The East End community is a special place. There are so many common threads that bring us together: beaches, Main Streets, theaters, restaurants, family, friendship, memories, and, of course, music. Live performance venues such as the Stephen Talkhouse, Westhampton Beach Performing Arts center, Bay Street Theater, and others always bring a smile to my face.
One East End musical staple, that has consistently spanned decades on a daily basis, is radio. The voices behind the microphone that bring out a very special part of our community — they are our musical friends and companions. Brian Cosgrove is at the top of my musical friend’s list.
Brian, a longtime voice of local radio, was kind enough to have me as a regular guest on his show nearly twenty years ago. He has provided the narration to the soundtrack of many of our lives on the East End.
Recently, Brian sat down to talk about his career in music, where he’s been, and how he sees his role on the East End. He appropriately suggested that we meet “5 o’clock somewhere.” That is exactly what we did.
Brian, although we haven’t seen each other in person for a while, we do speak several times every week — well you speak and I listen. There are many of us out there listening.
Great to talk with you Chris, I feel very fortunate to play a mix of music that is unique and includes so many local bands and singer/songwriters who call the East End home. Radio, especially FM Radio, has been about the 1-on-1 connection. It’s an intimate connection of being both a music lover and a love for the East End. I moved out to the East End almost 25 years ago, I’m originally from Massapequa.
How’s life at 88.3 WLIW?
WLIW is committed to serving the East End of the Island with as much local programming as possible, with our local weekday hosts Michael Mackey, Gianna Volpe, and Ed German and an ever increasing schedule of locally produced shows on the weekend, along with tremendous NPR shows like NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “The Ted Radio Hour,” “Fresh Air,” “Market Place,” “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me,” etc. . . plus the audio weekdays from Ch 21 WLIW at 6 PM of The PBS News Hour & PBS’s Metro Focus weeknights at 11 PM. I am very proud to be part of this radio station. And again, we are always looking to increase our local programming, that is priority number one, no question.
You call your show “Afternoon Ramble.” Can you remember what inspired the name?
At first I was hesitant to name the show, I didn’t want to force it or name the show just for the sake of naming it, so I just let it go for a few years and I was always open to “something” and after seeing Levon Helm at WHBPAC I was thinking about his Midnight Ramble concerts up in Woodstock and “ramble” has been been a word used for many years in radio, music, etc. . . It just felt right with what I was doing. I like to approach my show from the angle of being consistent without being predictable and the name “ramble” fit.
We share our admiration for my late radio partner, legendary DJ Pete Fornatale. Pete and I worked together for many years at Sirius XM and I had the time of my life. When were you first bitten by the radio bug and do you have the same enthusiasm you did in the beginning?
Pete Fornatale was definitely someone I admired. He actually called me at the station several years ago to let me know that he was a fan of the show. It meant a great deal to me. As far as being bitten by the radio bug, it was at a very young age while listening to Top 40 music, 77 WABC. It wasn’t too many years later, mid ’70s, that I found WLIR FM on Long Island.
I loved listening to the music, but I also became very aware of a DJ named Ray White. Ray had that ability to connect, 1-on-1 with the listener. I wrote him a fan letter and was fortunate enough to meet him and we have since become good friends, which I’m very proud of. He has, and continues to, give me some great advice. My first show was two mornings a week from 6 to 8:30 AM on 90.3 WHPC at Nassau Community College. They shared the 90.3 frequency with Adelphi University which broadcast each day at 5 PM.
Along with the morning shows on WHPC, I started doing a Friday night show on 90.3 WBAU. My first professional job was at 92.7 and 98.5 WDRE (which was formerly WLIR). 98.5 was the East End frequency, so I’ve been lucky enough to be heard here (on the East End) for 30 plus years.
Working at WDRE — not to sound too corny — was a dream come true. They played my favorite music at the time and at one time or another had my favorite Disc Jockey(s) work there. I then moved on to Lake Placid for a short stop at a local station before making my way out east.
I was driving past the Hook Mill in East Hampton and saw the old WEHM location across the street. I always traveled with my demo tape and resume. I stopped in and was hired shortly thereafter. I did mornings at WEHM and eventually became the program director for 10 years from ’97 to ’07. That’s when I moved over to 88.3, so I’m going into my 14th year at this frequency which was WLIU, WPPB, and now WLIW-FM. I’m very, very fortunate.
What was the first music you ever purchased, first concert? Do you flash back to those memories when you play a song by those artists on the radio?
There was a Grants Department in my neighborhood and they had a small record department. When I was eight or nine years old I bought “Get Back” with B Side “Don’t Let Me Down” by the Beatles. Since then any money I saved up from mowing lawns, paper route, a small allowance from my Mom for helping around the house, etc. went to buying records. I saw a few concerts prior, but in ’74 I saw David Bowie in July and then George Harrison in December both at Madison Square Garden. Those two shows got me going to concerts as often as possible.
Your show is certainly not about nostalgia, it’s current and quite a mixture of older and newer songs. Where do discover new talent?
This is no question the favorite part of my job is finding new music. I have a lot of different sources, the main one being the record companies and the independent promotion folks who reach out to me to get possible exposure from radio airplay. But it’s work, there are websites that review new music on almost a daily basis, I check the airplay charts, etc. . . just too many to mention, but I love it.
I find there is always a lot of great new music out there, you just gotta look. Some of my favorites from the last five or 10 years are Father John Misty, Jason Isbell, Weyes Blood, Kasey Musgraves, First Aid Kit, plus many more.
As they age, Major League Baseball pitchers lose a few miles off their fastball. As you have seasoned, your fastball is getting quicker. How do you stay on top of your game, so committed and so enthusiastic?
It’s the old saying “Love what you do, and never work a day in your life.” Each day I can’t wait to get on the radio, play music, and help folks on the East End and Southern Connecticut stay informed. I am very, very fortunate. I work with the best folks and our general manager Diane Masciale is dedicated to serving the East End with as much local programming as possible. The friendships I am making along the way are amazing, and that of course would include you Chris, thank you.
“The Afternoon Ramble” can be heard Monday through Friday, 1 to 4 PM. “The Overnight Ramble” is Tuesday through Saturday, 2 to 5 AM on 88.3 WLIW FM. Visit www.wliw.org/radio.
