Personality Profiles : The EDGE's #1 SON

Personality Profiles
An interview with evening personality #1 SON
of WQXA 105.7fm, The EDGE

by Scot Giambalvo

"Hello. Hellooo. Helloooooo. Is anybody awake in there?" I asked. A groggy voice responded "C’mon on in." It was the ever familiar voice of none other than #1 SON, evening radio personality over at the EDGE. I caught up with #1 SON during a week when he was filling in for the afternoon DJs. "I’m completely out of my element here... I never have to get up this early." He commented. It was quite apparent that the native New Yorker was having a tough time getting into the groove of the afternoon shift.

"So, how did you wind up at the EDGE?" I asked. Hanging on to his coffee cup for dear life, he answered: "It was a chance to be on the air live every day after years of being behind the scenes." #1 SON, we’ll call him #1 for short, worked his way through high school and college as an intern at MJI Broadcasting in New York City. At a time when digital on-screen audio editing was a distant dream, #1 was editing audio by splicing tape with the best of them. "Most of the time I had to make people who talked really slow sound interesting." As a graduate of SUNY Albany, #1 had plenty of on-air experience to augment his strong "technical" skills. "As a matter of fact," he begins, "and don’t tell anyone this because it’s a little embarrassing, but I did a really kickin’ hip hop radio show in college, complete with hey yos, and wus up ya-aaals." Not hard to believe when you hear him get worked up on the radio. So, as an impassioned, newly sprung contributor to society, #1 couldn’t find work anywhere. With only a suitcase of clothes remaining in his college apartment and a list of unanswered demo tape recipients, #1 was on the verge of moving back to Queens when he landed his first real job as the Head Board Operator at a local station in Albany. Approximately a year into that position, #1 SON was invited to join the new EDGE team in Harrisburg, PA by the man that gave him the #1 title. Starting the day after Labor Day in 1995 #1 SON was on the air again after too long of an absence. Filling the 7:00pm to Midnight spot, #1 SON’s show features a topic of the night, where callers can voice their opinions and concerns with other listeners. "I want my listeners to get involved!" States #1, "Our generation is said to be destine to do very little, and I don’t agree. When people call in, they are always concerned and ready to stand by what they say, it’s very motivating." Not to mention that it makes for a very lively and enjoyable evening broadcast. But if you want to have a lot of fun listening to the radio in the evening, tune into #1 SON on Thursday nights when he crowns the Screamer of the Week. The best new song of the week as nominated by EDGE radio personalities and voted in by you the listeners! #1 SON has a girlfriend (sorry ladies), loves FUEL, and can’t wait to get back to his regular "get up at noon" routine.