FM106.3 (WHTG) was actually my first job in commercial radio. They hired me for weekend overnights and fill-ins at a whopping $5.05 an hour in 1994. (That almost covered my gas, tolls and breakfast on the way home driving from SJ to Asbury Park...)
Still remember pulling up to Faye's house - which really was where the station was located - and wondering what I was getting myself into. (hah) Was a fun couple of years, but definitely the oddest experience. You should have seen my face the time I was doing an overnight shift and Faye came into the studio, asking me to turn down the music because she was trying to sleep!
I miss the index card music rotation system. There was a big box of categorized index cards, so we actually had some control over the playlist and I could bump mellower songs I didn't like back to the later hours of my shift.
Really was a unique station and didn't really appreciate it as much as I should have. The fact that I got to play local bands like Dramarama and The Smithereens alongside all of the early 90's alt rock like Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, Belly, etc. and deep cuts from 80s bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, etc. was something that will probably never exist again in commercial FM radio.
