Tommy Giarrosso, was one of the innovators behind the Crazy Morning Crew when WJPZ moved to the FM Dial.
We start with this Syracuse native's journey to the Hill, and his involvement with UUTV and WAER. He was there when the latter was taken over by the University and its new administrator, David Anderson. He talks about the conflict between the students, led by Sean McDonough, and the new brass. And while SU may have won the war, changing WAER to an NPR affiliate, Tommy talks about some great battles won in the interim. This included trolling Anderson with a Star Wars spoof "Darth Vaderson," and an epic prank where the WAER and WJPZ students teamed up to forward all incoming dorm calls....straight to Anderson's office.
Soon, Tommy brought his comedy and production talents to WJPZ, where he found passionate staff and listeners before the station even moved to the FM dial. He talked about "hanging out with Eric Fitch" as the new equipment went into Watson. When the inaugural Crazy Morning Crew was formed, Tommy was part of the production team that would work through the night on reel to reel machines producing bits for the next morning's show.
Wouldn't you know that shortly after the Crazy Morning Crew started, top dog Y94 adopted a similar format. You'll hear the audio of Danny the K and the WJPZ show pranking WYYY's host Big Mike live on the air, and his very NSFW reaction.
Following his time at WJPZ, Tom and his fellow "Boffo Yux Dudes" continued to write comedy bits and sell them to radio syndicators across the country. While this went on, he worked at a number of radio and television stations across New England.
Currently, he works at a station in Salem, New Hampshire, and judges original content for SpinTunes. He believes he's co-written over 100 parody songs.
We close with the shared experience of WJPZ. Tom talks about how the station provided a creative outlet for him during the passing of his father, but also the family of those who have done mornings of WJPZ. He'd like to create a group for that subset of alumni.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
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