The Fire is Still There

At the controls, posing for a timed picture, 1991

The clock ticked. A new day was approaching.

Midnight came and went with barely a ripple, save for the sound of an R&B song on the radio.

Was it James Ingram? Probably.

Another song followed. Then maybe one more. Beyond that, the silence was deafening.

Trembling. Hands wet and shaky. Mouth dry.

It was 12:09 a.m. on Sunday, Sep 2, 1990 as the last song faded.

"Jude Cole, time for letting go here on Majic 105," I said. "Good morning, everyone, this is Robbie Adams..."

My dream of being on the radio had been achieved.

In those painful nine minutes after I took the controls, I debated with myself. I've since told the story countless times: keep pressing play on the CD player until six in the morning? Run and never work in radio again? Turn the mic on and talk?

I obviously chose option three.

I'd been to college, though was nowhere near graduating by that point, and it would take some time to finish. In between, to rebuild my confidence after my dad passed, I went to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

It worked. I then painstakingly worked on a radio audition tape (yes, an actual cassette). WMJV (Majic 105), an FM station at 105.5 (see the 55 in there?) located near Patterson, NY often took in CSB grads and they took a shot on me.

It was a nice place to learn with a horrible music format. A couple of things that worked in our favor back then was that, 1) they were live 24/7 and 2) they weren't completely hung up on their playlist. There was actually a little bit of leeway where a DJ could actually play something that wasn't on the log.

I played "The Heart of Rock and Roll" by Huey Lewis and the News to help settle my nerves a little.

Then I began to trust myself a little more, and the skills that I knew I had began to work. I was good at talking up a song. I never faked my voice. I just brought my own personality. It was a perfect training ground.

The sound was perfect as the music and my voice rolled through the Koss headphones I'd just bought the day before at the Service Merchandise in the Jefferson Valley Mall. Truth? I still have them, though they've obviously seen better days.

The guy who trained me a few nights before my debut became a close friend, and I'm grateful to him all these years later. He allowed me to do a sports report just after 6 a.m. on his show.

I'd fall prey to radio politics about a year later, and it was over. I defended a friend, got caught in the crossfire, and paid the price. I might play it a little differently if I had to do it again, but the theme would remain the same.

The DJ on before me was the first person I pissed off in broadcasting. Obviously, he hasn't been the last.

"John," the DJ who trained me, is still my close friend, and he got me my next opportunity. After working my way through college (and actually working a day job), I found myself largely out of radio. I played with the idea of going away to college, for instance. But "John" (I still respect not revealing his real name) declined a job offer at WREF.

He knew who would be interested, and I quickly threw together another audition tape in my home studio.

I became a fill-in DJ and football board-op for a few Ridgefield High School games at WREF in 1996. But by early 1997, WREF was a memory, with me turning out the lights.

There are much longer stories in here.

Friends at WREF said they'd mention my name at the place that they part-timed to keep me in the business, and by March, 1997 I was on my way to WGCH.

I've never left.

I've done some music, show hosting, news, engineering, writing, producing, board-op'ing, reporting, and a lot more.

And sports.

My father was terrified when I told him what I wanted to do with my life. After he died, a friend of his reinforced that fact to me. Others questioned my sanity of attending CSB or going to Syracuse for a "sportscasting camp."

I've done it my way. I've made choices to stay around New York and Connecticut and I have no regrets.

My DJ'ing days are mostly over, though I've often thought I'd love to go back into music on a smaller basis.

I've done a lot in my career. Writing for a newspaper, marketing analyst, finance, ice cream deliveries, temp work, spreadsheets.

But I'm a broadcaster. I've done TV and video. I've done streaming.

I've done radio for 29 years.

And I still love it.

Thank you. Thank you for listening, supporting, criticizing. Thank you.

See you tomorrow at 3 p.m. on Doubleheader to start the 30th year.