2025 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Weather.add a comment
NOTE: Two of the alumni hosts, Alana and Tom, do not use their last names on the air. So, I have omitted their last names from this post.
This year, Homecoming Weekend on WCWP (simulcast on WXBA) and at LIU Post was the earliest it’s ever been: September 12 to 14. The date was made public during the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary broadcast on March 16. (Read about that celebratory weekend here.) Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David assembled quite the lineup, which began with me at noon (well, noon-ish) on Friday, September 12, and ended at midnight on the 14th/15th as Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh closed Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with “Red Hot and Cooking” by Garth Hewitt.
The centerpiece of the weekend was the LIU Sharks football team‘s Homecoming game (and home opener) against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. (That was the LIU Post team name before the Post and Brooklyn athletic programs merged and moved from NCAA Division II to Division I.)
Once again, as unofficial station historian, I documented as much as I could of the entire weekend – on campus Friday and Saturday, and from home on Sunday.
I airchecked off the FM web stream on PCs in my bedroom and guest room via Audacity, where I would export as individual files, and then edit in Adobe Audition. Unfortunately, my internet betrayed me on Saturday. I recorded nearly nine hours of silence. I’m grateful to WCWP station manager Dan Cox for filling the gaps with his official airchecks and to Bernie Bernard via her show files.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
I arrived at the Abrams Communications Center at 11:30 AM. While Project Independence and You (one week shy of its 14th anniversary) finished up in studio 3, I prepped for my live Instrumental Invasion. It was the first time I led off Homecoming Weekend since 2017.
I made a separate recap of that show here, but I’ll at least share Pat Kroll’s photo of me during one of my sets…
…and the aircheck video (with an edited open):
Pat and Jeff Kroll had the next show at 2PM. Since their show and Strictly Jazz at 4PM would be rerun from 2AM to 7AM, Jeff had to be prompt, fading out my last song with 1:40 remaining.
Herb Alpert fans that we are, we both began our shows with Tijuana Brass tracks. My lead was “Spanish Flea” while Jeff used “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (covered on S.R.O.) as the intro bed.
Jeff ran the board during his show and Strictly Jazz. 
Neil Marks joined in the second hour to preview the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. 
Neil Marks 
Neil Marks and Pat Kroll
Out in the lobby, Neil Marks talked to Strictly Jazz hosts John LiBretto and Hank Neimark about his long trip to LIU Post earlier Friday.
Hank had the honor of signing on WCWP-FM on March 16, 1965.
The Krolls with fellow alumni (and fiancés) Sami Jo Negron and Pete Sacoulas:
A partial video of Jeff and Pat’s show:
…and a full scoped aircheck:
John LiBretto and Hank Neimark hosted Strictly Jazz, the third show of the weekend, Friday at 4PM.
John LiBretto 
Hank Neimark 
Despite the title, Strictly Jazz deviated to pop in hour 2 by playing “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Pat Kroll returned to read the song’s quirky lyrics. 
Jeff Kroll had additional “Wooly Bully” tidbits.
A partial video of Strictly Jazz:
…and the full scoped aircheck:
From jazz to rock, John Zoni was next at 7PM:
We went from rock to dance just after 9PM with Jay Mirabile and a special edition of The DFK Show.
If you’re wondering, I took a rideshare home around 6:30 PM.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
We jump ahead to 7AM and a prerecorded show hosted by John Commins:
David Friedland was live in studio 2 at 9AM, leading into the Sharks’ Homecoming game:
After editing what I’d airchecked so far, my mom drove me up to LIU Post half an hour later than Friday. We had to clear a security checkpoint before reaching the parking lot by WCWP. I unpacked and walked toward Shark Stadium (no naming rights this year) for photos around and above the field.
The bulk of my Shark Stadium photos were taken on the roof where Travis Demers, Neil Marks, and Jeff Kroll called the LIU Sharks Homecoming football game. Pat Kroll was the coordinating producer.
It was the 2nd quarter when I reached the roof. Travis Demers handled play-by-play for the middle quarters with Jeff Kroll leading the first and last. 
Travis Demers’s field view 
Remote equipment 
Pat Kroll’s notes 
You can’t call a sporting event without spotter charts. 
Just for fun, I took a short video on my iPhone that I later synced to the relevant portion of Dan Cox’s game aircheck:
Travis and my fellow alumni were impressed when I posted that video to the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group.
Before we return to WCWP, let’s look at photos on the field, sidelines, and bleachers.
I made it back to WCWP just before halftime where co-hosts John Zoni and Jeannie Moon narrated highlights and analyzed the first half. At the board was Andrew Scarpaci.
John Zoni 
Jeannie Moon 
Highlights, lowlights, and other elements were run in Zetta by Andrew, as seen at halftime.
The studio portion of the halftime report:
You saw how Zetta looked at halftime. This image after the game tells a different, but predictable story:
For the second year in a row, the Sharks squandered a lead. They gave up 17 unanswered points to the SHU Pioneers, losing 24-21 on a field goal as time expired.
In spite of another down ending, it was another exciting game for Jeff Kroll, Neil Marks, and Travis Demers to call on Long Island’s 88.1 FM.
I kept my camcorders and tripods in studio 3 to cover John Zoni and Jeannie Moon’s portion of the postgame show.
This YouTube video compiles the studio 3 halftime and postgame reports:
I’ll spare you the details of what happened in the Sharks’ next game.
On a happier note, programming moved back to studio 2 after the Sharks postgame show. At 3:30 PM, Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David hosted the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee announcement special.
Ted getting in touch with Bernie Bernard to call in and announce the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees
The lucky quartet of 2025 inductees was Cande Roth, Ellyn Solis-Maurer, Tony Traguardo, and Chris Maffei.
(Full disclosure: This was my fourth year on the Hall of Fame Committee.)
Below is the announcement, featuring a cameo from me, here:
…and listen here (without the video’s cutaways):
Bernie Bernard’s prerecorded show ran at 4PM:
As Bernie’s show ran in automation, I joined my fellow alumni outside for the Homecoming barbecue. We’ll use this time for a photographic interlude.
First, Ted’s selfie with me:
Bobby Guthenberg (Bobby G.), Neil Marks, Lew Scharfberg 
Neil Marks, Laurie White, Jeannie Moon, Lew Scharfberg 
Ted David, Rich Lacourciere, new HOF inductee Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, WCWP station manager Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri, Rich Lacourciere, Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri and Travis Demers 
Mike Chimeri and Alana 
Mike Chimeri and John Zoni 
Alana next to the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary banner
Live programming returned to studio 2 at 6PM with Bobby G. and Mike Riccio. The dynamic duo counted down most of the 50 songs in the “First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List.” Published in December 1969, the list represented the most popular Beatles songs as voted by WCWP listeners.
Bobby G. 
Mike Riccio 
With candid photos of Bobby G. and Mike Riccio out of the way, I had them pose for this photo. 
I took this selfie early in the second of two talk breaks.
You can watch those first three talk breaks here:
…and here is the full scoped aircheck:
Incidentally, this is my scan of a copy of the First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List:
Vincent Randazzo and a host of others were on hand for a special edition of The Alternative Jukebox at 9PM:
Vince’s show was three hours, but half the time was spent chatting with current and recently-graduated staff. It was quite informative. (Shoutout to Post-Party Depression.)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
The prerecorded Instrumental Invasion ran at midnight. Click here for a full recap, then come back for the rest of this recap.
I will again share the aircheck scope, though:
9/23 UPDATE: And why not include a 65x speed montage of the two Twitch streams that served as recording sessions?
All other info is in the show recap. If you’re returning from that post, welcome back.
Tom was up bright and early at 6AM for the Homecoming Weekend edition of The Dad Rock Show:
Jay LaPrise followed at 8AM with a playlist featuring songs by artists he saw live in concert:
Alana’s The Rockin’ Sunday Show normally airs at noon, but aired in its original 10AM slot on Homecoming Weekend.
Jumping ahead to 1PM, Ted David and Jeff Kroll co-hosted The Joe Show, a remembrance of the late Joseph P. “Joe” Honerkamp.
Joe was a fixture at WCWP for over 50 years, and had a long professional career which included radio stints at WYNY and WHN, and TV production on the weekend Today show.
Among those to reflect on the life and times of Joseph P. were his widow Kathy Honerkamp and their daughters Melanie and Diana. Kathy and Melanie are seen here in studio 2. Diana spoke by phone.
Bruce Leonard and Joel Feltman were also among those to call in.
The scoped aircheck (there were a few songs played) can be heard here:
Ted David shifted to the board at 2PM, playing a wide variety of music over the next hours:
Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) and Joey C. (Joe Conte) had the last two-hour show at 4PM: Masters of Metal.
The penultimate show of Homecoming Weekend began at 6PM: The Ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak.
And putting a bow on the weekend, my children, was Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh and Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel. Check it out.
Post-production, no pun intended, began as Homecoming Weekend was in progress on September 13 and concluded on the evening of the 21st with publication of this post and the Instrumental Invasion posts.
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end. It bears repeating: documenting events like this is a labor of love. The next time I step on the campus of LIU Post will be March 25, 2026, for a twice-in-a-lifetime experience thanks to Bobby Guthenberg. My mom and I will get to see Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and Other Delights again for their Tilles Center set. (Read about their April 1 Jazz at the Lincoln Center show here.)
This post is not only dedicated to the memory of Joe Honerkamp, but also Jett Lightning. Jett (Julio) fell ill in the days leading up to Homecoming Weekend and passed away on the morning of September 13. He will be sorely missed at WCWP. I’ll leave you with a photo of Jett taken last year…
…and a scope of his 2022 Homecoming Weekend show featuring Jay Elzweig, who is also no longer with us.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/14/25, 12AM (Homecoming Weekend) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Computer, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Technology, Video Games.add a comment
Other posts: 9/12 12PM live show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The prerecorded edition of Instrumental Invasion for WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at midnight on Sunday, September 14. Unlike last year, this show was only two hours.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way before I detail how the show came to be.
I said in the live show recap that I knew well in advance I’d have that and the prerecord.
The playlist was created July 29 and 30 with two hours in mind. That duration was confirmed to me on August 5. There wasn’t much poaching from older playlists, meaning less copying and pasting of annotations. The annotations were drafted July 30 and August 1 and 4. The first draft of the script was written August 5 and 6. I wanted to get as much pre-production out of the way before Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
Little did I know the consequences of referencing Casiopea‘s fifth era with a new keyboardist, Jun Abe, and tying Brian Simpson‘s “Wonderland” to Taylor Swift‘s namesake from 1989 D.L.X. On August 12, Taylor announced a new album, The Life of a Showgirl, in an episode of New Heights, a podcast hosted by the Kelce brothers, Travis (her boyfriend) and Jason. Then, a few days later, I found out T-Square released an album called Turn the Page! and that Casiopea was about to release True Blue. That led to script revisions on August 15 and 17. Then, August 20, the playlist, annotations, and script were all tweaked to accommodate song replacements.
I planned on recording one hour per day – August 28 and 29 – during livestreams on my Twitch channel, just as I had done for last year’s prerecord and the final regular Instrumental Invasion. To save time during the streams, I prepared the Adobe Audition multitrack sessions for each hour on August 25. That’s when I realized I’d made a timing error for both hours! I was four minutes over in hour 1 and two minutes under in hour 2. So, I had to make further tweaks to the playlist, annotations, and script with different songs to make up for the oversights.
But I still wasn’t finished! I mistakenly thought one minute and 55 seconds was enough time to assign talk breaks. Unfortunately, most talk breaks were overly wordy. When I reached hour 1’s last talk break, I noticed I was well over. Drastic cuts had to be made to the talk breaks. The plan worked.
To avoid the same problem with hour 2, I cut back on that hour’s talk breaks before the August 29 Twitch stream, and worked in a congratulations to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their engagement (earlier that week). It still wasn’t enough! Not only did I have to make further cuts; I also had to fade songs out early or have them start underneath a liner and the end of the last talk break. I recorded that last talk break first, knowing it would be the longest of the hour. Somehow, my cutbacks worked again, and each hour – or 59:59 – flowed smoothly. Unless you’ve read this post or watched my Twitch streams, you’d never know all the work that went into this show.
Here are screenshots of each hour’s multitrack session:
Only one pickup was necessary, recorded on the morning of August 30. For any talk break preceded by a liner that only acknowledged WCWP, I started with “and WXBA,” to reflect the merger and subsequent rebranding. I neglected to do that coming out of David Benoit‘s liner. David hosts a jazz show on another 88.1 FM, K-Jazz (KKJZ) at Cal State Long Beach. So, the pickup was for one more “and WXBA,” and to rerecord the first few sentences of the talk break to maintain its total run time.
On the Twitch side, I broadcast my streams with a program called OBS Studio. Once per day, there was a brief server disconnection. Friday’s outage happened while recording the fourth talk break of hour 2 (the last recorded that day). Rather than stop until OBS reconnected, I soldiered on. It made for this funny outtake:
And I did.
Read about my elaborate Twitch setup here.
Below is what the two recording session streams looked like at 65x speed, set to “Sweat It Off” by Casiopea:
Now that you know the story of this show, get back to the main recap, picking up with The Dad Rock Show hosted live at 6AM by Tom.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/12/25, 12PM (Homecoming Weekend) (Live!) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Travel, Video.add a comment
Other posts: 9/14 12AM prerecorded show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The live edition of Instrumental Invasion kicked off the 2025 edition of WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at 12PM Friday. (More like 12:03, but I dwell on that enough in the aircheck below.) Whereas last year’s live show was immediately followed by Strictly Jazz, Jeff and Pat Kroll bridged the gap to 4PM with their 2PM show. This was my introduction to new station branding, thanks to a merger with WXBA in Brentwood: “Long Island’s 88.1 FM, WCWP Brookville and WXBA Brentwood, LIU Public Radio.”
Before I get into how this Instrumental Invasion show was made and share photos taken during the show, let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way…
…along with video synced to the scope.
You’ll notice I edited the opening talk break and that it lacks video. I was so ashamed of what happened behind the scenes before playing “InsInvShowOpen” in Zetta that I deleted the raw video file six days after exporting it from the SD card. The important thing is I passed the figurative trial by fire and will know what to do next time. I’ll also try my hardest to follow the advice I forgot in the moment: don’t acknowledge (or dwell on) a mistake. Carry on like nothing happened and handle any issues off-mic.
The playlist for the live Instrumental Invasion was created July 28. This year, I knew would have a second prerecorded show and started working on that playlist the next day. The live playlist was tweaked on August 1 and 17. Annotations were drafted on July 30; August 1, 2, 4, 5, and 17; and once more on September 10. For the sake of spontaneity, I do not make scripts for live shows. I read the annotations cold after each set and otherwise ad-libbed.
Again, the live theme was a 60-year musical journey, coincidentally tying in with WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary. The August 17 playlist tweak was for the 2025 portion. I found about T-Square‘s new Turn the Page! album (post-announcement Reddit thread), and replaced a different 2025 song (I won’t name the artist) with “Front Runner.”
All programming not involving the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers emanated from studio 2 at the Abrams Communications Center. Sharks football pre- and postgame shows, and the halftime report, were based in studio 3.
Here are photos I took in studio 2 during hour 2:
My playlist and annotation pages 
Zetta, which I quickly acclimated to
Thanks to Pat Kroll for this photo of me at the board:
Read about this year’s prerecorded two-hour Instrumental Invasion here.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming expo recap: touring the expo August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Computer, History, Internet, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, VHS, Video, Video Games, Weather, Wrestling.add a comment
If you haven’t viewed part one yet, click here. Skip ahead to part three here.
Settle in for a comprehensive photographic tour of as much as I could see at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale during the 10th annual Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
FIRST FLOOR
Vendor Marketplace:
The marketplace as seen from the second floor:
Sponsors:
Ticket prices:
Hangar Arcade:
NES Indie Game Exhibit:
VGNYsoft Physical Indie Games:
Homebrew/Indie Showcase:
PokéLab:
PCs:
(NOTE: This gallery is a mix of photos from PC Freeplay, PC Museum, and regional exclusive computers that were part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit.)
Console Freeplay:
Art Gallery:
Gaming hardware displays:
40 Years of the Nintendo Entertainment System:
“Thank you to this year’s museum donors!”
Vintage ad for the Batman Forever video game:
An episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!:
NES Challenges outside the Main Theatre (at least on the middle two):
SECOND FLOOR
LIU Sharks Game Showcase:
This was another table I was too shy to approach. I really should have, being an alumnus of LIU Post and WCWP. It is fitting, though, that in a year where Benjamin Abrams was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame, the LIU Sharks Game Showcase table included a TV/DVD player made by Emerson.
Retroware games:
Time Crisis on a modern TV!
Console History Exhibit:
The Arcade Age Exhibit
Other second floor attractions:
THIRD FLOOR
The Floor of Oddities:
And a bonus from the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Pan Am exhibit:
The Boeing 707: A Fast Story:
That’s the end of the tour. All that remains is part three of my recap with a conclusion and pickups photos.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo: introduction, guests, staff, fellow attendees, panels August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, History, Internet, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
Feel free to skip ahead to part two (touring the expo) or part three (conclusion and pickups).
INTRODUCTION
2025 marked the 10th anniversary Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held annually (except during COVID) in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on the right end of Museum Row in Uniondale*. For the 10th anniversary, LI Retro celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System‘s New York area launch, introduced to the world in places such as Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
*I had no idea that LI Retro’s first year was the same year that East Garden City (a.k.a. Nassau Hub) was absorbed into Uniondale and is no longer a census-designated place. Keep that in mind when you read my earlier recaps.
I have attended seven of LI Retro’s nine years. I started small in 2017, only spending two hours there on Sunday afternoon. I was there the entire weekend in 2018 and ’19, and have used my weekend pass on two of the three days since 2022. By 2023, I had to spread my recaps out into three parts because I took so many pictures, mostly of the exhibits (as seen in 2024). That’s what I’m doing again this year.
Tickets went on sale in February and guests were announced in July. Some of those guests will be chronicled below.
You’ll be happy to know there weren’t any mishaps this year. None of my equipment was wrecked and no cups of coffee were spilled.
ARRIVING AT THE MUSEUM
My mom pulled into the Cradle of Aviation Museum parking lot at 9:38 AM on Saturday.
I exited the car with badge QR code printout in hand. I had the lanyard for my badge wrapped around my neck, along with my Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached. (I only used the latter on for flash photos, and never during panels.)
Inside, I was ushered to the box office where my QR code was scanned and I was handed my weekend badge. I attached to my lanyard and made my way to the first of four panels I had in mind. We’ll see photos from those later in this post.
The LI Retro staff is great and I’m honored to know them. Sunday morning, I met up with staff member Ryan Shapiro and he took this selfie of us:
Thank you, as always, Ryan.
PHOTOS WITH GUESTS AND CANDID PHOTOS OF THEIR TABLES
John Lester (Gamester81)
John is among the first on YouTube with a channel devoted to video games and collecting. Beyond that, he started Game On Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April. He is the co-owner of CollectorVision Games and developed their Sydney Hunter series. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is the first in that series available on modern consoles.
I got a photo with John after his The Evolution of Retro Collecting panel.
Check out his LI Retro vlog:
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
Pat and Ian have been a fixture at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo since 2019, and I never miss their panel, recorded live for their Completely Unnecessary Podcast (a.k.a. CU Podcast). Like John Lester, Pat Contri’s YouTube journey began in 2008 with his Pat the NES Punk series, a fictionalized take on his life as a video game fan and collector. Pat’s YouTube channel also includes Flea Market Madness (sometimes featuring Frank, a fellow New Jersey transplant in San Diego), The Video Game Years retrospective, the aforementioned CU Podcast in video form, and the Not So Common Podcast with Alex Faciane.
Alongside the many Charlie Brown/Peanuts Christmas TV specials, it’s an annual tradition of mine to watch Pat the NES Punk Christmas episodes every December. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the first two are the most sentimental. Incidentally, I can’t look at R.O.B., the original face of the NES, without hearing the Punch-Out!! opponent “voice.”
A big component of this year’s LI Retro was print media’s role in video game preservation. Pat’s Ultimate Nintendo series does its part. I have been a loyal reader since the Guide to the NES Library, which I bought from Pat (along with Pat the NES Punk DVD sets) in 2019. I helped fund Guide to the SNES Library later that year and last year, the latest book (as seen behind Ian, me, and Pat): Guide to the N64 Library. Pat, Ian, and an all-star lineup of reviewers break down every release for Nintendo’s first three home consoles. I used the Ultimate Nintendo app after each day of LI Retro to add any NES pickups to my collection. (Buy Ultimate Nintendo books here.)
Thank you to Kristen for taking this photo:
I returned the favor by having Kristen pose with Pat and Ian:
Adam Koralik
Sunday afternoon, “Mike Camera” and Adam Koralik met a third time. (That’s my server name on his Discord.) Adam’s trusty Sega Pluto prototype was part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit and he was more than happy to discuss it with attendees and have them try out its few playable games.
And of course, I had to get a selfie:
More exhibit photos can be found in part two of this year’s recap.
Matthew Sussman
While I did not meet actor Matthew Sussman, the original English language voice of Meowth in the Pokémon anime, he was a big draw, as seen in this Saturday photo.
I learned from an attendee in line outside the museum Sunday morning that Matthew is a fellow photographer, also in the Canon ecosystem. His camera of choice is the EOS R6 Mark II.
Ryan Burger
Ryan is the publisher of Old School Gamer Magazine, a literal mom-and-pop operation, at least at conventions. On staff at LI Retro were his wife Becky (who took the photo below), and their daughters Paige (the manager) and Rachel.
Ryan graciously gifted me with Old School Gamer Magazine Issue 46, which I held in our Sunday morning photo. You’ll see it again among the pickups in part three. Ryan was part of the third Saturday panel I attended: The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation. One of Ryan’s fellow panelists was…
Leonard Herman
I remain grateful to The Immortal John Hancock for introducing me to Leonard Herman at their joint 2018 panel. It inspired me to buy Phoenix IV and many other books. I have become good friends with Lenny and his table manager Patrick Wong, and a fixture at any panel Lenny is part of. (If I got the title wrong, either of you can let me know and I’ll edit post haste.)
Lenny is putting the finishing touches on Phoenix 5, to be released in two volumes in 2026 via Jeremy Parish’s Press Run, a division of Limited Run Games. (Jeremy and two rotating Retronauts co-hosts rounded out Saturday’s print media panel.)
Lenny with Patrick Wong on Saturday:
Patrick took our photo on Sunday:
One of the books I bought two years ago was ABC to the VCS, and I think Lenny would be proud that I bought five Atari VCS/2600 games this year. I was inspired to do so because I sought out any games programmed by the quartet of…
Dan and Garry Kitchen, David Crane, John Van Ryzin
Regrettably, I was too shy to approach Dan, Garry, David, or John, but I bought Ghostbusters (designed by David, programmed for 2600 by Dan), Donkey Kong (programmed for 2600 by Garry), and Pitfall! (by David). I couldn’t find H.E.R.O., designed by John. And because of my shyness, I didn’t buy any of their new games made for the 2600.
The new games, by Audacity Games, included:
- Circus Convoy (by David Crane and Garry Kitchen)
- Casey’s Gold (by Dan Kitchen; in second photo above)
- Alien Abduction (by John Van Ryzin)
Dan and Garry Kitchen, and David Crane are seated from left to right. John Van Ryzin is standing in the right corner of the photo. 
I forget if Dan Kitchen or Ryan Burger was playing Casey’s Gold in this candid photo Sunday morning.
That takes care of the guest photos. Photos with fellow attendees are coming up after a look at the quartet of panels I saw.
PANELS
Saturday Panel 1, 10:30-11:30 AM
Panel Room 2 (now upstairs in The Sperry Classroom)
John Lester (Gamester81)
The Evolution of Retro Collecting: From Hobby to Industry
Saturday Panel 2, 12-1PM
Main Theatre
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
CU Podcast Live!
The main topic for this edition of The CU Podcast was this video by Phil1Up Collects:
Next on the agenda, NES trivia:
I got the first question right: Which game was released for the NES licensed, unlicensed, and licensed again? I raised my hand and answered “Pac-Man.” I was right, and earned a sticker. As a supporter of The Gaming Historian (and yes, I read a quote in a video), I chose a GH Patreon supporter sticker to go with the one I have from my days as a supporter.
Alex and Daniel Greenberg in the audience:
Q&A:
As usual, I had a question: playing off the Gaming Historian sticker, I asked if Pat or Ian had been in touch with Norman Caruso since he announced last April that he was giving up pursuing the YouTube channel full time. Great news: Norm is still creating. He co-hosts An Old Timey Podcast with his wife Kristin.
Pat was surprised that we went the entire Q&A session without invoking the ill-fated vaporware known as the Intellivision Amico.
As of publication on August 21, the full episode is up, with the Phil1Up Collects video discussion heard starting at 1:15:30. NES trivia and the Q&A are not included. I will update with video clips when posted.
9/29 UPDATE: Sorry for the delay. There is one video and here it is:
Saturday Panel 3, 2:30-3:30 PM
Panel Room 2
The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation, moderated by Luis Aguasvivas (NPR, Debug Magazine, member of New York Videogame Critics Circle)
Panelists: Leonard Herman, Ryan Burger (Old School Gamer Magazine); Retronauts podcast host Jeremy Parish (Limited Run Games’ Press Run division, Video Works YouTube series and corresponding books [NES Works, SNES Works, Virtual Boy Works, SG-1000 Works]), rotating co-hosts Kevin Bunch (independent researcher, Atari Archive website and YouTube channel, author of Atari Archive Volume 1: 1977-78) and Brian Clark (translator, author of Gameplay Harmonies)
One other tidbit from this panel is Jeremy Parish lamenting that his early 2000s articles for now-defunct websites cannot be accessed because they weren’t archived.
I devoted most of my Sunday to photographing the exhibits and freeplay areas, buying any games I didn’t buy on Saturday, mingling further with guests, and actually playing freeplay games for the first time in years. (Oh, and I bought fried ravioli from a food truck; another first for me.)
So, the one panel I saw that day had to be Lenny’s.
Sunday Panel, 3-4PM
Panel Room 2
Leonard Herman
The History of the History of Videogames
9/29 UPDATE: Leonard posted video of his panel. (Of course, you see me front and center snapping away.)
PHOTOS WITH/OF FELLOW ATTENDEES
My friend Timothy (a.k.a. Sho):
Timothy and C.J. (I forget which vendor she was with):
Daniel Greenberg (Winterion Game Studios):
Daniel and his wife Alex:
Anthony and two of his friends:
I can’t say no to a photo op if someone asks, and I was more than happy to honor Anthony’s requests.
That is the end of post one. Head to part two for a tour of the marketplace and exhibits. Part three features a conclusion, and pickups photos.
I’ll leave you with photos taken before I left for home on Saturday and before I walked back into the museum on Sunday.
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at Lincoln Center: April 1 show April 5, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Film, Food, Game Shows, Internet, Japanese, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Trains, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
NOTE: This recap will lead with photos at the venue; before, during, and after the concert. That will be followed by photos on the way to and from there: at Rockville Centre‘s LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station, aboard the train to Grand Central Terminal, inside GCT itself, the long walk through Manhattan to Columbus Circle (including stops at Rockefeller Center and Serafina restaurant, entering 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station to take the 1 train to 34th Street-Penn Station, and watching the Babylon-bound train arrive on track 20 of Penn Station’s LIRR terminal.
Tuesday night, thanks to my friend Lori Downing, I finally got the opportunity to see Herb Alpert live in concert. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights played two sold out shows in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. The show I attended – along with Lori, Lori’s son Zach, and my mother Lisa (a mutual friend of Lori) – was the second of the two, one day after Herb’s 90th birthday.
I have been a fan of Herb Alpert since CD 101.9 played “Rise” and “Rotation” on a regular basis in the 1990s. I inherited my fandom from my mom and her dad (my grandpa) Artie. In the summer of 1999, I bought a compilation CD called Classics Volume 20 with some of my high school graduation money. It only covered 1979 to ’87, meaning no Tijuana Brass. I wouldn’t discover that portion of Herb’s catalog until getting another compilation called Definitive Hits. (Yes, I’d heard TJB songs in episodes of The Simpsons and on The Dating Game. I just didn’t have them in my collection.) In 2010, I began buying CD remasters of whole albums, from The Lonely Bull (1962) to North on South St (1991). Outside of Second Wind (1996) and Colors (1999), there’s a 22-year gap in my collection that ends with Steppin’ Out (2013). From there, I’m only missing The Christmas Wish (2017).
When Lori Downing and I attended Dave Koz’s 20th Anniversary Christmas Tour at Tilles Center in December 2017, I quipped that we were in the Bob Uecker seats since we were so high up (but not in the last row). It’s a nod to the infamous 1984 Lite Beer from Miller ad where Bob is at a baseball game and settles into a field level seat. An usher intervenes, telling him he’s in the wrong seat, and Bob says, “Oh, I must be in the front row.” After the ad’s tag, we transition to Ueck in the upper deck (of Dodger Stadium). He shouts to his friend, “Good seats, eh, buddy?,” and to an umpire, “He missed the tag! He missed the tag!”
Life somewhat imitated art on Tuesday. When we presented our tickets to an usher, she escorted us to seats at stage level, a handful of rows from the stage. Seconds after I settled into what I thought was my seat, the usher realized her mistake and referred us to another usher. When I got up, I acknowledged the similarity to the ad and repeated the “front row” line. The second usher had us go up two floors in an elevator to our true location. We were in the last row of the center balcony. Unlike with Dave Koz, we really were in the Bob Uecker seats. However, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The rows are arranged in a way that your view won’t be blocked by the person in front of you.
Before we see photos from the show itself, along with the complete set list and background info, let’s backtrack.
Lori, Zach, my mom Lisa, and I reached Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of many portions of the vast Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, just after 7PM.
Using the clear backpack my dad bought for when we went to a Mets game in June 2022, a security guard cleared me in mere seconds. After riding an elevator to the 5th floor, we waited in the lobby until the Rose Hall doors were to open at 7:30.
Zach invited me to look at the view of Columbus Circle from a window at the lobby’s edge.
Then, I took a selfie with my mom.
There was even a WCWP connection to all this. (FM 60th anniversary/2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony recap) Jeff Kroll is an equally big Herb Alpert fan, and he and his wife Pat attended Monday’s 90th birthday performance. Jeff and Pat’s seats were at stage level.
On Tuesday, fellow alumnus Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., was among the attendees! Here he is talking to Lisa and Lori:
Zach took a photo of Bobby G. and me:
Bobby treated me to the David Benoit concert at My Father’s Place on December 4.
On the way to the Rose Hall entrance, I saw this poster for an upcoming Bobby McFerrin concert series (with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra):
Jazz legends photo exhibit:
That brings us back to my last row balcony seat. I can’t show every photo I took, and would rather keep videos to myself (and to some the Discord chat servers I’m part of). What I will show are the photos where my phone could make out faces with its AI enhancement.
The lights went down at 8:05 and the monitor showed Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as the Mystery Guests on a circa 1965 episode of What’s My Line?
The stage lights came up, the new Tijuana Brass assembled, and Herb made his entrance.
The band was made up of:
- Herb Alpert – lead trumpet
- Kris Bergh – trumpet and percussion
- Ryan Dragon – trombone and percussion
- Bill Cantos – piano, synthesizer, marimba
- Kerry Marx – acoustic and electric guitars
- Hussain Jiffry – bass
- Ray Brinker – drums
It was nice to finally put faces to the names (Bill, Hussain) I’d seen in the credits to Herb’s solo albums since 2013. I’m connected with Ray Brinker on Facebook, and knew of him through his work with Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. So, he was the only Tijuana Brass member I knew by name until Herb’s introduction toward the end of the first encore (spoiler).
Bill, Hussain, Ryan, and Kris provided background vocals on songs that called for them.
Here is the full set list (original album and release year in parentheses):
- The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) (The Lonely Bull, 1962) – Original composition by Sol Lake
- The Work Song (S.R.O., 1966) – While writing this post, I finally learned “Work Song” was by Nat Adderley, not Cannonball
- Memories of Madrid (What Now My Love, 1966) – Another original TJB composition by Sol Lake
- Whipped Cream (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – One of two music cues used on The Dating Game
- Spanish Flea (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – The other Dating Game cue – Original composition by TJB member Julius Wechter (also leader of the Baja Marimba Band) – Wechter’s original title was “Spanish Fly,” which wouldn’t fly in 1965
- Ladyfingers (audience member request) (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- Lollipops and Roses (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- Bittersweet Samba (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Still another Sol Lake composition for TJB – Serves as the theme to All Night Nippon, a Japanese radio show
- Mexican Shuffle (South of the Border, 1964) – If you’re keeping score, that’s four Sol Lake compositions in the set – I had no idea this was used in TV ads for Clark’s Teaberry gum (one such ad shown on the monitor), or that it was referred to as “The Teaberry Shuffle”
- Tangerine (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – See notes below set list for more info
- I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – Preceded by Ray Brinker drum solo
- Love Potion No. 9 (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – The album’s requisite striptease song
- Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (hits medley sung by the group’s lead vocalist Lani Hall (Herb’s wife; he considers Sergio “Cupid” for bring them together): Tim Dom Dom (Chim Dome Dome), One Note Samba, The Fool on the Hill, Mas que nada – Songs 1, 2, and 4 are from Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, 1966; “The Fool on the Hill” was a 1968 title track, minus the “the”
- Rise (Rise, 1979) (solo album) – Rap fans may recognize one part from its sampling in “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G.
- A Taste of Honey (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Ray Brinker perfectly matched The Wrecking Crew player Hal Blaine‘s drumming from the original, right down to the bass drum taps to note the 4/4 time signature
- Zorba the Greek (Zorba’s Dance) (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – A clip of the titular film‘s dance scene (with Anthony Quinn as Zorba) was shown during the slow middle
- Encore 1-1: This Guy’s in Love with You (The Beat of the Brass, 1968) – Herb’s lone vocal song of the set – Contrary to popular belief, the song was later reworked as “This Girl’s in Love with You” for Dionne Warwick and other female singers, not the other way around for Herb
- Encore 1-2: Smile (Midnight Sun, 1992; Catch the Wind, 2021) (solo albums) – Requiem for departed friends, including Sergio Mendes, Karen Carpenter, Burt Bacharach (co-writer of “This Guy’s in Love with You”), and A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss – “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin is not to be confused with “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” which was introduced/popularized by The Carpenters
- Encore 1-3: What Now My Love (What Now My Love, 1966)
- Encore 1-4: A Banda (Herb Alpert’s Ninth, 1967) – Fittingly preceded by band introduction (“a banda” literally means “the band”)
- Encore 2-1: Tijuana Taxi (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – original composition by TJB guitarist Ervan “Bud” Coleman
- Encore 2-2 (True Finale): On the Sunny Side of the Street (Come Fly with Me, 2015; Sunny Side of the Street, 2022) (solo albums)
I knew the title of most songs the instant they began. There were a few exceptions. I had to ask my mom about “Smile,” Zach confirmed “Tangerine” on the train ride back to Rockville Centre (via a set list for one of the Buffalo shows), and I confirmed “Tim Dom Dom (Chim Dome Dome)” on Wednesday morning via the Herb Alpert Presents… Wikipedia entry.
It’s understandable that I wouldn’t recognize “Tangerine.” I gravitated toward the more popular tracks on Whipped Cream & Other Delights. I didn’t really develop awareness and appreciate of the song until hearing it on She Was Too Good to Me, trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker‘s 1974 comeback album.
Throughout the set, relevant video clips or still photos were shown on a monitor above the stage.
The best of the photos:
“Memories of Madrid” 
“Whipped Cream,” with …& Other Delights cover model Dolores Erickson shown on the monitor 
As Herb and the Brass played “Lollipops and Roses,” a promo for The Brass Are Comin’ (1969) ran on the monitor. Among those to recite the album title was Johnny Carson. 
“Tangerine” 
Ray Brinker’s drum solo before “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” 
Herb acknowledging his marriage to Brasil ’66 lead vocalist Lani Hall, thanks to Sergio “Cupid” Mendes 
Lani’s entrance 
Lani singing “Tim Dom Dom (Chim Dome Dome)” 
A kiss after the medley 
“Rise” 
“A Taste of Honey” 
“Zorba the Greek (Zorba’s Dance),” accelerando and all 
The false ending 
Encore 1 began with “This Guy’s in Love with You” 
“What Now My Love” 
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” 
The end! 
Herb Alpert has left the stage; you can literally see him exiting stage left 
The rest of the band departs
In conclusion, there were 22 songs, 6 of the encores (4 in the first encore, 2 in the second). It was a night I’ll never forget, and I owe it all to Lori Downing. Crying happy tears, I hugged her and thanked her as we got up from our seats and walked back to the lobby.
There were no accessible stairs. So, we had to take an escalator from the lobby to a set of elevators. We and several other attendees boarded the first elevator to open and rode it down to ground level. From there, we exited back out to Columbus Circle.
The experience wasn’t all “Lollipops and Roses,” so to speak. I neglected to disable my iPhone camera’s flash and the flash light was on as I recorded “Memories of Madrid.” An usher had to come to our row and tell me to turn it off. I did as he instructed, and I deleted the video from my phone, but was quite embarrassed and miffed. I gathered my wits within a minute or two. I made sure the flash was off in photo and video mode the rest of the night, and there was no further trouble. I recorded 12 more videos (on top of “The Lonely Bull” before the intervention). Again, I’m opting to withhold them from this post.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the other photos, taken going to and from Jazz at Lincoln Center.
This train was an M9.
By this time, my iPhone’s battery state of charge was down 10%. So, I didn’t take anymore photos, but I had taken 154 photos and 13 videos on my phone, in addition to the two photos provided to me by Zach, which I cropped and upscaled for this post.
I don’t know what more I can say. Thank you again to Lori Downing for inviting me and my mom to see Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights on Tuesday night. And thank you for reading this recap. Check back in mid-May for recaps of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Bye until then.
WCWP-FM 60th anniversary celebration weekend, 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony March 25, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Philanthropy, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video.add a comment
NOTE: Whenever possible throughout this post (no pun intended), I will list an alum’s graduation year in parentheses.
Sunday, March 16, at 4PM Eastern marked 60 years since WCWP-FM signed on. Located at 88.1 on the FM band, the public radio station emanates from the Benjamin and Elizabeth Abrams Communications Center at LIU Post. The school was known as C.W. Post College in 1965, but it has always been part of the Long Island University system. (Wikipedia entry)
WCWP was initially a carrier current radio station, signing on at noon on October 18, 1961. (That 60th anniversary was celebrated during Homecoming Weekend in 2021.) Art Beltrone (1963) was the first student voice heard at sign-on. Here is that sign-on:
Quoting Art from the aircheck:
Two years ago, a group of students and your announcer felt that a school such as Post would benefit a great deal from a radio station. We organized a small club at first, and at the meetings that followed, we talked radio, making hopeful plans for the establishment of a carrier current station, leading eventually into an FM station.
In just over three years, the FM station dream was realized.
WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary celebration also spanned an entire weekend, from 6PM on March 14 to 6PM on March 16.
The celebration included a dinner on the night of March 15, held in the East Room of the Roosevelt School on the south end of campus. The dinner included the induction of the 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame class: 1984 alumnae Jeannie Moon and Laurie White, and fittingly, Benjamin Abrams. Ben Abrams, a founder of Emerson Radio, whose philanthropic efforts allowed for construction of the building that would house the FM station. In later years, the student-run web station would also emanate from the Abrams Communications Center, but I digress.
I considered splitting the celebration recap into three posts. Instead, everything is here, separated by dates and events in bold font.
This isn’t a personal diary of my experience, meaning I won’t mention things like when I arrived on campus, what equipment I used, and how I spent my downtime. This is a multimedia celebration of WCWP-FM’s 60 years on the air; the students, alumni, faculty, and volunteers who are part of its history; and the latest inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. (Full disclosure: I have served on the Hall of Fame Committee since the 2022 class.)
FRIDAY, MARCH 14
Meet-and-Greet, The Rock Show
I only have two photos of the meet-and-greet in the lobby of the Abrams Communications Center.
First is my fellow 2004 alumnus Joe Sacco with WCWP station manager Dan Cox (1985).
Then, Dan took a photo of Joe and me.
All other photos were in Studio 2 for The Rock Show with Jeff and Pat Kroll, and guest host Neil Marks.
Before air, Dan Cox dropped in to speak with the Krolls (Jeff graduated in 1975, Pat in ’79), Neil (’77), and Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G. (’70).
Jeff Kroll kicked off The Rock Show just after 7PM.
The theme was many songs that topped the music charts on March 16. That date in 1965 was when WCWP-FM signed on. Not every year was represented in the playlist, and only a snippet was played of the number 1 song in 2025, but the songs Jeff did play lived up to their chart-topping status.
Jeff’s wife Pat Kroll (née Champion) served as co-host…
…with the addition of Neil Marks.
About half an hour into the show, Jeff interviewed 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees Laurie White and Jeannie Moon (both 1984 alumnae).
Jeannie Moon 
Laurie White
One hour in, Jeff and Pat spoke to Mike Chimeri (me), WCWP station historian and photographer, and 2021 WCWP Hall of Famer.
Neil Marks took photos on my behalf.
My lead-in was “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley – number 1 on March 16, 1988. So, I began my interview with a nod to my Twitch channel, and gave a shoutout to music streamer GnatChat. Nat does a jazzy rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up” as her raid song. (She, too, is an event photographer, albeit professionally.) I posted an excerpt of the video below to her Discord chat server and she thanked me for the shoutout.
After that, I discussed my history with WCWP, dating back to my first show on October 5, 2001, on WebRadio WCWP, now known as The Wave. (Select scoped airchecks of The Mike Chimeri Show can be heard here. As for Instrumental Invasion, here’s the recap aggregation page.)
After my interview, Neil Marks returned to his seat. Music and banter between Jeff, Pat, and Neil took up the rest of the show, concluding with “Believe” by Cher, number 1 on March 16, 1999, during my senior year at Wantagh High School. (Neil is a fellow Wantagh High School alumnus.)
Watch a scoped aircheck of The Rock Show below:
More of the beginnings and ends of songs can be heard in the audio version of the scoped aircheck:
SATURDAY, MARCH 15
60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner and 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony
(with a pictorial tour of Roosevelt School presidential exhibits)
There was an open house at the Abrams Communications Center on Saturday afternoon. In this first photo, WCWP station manager Dan Cox showed the current makeup of Studio 3 to Neil Marks (1977), Fred Gaudelli (1982), and Suzanne Langwell (1983).
Neil, Fred, and Suzanne are all members of the WCWP Hall of Fame. Neil was part of the 2017 class, Fred was inducted in ’19, and Suzanne in ’22 (ceremony in ’23).
Suzanne Langwell and Neil and Lita Marks converse in Studio 3:
Jeff Kroll prerecorded an interview with Fred Gaudelli to air during Sunday’s FM 60th anniversary broadcast. (Scroll down to that portion of this post to see and hear it.)
Fred is not only in the WCWP Hall of Fame, but also the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame (2020-21), and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, receiving the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2023.
Cynthia Hochman, daughter of Benjamin Abrams, spoke to Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks. Listening along are Cynthia’s granddaughters and Joan Yonke, LIU Director of Development and Annual Fund. (Development webpage)
Suzanne Langwell also spoke to Cynthia Hochman.
Pete Sacoulas (2017) drove me and Neil Marks to the south end of LIU Post’s campus for the 60th anniversary celebration and 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony in the Roosevelt School‘s East Room.
Photos of the presidential exhibits will be shown at the end of this album. For now, I’ll note this was my first time inside the now-Roosevelt School since my first semester in Fall 1999. It was a building for music courses, such as Introduction to Music Theory. My professor was John Meschi, now the Director of Music Technology.
The entrance to the East Room:
The Hall of Fame banner and plaques, and programs:
As guests filed in, a photo array looped on a monitor to the left of the podium.
A straight-on podium view:
It makes you feel like you’re in the White House briefing room.
LIU President Dr. Kimberly Cline speaking with Marjorie Hyman, daughter of Benjamin Abrams, who was among the 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees:
Dr. Cline speaking with Cynthia Hochman, another daughter of Benjamin Abrams; and one of Cynthia’s granddaughters:
Jeff Kroll and WCWP station manager Dan Cox speaking with Dr. Kimberly Cline and Vice President for University Advancement Kerry Kruckel:
Fred Gaudelli joined the conversation with Dr. Cline and Ms. Kruckel:
Courtesy of Suzanne Langwell, here’s a photo of Suzanne with 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees Laurie White and Jeannie Moon:
The 60th anniversary celebration began with opening remarks from Dan Cox:
Kerry Kruckel, LIU Vice President for University Advancement, was next to speak:
Cindy Rogers, District Director for Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), delivered a citation on the Congressman’s behalf:
The citation:
Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition
Presented to
WCWP
Long Island University Public Radio
In celebration of its
60th Anniversary
On behalf of the constituents of the Third Congressional District of New York, congratulations on celebrating your 60th Anniversary. This achievement is a testament to your hard work and dedication to providing informative and entertaining content to the community as a student-run radio station. Best wishes for many more years of successful broadcasting.
Thomas R. Suozzi
Member of Congress
Third District of New York
March 15, 2025
Dan Cox read a statement from WCWP founding member Art Beltrone, commemorating the FM station’s 60th anniversary:
That was followed by prerecorded speeches from Hank Neimark (1964) and Ted David (1972):
Hank signed on WCWP-FM at 4PM on March 16, 1965, with the words “WCWP-FM is on the air.” (You’ll see him recite those words again during the 60th anniversary broadcast later in this post.)
Dan Reagan (1981) presented 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee Jeannie Moon.
Dan was a 2022 inductee with Suzanne Langwell and six others, and served as chairman of the 2024 Hall of Fame Committee.
Jeannie Moon posed with presenter Dan and her Hall of Fame plaque:
Jeannie’s acceptance speech:
Fred Gaudelli was one of two presenters for inductee Laurie White:
Dan Reagan (right) returned as the second presenter:
Laurie White holding her Hall of Fame plaque with presenters Dan Reagan and Fred Gaudelli:
Laurie’s acceptance speech:
That brought us to the most emotional part of the Hall of Fame Ceremony: the induction of Benjamin Abrams.
Two of Abrams’ surviving daughters, Marjorie Hyman and Cynthia Hochman, spoke on his behalf.
97-year-old Marjorie Hyman’s speech outlined the life and times of her father.
Marjorie’s son Peter and sister Cynthia watching her speech 
A standing ovation!
It was an awe-inspiring speech, one that I complimented Marjorie for after the ceremony. I also thanked her for the generous donation that led to the renovation of the Benjamin and Elizabeth Abrams Communications Center. I initially shook her hand, and continued to hold her hand for the length of our conversation. I nearly cried.
Cynthia Hochman, another of Ben Abrams’ daughters, was next to speak.
Cynthia Hochman and Marjorie Hyman proudly posed with their father Benjamin Abrams’ Hall of Fame plaque:
The ceremony concluded with impassioned remarks from WCWP station manager Dan Cox:
You’ve seen the photos, now watch the video:
If you’re wondering, Marjorie Hyman’s speech is at the 1:07:59 mark.
Ted David left a highly complimentary YouTube comment:
Superior videography to chronicle a major milestone in the history of WCWP, its 60th anniversary. The speeches by the Abrams daughters were the capstones of an amazing evening. Congratulations to the HOF inductees and to all who took part. Special kudos to Mike Chimeri for capturing this history in audio, video and still photography for our posterity!
Thank you very much, Ted.
Now, as promised, we conclude the Saturday portion of this post with photos of the Roosevelt School presidential exhibits.
SUNDAY, MARCH 16
WCWP-FM 60th Anniversary Broadcast
Jeff Kroll commenced the FM 60th anniversary broadcast at 3PM:
Jeff hosted and Pat produced:
Jeff’s view of Zoom on the Studio 3 monitor:
Larry Brodsky (1968) was the first studio guest:
As 4PM approached, producer Pat Kroll made a cameo for the Zoom participants:
Jeff ran a legal ID from Chris Maffei (2013) at 3:58 to clear the way for Hank Neimark at 4PM.
Hank repeated his sign-on: “WCWP-FM is on the air.”
That was followed by applause from Zoom participants Art Beltrone, Bernie Bernard, Junie Thomas, Jon Korkes, Alan Seltzer (1978), Joel Feltman, John LiBretto (1968) (also on staff for the FM sign-on), and John Commins (1973).
Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., was the second guest off Zoom and in Studio 3 with Jeff Kroll.
In honor of the late Joe Honerkamp, a.k.a Joseph P. (1974), Jeff Kroll went through a list of high temperatures on March 16 in 1965 and beyond:
Joe was, and Jeff and I (Mike) are, big weather enthusiasts. Jeff said in a comment to this photo in the WCWP Alumni Association album, “[Joe’s] presence was missed throughout the weekend celebrations.”
I showed the following photo featuring Joe Honerkamp (seated at the mic) in the 60th anniversary broadcast before Jeff read the high temperatures:
In the 5PM hour, the studio guest list picked up, starting with Lew Scharfberg (1978) (atop the above photo) and Jeff Jensen (1984):
Lew Scharfberg 
Jeff Jensen
Dan Reagan was next. (His wife Gina looked on outside the studio.)
Dan Reagan was followed by WCWP station manager Dan Cox.
While Jeff Kroll’s prerecorded interview with Fred Gaudelli ran (as seen in the Saturday portion of this recap), I stepped out of Studio 3 to take this photo:
Back live in Studio 3, Jeff Kroll spoke to “Grandfather Rock” Chris MacIntosh, host of Rock N’ Soul Gospel.
Then, it was my turn:
Rather than rehash my WCWP biography from the Friday night interview, I chose to compliment Marjorie Hyman’s speech on behalf of her father Benjamin Abrams.
Vincent Randazzo (2024) and Andrew Scarpaci (2023) were next, the most recent WCWP alumni to be interviewed:
Vincent Randazzo 
Andrew Scarpaci
The last guest of the broadcast was Jeannie Moon:
After noting 26 guests were interviewed, on Zoom and in Studio 3 combined, Jeff and Pat Kroll signed off:
Then, it was back to regular programming: Rock N’ Soul Gospel with “Grandfather Rock” Chris MacIntosh.
That brings us to the comprehensive video of the 60th anniversary broadcast, combining upscaled Zoom video, A- and B-roll from my two camcorders (as in the other two videos), supplemental photos, and the full aircheck. Enjoy.
For good measure, the audio from that video:
Thank you for taking this multimedia journey through WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary celebration. It is the culmination of 11 days of production and post-production. I sacrificed tens of hours of my time, but I assure you it was a labor of love.
My next blog post should be a recap of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights: In Concert at Lincoln Center on April 1. (Jeff and Pat Kroll will be at the March 31 concert.) That will be followed by recaps of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars, to be held May 2 and 3.
Otherwise, as far as WCWP goes, see you on Homecoming Weekend, starting September 12. (Yes, it’s a week earlier than last year.)
David Benoit at My Father’s Place: A Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas December 7, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Broadway, Christmas, Comedy, DVD, Education, Football, History, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Theatre, Travel, TV, VHS, Weather.2 comments
3/25/25 NOTE: Scroll down for an update to this post via an email from Steve Stoliar.
Wednesday evening, thanks to the generosity of my fellow WCWP/LIU Post alumnus Bobby Guthenberg, I was at My Father’s Place at the Roslyn Hotel to see David Benoit‘s annual tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas.
It was the first time I’d seen a live show outside of Smooth Jazz for Scholars since before COVID. That last pre-COVID show was Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion at The Iridium in December 2019. Wednesday also marked the first time I’d seen David and his trio since June 2019, also at My Father’s Place, three months after I saw The Rippingtons there.
Bobby G., longtime friend of My Father’s Place promoter Michael “Eppy” Epstein, first invited me to David’s show one morning in late August. I didn’t hesitate in accepting the invitation. We would meet at WCWP’s Abrams Communications Center by 5:45 PM and drive to Roslyn from there.
Since it was Christmastime, I anticipated David’s set would be similar to the one from his 2008 concert at IMAC (Inter-Media Art Center) in Huntington. (Little did I know that would be the last show I’d ever see there as the venue closed in June 2009, eventually replaced by The Paramount.)
My parents drove me up to LIU Post at 5:00 and we arrived in the parking lot adjacent to WCWP (and Hillwood Commons) within 20 minutes. In contrast to the flurry of activity during Homecoming Weekend, the Abrams Communications Center was as dark as the night sky, with most of the light coming from studio 1 and 3 where live shows were in progress. Thomas, the Wednesday host of The Rock Show, invited me in before retreating to Hillwood for dinner. I paced quietly in the lobby until Bobby G. arrived shortly after 5:45.
Bobby and I conversed on the entire drive to My Father’s Place, listening to David Benoit’s Fuzzy Logic (2002) CD along the way.
It was about 6PM when parked in the Roslyn Hotel lot. We walked up the stairs to the hotel lobby and down the stairs to the My Father’s Place section. (MFP was originally its own venue before relocating to the hotel.) Eppy Epstein was seated outside the entrance and Bobby introduced us. Then, we confirmed our ticketed reservation with the attendant in the entryway and were ushered to a front row center table.
My conversation with Bobby continued as 8PM approached. (He and Billy Joel were classmates at Hicksville High School!) We both ordered separate dinners, each choosing a seltzer with lime as our soft drink, drinking water in the meantime. None of the entrees interested me, so I ordered fried calamari and a “side” of mac and cheese. Our waitress told me the side dish, with shell pasta, was as big as an entree, meaning I only needed to order one bowl. It was all quite good.
I checked the stage for a set list so I’d know what I was in for. I found one on the stage floor by the drum kit. I didn’t think to write the list to my stenographer pad until the show had begun and the waitress took our dessert orders. I chose chocolate lava cake, which was a bit rich for me, even with the vanilla ice cream mixed in, but still good.
Okay, the preamble is over. Let’s talk about the show itself!
As you see, there was a fourth member of the band: vocalist Courtney Fortune.
David Benoit was on a Yamaha piano:
New York City native Roberto Vally played bass:
Merrick native Dan Schnelle was on drums:
And the aforementioned Courtney Fortune on vocals:
The front stage featured replicas of Schroeder‘s toy piano and the sapling Charlie Brown chose over fully-grown trees in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Before more photos, let’s look at…
THE SET LIST
- It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Believe
- Medley: My Favorite Things/The Christmas Waltz
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- Originals medley: Drive Time/Café Rio/Kei’s Song
- Schroeder/The Doctor is In
- Vince Guaraldi medley: Great Pumpkin Waltz/Thanksgiving Theme/You’re in Love, Charlie Brown/Christmas is Coming/Skating/What Child is This?/O Tannenbaum
- Christmas Time is Here
- Just Like Me
- Linus and Lucy
- (encore) Cabin Fever
Set List Background Info
Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas compositions (except where noted) in the set were “Christmas is Coming,” “Skating,” “What Child is This?” (only on the soundtrack album; arrangement of traditional song), “O Tannenbaum” (arrangement of traditional song), “Linus and Lucy,” and “Christmas Time is Here.” That last song was heard instrumentally throughout A Charlie Brown Christmas, but a separate version added lyrics by Lee Mendelson, the special’s producer and co-writer (with Peanuts creator Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz). David first covered “Linus and Lucy” on This Side Up (1985), which led to an updated arrangement for “The Great Inventors” episode of This is America, Charlie Brown. David scored that entire episode, and many Peanuts TV specials (plus some Garfield specials) through 2006. The specials that stand out in my mind are:
- It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown – Features hilarious scenes where Peppermint Patty and Sally Brown botch their lines in the Christmas play – Similar scenes were played out in the series finale of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, where a young Stacy Ferguson (Fergie) voiced Sally
- You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown – Relegated to VHS, as of this writing – Features
improvisedplay-by-play by Steve Stoliar, a comedy writer, film historian, assistant to Groucho Marx, and impressionist (naturally, his Groucho impression is immaculate [no, he didn’t do it in the special]) *See 3/25/25 UPDATE below this list* - I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown – Focuses heavily on Rerun, Linus and Lucy‘s younger brother, and his desire for a dog, be it Snoopy or Snoopy’s brother Spike (partially recycled from episode 15 of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show) – This special marked the debut of David’s original composition, “Rerun’s Theme,” later recorded for David’s Jazz for Peanuts (2008)
3/25/25 UPDATE: Steve Stoliar emailed me this evening to clear things up about his involvement in You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown.
It was much more of a challenge than mere improvisation. Here – whether you want it or not – is the complete story: I had a friend who worked at Bill Melendez Prods. in a variety of capacities. She called me up one day and said, “Can you help us? We produced this Super Bowl show that Sparky wrote and there are football games with no dialogue that just go on and on and they’re repetitious and confusing.”
She gave me a VHS of the rough-cut and I sat on my living room floor starting, pausing, rewinding my VHS player and trying to time (without a stopwatch) how long each football sequence ran. Then I scribbled down some suggested narration, making use of a lot of alliterations and metaphors, such as you get from color commentators on sporting events. After that, I read it and tried to edit the copy so it fit snugly in the blank spaces. Then I went to Melendez Prods. in Hollywood and we recorded it – with Bill M. directing me – and me doing a sort of Vin Scully-inspired classic sportscaster voice.
It’s fairly miraculous that it worked out. “Variety” actually reviewed it and pointed out the sports narration as a high spot. Unfortunately, my pleasure in having met the challenge was greatly impacted by my late wife and me having been literally thrown out of our apartment by the Northridge Earthquake, which hit between the time I recorded the narration and when the show aired.
I was later rewarded with a lovely production cel (and original background) from one of the birdie football games, inscribed, “For Steve – In friendship – Bill Melendez” in black Sharpie. Sadly, even though it wasn’t in direct sunlight, the inscription faded. But – like Big Julie in “Guys ‘n’ Dolls” talking about the blank dice – “I remembers where da spots previously were.”
It remains the only Charlie Brown special that has any sort of shared writing credit.
End of story – except to thank you for the compliment on my Groucho impression!
Thank you, Steve, for correcting the record, and allowing me to post what you wrote. I don’t know where I got in my head that he improvised the dialogue. I must have misinterpreted the Facebook comment he left a few years ago when I said that I’d watched my digitizing of the VHS tape. On that note, Steve wrote in a follow-up reply…
Oh – also – that particular show was produced as a tie-in with Shell Oil and the VHS tape was either a giveaway or for sale at a low, low price at Shell Stations when you filled up your tank. So even though it aired on TV, I suspect it’s missing from DVD release because of the initial deal with Shell. Not sure. I also did voices for Melendez (what a great guy) on “Snoopy’s Reunion” and “It’s The Girl In The Red Truck, Charlie Brown.”
I’m inclined to agree with Steve about the Shell tie-in keeping You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown off DVD and other modern home media releases. It’s the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown is another special that has yet to go beyond VHS, but Snoopy’s Reunion has a dedicated DVD.
Thanks again to Steve Stoliar. Now, back to what I wrote in December.
Speaking of David’s originals, “Kei’s Song” is from Freedom at Midnight (1987), “Cabin Fever” (the encore) was on Waiting for Spring (1989), “Drive Time” originated on The Best of David Benoit: 1987-1995 (one of two new tracks), and “Café Rio” is from Full Circle (2006). “Drive Time” and “Café Rio” get the big band treatment on David’s latest album, Timeless, recorded in the UK with Spice Fusion Big Band.
David composed “Just Like Me” for 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas (2005), with Lee Mendelson lyrics that honor the feel of “Christmas Time is Here.” Vanessa Williams sang on the original, and David recorded a solo piano version at Steinway Hall in 2017, one of 17 tracks from his The Steinway Sessions…session that were saved for It’s a David Benoit Christmas! (2020).
“Great Pumpkin Waltz,” “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” and “Thanksgiving Theme” were Vince Guaraldi compositions for It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (yes, more redundancy), and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
“Believe” was a Josh Groban song for the film The Polar Express, which served as the title track to David’s 2015 trio album that featured Jane Monheit and The All-American Boys Chorus.
“Schroeder” (set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”) and “The Doctor is In” were from the Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
That brings us back to the photos. For that You’re a Good Man medley, David portrayed Schroeder and Courtney channeled Lucy.
I’m not ashamed to admit “Just Like Me” drove me to happy tears. It’s such a pretty song.
When Courtney wasn’t on stage, the trio of David, Roberto, and Dan played instrumentally.
The finale: “Linus and Lucy”:
For the encore, a man at a front row table held up his LP copy of Waiting for Spring (I have it on CD) and requested a track from there. David chose “Cabin Fever,” one of my favorites.
I only got to meet and greet half the band. Roberto and Dan were deep in separate conversations and I didn’t want to rudely interrupt.
However, I did get to catch up with David, who signed my copy of Timeless:
I then introduced David to Bobby Guthenberg (who took the above photo). Bobby bought a copy of Timeless, and David signed that.
Bobby G. and I weren’t the only WCWP alumni at My Father’s Place that night. Voice actor David Kaplan was there, too. It was great to see him. He was talking to vocalist Courtney Fortune, who I then spoke to. I complimented Courtney’s performance and told her how moving her rendition of “Just Like Me” was. Then, Bobby took a photo of us:
My one regret is not getting a photo with My Father’s Place promoter Eppy Epstein before Bobby and I exited The Roslyn. Upon exiting, I noticed it was snowing!
Before meeting and greeting, Bobby offered to drive me back to Wantagh so my parents wouldn’t have to drive back up to WCWP for me. I accepted and called my mom to let her know. Bobby cautiously drove home in the rain/snow mix, once again conversing the entire way while finishing up his Fuzzy Logic CD. He switched to Timeless while waiting at a red light on Jerusalem Avenue.
Bobby dropped me off at the curb at about 10:30. I wished him good night and thanked him yet again for treating me to a memorable night at My Father’s Place. (He messaged me on Facebook upon his safe return home to Bayside.) I may return to MFP some time in 2025 if Eppy can book drummer Billy Cobham. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thank you again to David Benoit, Roberto Vally, Dan Schnelle, and Courtney Fortune. You were all wonderful.
WCWP honored at 2024 Legends of Long Island Music Awards November 26, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Food, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Travel, Video.add a comment
Last Tuesday night, November 19, WCWP – LIU Post‘s public radio FM station – was among many honorees at the 2024 Legends of Long Island Music Awards. The ceremony was hosted by Good Times Magazine and the Long Island Music Business Organization. It was held at The Bayview in Freeport on the southern end of Woodcleft Avenue (near Richmond Street). Woodcleft Avenue is known colloquially as the Nautical Mile because its .85 land mile length is within .02 miles of the nautical unit of distance.
This was another homecoming of sorts for me (2024 WCWP/LIU Post Homecoming Weekend recap), as the Chimeri family part-owned and operated Ehrhart’s Clam House and Bar in the center of the Nautical Mile (adjacent to Suffolk Street) from the fall of 1970 through their sale in the spring of 2004. (Jeremy’s Ale House is where the Clam House was and Hurricane Harry’s replaced Ehrhart’s Bar.) The Chimeri family went on to run Water Lilly’s Waterside Cafe a block and a half to the north (before Hamilton Street) from the summer of 2004 through some time in 2009. (Halfway Down stands where Water Lilly’s used to be.)
Whether or not you could make the sold out Legends of Long Island Music Awards, this was the program with all honorees listed (not in order of presentation):
Good Times Magazine founder and publisher Rich Branciforte served as host, and presented WCWP station manager Dan Cox with the station’s award about halfway through the ceremony.
Now that you’ve seen the video, see photos taken before and during the honor below.
Standing above table 23 are Bobby Guthenberg and George Walsh (whose promo flyer for Knockin’ on Dylan’s Door was seen in the preivous photo). Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh (Rock ‘N Soul Gospel) is seated at the table while Pat Kroll can be seen at table 25. 
The Wave program director Avery Cochikas takes a group selfie at table 25. Pat Kroll is visible in the upper left next to station manager Dan Cox, LIU director of development annual fund Joan Yonke, and Audrey Varnas. Woody Collins (Trawling the Decades) and his wife Jan are in the foreground at table 25. 
George Walsh talks to Rick Lucidi (Rick’s Ranch Radio) and Rich Solomon (Taking Care of Business). 
Bobby G. with Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh and Audrey Varnas 
Among those in this photo are Cindy Schwartz (Rockin’ History), Vince Randazzo, WCWP station manager Dan Cox, Pat Kroll, Jeff Kroll, Audrey Varnas, The Wave program director Avery Cochikas, and LIU director of development annual fund Joan Yonke 
Rich Solomon, George Walsh, Rick Lucidi, Bobby Guthenberg, Chris MacIntosh, Woody Collins, Dan Cox 
Good Times Magazine founder Rich Branciforte introduces Dan Cox to accept WCWP’s honoree award. 
Dan’s acceptance speech 
I remain grateful for the opportunity to document the history of WCWP by chronicling events like this. It was an even bigger thrill to do so at a venue on a street with sentimental and nostalgic value in a village where I lived 11 years of my life and where my family (myself included) has worked for over half a century.
Congratulations to WCWP and thank you to the Legends of Long Island Music Awards for honoring the station.
2024 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend October 4, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Books, Football, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz, Sports, Travel, Video.add a comment
Last year, due to ongoing renovation of the Abrams Communications Center on the campus of LIU Post, WCWP‘s Homecoming Weekend programming block was cancelled. This year, it was back, running from September 20 at noon through September 22 at midnight. Coinciding with the LIU Sharks football team‘s Homecoming game against the University of Rhode Island Rams, this was the first Homecoming Weekend block overseen by returning station manager Dan Cox since 2021 and first coordinated by alumni Jeff and Pat Kroll since 2019.
Those who attended the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony on June 1 were given a tour of the Abrams renovation afterward. More alumni would have a chance to see the changes this time.
As the unofficial station historian, a title bestowed upon me by Bill Mozer, I would document this weekend from start to finish, through videos, photos, and airchecks. The airchecks were mostly recorded off the FM internet stream at my Wantagh home via desktop PCs in my bedroom and the guest room. Exceptions are the first four hours of programming Friday and Bernie Bernard’s show after the football game Saturday. For those, I recorded at WCWP using Adobe Audition on my laptop, which was connected to USB phono preamp connected via a Y-adapter to a Sangean radio’s aux out port. The home recordings were done through Audacity and edited in Adobe Audition.
I always seem to develop anxiety ahead of an impending workload, and that was again the case on Thursday, September 19. I had temporarily limited my Twitch streaming schedule to one stream a week to focus on covering Homecoming Weekend and all the post-production to follow. I also, muted all the Discord chat servers I was in and turned off notifications on the many channels I followed and/or subscribed to. I needed to be calm going into the weekend and focus on the task at hand.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
With all my batteries charged and equipment packed, my mother Lisa drove me up to LIU Post just after 11AM. Once I arrived and entered WCWP, I unpacked and began setting up in studio 3 for the first show of Homecoming Weekend. Project Independence and You! was wrapping up its regularly-scheduled show in studio 2.
Homecoming Weekend led off at noon with Art Beltrone’s interview show.
Art was the first student voice heard on WCWP after its carrier-current station sign-on at noon on October 18, 1961.
Jeff Kroll was the engineer and co-host.
Art’s first alumni guests were Bill Rozea… 
…and Bill’s wife April, members of C.W. Post first graduating class in 1959. 
Art Beltrone presented April Rozea with a bouquet of roses. (Art’s wife Lee is seated in the background.) 
Between interviews, Jeff played “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley, to the delight of the Bill and April Rozea.
Bill Rozea speaking with Art’s next guest, Vinnie Salamone:
Art’s interview with Vinnie Salamone:
Bernie Bernard was next:
She also received a bouquet of flowers. 
Jeff led the interview with Bernie. 
The next four photos are courtesy of Ted David while he dropped by studio 3:
Jeff’s wife Pat Kroll produced and coordinated Art’s show.
Art Beltrone’s other guests included Stewart Ain, via Zoom (a fifth photo by Ted David)…
John LiBretto and Hank Neimark…
Hank was the first voice on WCWP-FM when it signed on at 4PM on March 16, 1965. 
…and Steve Radoff, via Zoom:
After Hank, John, and Steve were interviewed, I gathered my equipment and headed for studio 2 to set up for my live edition of Instrumental Invasion at 2PM.
Here is Art’s full show, minus most of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”:
Aside from the guests listed above, Art spoke to Jon Benson (via Zoom) and Greg Tarone.
Portions of the above aircheck were synced to video I shot on a pair of Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorders, with occasional photo cutaways.
Click here for a recap of my live Instrumental Invasion, with corresponding photos, scoped aircheck, and video. (The link to the midnight prerecorded show comes later in this post.)
Hank Neimark and John LiBretto returned to the airwaves at 4PM to host Strictly Jazz. Jon Korkes served as the third host, appearing via Zoom, and Jeff Kroll was once again engineer.
Jon Korkes’s Zoom window (the text below him is burned in to the monitor)
Here are Jeff, John, and Hank after the show:
Now for the scoped aircheck of Strictly Jazz:
As you’ll see in the composite aircheck video, Hank and John interviewed me at one point:
After becoming obsessed with “My Attorney Bernie” by Dave Frishberg during the drafting of this post, I realized I left the end of the song from the scoped aircheck in the video before jumping to my interview.
As Strictly Jazz proceeded in studio 2, I took two other photos in the lobby:
WCWP station manager Dan Cox (center) with LIU senior philanthropic advisor Charles Rasberry (left) and Neil Marks (right) 
Neil Marks, John Zoni, Andrew Scarpaci, and Travis Demers prepping for the Homecoming game broadcast
John Zoni had the next show at 7PM Friday:
Jay Mirabile followed at 9PM with a special edition of The DFK Show. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of him while I was on campus and he didn’t take one during his show. So, here’s a photo from 2013:
The scoped aircheck is from this year.
There are more alumni hosts below who were not individually photographed (Chris MacIntosh is in a two-shot) by me or anyone else this weekend, and I will include a photo if I have one to go along with their scopes.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
As the clock struck midnight, my prerecorded three-hour edition of Instrumental Invasion commenced. Click here for that show’s recap, but I’ll say here it was the first time I’d hosted a three-hour show since filling in for Martin Phillips on Thursday Night Jazz in October 2009.
At 3AM, there was Magick Mike Hendryx, seen here live in 2016 following my live Instrumental Invasion:
John Commins was the last of the prerecorded shows early Saturday, airing at 5AM. This was John in 2017:
Jeff Jensen had Saturday’s first live show at 7AM back in studio 2. He’s seen here in 2019:
We now jump ahead to later in the morning atop the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium prior to the LIU Sharks-Rhode Island Rams game.
This set of photos were taken by Pat Kroll:
Jeff and Pat Kroll 
Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks 
Travis Demers handled play-by-play in the 2nd and 3rd quarters while Jeff
Kroll took the 1st and 4th quarters. Neil Marks analyzed.
The Homecoming game kicked off at noon, and I arrived on campus about half an hour later, setting down my equipment at the Abrams Communications Center.
Then, I took out my Canon EOS R7 and swapped the RF-S 18-150mm lens (a replacement after the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo mishap) with an RF 100-400mm lens. That plan worked for photos of the football field, but for everything else, I’d have to back up a long way for anything close to me.
First, a photo in the parking lot:
And one by the entrance:
When I arrived, it was halftime, and Vinnie Salamone got his second interview of Homecoming Weekend.
Listen to the interview here:
As halftime wound down, Jeff Kroll, Neil Marks, and Travis Demers recapped the first half, told stories, and remarked on the state of WCWP.
My photos atop the press box alternated between my EOS R7 and iPhone 13 Pro.
The LIU marching band’s halftime performance 
The opposite end of the stadium 
Until ten nights earlier at Freeport’s 9/11 memorial ceremony, I was unaware that Bronko Pearsall was one of the 343 FDNY firefighters lost that September morning in 2001. Pearsall was among the names read by Amanda Muldowney, sister-in-law of Richie Muldowney. 
Practice kicks… 
The LIU marching band gets back in position in the stands. 
The LIU Sharks returned to the field… 
…followed by the Rams of URI. 
Jeff Kroll always managed to spot me taking a candid shot, leading to a posed photo. 
Travis Demers, Neil Marks, and Jeff Kroll prepare for the second half, as heard in the earlier clip. 
The second half kickoff 
Travis Demers calling the action with Jeff Kroll analyzing and Pat Kroll producing 
Neil Marks watched on during the third quarter, and would rejoin Jeff and Travis in the fourth. 
Travis’s view of the field 
A final photo at the stadium before returning to WCWP
The Sharks led the Rams 21-14, but went on to lose 28-21. The key moment came late in the fourth quarter. One play after the Sharks recovered a Rams fumble at the 1-yard line, the Sharks fumbled the ball back to Rhode Island at the 5. The Rams tied, and went ahead on their next possession. At least it was an exciting game for Jeff, Neil, and Travis to call.
“Highlights” were run during the postgame show, emanating from studio 3 and atop the stadium press box.
John Zoni handled the out-of-town scoreboard…
…and Andrew Scarpaci narrated the highlights:
Programming returned to studio 2 at 3PM with Bernie Bernard. Here are photos taken while setting up:
To the left of Bernie is Jett Lightning. Bobby Guthenberg (a.k.a. Bobby G.) and Larry Brodsky are to the right of her. 
Bobby G. helped Bernie set up (Photo by Hugh Hammill) 
Photo by Hugh Hammill
The photos were taken after Bernie’s show began.
Hugh Hammill is pictured talking to WCWP station manager Dan Cox with Bernie Bernard prepping the next CD to play. Jeff Kroll is standing on the right and Bernie’s sister Melissa is seating facing away in the foreground. 
Ward Henry and Bernie Bernard (Photo by Hugh Hammill) 
Bernie’s view of Wavecart (Photo by Hugh Hammill) 
Larry Brodsky and Jeff Kroll (after Jeff spotted me taking a candid) 
Travis Demers, Frank Iemitti (capital I; with his back to the camera), John Zoni, John Mullen, Dave Fleischer
I neglected to shoot video, but WCWP station manager Dan Cox addressed the gathered alumni outside at the barbecue.
Dan was joined by Kerry Kruckel, LIU vice president for university advancement. 
This photo includes Joan Yonke (center), LIU director of development and
annual fund, and Art and Lee Beltrone to the right of Joan.
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh and Dan Cox listen to Ms. Kruckel’s complimentary remarks. 
Dan was equally complimentary. 
Back inside studio 2…
Bernie Bernard at the board 
Chris MacIntosh joined Jett, Ward, Bernie, Melissa, and Hugh. 
Me with my Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorders. One had a handle unit attachment, and a great shotgun mic and tripod. The other had an okay tripod and no external mic or handle unit. 
Unfortunately, I forgot to hit record on those camcorders before Bernie interviewed me. Thankfully, Melissa Bernard took the next three photos that I used in the video you’ll see in a little while. 
“I was born in the ’80s!” 
Tony and Winnie Traguardo also dropped by. 
Before Mike Riccio and Bobby G.’s radio show, Bernie tried to stump Mike on who sang covers of two songs. 
Mike went 1 for 2. 
John Zoni told me a story about he came to be involved in coverage of the C.W. Post Pioneers/LIU Sharks Homecoming game, as well as encountering Bill Mozer immediately before and after the university fired Bill as station manager in 1990.
As John and I continued to talk, I could hear Bernie wrapping up her show. So, I rushed back into studio 2 to record camcorder videos.
Here is a scope of the entire show:
And a composite aircheck video:
Outside the studio, a photo of Dan Cox (right) with Winnie and Tony Traguardo:
A candid shot of Bobby G. and Jeff Kroll:
Bobby took a photo of me and Jeff:
I should note I bought that blue and gold LIU polo on my way out of the stadium. I chose to wear a green and gold LIU Post shirt that predated the “One LIU” athletics merger and move to NCAA Division I, but it felt wrong wearing that shirt. I changed into the new one when I got back to WCWP.
Pat Kroll took this photo of me and John Zoni:
She also found a CD in my name in one of the station mail slots, per this photo taken over a week later:
The artist said there was one instrumental track for me to play on Instrumental Invasion, unaware that my weekly run ended last November.
Anyway, it was on to Mike Riccio and Bobby G. at 6:02 PM. The theme this year was songs from 1961 to 1989 albums that have been streamed the most on Spotify. Bobby, Jett Lightning, and Bernie Bernard had to guess what the most-streamed song was before Mike began each set.
Mike Riccio 
Bobby G. 
Jett Lightning 
A posed photo of Jett Lightning 
Bernie Bernard returned to studio 2 by the 1970s portion of the show. 
Before I packed up my equipment and left for home, I got a photo of Mike Riccio and Bobby G.:
Here is a scope of most of their show. I edited out a talk break I intruded on and would like to forget.
And a composite aircheck video of all but that one talk break during their first 82 minutes:
Vince Randazzo came on at 9:03 PM with Alternative Jukebox. Yet again, I dip into the archives for a photo of him, taken at the 2022 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Photos from Sunday are courtesy of Pat Kroll and Ted David.
I airchecked the last 18 hours of the weekend, beginning at 6AM with a pre-record of The Aural Fix Transmission with Mike Ferrari:
From here on out, everything was live, beginning at 8AM with Jay LaPrise:
The Ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak were next at 10:02 AM.
At 12:01 PM, it was Joe “Joseph P.” Honerkamp:
Photo by Ted David 
Jeff Kroll, Ted David, Joe Honerkamp (photo by Pat Kroll)
It was Ted David’s turn at 1:59 PM:
Thank you, Ted, for complimenting me and Travis Demers.
Ted, in turn, was followed by Lew Scharfberg at 4PM (photos by Pat Kroll):
Lew’s show was one of many on Homecoming Weekend engineered by Jeff Kroll.
Alana (seen below in 2022) hosted a special edition of The Rockin’ Sunday Show at 6:01 PM:
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh was here with Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel at 7:59 PM:
And Billy the Kid closed out Homecoming Weekend at 10:02 PM with Masters of Metal.
Post-production, no pun intended, began on the morning of September 23 and concluded on the morning of October 4 with publication of this post and the Instrumental Invasion posts.
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end. In spite of any anxiety and stress, documenting events like this is a labor of love. I’m already looking forward to next Homecoming Weekend, but before then, WCWP celebrates its 60th anniversary as an FM station this March. I’ll surely have a recap of that.
Cheers to WCWP, the Abrams Communications Center, LIU Post, my fellow alumni, and the faculty I’ve gotten to know. I’ll see you soon.
10/5 UPDATE: I have a public Google Drive folder with airchecks and scopes of the Homecoming Weekend programs I recorded, while station manager Dan Cox has a folder with unscoped airchecks of all programming.
MikeChimeri.com 