By Anne Surniak

A native to Central Pennsylvania, she says that she was bit by the "radio bug" while a senior at Middletown High School. Gipe was a DJ at her school station, WMFS, where she and her classmates were afforded a great deal of freedom, she says, "As long as we didn’t swear."

Her hours in high school spent spinning music may seem like the stuff of parental nightmares, but they weren’t in vain. Gipe was a recipient of a Women in Broadcasting Scholarship, which she used to attend the Broadcast Institute of Maryland (yep, the alma mater of the now famous Robin Quivers). Since then, she has spent an enviable 15 years at various locations throughout the country such as Ocean City and Northern California. She’s toured with the band Virginia Woolf (just for the fun of it) and has talked hair care secrets (or beard in this case) with the members of ZZ Top.

After graduating from BMI she did what just about every teenager in the area wishes they could, or had done - took an internship at Ocean City, Maryland’s WETT (AM) where she was later offered a job.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to say, "It must be nice!", and I say this only because the alternative is a shoulda, coulda, woulda type of thing. I’m sure I’m not the only one who admires and is (OK) a little envious of Gipe, she obviously has really got herself and her life together and has many interesting experiences to boot. She actively seeks out what is best for her (and her family, after all that’s why she came home after five years in California), and does it. And perhaps she is a good example for those of us afraid that moving across state borders (and even time lines) will irrevocably screw up career goals, they won’t.

So, maybe you’re thinking that just because you get to meet cool people, and work in cool places doesn’t mean someone has got it together, and it doesn’t. But Gipe didn’t spend the first decade of her career with the same job in a different local; she took jobs that offered her a chance to advance. She has served as both music director and program director. In fact working with The River, she says, "is the first time since 1985 that I’ve only had an air shift." She further adds that the management level experiences "makes you respect your program directors, past and present, a lot more when you know all that they do."

Gipe has basically three inspirations as a radio personality: the music, the people, and the alternative. She says that her listeners, at The River especially, are "very courteous, sometimes they’ll call in just to say ‘hi,’ which is nice." As for the alternative job pool, she simply says, "I’m not really much of a nine to five person."

No matter where she’s ended up, Gipe has always worked within a rock/classic rock format. She loves music, and if you’ve heard her program you know that she hosts The 8 O’clock 80s throughout the week, you might think that this is indicative of her favorite era of rock, but guess again.

"I love the 70s," she says, naming K.C. and the Sunshine Band as one of her favorite groups. And as for the retro thing, she says, "I love it, I love it, I love it," though the first time around she was a little young for all of the fashions, and now she feels that she’s a little too old, which is a disappointment to her. (Oh, and just in case you happen to be wondering how they use to wear bell bottoms and ride bikes without getting their legs caught in the chain, it’s simple, they used rubber bands.)

In addition to rock, Gipe also sites blues among her favorite genres. She is a particularly big supporter of the local band the Middleton Brothers, saying, "They have that funky R & B sound that I love," and she recommends seeing them play if you get the chance.

Gipe says that one of the most interesting things about being a radio personality is getting to meet the people that you play everyday. She’s met David Lee Roth and Jon Bon Jovi, both of whom she says are very sweet. While touring with Virginia Woolf she had the opportunity to spend some time with Jimmy Page when they opened up for The Firm. She also braided the beards of one of the two front men for ZZ Top, which, by the way, is what they do at night so they don’t suffocate. And that beauty secret of theirs that I mentioned earlier is conditioner, lots of conditioner for soft hair, facial or otherwise.

One of the highlights of Gipe’s career came in Modesto, California, where she had the opportunity to partner up with Wolfman Jack on the air for an hour. "I got to watch him do his thing on the air, he shut his eyes and got into his Wolfman Jack persona and that was a highlight for me because he was the ultimate DJ."

You can hear Jenny Gipe weeknights from 7 to midnight on The River. In addition to the nightly 8 O’clock 80s, she also hosts weekly artist profiles on Tuesday nights, and theme sets on Thursday nights, a radio interactive program where listeners pick a theme and choose the music to match the theme.