STEPPIN' OUT MAGAZINE (5.23.01)

NOTEBOOK
by Melissa August, Ann Marie Bonardi, Amanda Bower, Ellin Martens,
Joseph Pierro, Sora Song, Heather Won Tesoriero and Josh Tyrangiel.

JUNE 11, 2001 VOL. 157 NO. 23

Winners

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WFMU:
THE ECLECTIC LITTLE RADIO STATION THAT COULD
- AND DOES
by TRINITY CANTY

June 3, 2001 -- You may have seen the coverage last week of New Jersey deejay Glen Jones, who broke a Guinness world record when he stayed on the air for 100 straight hours from his booth at WFMU.

After four sleepless days and nights, Jones finally conked out Tuesday, when studio staff and volunteers had to help him from his seat while "Lullaby" by Raymond Scott was sent out over the airwaves.

What you may not know is that WFMU, a small, listener-funded outpost in downtown Jersey City, has long been considered one of the nation's best radio stations.

Its eclectic mix of free-form music draws fans such as Sonic Youth, Suzanne Vega, Ethan Coen, Matt Groening and Mayor Giuliani.

"It's a burst of culture," says Nick Mamatas, senior editor of the book publishing firm Soft Skull Press.

"I've never heard the same song twice. I've heard Greek blues music, followed by garage rock and avant-garde jazz."

The station - 91.1 FM (or streaming at www.wfmu.org) - is not really a secret, however. It's been named the No. 1 station in the country four years in a row by Rolling Stone magazine and boasts an estimated weekly listenership of 250,000.

There are no commercials and no sponsorship announcements.

"It's kinda like a hype-free zone, which you don't find anymore," says station manager Ken Freedman. "At WFMU, there's nothing that even resembles an advertisement."

Funding comes from fans, some of whom are big names in the biz.

Among those who have done fund-raising concerts are Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants and punk legend Richard Hell. Photographers Cindy Sherman and William Wegman have contributed their work for benefit auctions, and Eric Bogosian, Mario Cuomo and the Talking Heads have all done in-studio appearances.

The station does an annual marathon to kick up bucks. One year, Freedman removed one article of clothing for every $250 donation until he was left naked and went dancing on the station's roof.

"The reason why I'm still involved with the station is because I believe in radio as an art form," says volunteer deejay Chris Tsakis, who works as a broadcast engineer for National Public Radio.

"I think there's a real deep honesty about the station. Deejays don't have to say or play anything they don't believe in."

WFMU, which began in 1958 as the student station for now-bankrupt Upsala College, is owned by Auricle Communications, a nonprofit group made up of current and former WFMU staff members and fans. It's the oldest free-form station in the United States.

The station's music goes in every direction: homemade tapes, avant-garde jazz, punk, soul, Jewish music. There are also interviews with various luminaries. Giuliani has appeared many times.

More than anything, its spirit is what makes the station great.

"As long as it comes from the heart, everyone has a place here," says Andy Waltzer, a deejay for 12 years. "It's just totally pure and unselfish and good."

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Glen Jones -- Broadcast History
Last week disc jockey Glen Jones of radio station WFMU broke the Guinness world record for the longest continous broadcast by an individual. Jones began on the Friday May 25th, breaking the record on Memorial Day. He then stayed on the air until 1:00 pm the following day. David Molpus talks to the tired but proud new record holder about his accomplishment. (4:55) - June 3, 2001
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS STORY IN REALAUDIO

Radio World Record
Reporter Lars Hoel checks in on disc jockey Glen Jones of New York public radio station WFMU, as he tries to break the Guinness world record for longest continual broadcast. The current record is 73 hours and 33 minutes. Jones began his quest at 9am Friday and must keep going past 10:33am Monday morning in order to set the new record. (6:00) - May 27 , 2001
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS STORY IN REALAUDIO

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DJ ecstatic after setting broadcasting record

05/30/01

By Mike Principe
Journal Staff Writer

What disc jockey Glen Jones needs now is a good night's sleep.

A day after setting the record for the longest continuous radio broadcast, the DJ for Jersey City-based WFMU reached another milestone yesterday by staying on the air for more than 100 hours.

"I will never, ever be able to top this. You can't top it," Jones said last night in a telephone interview from station manager Ken Freedman's Hoboken home. "I will never have another radio experience like this, ever."

Jones took to the airwaves Friday at 9 a.m., and at 10:34 a.m. Monday broke the Guinness Book of World Records mark of 73 hours 33 minutes held by British DJ Greg Daines. That behind him, Jones decided to go for 100, ending yesterday at 1 p.m. with "Innocent When You Dream" by Tom Waits.

When Jones finally wrapped up his marathon, he said he felt so disoriented that he "didn't even know why I was here."

"I remember them taking me upstairs to put me asleep," he said of his WFMU colleagues. "I asked them to recall everything. Surprisingly enough, after that, I did realize why I was here. But once I realized what I was doing, I didn't even have time to celebrate. I'm still getting myself together."

The 39-year-old Kearny-born DJ's broadcast was bound by several rules set by Guinness: No song could be shorter than 2 minutes or longer than 6, and invited guests could not speak for more than a minute without him chiming in. He was allowed a 15-minute break every eight hours.

"Breaking the Guinness record isn't some casual thing you just show up and do. There are very explicit rules," Freedman said.

To keep busy during his 100 hours 40 seconds on the air, Jones read more than 1,000 e-mails, took phone calls and conducted interviews. The station provided an exercise bike to help him fight sleepiness.

Jones seemed hypnotized during his final hours of broadcast. He operated the controls and announced songs, and during one break had to reminded what he was doing, according to Freedman. Fans around the world phoned him day and night, and sometimes he switched to a talk radio format and aired the calls around 2 a.m.

"I can't believe the turnout," Freedman said. "It was incredible and we were all completely shocked."

As supporters filed into the studio to help countdown the final seconds, Jones said he never had so much fun on the radio.

"I just feel heart warmed with all of the support that I have gotten from people who got caught up in the whole affair," Jones said yesterday. "I just can't believe it."

"The Glen Jones Radio Programme" regularly broadcasts Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. on WFMU-91.1 FM, and can be heard on the Internet at www.wfmu.org. Jones, who has 15 years under his belt at WFMU, works as a radio producer for Court TV during the week.

According to Freedman, the White House had been following Jones' feat since the beginning, and President Bush is expected to call Jones on his Sunday show.

"Who knows what's next," Freedman chuckled.

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The day the music ended

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

By RICHARD COWEN
Staff Writer

PETER MONSEES/THE RECORD DJ Glen Jones showing exhaustion as he nears the end of his 100 hour on-air broadcast Tuesday.

Glen Jones stumbled away from the microphone and into the record books as host of the longest continuous radio broadcast Tuesday, four days after beginning his music marathon at WFMU-FM by spinning the show tune "The Impossible Dream."

The smooth-talking disc jockey had been reduced to a mumbling mess by the time the clock struck 1 p.m. in the station's Jersey City studio. One hundred hours and 40 seconds after he first went on the air, Jones managed to spin one final song -- Tom Waits' "Innocent When You Dream" -- before station manager Ken Freedman threw in the towel and led him away from the console.

He'd lasted a full day longer than the previous on-the-air record holder.

Soon it would be Dreamland for Jones. He raised his arm in triumph as he was led down the hallway and into a back room, where a mattress was spread across the floor. Jones belly flopped across it. The long show was over.

But like a record that keeps on skipping, Jones was back up only moments later, answering questions from the media in a voice that had been reduced to a rasp.

"In the end, I didn't know where I was," Jones said. "I was completely disoriented. I could see people's faces, but I couldn't remember who they were."

Jones, 39, began his stint behind the microphone Friday at 9 a.m., vowing to break the world record set by Greg Daines of the United Kingdom of 73 hours, 33 minutes. His stunt drew media attention from as far away as Japan to the tiny, listener-supported station.

The rules set down by the Guinness Book of World Records were strict. Jones had to announce every song he played, and no record could be more than six minutes long. He was allowed a 15-minute break every eight hours.

Two independent observers were with him in the studio at all times, charting his every move. Freedman said that WFMU (91.1) will now send the tapes to the Guinness Book of World Records for verification.

Jones, a Kearny native, has been a disc jockey at the station for 15 years. Like all the other WFMU jocks, Jones is unpaid, so he supports himself with a day job working for Court TV. His weekly radio show, with sidekick X-Ray Burns, airs every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.

Jones said his music marathon was a tribute to the free-form radio format at WFMU that allows disc jockeys to play whatever they want -- no matter how obscure the artist or the record. It's an "anti-format format" that is used practically nowhere else in the New York area -- certainly not among commercial stations.

Over four days, he dug deep into the rock-and-roll vault, playing everything from Dean Martin to the Sex Pistols. Jersey-bred celebrities such as Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band (and "Sopranos" fame) and gubernatorial candidate Bob Franks phoned in their best wishes. More than 100 fans held a rally for Jones in the parking lot Sunday.

Even Daines sent an e-mail congratulating Jones on breaking the record -- and said it was something he would never do again.

With an annual budget of only $550,000, WFMU is destined to remain a little radio station in a big market. The people who run the station were proud of Jones' four-day protest against commercial radio -- but were a little overwhelmed by all the media attention.

"Today, a lot of stations are just commercial outlets," said Brian Turner, the program director. "But Jones has a deep love of music. We are all proud of him."

All this, and no commercials.

"I wanted to do something that was in the spirit of free-form radio," Jones said. "Radio the way it should be. There was always another song to play. The music never let me down."

Jones said the darkest hours were right before dawn each day, when he would hit the wall of sleep. His body would say 'stop' but his mind said 'go.'

He says the hallucinations began Tuesday morning when he played the song "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells. "I never heard that song sound quite the same way," Jones said.

Jones was hanging on waiting for a call from the president or Bruce Springsteen, neither of which came. He was fading fast throughout Tuesday morning, and by the time the gravelly voiced Waits began singing "Innocent When You Dream," Jones could barely talk, and couldn't stand on his own.

It was time to pull the plug. "I was a real mess in the end," Jones said. "But most times, I was really enjoying the music. In between major periods of exhaustion."

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100 Hours and Lotsa Cigs Later,
DJ Sets Record

By DAVID HINCKLEY
Daily News Staff Writer

s he promised, Glen Jones of WFMU (91.1 FM) has broken the Guinness record for marathon broadcasting, racking up 100 hours and 40 seconds before leaving yesterday at 1 p.m.

He closed with Tom Waits' "Innocent When You Dream," which is what he intended to do after being on the air since 9 a.m. Friday — beating the record of 73 hours, 33 minutes (set by Greg Daines in the U.K. last year) by more than a day.

The record must be certified by Guinness, which should not be a problem, since station manager Ken Freedman had volunteers recording everything.

	Glen Jones

Jones' marathon drew thousands of e-mails — "by far the largest number we've ever gotten," said Freedman — and he was interviewed by news shows from Katie Couric to CNN.

In fact, Jones was live with CNN as he was breaking the record at 10:34 a.m. Monday — which he admitted was mildly ironic, since he had just played a set of songs celebrating the medium of radio.

In the studio, Jones went heavy on the nicotine, but kept the coffee in reserve whenever possible. He alternately stood up and sat down at the console, behind which he had about 60 square feet in which to pace. He was barefoot and wore a comfortable shirt emblazoned with "Crooklyn."

Jones got ongoing encouragement from the volunteers and a steady stream of gifts from listeners, like a Humphrey Bogart doll with an oversize head. He read hundreds of e-mails on the air before he finally started to sound exhausted yesterday. In the final hours he mostly did the minimum Guinness requires, which is to announce each song. ("Jonesy here. That was XTC.")

He also said he had never had more fun. Shortly before he broke the record he played the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun," and when he did break it, he played a live version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way." He played marching bands, reggae and most everything else.

"Maybe Jonesy isn't as off-the-wall musically as some 'FMU jocks," said Bill Kelly, host of the garage-rock show "Teenage Wasteland." "But people love him, because he's got so much personality. Look at this. How can you not love him?"

Original Publication Date: 5/30/01

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Radio alert: DJ broadcasts for 100 hours

After four sleepless days, disc jockey Glen Jones succeeded in breaking a world record for the longest continuous radio broadcast. Jones signed off WFMU-FM in Jersey City, N.J., after being on the air for 100 hours and 40 seconds. The previous record was 73 hours and 34 minutes, set by a British DJ. Jones played about 1,000 songs during his shift, ending with Innocent When You Dream by Tom Waits.

Four-day DJ sets new record

After 98 hours on air, Jones keeps awake on a bike

I didn't even take coffee in the first 36 hours because I knew I'd need it later

Glen Jones

American DJ Glen Jones has set a new world record for continuous radio broadcasting by staying on the air for more than four days.

Jones, 39, broke the previous record of 73 hours 33 minutes set last September by British DJ Greg Daines of Chelmsford Hospital Radio.

After passing his target on Monday, Jones celebrated by playing Frank Sinatra's My Way - and then stayed on the air until he reached a total of 100 hours and 40 seconds.

His achievement still has to be verified by Guinness World Records before it comes official.

"Zonked New Jersey fat boy" on the mix

"A lot of it was just sheer will and determination," he said after his marathon.

Strict rules

Jones set the record at WFMU, a station in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he has a weekly show.

Broadcasting every Sunday lunchtime to the greater New York area with his sidekick X-Ray Burns, he describes his show as a place where "a zonked pair of New Jersey fat boys mix Led Zeppelin with Sinatra while ranting about wrestling and the unmentionable".

To break the record, he had to follow a strict set of rules, monitored by a team of independent observers.

He was allowed a 15-minute break every eight hours.

He couldn't snatch a few minutes sleep by putting on unusually long tracks - the rules say no song can be longer than six minutes.

What record did I just play?

Quick naps during lengthy contributions from studio guests were also banned - Jones had to speak at least every minute during interviews.

Kiss front-man Gene Simmons was one of the on-air interviewees who kept the deejay going.

The first day was hardest, Jones said, but he kept going with a catholic music mix, ranging from The Muppets to the Grateful Dead.

"You can take anything you want, but I didn't even take coffee in the first 36 hours because I knew I'd need it later," he said.

May 30, 2001

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DJ A REAL RECORD BREAKER
By MICHAEL STAR & MARY HUHN

May 30, 2001 -- WFMU DJ Glen Jones not only broke the world record for staying on the air - he absolutely mauled it.

When he signed off a little after 1 p.m. yesterday, Jones had spent 100 hours and 42 seconds on the air - adding to his own record that he set on Monday (73 hours, 34 minutes).

KISS guitarist Gene Simmons was Jones' last on-air caller. "The KISS army is behind you!" Simmons told the intrepid DJ, who (finally) signed off with "Innocent When You Dream" by Tom Waits.

Jones, 39, was unavailable to speak with reporters after his record-breaking stunt (he was too exhausted), but we do know that he took a nap at the Jersey City-based station (91.1 FM) and then was transported, via motorcade, to the house of station manager Ken Freedman.

During his marathon, which began at 7 a.m. Friday, Jones was allowed one 15-minute bathroom break every eight hours via rules laid down by Guinness World Records.

Other rules: He had to announce every track he played and couldn't play songs longer than six minutes or shorter than two minutes.

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Boldface Names
By JOYCE WADLER

or the Love of Microphones

GLEN JONES, below, a D.J. on WFMU in Jersey City, is purported to have set a new record for the longest radio broadcast ever: 100 hours.

It is generally worthless to ask why in this sort of event, for the artist involved is too exhausted to tell you. So we turn to Mr. Jones's longtime on-air partner, X. RAY BURNS. Neither Mr. Jones nor Mr. Burns, both of whom are 39, are paid for their disc jockey work on the listener-supported station. (Mr. Jones's day job is that of a producer for Court TV; Mr. Burns works as a real estate appraiser.)

Mr. Burns spoke of his partner's love of radio and noted he was getting "publicity you couldn't buy" from the stunt. He also confirmed that the team had been involved before with deeds of derring-do.

"One time he set himself on fire," Mr. Burns said.

Would that have been with a special fireproof gel?

"No, he just poured alcohol on his arm and set it on fire," Mr. Burns said. "We have a very low budget, and safety is a secondary issue. We once lowered him from the roof of a Howard Johnson's in Asbury Park. We re-created the stunt that killed wrestler Owen Hart. We threw him off the roof in a body harness."

May 30, 2001

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