Muzicradio: 1998-2008

Way back when in the winter of 1996/1997, the dream of starting an Internet radio station came to be. The idea itself was actually the brain child of Dennis Moore (better known as Dick O'Brien). Dennis had been a DJ and Program Director at WGLI 1290 AM in Babylon, NY—affectionately known as “The Mighty Twelve-Ninety”.

He had been experimenting with an early person-to-person “netphone” program called “Freetel”, and he began to pump music and simple announcements into the connection. Dennis began to get listeners on a regular basis, and the seed was planted.It wasn't long before Dennis and business partner Ed Thompson got serious and launched the original MetroRadio Internet
website. MetroRadio began life as a 5-disc CD changer that was plugged directly into an internet server based in Queens, NY.

The format? Mostly Beatles tunes, as those were the first CD’s that were rotated. The CD’s would be changed out every day. Once the logistics were worked out, building of a real studio began in some office space that was acquired through a connection of Dennis’s. This wasn’t just any office space, however. It was the former upstairs penthouse at The Hollywood Motel & Nite Club in Farmingdale, NY. The price was right (read: free), so MetroRadio now had an official “home”.

Studio construction commenced in the early months of 1997. By the springtime, Dennis was on the air during weeknight evening hours direct from The Hollywood studios.In radio, friends help out friends, and it was through various friends and radio connections that the staff of MetroRadio grew.

It was with thanks to Jim Pierce, former program director of WNYG 1440 in Babylon NY and a friend of Dennis’s from time spent at WGLI, that we met Mike Erickson. Mike had begun his career at WNYG and had entertained the nighttime masses during the overnight hours the famous WLNG in Sag Harbor. By 1997 he was working at both WLIM 1580 in Patchogue, NY as well as WFAN 660 in New York City.

Mike was the second voice heard on MetroRadio, as was assisting Dennis with engineering issues in the new studio.Next to join the staff was Chip Ordway, introduced to Dennis by Mike. Chip had just returned to Long Island after spending
the two previous years on the air at WNBZ 1240 AM and WSLK 106.3 FM in Saranac Lake, NY. Chip and Mike had met at WNYG, and remained friends over the years since the oldies format had ended.

Chip took over Saturday nights on MetroRadio.The next addition to the air staff was yet another alumnus of WNYG and WLNG. “Big Ed” Newlands became the third regularly scheduled DJ Metro.Ed was followed by Bill Houston. Bill was the afternoon drive DJ on WHLI 1100 in Garden City, NY, spending his time playing “The Music of Your Life”. Before that, Bill had been the morning man at WNYG back around 1991.

Mike Erickson left the project for a time, and Dennis spent less time at the studio due to some medical issues, so the regular staff became Ed, Chip, and Bill (along with Bill’s sidekick, “Tigerman Ray” Bozzanca). Alongside the Hollywood Motel-based air staff was Gary Barnes, a friend of Dennis’s who’d stream his show onto the server from his home in British Columbia, Canada. MetroRadio was truly international.The final addition to the MetroRadio air staff was yet another ex-WNYG’er. Sean “Speedy” Vesely. Sean was a doo-wopper in the truest extent of the word, and he became a welcome piece of the puzzle, as he brought the wackiness to higher levels
during Chip and Ed’s programs, as well as his own.

Listen to a Sean Vesley aircheck here:  segment 1 segment 2 segment 3 segment 4 (realaudio)

By the wintertime of late 1997, MetroRadio was registering hundreds of hits per day, thanks to a steady stream of regular listeners who were tuning in nightly for our live broadcasts. In the minds of all concerned, MetroRadio was turning into something BIG. The amount of listener participation was extra high, and the emailed requests would fly in fast and furious.

By April of 1998, MetroRadio was pulling in over 1,000 hits per day, which was a feat we were quite proud of at the time.And then it all came to a screeching halt. Because of financial issues, MetroRadio Management decided that it was time to call it quits. Another factor in the shutdown was the fact that we were losing our free office space. So with no money left and no roof over our heads, MetroRadio was officially done. Well……not exactly.

By September, Dennis had gotten over his medical issues and had devised a way for all of the involved parties to begin streaming from remote locations. Studios for the “reborn” edition of MetroRadio were located in such varied locations as British Columbia (Gary), Melville, NY (Chip), Copaigue, NY (Ed, Sean, and the returning Mike Erickson), Huntington, NY (Dennis), and new hook-up from Ronkonkoma, NY featuring Rick Hall, a friend from WNYG. MetroRadio “Phase 2” as it has become known was marred by technical difficulties due to the various dial-up connections spread amongst the various studios.

It lasted just under two months. Chip decided to take a break from the internet broadcasting, and Dennis moved onto other projects. Ed, Sean, Rick, and Mike decided to head out on their own, and thus “Muzicradio” was born.A studio had been constructed in a vacant apartment owned by Sean for MetroRadio Phase 2, and it was this same studio that became the home base for the newly rechristened Muzicradio.

While the core air staff was essentially the same as it had been, a few additions were made. New to the microphones were Jim Pierce, who was the person who had originally helped to bring the original MetroRadio air staff together, and Harry Hepcat, who was yet ANOTHER former employee of WNYG radio. A FEMALE voice even appeared in the guise of Diana Lynn, who had become friends with the air staff and eventually started broadcasting on her own from her home in British Columbia.The last official member to join the ranks was David Morgan, who became the Muzicradio Technical Support Manager in charge of web design and computer audio automation. Dave was instrumental in setting up the OTSJuke® audio program and getting most of
the bugs out of the encoder system. Everyone had something to offer, and with all the key elements in place, it was time to start serious web-casting! Muzicradio was officially ON THE WEB!Among the new technological improvements were the adoption of a live “chat line” utilizing the ICQ program. As of this writing, the original Muzicradio ICQ number of #394-96-100 is still in use in the current Muzicradio studios.

In November of 1999, the past issues of MetroRadio were again revisited as the staff was once again faced with the problem of losing the roof over their heads—this time due to the fact that Sean was getting ready to sell his business and home and move off of Long Island. The studio was dismantled, and once again the staff was “off the air”. The hiatus lasted two months, at
which time it was decided to rebuild the studios in a new location, and they’ve been there to this day since January of 2000.With the new location came MORE new technology, and for the first time Muzicradio was streaming over something better than a phone line. The first ever “high speed” connection in the Muzicradio studios was a 100 Mbps cable hookup, and when compared to the past years streaming out over AT&T’s finest, it was like night and day.

On February 12th, 2000, Muzicradio was officially reborn from its new home in Massapequa Park, NY. By this time, Harry and Jim had departed from regular broadcasting activities, and Chip Ordway had come back into the group. The main group more or less remained the same throughout the first years of the new millennium, until Rick left for Florida and sold out his interests in 2008. By that time, Muzicradio has become an on-air home featuring many different names coming in and out of the studio doors during the once-a-week “Muzicradio Live” broadcast. Long Island Radio names like Rob Leonard, Neil Macchio, Steve Green, Bob Aldrich, Frank “Frankie “C” Lapple, Mark Laura, Mike Erickson, and Russ Skadel have graced the microphones among many others, along with regulars Ed and Chip. “Classic” radio people have even helped make Muzicradio what it is today, with names like Russ DiBello, Bill Andres, Bob Vernon and Jack Kratoville.

In the summertime of 2009, Muzicradio left Long Island behind and made it’s final move (we hope) to the Nature Coast of Florida.

It just goes to show that the fun and frolic of Muzicradio covers all radio generations. So there you go. Ten years and counting of internet radio history. Don’t let others fool you—we were one of the first groups to crank out the hits on the World Wide Web, and we plan on being around for a long time to come. Remember—we’re YOUR place in cyberspace! We’re Muzicradio.com!!!