I started out at WWOZ back in the 80s. Up at Tipitina’s I’d answer phones and hang out with the great programmers the Duke of Paducah and Billy Delle. I had a large collection of music so they asked me to do a program. At first, I didn’t want to commit to being at the station every week, but then I realized I was there all the time anyway.

Since 1988 I’ve always done the Monday 10pm-Midnight Kitchen Sink program. Back in the beginning I’d bring in 8-tracks and cassette tapes, 45s and 78s. CDs showed up about four years later but it took awhile before they were affordable. There was a shop in the French Quarter where I’d go to buy used music.

I remember one time I was in my car listening to WWOZ. I pulled into the supermarket and was reaching to shut the engine down, when I heard some piano notes that I recognized. It was 'I Love You Porgy.' It was just piano. I got totally caught up in it. I sat there for five or six. The pianist started real slow, then picked up the tempo, then he danced all over the keys. After the last note there was this pregnant pause… and then the crowd went wild! He had the whole audience in his hand! I called the WWOZ programmer on-air to ask who was playing and it was Bill Evans. I went down to that shop in the quarter and found the album, it was live at the Jazz Fest in Montreaux. I got to learn that Bill Evans was this great jazz pianist who had New Orleans connection. He married a girl from Baton Rouge, so he lived down here for awhile.

Why should people support WWOZ? It’s simple. It’s a no brainer. If you love the music you’re hearing, it’s there for the taking. If you enjoy listening to it. You should support it!

Really, it's all the music you’ve never heard of! All the volunteer programmers bring in their own personal collections and you get to discover music thanks to them. That’s what impressed me as a listener early on, and it’s still true today.

-The Gov, WWOZ Show Host
Governor's Mansion, Mondays 10pm-12am CT