzer and Jett Lightning before air Jett and Alan guessed which songs were next based on Mike’s clues. A close-up of Mike Riccio Bobby G. Alan Seltzer Jett Lightning (I wanted a candid shot, but he spotted me) I took this parting photo before packing up for home. My parents picked me up after dinner in Syosset.
The video:
And the audio version, including parts of the last two hours and with extended lead-outs:
The above photos are the last taken at an event with my Nikon D5500. As Homecoming Weekend was wrapping up, I consulted with a Facebook group for fans and users of the Canon EOS R7 mirrorless camera. I said in my PC build post that I had a Nikon Z7II in mind, but it’s too expensive and I’d have to buy a 24-200mm (not 300) Z lens (I like to use one superzoom lens) to take full advantage of the megapixel increase. My existing F mount 18-300 superzoom would be heavily cropped because it’s not made for full frame cameras like the Z7II. The EOS R7 and all the accessories I bought for it, including a Tamron 18-400 superzoom and control ring mount adapter, cost less combined than a Z7II body alone.
I hope to write about my early experience with the EOS R7 and equipment in a later post, but for now, back to Homecoming Weekend.
Sunday, October 16
I woke up a few minutes into my prerecorded Instrumental Invasion, another show with a dedicated blog post. Otherwise, the scoped aircheck:
When that was over at 8AM, Jay LaPrise (la-PREE) had the first live show of the day:
My attempt at airchecking Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak’s Ladies of Prison Break Radio show at 10AM was a bust. With my weekly Zoom meeting at 11:30, I had to aircheck on my laptop. I should have recorded the audio loopback, like on my desktop, but I didn’t. The same unnatural audio boost problem that kept me up in the hours after my September 14 show afflicted the laptop aircheck.
The Rockin’ Sunday Show with Alana followed at noon, its usual time on a regular Sunday:
Just after 2PM, it was Joe Honerkamp’s turn:
The last show I airchecked on Sunday was Jett Lightning at 4PM:
Saturday, Jett persuaded me to add John Coltrane‘s Blue Train album to my collection. I’m certain he played the title track on his Sunday show for me.
Homecoming Weekend pulled up its stakes at 12:02 AM Monday morning, and on that note, we’ve reached the end of the 2022 recap. Thank you for reading, watching, and listening. Until next year.
Instrumental Invasion, 10/19/22 October 20, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Weather.add a comment

The October 19 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded (and mixed) non-sequentially on August 31 (segments 1, 5, 6) and September 1 (segments 2 through 4). Pickups were recorded on September 2.
The playlist was created right after finishing last week‘s playlist on August 25, annotated on the 27th, and the talk break script was drafted on the 30th. I was able to break even this week with a total duration of exactly one hour and 48 minutes. Starting next week, I will go to 18:10 segments, a total of 30 more seconds. This should limit the amount of dead air before automation’s fill song kicks in.
I did not expect the story of “St. Thomas” to be so involved. The Sonny Rollins interview (from April 5, 2007) where he shared the origin story is accessible via this link, but the media player disappears from sight after you start it. So, I downloaded it to share here:
He definitely wrote “Airegin,” though.
Regarding my talk-up after “Hello Tomorrow” by Larry Carlton, Lloyd Lindsay Young‘s “hello…!” bit had been circling in my head ever since a recent George Carlin documentary showed his introduction at the start of George’s 1988 special, What Am I Doing In New Jersey? I’ve said it before, but only on Instrumental Invasion can you get references like that. That goes for the MythBusters reference I made at the end of my “St. Thomas” origin story. On that series, if a myth in a given episode couldn’t be replicated, it was given a “busted” rating.
Speaking of Larry Carlton, I acknowledged that he was Fourplay‘s second guitarist, Lee Ritenour was their first, and Chuck Loeb was the third. Kirk Whalum played tenor sax on “Hello Tomorrow,” and I neglected to mention that he was the fourth member of Fourplay whenever there wasn’t a guitarist.
Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:
2020-21 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony June 17, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Technology, Travel, Video.add a comment
Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Video of the ceremony can be found at the end of this post.
It’s been three years since the last ceremony, but last Saturday, the WCWP Hall of Fame finally added five new inductees to its ranks. Due to delays by the COVID-19 pandemic, there were two sets of inductees:
- 2020: Alan Seltzer and Christina Kay (announced at Homecoming in 2019)
- 2021: Joe Manfredi, Jay Mirabile and Mike Chimeri
Yes, it’s true! I’d been dreaming of getting into the Hall of Fame for years and I got the dream fulfilling call last April.
Earlier this year, outgoing director of broadcasting Dan Cox reached out to the five of us for a ceremony date that worked for us. That date was Saturday, June 11. The venue ended up being the former LIU Post campus bookstore, now known as the Alumni and Employer Engagement Building…or it was, and now it’s Alumni Hall.
I reached out to friends and family, hoping they could attend. No matter how many turned out, I’d be happy.
I wore a suit and shirt combo that I picked out on Thursday with a tie that my mother Lisa bought with colors similar to those of LIU.
I may have been one of the inductees, but I still took photos and video when it wasn’t my turn. So, after dressing up, I packed up my DSLR camera, battery pack with a spare battery attached, camcorder, GoPro, and tripods to connect to them and my iPhone, which I would have brought anyway.
Once my sister Lauren arrived at noon, she, our mom, and dad Bill all left for campus. I was worried we’d be late after traffic was diverted away from the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway entrance on Alken Avenue in North Wantagh, but once we entered via Hicksville Road, we made great time, parking next to the Alumni Hall (I’ve settled on that name) at 12:40 (hey, like WGBB!).
Not wanting to unpack my camera yet, I took establishing exterior shots with my phone:
The ceremony began at 1:22:

The first 2020 inductee was Alan Seltzer, currently host of The Grooveyard on WCWP. He was inducted by Scott Perschke:
After each acceptance speech, guests were invited to share any stories. 2013 inductee Bernie Bernard had one about Alan, which he elaborated on: the story of the 1978 Dome Auditorium collapse. 2019 inductee Lew Scharfberg talked about the collapse at his induction, and he shared his perspective again this year.
The second 2020 inductee was Christina Kay, now of WALK 97.5. She was inducted by Dan Cox:
Dan admitted in his induction speech that he considers her a second daughter. Christina’s table Yes, the plaque has a typo. It will be replaced. The storytellers following Christina’s speech were Charlie Moerler… Chris Maffei… Bernie Bernard… David North, Christina’s colleague at WALK 97.5 when he was a news anchor and reporter there… …and Will Bruner.
Before moving on to the 2021 inductees, Dan Cox awarded the inaugural Art Beltrone Founders Award to Dan Casazza:
New director of broadcasting (or station manager, if you will) and 2019 inductee Pete Bellotti inducted two of the three 2021 inductees. First, Joe Manfredi, the station manager of Old Westbury Web Radio (OWWR) (listen here), serving nearby SUNY Old Westbury:
Joe acknowledged me in his speech, asking me to name some of the musicians I interviewed (over the phone) on The Mike Chimeri Show. The interviews can be found here, warts and all (meaning I’m hesitant to listen). There was also an anecdote about Karen Fiorelli’s news report blunder. Stories were shared by Dan Cox… Alana Leider, currently host of The Rockin’ Sunday Show on WCWP… Sandra Cerrone, a.k.a. DJ Sandra Dee, one of Joe’s Old Westbury Web Radio alumni… I love this camcorder vidcap. It’s like a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast cutaway. 6/18 UPDATE: While editing the video that I will add once complete, I noticed that this was really in reaction to a remark by… Joelle Desrosiers, another OWWR alumna… Joe Conte with an anecdote on unwittingly playing unedited songs… …and Mike Kinane, Joe’s OWWR colleague, and vice president of communications at SUNY Old Westbury.
Dan reintroduced Pete to induct Jay Mirabile, longtime host of The Disco and Funk King Show (DFK for short):
Jay and his father Len Jay went beyond acknowledging me, inviting me to the podium to recall funny moments in early episodes of The Mike Chimeri Show. In those early days, Jay was my lead-in, and sometimes, I would acknowledge the last song of the show at the start of mine. The anecdote he relayed was how I quipped “wouldn’t you know it, they stopped” because his last song was “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead. I thought he was going to mention the one where – channeling Jay Sherman’s boss Duke Phillips on The Critic – I began my show with “Jay, son, you’re a tough act to follow.” Upon leaving the podium, as I waved in thanks, Jay noted what great friends we are. This was my genuine reaction to the compliment. Story time. First, Christina Kay… Then, Charlie Moerler… Alana Leider… …and Joe Conte.
Finally, it was my turn. I originally planned on my cousin Chris – C.W. Post Class of 2008 – inducting me, but he came down with COVID earlier in the week. His induction speech was partially complete and he offered to finish it and have Dan Cox read it on his behalf, but I declined and had Dan give his own speech:
LONG STORY: This is the first of the iPhone vidcaps. I foolishly recorded the entire ceremony from my table’s perspective when I’d have been better off recording my portion. Attempts to truncate the video and transfer to my computer via iCloud failed, even after upgrading to 50 GB of storage for 99 cents a month. The original mammoth video was still in the system and would need to be transferred with the edited version. This contributed to my insomnia Saturday night. Finally, late Sunday morning, I thought to download to my computer by connecting the phone to it with Dell Mobile Connect. It worked, but there was another hurdle. The raw MOV file wasn’t accepted by Adobe Premiere Elements 2020. Luckily, Wondershare Filmora accepted it and allowed me to convert it to an MP4, BUT I’d have to buy a subscription. $54 a year later, the video was converted, I loaded it into Premiere Elements, and extracted vidcaps. The absolute last hurdle involved correcting the wide-angle distortion in Photoshop Elements, and here we are. Anyway… In the center is Joan Yonke, LIU Post’s director of development, previously campus director of employer and alumni engagement. It was so great to see her there. I just wish I had thought to add her to my thank list. (More on that shortly.) Early in Dan’s induction, I asked my dad Bill to take photos with my camera. It’s time, as my table cheers me on! Besides Joan Yonke, going from left to right, there’s cousin Lisa Cassidy, my aunt Donna Dantes Chimeri (Chris’s mother), my mom Lisa’s friend Mandy Muldowney, Mom, Dad, Lori Downing, and Wendy Connelly. Mandy was the principal of Leo F. Giblyn School where Mom is a teaching assistant, and Wendy and Lori are (Lori retired in 2020) reading teachers at Giblyn. Interestingly, Aunt Donna (Post Class of 1998) knew Joe Manfredi’s father, also named Joe, but the elder Joe pronounced the last name “man-freedy” rather than “man-freddy.” Here I go! Mandy and Mom are taking photos and/or video. I made a two-page table in Microsoft Word of people to thank. I read from that with ad-libs here and there. My sister Lauren also shot video on her phone and shared vidcaps with me… Back to Dad’s photos with my camera… Joe Manfredi (the younger) kindly handled my camcorder during my speech. “… WCWP, the one place [my aunt Robin Rose Brinegar, then-academic counselor at C.W. Post] didn’t know anyone, has had the biggest, the biggest impact on my life.” “… I will never forget WCWP. Thank you so much.” I put the thank list back in my shirt’s breast pocket and left the podium. Another wave… …and a handshake with Dad. The expression on my face is a nasty anxious habit. Seeing myself do that in my on-camera moments has me eager to overcome the habit. I asked, “Anyone got stories?” Jay Mirabile had one, or at least compliments. …as did 2015 inductee Bobby Guthenberg. One final round of applause from my table (and the elder Joe Manfredi)
Dan, with his time as director of broadcasting at an end, closed the ceremony with poignant, and pointed, remarks:
With the ceremony complete, all that remained were the photo ops:
Mandy Muldowney, Donna Dantes (aunt), Lori Downing, Lisa Chimeri (mom), me, Lauren Chimeri (sister), Bill Chimeri (dad), Wendy Connelly, Lisa Cassidy Lauren had two photos taken with her phone… Joe Manfredi and his OWWR alumnae: Nikki Kallipozis, Arielle Mancebo, Sandra Cerrone, Joelle Desrosiers (Names added on 6/22 via this SUNY Old Westbury article) Me, Lori Downing, Bernie Bernard
During Bernie’s WBAB days, she spoke at Lori’s high school, vividly remembering that when Lori told her about it.Scott Perschke and Alan Seltzer Me and Jay Mirabile Me, Alan, Jay Oop, rabbit ears! A candid shot Christina Kay and me Joe Conte, Karen Fiorelli, me, Joe Manfredi Joe, Christina, Jay, me Pete Bellotti and me This was supposed to be another one of me and Dan Cox, but I wanted to leave in Bernie, her sister Melissa, and Christina. The last photo before I left the building: Joe, Pete, Jay, me
As I left, Dan had everyone yell “goodbye” to me. I happily waved and walked out…except that I left my camera battery charger in an outlet. I realized my error halfway to Domenico’s of Levittown. I didn’t feel like going back to campus, so Pete returned it to me today. Still, I went ahead and bought new third-party batteries with a charger. The batteries I had were 6 1/2 years old, anyway.
Joining my family at Domenico’s were Wendy, Lori, and Aunt Donna. The lone photo I took there was of a toast:

Thank you to those that gave me congratulations cards and gifts:
Thus ends the recap. I am overwhelmed by all the support I received during and after the ceremony. Congratulations to Alan Seltzer, Christina Kay, Joe Manfredi, Jay Mirabile, and yours truly Mike Chimeri, the 2020 and ’21 classes of the WCWP Hall of Fame.
6/21 UPDATE: The video is now up. Chapters are included if you want to skip ahead or know what to expect. There is occasional coarse language and suggestive dialogue.
2021 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend, WCWP’s 60th Anniversary October 19, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Aviation, Football, Health, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
After a year away, Homecoming Weekend was back in full force! And WCWP’s 60th anniversary on Monday made it a four-day weekend!
It was my first time back on the campus of LIU Post since October 28, 2019 – a week after the last Homecoming – with Ryan Grabow.
On Thursday, October 14, I charged up my camcorder and changed batteries in the shotgun mic and audio recorder. I also charged up my GoPro Hero 7 for multi camera production, but didn’t use it.
Friday, October 15
I left for LIU Post via Uber at 10:30. Upon arrival, I gave my COVID-19 self-check form – which I filled out before I left – to the gate attendant. Then, I was driven down to WCWP in the Abrams Communication Center. I immediately went to work as Art Beltrone and Hank Neimark pre-recorded an interview in studio 1 for Monday’s 60th anniversary broadcast. The guest and recorder was Samantha “Sami J” Negron.



Here is the interview:
After that, I moved my equipment into studio 2 to record part of Art Beltrone’s solo show, WCWP’s Early Years, which kicked off the 60-hour (hey, 60 hours + 60 years!) Homecoming Weekend programming block. Jeff Kroll was the board operator and his wife Pat was producer.


Hank Neimark was Art’s first guest:




Jay Elzweig introduced the songs, all from 1961, the year WCWP signed on:


Several WCWP alumni were interviewed via Zoom:

Two of the Zoom guests were Stewart Ain…:

…and Steve Radoff:

Another show feature had Art reading Post Pioneer newspaper articles. This one was “Message to the Students from the Provost”:


Jay showed off his t-shirt:

The show closed with a preview of 4:00’s Strictly Jazz with John LiBretto and Hank Neimark:


Art also asked Jeff and Pat Kroll their thoughts:



After Art’s closing remarks, the show was over.
Here’s video of portions of WCWP’s Early Years:
Joan Yonke, LIU Post Campus Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement, dropped by the station during Early Years and came back again afterward. It’s always nice to see her.
While the pre-recorded WCWP Career Paths with Bill Mozer ran, I took some photos in the lounge area:






Here’s Homecoming Weekend coordinator Zach’s dog Diesel:

Strictly Jazz started a few minutes after 4PM due to technical difficulties, but ran without a hitch after that.

As you saw, Jeff Kroll ran the board again.


Joining John LiBretto…:

…and Hank Neimark…:

…was Rita Sands, appearing by phone.
They spoke to Jon Korkes via Zoom (after John held Jeff’s “un-mute” message up to the webcam):




They spoke to me in studio 2:

And after my dad picked up to drive me home, Ted David on Zoom:
Here is my video of the first hour:
And the scope of the entire show, just as in 2019 when it aired before mine:
10/20 UPDATE: John Zoni took over studio 2 at 6PM:
Sami J was on at 8PM with Total Access:
My friend and ardent supporter Jay Mirabile had a special edition of his DFK Show at 10PM. Here’s a photo he posted with Sami and Peter Sacoulas:

And his aircheck:
Saturday, October 16
I spent much of the morning editing media and drafting this blog post. I left for Post, this time with my dad, shortly after 1PM.
Both gates were open with no need to check in. So, when we got to campus at 1:30, I photographed the turn into the east gate:


Bernie Bernard and Adam Smook were congregating in studio 3. Adam and I are both from Wantagh – Wantagh Woods, at that! – as we discussed. We also talked about fellow alumnus Frank D’Elia, who worked with Adam at WOR and then WABC.
Jay Elzweig and Jett Lightning came in, as our WABC discussion continued, eventually turning to jingles. Bernie mentioned how JAM Creative Productions recorded a name jingle for her. That jingle has become part of her annual Homecoming Weekend show, which airs after coverage of the football game.
The LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming football game was against the Merrimack Warriors. Merrimack won convincingly 43-5. The Sharks only got a safety and a field goal. I walked toward Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium during the third quarter.
I planespotted to and from Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium, watching planes turn toward JFK. This is Delta flight 169 from BCN (Barcelona El Prat Airport):

JetBlue flight B6192 from ACK (Nantucket Memorial Airport):

Carnival attractions in the parking lot:

“Hoco”? That’s a new one on me.

The stadium entrance:

A play on Bronko Piersall Field:

The scoreboard:

The new press box and stands:

The opposite side:

That’s enough for me. Back to the station.
Emirates flight 201 from DXB (Dubai International Airport):

Jeff Kroll told me he’s been on that flight in the past, all 13 hours of it.
Delta flight 858 from ATL (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport):

Delta flight 4721 from BNA (Nashville International Airport):

WCWP’s transmitter:

When the game was over, I got to work photographing the postgame show, hosted by John Zoni:


Here is my aircheck of the postgame show, which includes final thoughts from the broadcast booth by Tom Scavetta and Alex Damiris:
Next, the aforementioned Bernie Bernard:

The first page of her playlist:

Jett Lightning was Bernie’s first guest:


Then, me:

Meanwhile, WCWP’s internet station, The Wave, hosted a barbecue outside. Zach was the grillmaster:


Dave asked for a picture:

Seconds later, Qatar Airways flight 701 from DOH (Doha Hamad International Airport) was flying about as low as the earlier Emirates plane:

Jeff’s been on that flight, too. It’s 14 hours long! Nonetheless, he raved about their service.
One last Delta plane: flight 1984 from SAL (San Salvador International Airport):

Back inside, John Zoni and Lew Scharfberg wrapped up the bagels from earlier in the day:

Jay Elzweig was the last of Bernie’s guests that I photographed and video recorded:


In addition to reminiscing, he gave the weather forecast, right up my alley as a fellow weather buff:

The weather Friday and Saturday was warm and a little humid, but a cold front came through Saturday night, leading to seasonably mild and dry conditions Sunday and Monday.
Video of all three segments (my vidcap is the thumbnail):
I chose to leave earlier this year, but there was more to do before I left.
I photographed Art Beltrone’s interview with Nick Mattina and Griffin Ward:

Art:

Nick:

Griffin:

Art’s notes:

A candid shot of Art’s off-air conversation with Lew Scharfberg:

Then, I recorded Art’s interview with me. Here are vidcaps:


…and the video itself:
I mentioned Dan Cox’s predecessor as WCWP’s Director of Broadcasting, and Dan himself who has held the position for 19 years and counting, but forgot to acknowledge Joe Manfredi, the Director of Operations when I was a student. He’s my fellow 2021 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee along with Jay Mirabile. Participating on Zoom during the broadcast to remedy my omission voided the chance for this interview to air; no double-dipping.
Finally on Saturday, posed photos, starting with Peter Sacoulas and Sami Jo Negron:

Me with Peter and Sami:

John Zoni:

…and Tom Scavetta:

Art Beltrone, Bobby Guthenberg (a.k.a. Bobby G.), Joel Mahan:

Art, Bobby G., Jerry Reilly, Joel:

I met Joel and Jerry in 2019 and was so glad to see them again this year. Joel was eager to listen to my regular Wednesday night show and Bobby complimented my work.
Jett Lightning and Jay Elzweig:

Bernie Bernard:

Bernie and John Mertz:

A candid shot of Art Beltrone and Alan Seltzer:

…and posed:

And with my dad having arrived in the parking lot, the last photo was me with Bobby and Alan:

Like Art at the end of his interview with me, Bobby thanked me for everything I do. I told him I appreciate that.
It’s an aircheck palooza from here on out, except for any photos I find in the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group. To that end, here’s a photo of another guest on Bernie’s show: her former student Joe Connelly:

Alan Seltzer and Bobby G., followed by just Alan:
And Bernie’s outro:
Bobby G. and Mike Riccio were next at 7PM. Here is a scope of their first hour:
Again, courtesy of Bernie, it’s Bobby and Jett:

Mike Riccio:

And the four original hosts of The Rock Show: Bobby, Mike, Alan and Bernie:

A partial scope of Alan’s 10PM show, Seltzer with a Twist:
Sunday, October 17
Once again, I spent the morning editing content from the day before and the aircheck of Instrumental Invasion. Full details about the show are in a separate post, but here’s the scoped aircheck:
I airchecked a handful of Sunday’s shows, also of the partial scope variety. Jay LaPrise was on at 8AM with The Why I Work in Television Radio Show:
At noon, “Jammin'” Jamie Mazzo and Sara “Sadie” Dorchak hosted The Ladies of Prison Break Radio. This is a partial scope, but a long one: 49 minutes. The aircheck begins with a trailer-style Homecoming Weekend promo voiced by Zach:
10/20 UPDATE: Next, at 4PM, Joseph P. Honerkamp. You can call him Joe. Here’s a full scope:
I made a scoped version with re-synced audio and the end part that the video missed:
Jett Lightning came on at 6PM with Lightning’s Hits and Rarities Reliquary. As you’ll hear, Jay Elzweig – weather forecast in tow – joined Jett later in the show:
Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel followed at 8PM, hosted by Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh. His scope includes a community calendar spot voiced by me and a promo for Monday’s 60th anniversary special voiced by Jeff Kroll:
And as midnight approached, Zach wrapped up the weekend that was:
Monday, October 18
I had yet another morning of editing; in this case, Sunday’s aircheck scopes heard above.
Noon came, and so began the WCWP 60th anniversary broadcast, hosted by Art Beltrone and Hank Neimark, board operated by Jeff Kroll, and produced by Pat Kroll; same as Friday.
My initial plan was to listen to the stream, but as noted earlier, I joined in on Zoom. Here are some screencaps:






Show timeline:
- Introduction with sign-on audio
- Dr. Jennifer Holmes, Dean of Arts, Communications, and Design; and Michael Berthel, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Student Affairs
- Hank counts down to 12:15, pops champagne, cuts cake
- Dr. Kimberly Cline, LIU President
- Jeff Kroll
- Dan Cox, WCWP Director of Broadcasting, reads citation from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran
- Hank Neimark
- Bruce Mahler (via Zoom)
- Jon Cole (via Zoom)
- John Commins (via Zoom)
- Joel Feltman (via Zoom)
- Diane Taylor (via Zoom)
- Stewart Ain (via Zoom)
- Joe Honerkamp (via Zoom)
- John LiBretto (via Zoom)
- Jon Korkes (via Zoom)
- Rita Sands (on the phone)
- Bernie Bernard (recorded Saturday)
- Jeff asks Art and Hank to share their recollections
- Harry Lowenthal (via Zoom)
- Mike Chimeri (via Zoom)
- Bobby Guthenberg (via Zoom)
- Zach Parker
- West Side Story opened in theaters the same day WCWP signed on
- Alan Seltzer (via Zoom)
- Ted David (recorded via Zoom)
- Jeff’s recollections, John Commins and Mike Chimeri’s interjections
- Aleen “Junie” Thomas (via Zoom)
- Dr. William Martinov, LIU Director of Athletics (recorded Saturday)
- Andrew Scarpaci (recorded Saturday)
- Art and Hank re-read citation
- Pat Kroll
- Joe Honerkamp and Stewart Ain share stories about Mrs. Abrams
- Lew Scharfberg (via Zoom)
- Bruce Leonard (via Zoom)
- Fred Gaudelli (via Zoom)
- Bill Mozer (on the phone)
- Jon Cole, Mike Chimeri, Fred Gaudelli, Joel Feltman speak to Bill
- Elise Person (recorded on the phone)
- End
The show was 2 1/2 hours, but I’m posting audio in three parts. Here’s part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
And my pre-record-voiding appearance:
Pat Kroll also took several photos, starting with the cake:

Art with the cake:

Hank, Jeff, Art:

Hank cutting the cake:



Dr. Cline:

Dan Cox reads County Executive Curran’s citation:

The citation:

Thank you very much for reading, viewing, and hearing all the way to the end. To repeat myself, I greatly appreciate the support I get for the work I do. This was a labor of love and friendship.
60 cheers to WCWP! See you next year.
Joe Falco documentary audio used in podcast September 11, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Fire, History, Interviews, News, Podcast.add a comment
On August 10, Scott Johnson contacted me requesting permission to the audio from the Joe Falco documentary that served as my college senior project. I graciously granted Scott permission to use it in an episode of his podcast, What Was That Like. The episode went up today, on September 11. Joe’s portion begins at around 18:05.
Here are relevant portions of the episode’s page:
Joe Falco was a New York City firefighter. He was working to save lives at the World Trade Center, and was injured when the buildings collapsed.
…
Thanks to Mike Chimeri for his permission to use the Joe Falco audio. Mike’s father, Bill, currently works as a volunteer with Joe Falco at the Freeport Fire Department Truck Company. Mike is the host of an instrumental music radio show on public radio station WCWP. You can check out his work at his website, MikeChimeri.com.
Thank you very much, Scott, for including the project in your podcast.
POSTSCRIPT: The project was created in fall 2003. Two years earlier, I wrote about my 9/11 experience in a portfolio summary for a broadcasting course. I posted that to my blog, along with an original follow-up, on the tenth anniversary.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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.
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):
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:
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.
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:
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…
Direct link
…and Instrumental Invasion:
Direct link
And of course, the latter show’s transitions…:
Direct link
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:
Direct link
The ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak, were next at 10AM. Here are their first four talk breaks:
Direct link
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:
Direct link
Bill Mozer photographed Billy…:
Billy the Kid was followed at 2PM by Joe the Honerkamp. Here are five talk breaks from his show:
Direct link
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:
Direct link
6PM had a Homecoming Weekend edition of Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Direct link
Next to last was Alana at 8PM with The Rockin’ Sunday Show, following an introduction by Jeff Kroll:
Direct link
And turning out the lights on the 60-hour block was Jeff himself from 10PM to midnight, following Alana’s lead-in:
Direct link
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.
Witnessing the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship May 21, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Golf, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.2 comments
For the fourth year in a row, I attended at least one PGA Tour event; and for the third time in the last four years, I attended a round of a major golf tournament. Three years ago, it was