I was searching all sorts of useless info on my computer last week when I came across an Obit from last summer announcing the Passing of Stew Schantz. many people over the age of 35 back home in the Hudson Valley area would know Stew as either the man who put the K in K-104 (befor that they actually called themselves WSPK ten forty seven no kidding) and getting them away from an AOR format to a top 40 hit music format. Of course there is the rival 101.5 WPDH Listeners who will remember Stew as 1/2 of the "Stew and John" Morningshow with John Steffanci, this twosome invented the "Roofathon" which started atop the roof of 7-11 on route 9 which is still an annual event by the Mighty PDH.
Here is my beef, nowhere on WPDH web site or the WSPK K-104 site is there any metion of Stew or an in memoriam, sadly he's forgotten. It seems this is Radio in our millenium,it bears no heratage, theres no history or respect,and sadly at many of these stations there are no personalities on the air anymore. Here in Myrtle Beach my former program director at Y-103 back in the early 90's works for multimedia doing the morning show on the Talk station WRNN, however his voice is heard all evening and literally all weekend long as OTTO on classic Rock Wave104. I recently asked Dave about that and he laughed,Otto has a last name it's Otto Mated. in other words just a voice no person. There was an incredible Rock Station here WKZQ many years ago it 102 then 101.7 and it currently broadcasts on the 96.1 , when I was a kid I dreamed a dream to one day DJ and WKZQ alongside such legends as Mixon Dixon and Cazey Quinn because this station was for lack of a better word awsome. nowadays it's in the same building as wave 104 and they only play extrememly new songs by very new bands, though heavy it's one flavor while Wave plays the same Led Zeppelin tune (Black Dog) all day long, and neither will play a new album by a classic band...the current "Voices" are not memorable,there is nothing for them to strive to be the best of.
It seems to me that my Generation is the last to know Free Form AOR radio, stations that needed to earn our loyalty, DJ's we still remember by name (even if those powerhouses could care less) I remember Rock n Roll Radio and sadly Rock n Roll radio doesn't rememberJoey Ramone let along the BS'er Billy Smith ,Mixon Dixon, Stew SChantz, Joe Obrien, and among the living Saturday nights will allways be Dr. John Baron. Whatever happened to the Spirit of Radio that Rush sang about, Lest we forget where we first heard many of the greatest rock n roll ever....and who introduced it to us...this is Rock n Roll Radio Rock on
