Sadly, Alex Piandes, host of Coffee ‘N’ Smokes on WMFO is leaving after 9 ½ years. I don’t know if many will miss the show, but I for one will. His unique blend of garage, punk, surf, psychedelic, rockabilly, pop obscurities ...and a little bit o' greasy R & B here 'n' there where it fits, was a great wake up on those Saturday mornings and a cool stress reliever on those hectic Monday nights. His show also got me interested in doing my own shift up at that station. Hopefully he will not disappear all together.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
So Long Coffee 'n' Smokes at WMFO
- Thread starter jake1966
- Start date
Alex is a great guy. My interview with him in the Medford Transcript was published 3/17/05
WMFO's Coffee 'n' Smokes 3/17/05
http://www.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=204224
if anyone wants to see it as the Herald/CNC takes the stories down after awhile, write me offlist.
WMFO's Coffee 'n' Smokes 3/17/05
http://www.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=204224
if anyone wants to see it as the Herald/CNC takes the stories down after awhile, write me offlist.
N
Neggy
Guest
It isn't there!!!!
I'm sure Alex will be popping up on 91.5 here and there. If I know him, he won't be able to stay away!
M
MRadioDeeJay
Guest
Alex is a great guy. I worked at WMFO for a few years... His show was one of the better ones. He should podcast it. Thats what i ended up doing with my show http://www.thedoctor.cc.
MRadioDeeJay said:
I agree about Alex, but if he no longer has the time in his life to devote to doing a show on an all-volunteer station, then I don't see how he'd have the time to create a podcast. That's also a labor of love.
And, how can someone "work" at an all-volunteer station? I did a show, and a lot of other stuff, at WMBR for decades, but I can't say I ever "worked" there, because it's another completely all-volunteer station. No one "works" there.
People used to come up to me at concerts, nightclubs, etc... and say things like, "man, I listen to your show, you've got the best job in the world..." and I used to tell them, it's not a job. It's a volunteer station. I don't get paid. No one there is paid. But, it wouldn't compute with some of them that someone they're hearing on the radio isn't getting paid. It would go in one ear and out the other. The same people would come up to me at another show a few months later... "... I heard your show again, I'm so jealous, you're the luckiest guy to have a job like that..." and i'd try to explain it again...
Article on Coffee N Smokes
Neggy & everyone,
Here's the Coffee N Smokes article; it was in a different folder - couldn't find it for awhile.
91.5 FM WMFO's COFFEE 'n' SMOKES
Alex Piandes
A fixture on Medford's 91.5 FM for nearly eight years
is the program called "Coffee 'n' Smokes" hosted by
d.j. Alex. It currently airs the first and third
Monday nights of each month from 8-10 PM. The show
features, according to the jock's ever present e mail
promos, "new & vintage garage/punk, surf,
psychedelic, rockabilly, pop obscurities and a little
bit o' greasy r & b here & there where it fits".
Along with broadcasting on the public airwaves at the
aforementioned 91.5 frequency
people can tune in around the world via the show's
websites which include http://www.wmfo.org and
http://coffeensmokes.freeservers.com The host also
lets those in foreign countries know when to tune in -
5-7 PM Pacific Time, 2-4 AM Tuesdays in Paris/Rome and
Amsterdam, 3-5 AM for Athens, 10 AM - Noon Tokyo time,
a clever little promo tool which, no doubt, gets
results on the web.
"Coffee 'n' Smokes" originally aired on Saturday
mornings from 6-9 am and in September of 2002 the
time slot changed to 7-10 am. On January 15th of
2005 Alex vacated that period noting "there were many
conflicts with my kids' sports activities. I was
awarded a slot on alternating Monday nights from
8-10pm which better fits my new schedule."
As a guest Alex's voice graced the very popular
"On The Town with Mikey Dee" from March 2000 through
December 2002, hosting 40 broadcasts. He returned
to the guest-hosting roster this past December and
makes himself available on an as-needed basis.
His start in radio? "Way back in 1981 in the
Broadcasting Club at Middlesex Community College. It
was a closed-circuit affair the broadcasted to the
captive audiences in the cafeterias and student
lounges. I got the bug to broadcast out of
frustration when WBCN refused to play my requests for
"No Surfin' In Dorchester Bay" (a song by Richie
Parsons of the band "Unnatural Axe). Back then they
used to brag about all of the records they had in
their archives and that they had no playlists but it
wouldn't be long before I found that to be a,
um...falsehood. I transferred to Salem State
College in 1982 and held a spot at their campus
station WMWM for a few semesters but gave it up to
work to pay for rent, beer, etc., heh heh..."
In 1993 an old friend of Alex's was visiting
from England and he brought along a demo cassette of
his band. Upon leaving he asked the d.j. if he could
pass it around to the local college stations in the
area. "One of my stops was WMWM and in a wave of
nostalgia I asked if there was room on the
schedule for an alumnus. I would go on to revive
(with Zippo Raid's Joe Kelley) the local rock show
there as well as co-host jazz and blues broadcasts
until May of 1997.
I moved to WMFO in Medford in April of 1997. I
was awarded the early morning Saturday slot and
thanks in part to the internet and internet
broadcasting the show became fairly popular,
attracting notice in that time from the likes of
Little Steven Van Zandt and the late Greg Shaw and
I've been able to use it as a vehicle to help promote
local bands that I dig like The Downbeat 5, Muck and
The Mires, Triple Thick, The Crybabies and The Charms
among others.
My annual Coffee 'n' Smokes Benefits for WMFO have
raised a couple thousand for the station and another
is planned for September 24th."
Though born in Cambridge, raised in Arlington and
currently residing on the North Shore with his wife
& kids, Alex keeps Medford radio fans happy with his
eclectic blend of music that has a truly devoted
following.
The internet broadcasts are streamed live when Alex
does his show from Medford, but he's working on
a way to archive old "Coffee 'n' Smokes" shows on his
PC at home to post to the Coffee 'n' Smokes website.
TUNE IN LIVE VIA WINAMP MP3 THROUGH THE NEW
COFFEE 'N' SMOKES http://coffeensmokes.freeservers.com
----------------------------------------------------
Originally published in The Medford Transcript, March 17, 2005
(C)2005 Joe Viglione
Joe Viglione is the producer/host of
http://www.visual-radio.net - a program that broadcast
from the old TV 3 in Medford. He is a contributor to
7 books published by Backbeat/United Entertainment Media.
Neggy & everyone,
Here's the Coffee N Smokes article; it was in a different folder - couldn't find it for awhile.
91.5 FM WMFO's COFFEE 'n' SMOKES
Alex Piandes
A fixture on Medford's 91.5 FM for nearly eight years
is the program called "Coffee 'n' Smokes" hosted by
d.j. Alex. It currently airs the first and third
Monday nights of each month from 8-10 PM. The show
features, according to the jock's ever present e mail
promos, "new & vintage garage/punk, surf,
psychedelic, rockabilly, pop obscurities and a little
bit o' greasy r & b here & there where it fits".
Along with broadcasting on the public airwaves at the
aforementioned 91.5 frequency
people can tune in around the world via the show's
websites which include http://www.wmfo.org and
http://coffeensmokes.freeservers.com The host also
lets those in foreign countries know when to tune in -
5-7 PM Pacific Time, 2-4 AM Tuesdays in Paris/Rome and
Amsterdam, 3-5 AM for Athens, 10 AM - Noon Tokyo time,
a clever little promo tool which, no doubt, gets
results on the web.
"Coffee 'n' Smokes" originally aired on Saturday
mornings from 6-9 am and in September of 2002 the
time slot changed to 7-10 am. On January 15th of
2005 Alex vacated that period noting "there were many
conflicts with my kids' sports activities. I was
awarded a slot on alternating Monday nights from
8-10pm which better fits my new schedule."
As a guest Alex's voice graced the very popular
"On The Town with Mikey Dee" from March 2000 through
December 2002, hosting 40 broadcasts. He returned
to the guest-hosting roster this past December and
makes himself available on an as-needed basis.
His start in radio? "Way back in 1981 in the
Broadcasting Club at Middlesex Community College. It
was a closed-circuit affair the broadcasted to the
captive audiences in the cafeterias and student
lounges. I got the bug to broadcast out of
frustration when WBCN refused to play my requests for
"No Surfin' In Dorchester Bay" (a song by Richie
Parsons of the band "Unnatural Axe). Back then they
used to brag about all of the records they had in
their archives and that they had no playlists but it
wouldn't be long before I found that to be a,
um...falsehood. I transferred to Salem State
College in 1982 and held a spot at their campus
station WMWM for a few semesters but gave it up to
work to pay for rent, beer, etc., heh heh..."
In 1993 an old friend of Alex's was visiting
from England and he brought along a demo cassette of
his band. Upon leaving he asked the d.j. if he could
pass it around to the local college stations in the
area. "One of my stops was WMWM and in a wave of
nostalgia I asked if there was room on the
schedule for an alumnus. I would go on to revive
(with Zippo Raid's Joe Kelley) the local rock show
there as well as co-host jazz and blues broadcasts
until May of 1997.
I moved to WMFO in Medford in April of 1997. I
was awarded the early morning Saturday slot and
thanks in part to the internet and internet
broadcasting the show became fairly popular,
attracting notice in that time from the likes of
Little Steven Van Zandt and the late Greg Shaw and
I've been able to use it as a vehicle to help promote
local bands that I dig like The Downbeat 5, Muck and
The Mires, Triple Thick, The Crybabies and The Charms
among others.
My annual Coffee 'n' Smokes Benefits for WMFO have
raised a couple thousand for the station and another
is planned for September 24th."
Though born in Cambridge, raised in Arlington and
currently residing on the North Shore with his wife
& kids, Alex keeps Medford radio fans happy with his
eclectic blend of music that has a truly devoted
following.
The internet broadcasts are streamed live when Alex
does his show from Medford, but he's working on
a way to archive old "Coffee 'n' Smokes" shows on his
PC at home to post to the Coffee 'n' Smokes website.
TUNE IN LIVE VIA WINAMP MP3 THROUGH THE NEW
COFFEE 'N' SMOKES http://coffeensmokes.freeservers.com
----------------------------------------------------
Originally published in The Medford Transcript, March 17, 2005
(C)2005 Joe Viglione
Joe Viglione is the producer/host of
http://www.visual-radio.net - a program that broadcast
from the old TV 3 in Medford. He is a contributor to
7 books published by Backbeat/United Entertainment Media.
If I remember correctly, I think Alex was also involved with Allston-Brigton Free Radio...
- Status