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Adam 12

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Adam 12 Revisits His Debut Boston Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

adam12 February 28th

I recently celebrated a pair of milestone anniversaries, so I decided to dust off the cassette tape of my very first show on Boston radio.

 

This is not to be confused with my very first radio show ever, which took place at Northeastern University’s WRBB on June 18, 1996. I went whole-hog into celebrating that anniversary of my 25 years in radio back in the spring of 2021. There’s a whole, hilarious story that goes along with my first break on my first radio show. You can read about that here, as well as listen to a clip from that first show and check out some of my favorite albums from my first 25 years in broadcasting.

 

What I’m talking about here is the anniversary of my first paid radio show. I started interning at the late, legendary WFNX in January of 1997, courtesy of Northeastern’s world-renowned Co-Operative Education program. By the end of the year, I had earned the trust of my Music Director and mentor Laurie Gail. I worked as a board operator on Sunday nights, and was put on the on-air schedule to make my debut from midnight to 6 a.m. on Christmas, 1997.

 

So this past Christmas marked 25 years of getting paid (in some way, shape or form) to be on the radio (in some way, shape or form). Because I didn’t properly celebrate this milestone last Christmas, I decided to do so now, as February of 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of my debut as midday host at the late, legendary WBCN.

 

Adam 12 Revisits His Debut Boston Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

As I mentioned, and as you saw in the photo above, I still have that cassette tape of Christmas overnight debut on WFNX. It’s funny, though: the way I remembered it, my first break was either into our out of “Christmastime” by the Smashing Pumpkins. Turns out it wasn’t. Take a look and a listen below. And thanks for listening for all these years.

Let's Listen to a Clip From Adam 12's First Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

June 18, 1996. My first radio show: 5-8 p.m. on Northeastern University’s 104.9 WRBB. That means I’ve been on the radio for 25 years.

 

Quick story about that first show: I prepped the hell out of it. The 5-8 p.m. block on WRBB at the time was for alternative and indie rock, right in my wheelhouse. I gathered a bunch of my favorite CDs and records from home, planned out my sets by genre, and even brought along a notebook to write it all down for posterity. You know what I didn’t bring? Headphones.

 

No worries, I thought. I’ll wing it. I cued up my first song right around 5, hit my music bed, potted up the mic, and started my very first talk-break. As I was yapping, the co-op student working in the station’s office poked her head into my open studio door and gave me a quizzical look. I wrapped up my break, potted down the mic, and was informed by said co-op that my break didn’t go out over the air.

 

You see, I had potted up the mic, but I had neglected to TURN IT ON. Of course, had I been wearing headphones, I wouldn’t have made such a gaffe. 25 years on, I’ve at least figured that out.

 

Let’s Listen to a Clip From Adam 12’s First Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

You can hear audio from my first-ever radio show below. My first paid radio show? That’s a different story: you can hear that here. In the lead up to that anniversary, I celebrated by spotlighting some of my favorite albums, radio stations, and DJs from my 25 years in broadcasting, so dig into those memories with me, too. Eternal gratitude to erstwhile ROCK 92.9 Program Director Ken West, as well as Beasley Boston’s Mary Menna and Cadillac Jack. Thanks to them, I’m on the radio in Boston, celebrating 25 years and counting. And thanks to you for listening, of course.

  • My First Break

    My first break with the mic ON, that is.

  • 1996

    DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….. is still my all-time favorite album.

  • 1997

    Mogwai has perhaps my all-time favorite band, 25 years on.

  • 1998

    RIP WBZ’s Neal Chayet, a true gentleman in broadcasting.

  • 1999

    I got to be a DJ on the Z. You can never take that away from me.

  • 2000

    I’ve always done everything in my power, no matter where my radio journey has taken me, to shine a light on Boston-area acts.

  • 2001

    RIP Mimi from Low, who we lost late in 2022.

  • 2002

    I got to see Karate’s reunion tour in the summer of 2022. I’d like to go back in time to 20 years before that and tell myself that it’s totally worth the wait.

  • 2003

    As I type this, these two albums turn 20 this year and that’s wild.

  • 2004

    Broadcasting live from the 2004 Red Sox World Series parade? Career highlight.

  • 2005

    Played as much Boston punk on BCN as they’d allow me to. Which was more than I was probably supposed to.

  • 2006

    Toucher & Rich ended up doing all right, as it turns out.

  • 2007

    Even at a quarter-century, I’m still not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Charles. Legend.

  • 2008

    It was harder to force my indie-rock will on the air at BCN toward the end, but I always tried.

  • 2009

    And now Jaybeau and I work down the hall from each other!

  • 2010

    Tai still inspires and mentors, as great broadcasters do.

  • 2011

    LG is “Auntie Laurie” to my kiddos, now and forever.

  • 2012

    Adam 12: rock on the streets, jazz in the sheets.

  • 2013

    Speaking of jazz radio, RIP Eric Jackson, the best to ever do it.

  • 2014

    John Funke is my favorite radio DJ ever, period.

  • 2015

    I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out what we were doing on RadioBDC a decade ago and how far ahead of the curve we were.

  • 2016

    Boston Calling memories. And they continue now at ROCK 92.9!

  • 2017

    Shout-out to stations like WMVY on the Vineyard and WMWV in North Conway, who are able to do on commercial radio things I can only dream about.

  • 2018

    indie617, still going strong 5 years on.

  • 2019

    Now that I’m a Program Director again, I REALLY have a say in what I play!

  • 2020

    That’s all for now. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll get to do this again to celebrate 30 years.

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