twin58
09-15-2007, 09:08 PM
There's nothing to see here, kids. That's right; turn up your iPods. Move along.
No obituary or appreciation for the man has appeared in any newspaper, but DCRTV (http://www.dcrtv.com) has been reporting for the past two days that alternative radio station owner Jake Einstein died earlier this week. There was a paid death notice (http://www.legacy.com/WashingtonPost/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Notice&PersonID=94400354) in the Washington Post on Saturday morning. Longtime DC and Baltimore area listers of a certain age can recall fondly just how good WHFS was back in the days.
From the DCRTV Mailbag (http://www.dcrtv.com/mailbag.html):
The big question in radio and music and business circles this week is: WHY on earth is there nothing in the media this week (other than on dcrtv.com) on the death of Jake Einstein on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007? Here we have a legendary man who is literally one of the great businessmen, music promoters, radio men and broadcast pioneers not only in the D.C. area, the Baltimore area, the mid-Atlantic area, but in the entire United States. And that is NOT overstating the case. The death of Jake Einstein is front page news. Jake Einstein developed, produced, operated, ran, managed and oversaw one of the best progressive rock radio stations in the United States, WHFS. The original WHFS was one of the most groundbreaking, influential radio stations in the region and in the country for several decades. Jake's son, Damian, is just as legendary, and Damian is one of the most knowledgable men in local radio and music. And Jake bought, managed and sold several other local radio stations, also. And yet there's nothing in the mainstream pint media this week! Why is that?! (9/14/07)
WHFS in the Really Old Days (http://dcmemories.com/WHFS/WHFS.html)
Since Georgetown's non-commercial alternative FM station WGTB (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1054148) was shut down by that school's administration in 1979, DC was without a college radio station, with any sort of signal strength, that played alternative rock. The station at the University of Maryland could barely be heard in northern Virginia. By contrast, WGTB could be heard as far south as St. Mary's County, Maryland. WGTB's history was told in an article in the Washington City Paper (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com) in 1999. It's said to be in the archives there, but that page keeps coming up "File not found" for me.
Commercial WHFS filled the void. If they had a playlist, it was not evident. You couldn't begin to guess the next song that would come over the airwaves. There was a time that I listened to only two stations. If my receiver wasn't on 102.3 MHz, WHFS, then it was tuned to that rarity of broadcasting, a commercial classical station, WGMS, at 103.5 MHz.
WHFS was always on the verge of being sold, with resultant change of format. During one such threat, I went to a "Save WHFS" rally at the Kemp Mill Records in Georgetown, where I met WHFS DJs Weasel (real name, Jonathan Gilbert) and Damian (Damian Einstein, Jake's son). I even wrote a letter to the editor, which got printed, suggesting that a college take over WHFS's library in exchange for a tax deduction. Eventually the station did get sold, and the whole kit and caboodle moved down the dial to 99.1 MHz. That station brought the first Lollapalooza to the DC area (actually, Reston), but eventually it dropped the alternative format, going to mainstream rock for several years before switching to a Spanish-language format on January 12, 2005.
Commercial alternative progamming, though, was not gone forever. Some of the staff and the record library moved over to Jake Einstein's new station, WRNR (http://www.wrnr.com) in Annapolis. It is as close to a duplicate of the old WHFS as is possible. Damian is still on the air. I have never been bothered by his halting speech pattern, the result of a near-fatal car accident, for no one has been more supportive of local musicians.
Jake, you meant so much to me and untold thousands of other listeners. I'm really going to miss you.
No obituary or appreciation for the man has appeared in any newspaper, but DCRTV (http://www.dcrtv.com) has been reporting for the past two days that alternative radio station owner Jake Einstein died earlier this week. There was a paid death notice (http://www.legacy.com/WashingtonPost/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Notice&PersonID=94400354) in the Washington Post on Saturday morning. Longtime DC and Baltimore area listers of a certain age can recall fondly just how good WHFS was back in the days.
From the DCRTV Mailbag (http://www.dcrtv.com/mailbag.html):
The big question in radio and music and business circles this week is: WHY on earth is there nothing in the media this week (other than on dcrtv.com) on the death of Jake Einstein on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007? Here we have a legendary man who is literally one of the great businessmen, music promoters, radio men and broadcast pioneers not only in the D.C. area, the Baltimore area, the mid-Atlantic area, but in the entire United States. And that is NOT overstating the case. The death of Jake Einstein is front page news. Jake Einstein developed, produced, operated, ran, managed and oversaw one of the best progressive rock radio stations in the United States, WHFS. The original WHFS was one of the most groundbreaking, influential radio stations in the region and in the country for several decades. Jake's son, Damian, is just as legendary, and Damian is one of the most knowledgable men in local radio and music. And Jake bought, managed and sold several other local radio stations, also. And yet there's nothing in the mainstream pint media this week! Why is that?! (9/14/07)
WHFS in the Really Old Days (http://dcmemories.com/WHFS/WHFS.html)
Since Georgetown's non-commercial alternative FM station WGTB (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1054148) was shut down by that school's administration in 1979, DC was without a college radio station, with any sort of signal strength, that played alternative rock. The station at the University of Maryland could barely be heard in northern Virginia. By contrast, WGTB could be heard as far south as St. Mary's County, Maryland. WGTB's history was told in an article in the Washington City Paper (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com) in 1999. It's said to be in the archives there, but that page keeps coming up "File not found" for me.
Commercial WHFS filled the void. If they had a playlist, it was not evident. You couldn't begin to guess the next song that would come over the airwaves. There was a time that I listened to only two stations. If my receiver wasn't on 102.3 MHz, WHFS, then it was tuned to that rarity of broadcasting, a commercial classical station, WGMS, at 103.5 MHz.
WHFS was always on the verge of being sold, with resultant change of format. During one such threat, I went to a "Save WHFS" rally at the Kemp Mill Records in Georgetown, where I met WHFS DJs Weasel (real name, Jonathan Gilbert) and Damian (Damian Einstein, Jake's son). I even wrote a letter to the editor, which got printed, suggesting that a college take over WHFS's library in exchange for a tax deduction. Eventually the station did get sold, and the whole kit and caboodle moved down the dial to 99.1 MHz. That station brought the first Lollapalooza to the DC area (actually, Reston), but eventually it dropped the alternative format, going to mainstream rock for several years before switching to a Spanish-language format on January 12, 2005.
Commercial alternative progamming, though, was not gone forever. Some of the staff and the record library moved over to Jake Einstein's new station, WRNR (http://www.wrnr.com) in Annapolis. It is as close to a duplicate of the old WHFS as is possible. Damian is still on the air. I have never been bothered by his halting speech pattern, the result of a near-fatal car accident, for no one has been more supportive of local musicians.
Jake, you meant so much to me and untold thousands of other listeners. I'm really going to miss you.