Now, I’ve heard the name Columbo associated with 93.5 for the last couple of years and I know that he’s been promoted recently to the weeknight 6-11 shift. I’m fully prepared to meet someone in their mid-30s, not someone that graduated from my high school in 91, in my class.

It’s always interesting to find out how radio personalities (especially if you sort of know them) got their start, and it’s always nice to hear about someone accelerating so fast in their profession.

Up until two and a half years ago, Columbo was a communications student at the University of Pittsburgh. But he didn’t specialize in radio, or get involved with campus radio; in fact, he studied rhetoric, or as he puts it, “exploring the meaning of meaning.”

As many of us can testify, it’s all fun and games, until your senior year of college, then the real world starts to breath down your neck.

For Columbo, this is how his career began. Not exactly sure what he wanted to do with his life, his sister made a suggestion. She’d heard an ad on the radio searching for an intern for the Coffee and Jammer show.

“When I came home for break,” says Columbo, “I called up Ed, and Ed’s the jerk that got me thinking that radio was a good idea.”

After a successful internship, he was taken on as a part time DJ. A couple weeks later with some internal shifting of the personalities he secured the 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift, or “paying your dues,” as he calls it. And since August you can hear Columbo every weeknight.

A lot can happen in a short period of time, and I think that Columbo’s probably had some pretty weird things happen to him.

Case point, one night, about three months into his career, he gets a call informing him that WTPA’s call letters were mentioned on a police band. Ten minutes later, the police called. A suicidal man with a shot gun taped to his head would only give himself up if he were aloud to talk on the radio.

“I was still very, very green,” explains Columbo, “I barely even knew how to record the call.” He managed, and played a snippet on the air. “It was a real tough situation because we don’t want to encourage that sort of thing,” says Columbo, who later found out that the gun wasn’t even loaded.

You might note Columbo’s dry humor on air; it’s very distinctive. “I try to be as dead pan as possible,” he explains, “Exploit the obvious, subtly.”

On being questioned what or who inspired this style of entertainment, he asks, “Bob Newhart wouldn’t count would he? As far as comedy technique that’s always what has made me laugh. A real dry, methodical, slow humor.”

Humor aside, what really inspires him is music. As an acoustic guitarist (you’ll catch him playing during this month’s Millenium) he appreciates music and musicians.

“What really drives me is the local music scene. We have a huge reservoir of talent in this area,” says Columbo, who is in charge of WTPA’s popular Homegrown Show. It’s here that he gets the opportunity to show-off some of Central Pennsylvania’s local talent. In fact, during Millenium, he will sit on a panel to discuss the “homegrown” aspect of radio promotion with musicians.

Obviously Columbo is doing well, but what about the future? “Ten years from now I’m still very optimistic about radio. I like my job, ” he says, “I’d like to get into management, but I’d definitely still like to be on the air.”

Oh, the name. Why Columbo? How Columbo? It gets pretty cold walking around campus in Pittsburgh, he explains, so he acquired an old knee length coat that was hooded. Couple that with his unshaven scruffy look, and you got your answer. It didn’t take long for the name to catch on.