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10 Questions with ... "Java" Joel Murphy
May 1, 2023
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
WNYO/University Of New York at Oswego: 1992-1993 WSNN (99 Hits-FM)/Potsdam NY: 1994-1995 WVNC (Mix 96)/Canton NY: 1995-1997 WWHT (Hot 1079)/Syracuse NY: 1997-1999. WPXY/Rochester NY: 1999-2001 WKSC (103.5 Kiss FM)/Chicago IL: 2001-2005 WAKS (96-5 Kiss FM)/Cleveland: 2006-2020 94-7 Hits FM, Montreal: 2006-2021 WSNN-FM (B993)/Potsdam NY: 2021-present WHBC-FM (Mix 94-1)/Canton: 2021-present
1. How would you describe your first radio gig?
I attempted a broadcast major at SUNY/Oswego. Flunked out after 3 semesters. So I took my demo and got a gig in the same place where I was born – Potsdam, NY- A small college town equidistant from both Ottawa and Montreal, Canada. Station was officially "AC", but they did a little of everything - some Country in the morning, they'd mix in Oldies in middays and some CHR and AOR at night. We ran ABC News at the top of the hour. The station ran college hockey games. This was 1994 in a small market, so we were still dealing with carts, CD, vinyl, reel-to-reels, and index cards. Learned a lot in the short amount of time I was there- on-air, production, interviews and an abysmal fill-in doing news one day that still makes me cringe. I did 7 to Midnight. These days, the station is all-80s "B993" where I handle afternoons there. Hi Mom!
2. What led you to a career in radio?
The radio always seemed to be on when I was a kid. I remember hearing Paul Harvey while my babysitter bathed me in the kitchen sink (Eww!). When I was in nursery school, I remember hearing the CFRA/Ottawa top of the hour "news sounder" and being a little freaked out by it, but also really intrigued that they were coming "all the way from Canada." Just an hour's drive, but to me it was a whole other world away. What really hooked me in was my love of music. Early '81, our local arena held roller skating nights. Exposed me to a lot of the pop that was out around that time - "Celebration," "9 To 5," "I Love A Rainy Night," "Keep On Loving You," and "Kiss On My List." Soon, I was buying records and saying "Goodbye" to "Sesame Street" and hello to American Top 40. Later that summer, I toured my 1st radio station - the now defunct 1050 WYBG - an AM daytimer in Massena, NY. I was 6.
3. Where did the handle 'Java Joel' come from?
Rick "RJ Jordan" Pendleton stole me from the Potsdam station and put me on middays at his Hot AC 10 miles down the road. Since I did the midday show, he figured people were listening on their coffee break, so he took inspiration from a jock he remembered hearing at Y94 Syracuse, "Java" Jim Meech. The station was "Mix 96" in Canton, NY - which is kinda weird since I'm at another "Mix" station also in Canton… Canton, Ohio. Crazy!
4. You continue to be on the radio doing afternoons. What do you still love about getting into the studio every day to do your thing?
Most of my workday tends to my duties as Program Director. By the time I "hit the air," there are days when I'm just fried to a crisp. So I try and make a concerted effort to just have some fun. Now more than ever, the emphasis has to be on authenticity. This poses a problem since, for instance, I still love calling out pop stars for their stupidity and hypocrisy. This can sometimes conflict with my programming duties, since my main responsibility is "protecting the brand." Actual honesty runs the risk of triggering listeners and even some big-time record label muckity mucks. Thing is, honesty has to be non-negotiable at this point if we're going to sustain ourselves. Also, to answer your question, I still like hitting posts.
5. Who would be a dream guest to have come to the studio and plug in across from you?
Dylan Mulvaney.
6. What's your all-time favorite backstage memory?
I don't know if it's my favorite, but it was my most memorable. Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys hosted our Kiss 103.5 Summer Jam in Chicago back in 2002. The boyband thing was slowing down and Nick was in straight-up party mode. I was recording breaks with him backstage and he was, well… He was having fun that night. I remember he and I in a closet somewhere (insert joke here) and he's rummaging through stuff, shoving food in his mouth. Just wacky stuff. I mean… Dude was OUT there. The whole time I'm thinking this is radio gold. Only to find out… The $%&&ing portable recorder had malfunctioned. Absolutely my fault. I got zilch. Later that night, I did shots with him. Yeah- I "partied" with a Backstreet Boy. Oh and that time my grade school hero, Jam Master Jay closed my arm in the getaway car backstage at PXY Summer Jam '01. I had posters of him on my wall in '86. That was just… Amazing.
7. If you could take a spin in the "All Access Back To The Future" Delorean, which legendary station from the past would you like to work at for a week?
Ooooh. Probably KFRC/San Francisco in 1982- the Gerry Cagle years. I mean the drugs alone! I kid, I kid. Jackson Armstrong and Bill Lee on the same station station?!? Super-tight, rhythmic-leaning playlist, solid processing, shotgun jingles. OR Sunny Joe White-era Kiss 108/Boston- Summer of '84 with Dale Dorman & JoJo "Cookin" Kincaid. By the way, "Back To The Future" is my all-time favorite. It's flawless.
8. Other than the Pro Football Hall of Fame – which is a given, what are some of the things that you'd show a first time visitor to Canton?
The Mix 94.1/WHBC Studios. It is truly historic! The building has been here since the 1930s and much of it looks the same. Our AM station, 1480 WHBC, is coming up on its 100th Anniversary and our FM is celebrating 75 years. Both stations have never left this building since signing-on. The inside is a time machine with its art deco design. Listeners who come to pick up prizes get a real kick out of it. It's like something out of "Mad Men." A few current and ex-employees have even claimed paranormal activity. We had a local Ghost Whisperer/medium come in to do a Halloween show with us last fall. The people inside are just as cool. I love it here.
9. What was your favorite station(s) to listen to when you were a kid? Jock(s)?
When I heard the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 for the first time in January 1984, it was a revelation. It was American Top 40 on Ritalin. I didn't have a major market, comedy-based, CHR morning show in my area. Rick had sound effects, characters, jokes and trivia. It blew my 9 year old mind! Later, in the fall of '85 (age 11) on a road trip to Plattsburgh, I'd hear Walt Speck, afternoon guy at 95 Triple X/Burlington. He really stood out because he would acknowledge when he'd mess up. He had this Letterman-esque quality about him. Likable and self-deprecating. Had a big impact on me. Also- Sandy Cook at WMSA/Massena NY and Terry Dimonte at CHOM/Montreal, which was a favorite station. Also CHEZ 106, which was the WXRT of Ottawa. Our ™ Stereo Rock automated top 40 station, "PAC 93"- Ogensburg, NY, French Dance/Disco CKMF/Montreal. My favorite station my senior year in high school in 1992 was WEZF/Burlington VT which boomed into my town with its 100,000 watts And, believe it or not, Tom Green - who in 1991 was just a college kid hosting a hip-hop show on Algonquin College's CHUO-FM/Ottawa and, a few years later he hosted a late night totally cerebral and off-the-wall call-in talk show. It was genius. Five years later, he'd be a big star on MTV. Oh and Howard Stern before he turned into an elitist weirdo.
10. Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?
RJ Jordan- my PD at Mix 96/Canton. Before I even met him, I remember first hearing him in the summer of '89 when he was "Spunky" Rick Pendleton on Power 99.9 in Ithaca NY. It was my sister, Krista, who introduced us. I was away at college, but during Christmas Break '92-'93, she brought me to the station - a smallish studio and office above a garage (which sounded like a million bucks, by the way). I remember it was right around the time that "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran was coming out, because he was really fired up about it saying it was going to be huge (it was). When we finally worked together a few years later, it was a crash-course in radio. The merits of a tight-playlist, research, processing, on-air, production techniques, programming philosophy. Things he taught me way back in 1995, I still carry today. In fact, I'm even using a phrase he had us use back then - "Giving away the GOOD stuff." We use it in our promos here at Mix 94.1 and some listeners are even saying it back to us. No worries, ShittyPD - we don't use the Phrase That Pays here…yet!
Bonus Questions
With the venue of your choice available and an unlimited budget, which 6 artists would you pull together for a summer Mix blast?
Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Morgan Wallen.
And sponsor the living crap out of it!
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