Q104.3 WAXQ, New York, launched 31 years ago this month. The station signed on as a “narrow pure hard rocker” sent in to “shake $h*t up.”
Ron Valeri was the Program Director following Bob Eliot, who signed on the station.
Valeri’s version of Shake $h*t Up was, “We needed to put the big fun house mirror up against the station image to make sure we were seen and heard as extraordinary, not just as another ordinary rocker. As a new station – it was imperative to find ways every day, big and small, to make market noise in order to get a spotlight on the call letters.”
The station had some serious word-of-mouth endorsements, “Word-of-mouth advertising is so powerful because it’s so credible. When your friends, family, colleagues, and even celebrities start talking up your station, you tend to act on their suggestions,” said, Valeri.
“When David Letterman was at his peak, he more than once opened his TV show telling the audience that he ‘listened to Q104.3 on his way to work.’ That’s priceless advertising and incredible cred for any station. There were other celebrities as well who endorsed us along the way – all unpaid. I realize my findings are anecdotal when I say this, but I think it’s safe to conclude that our buzz-building tactics worked. “
Mark Razz hosted afternoons and said the station wasn’t afraid to take on the established stations.
“The station had vision. There was a hole for that kind of music, just a little bit harder than your general rock radio stations at the time. It was considered active rock. And we made noise. We made noise for about two or three years. And we were not afraid. We were not afraid to take on the established radio stations in the city.”
Valeri said the station’s playlist was made up of songs you couldn’t hear anywhere else.
“Introducing musical genres and songs that hadn’t been heard in New York for years, if ever. Our format was truly chock-full of GREAT tunes you could not hear anywhere else. In fact, just our approach as a Rock/Alternative hybrid was extremely unique back in the early 90s and it printed fast with the public.”
“While the station signed on as a narrow pure Hard Rocker, by year two, it was time to broaden some so as not to be overly focused on the core at the expense of attracting enough cume to make the math work to garner a respectable rating share. We also wanted to be accessible enough for media buyers’ ears,” said Valeri.
Station personalities were encouraged to be just that, personalities.
“Station Talent were encouraged to be personalities as well as musicologists and lifestyle opinion leaders,” said Valeri. Have something substantive to say every time you key the mic. No ordinary jock talk allowed. Hyperfocus on the station’s key zip codes and be their hometown station. I was blessed to inherit fantastic air talent: Trent Tyler and Christine Nagy (now a star at Lite FM), Ida Hakkila, (Letterman damn near hired her to replace Bill Wendell), Mark Razz, (former rock star at WAAF/Boston and now King of Country as PD of WXTU, Philly), Eddie Trunk (TV and Radio Star, ’nuff said) and many more.”
Valeri continued, “Promos and branding between songs from Brian Kelsey (here’s a guy who has run with Howard Stern and Martha Stewart; who else can say that? Maybe Snoop Dogg!). Promotions that consistently rewarded station listeners, whether it be a FREE Listener Appreciation Concert in one of Manhattan’s crown jewel parks such as Bryant Park (Marketing Director, Miriam Allenson, how did you secure that venue for us?!) or Street Blitzes handing out hundreds of free tickets for upcoming shows. We forced them to listen to find out when and where, but always strived to make it worth their while.”
Celebrity guest DJ’s and stunting added to the stationality,
“Regularly scheduled celebrity guest DJ’s including, but not limited to: OZZY, Billy Corgan, Jon Stewart, Van Halen (doing an on-air “Can” Halen food drive for us). Stunting such as Razz busting the balls of an NYPD officer who missed a 30-yard field goal in a halftime contest during a big NFL Telecast. Next thing you know, the entire Police Dept is calling Razz on the air, telling him to prove it. We set up at St. John’s, covered it live on-air, and yes, Razz missed with his kick in front of the cops and fans. Got great press. Fast and timely implementation, inexpensive, easy but effective stupid stunt = classic guerilla marketing,” said Valeri.
Razz added that he loved the music, “I love rock. Rock and Roll radio in New York City is in my bones. And I think that the city was raised on Rock and Roll, which is not taking anything away from WABC, WNBC, and all those other radio stations.”
“It was so awesome being a part of promotions, and Joey Ramone shows up at your promotion. I mean, that’s pretty cool $hi&.”
I reminded Valeri of a time early in the 90s when I was sitting in his office at WAAF, Boston, where he told me as much as he loved AAF, Q104.3 was the one job he would leave there for, and of course, he did.
“Why? A few reasons: Number 1) As the song goes, ‘If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere!’ I loved challenging myself. 2) I was very familiar with the New York Metro landscape and competitive field. My many trips and stays on Long Island (where my wife was from) facilitated this education.”
“I listened constantly to virtually every station, studied Arbitron maps and data, and through osmosis, learned a great deal. My own mental SWOT of the market. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). This btw, is precisely how I discovered Opie and Anthony and subsequently hired them for WAAF. Opie was on nights at WBAB, and Anthony was often on the phone with him while I listened. 3) If I got hired at Q104.3, I would get to work for the legendary Randy Bongarten. What a fantastic mentor. I still owe him one of those “Best Boss” mugs. 4) Bonus reason… I learned the station was owned by Sam Heyman – he’s featured in the book “The Predator’s Ball.” How perfect is that for our radical rock station?
So, could a moment in radio time happen in today’s radio landscape?
“Some of the key differences for radio now versus then. PPM driven. Too many stations lack any real element of surprise, but in fairness, probably due to too many hours and too few staffers. Spoken word formats and shows dominate. Personalities matter more than ever now. Listener Events now exist almost purely as non-traditional revenue generators for radio stations.”
“Does a super-sized radio station drone fly anywhere yet? If you’re a NYC station today, at least claim those big drones over Jersey are yours.”
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
