Interview by Elizabeth Jacobsen
As legend has it, on June 9, 1987, a musically adventurous
radio station was shut down by the government in Manila, Philippines.
Conspiracy theorists can argue that the reason may be they refused
to accept payola and were far better than their competitors.
But the truth was that the house which owned its World War II-era
transmitter was seized by the newly-elected Corazon Aquino regime,
the property having belonged to relatives of the ousted President
Marcos.
However, the station didn't fade with Imelda's shoe collection.
Nearly 20 years after its demise, it was resurrected as an online
entity on Live365: http://www.wxb102.tk
Ah, but this is no mere Internet station consisting of a non-stop,
repetitive mp3 stream; rather, it has live DJs broadcasting every
day. Yes, actual voices and personalities. It's a miracle of
web creativity, a legend breathed into new cyberspace life. Even
more startling is that its core staff from its 1986-1987 heyday
- George Frederick, the Ghost, Julius Caesar, the Morning Man,
and Cool Carla - have all returned after two decades' absence
along with the station's original (and once teenaged) volunteers
such as Mick Flame and new jocks Hilary and the Sandman, the
only American on board.
WXB 102 is starting to produce a buzz in the U.K. underground,
especially for those longing for the '80s explosion of punk,
post-punk, ska, synth-pop, New Wave, reggae, Euro disco, Goth,
and jangle pop. WXB 102 is probably the only station which can
attract both old readers of NME and Smash Hits. During the numerous
times I've tuned in, I've heard everything from Simple Minds
to X-Ray Spex to UB40 to Specimen to Paul Young!
I recently spoke with WXB 102's program director, George Frederick,
who guided the station back in the '80s.
Elizabeth Jacobsen: WXB 102 made the transition from an
FM unit to an Internet-based powerhouse. What's the story behind
it? How was it all pieced together?
George Frederick: When WXB 102 closed down in June of 1987,
many of its fans stayed in touch with each other and kept their
radio station alive in their hearts and minds. One such fan was
Michael Sutton [CEO of Sutton Records]. Here was a man with the
dream of one day reviving the station he grew up with. In his
persistence, he found most of the original DJs and staff of WXB
102, who were very excited about the project.
Jacobsen: I'm intrigued by WXB 102's Philippine origins.
Why did New Wave create such an impact in your country?
Frederick: In the 1980s, almost all radio stations [in the
Philippines] played middle-of-the- road and American Top-40 music.
WXB was then a disco station. There was an underground music
scene in place, outside of the radio station, where new wave
strived. The DJs of WXB drew their inspiration from the underground
mobile DJs and mixed new wave and punk rock tunes to their shows.
The kids were simply bored listening to the same tunes played
on almost every radio station. WXB went against the flow of Philippine
broadcasting, and this appealed to the youth of the time. WXB
also organized regular dance events and concerts that were very
popular with the kids. So successful were these dance parties
that many of the fans still wonder if we are going to do it again.
Jacobsen: What was WXB 102 like in the '80s compared to
now, in terms of both musical content and structure?
Frederick: Nothing much has changed with the format. It is
still as eclectic as it was in the 1980s. We never really called
it "new wave." We called it "102 Music."
Most of what we played in the 1980s are played in the revived
station. This is what the old fans expect from us. One of the
things you should know about WXB is that we listen to the fans.
Jacobsen: Do the DJs currently work with a playlist?
Frederick: Right now, the DJs are not working on a formal
playlist. The old jocks of WXB know exactly what to play. We
have faith in all of our DJs, and their instincts . If we ever
do disagree about a song that was played by a DJ, we'd talk about
it, and that was the end of that song. But this is very rare.
Jacobsen: Judging from my own listening experience, I am
startled by the station's stylistic reach - from hardcore punk
like Black Flag to synth-pop such as Depeche Mode but then I've
also heard Pat Benatar, the Lotus Eaters, Bob Marley, the Sisters
of Mercy, Sade, Bad Manners, Simply Red, and U2. How do you produce
such an eclectic "classic alternative" menu that somehow
feels focused in sound yet chaotic on paper?
Frederick: It's very eclectic, I know. Academically, it does
not make sense. You have to disregard everything that you learned
in school about programming and go back to the human instinct.
It's rather like looking at the stars in the sky. You just see
them all hanging around in a chaotic dance, but then you find
that patterns exist and that the patterns are simply beautiful.
Then you discover that the chaos starts to make sense!
Jacobsen: How do you have DJs from both the Philippines
and Seattle?
Frederick: Michael Sutton is now based in Seattle, and started
WXB's revival with DJ's from there. The radio shows are recorded
by DJ's from their homes in Manila, in Seattle and in California.
We did have one more DJ in Hong Kong, but because of the restrictions
of China on the Internet, we are having a hard time getting that
jock back online.
Jacobsen: The volunteers are an engaging lot. How did they
come together?
Frederick: WXB was one of the poorest radio stations in the
1980s. It did not have the big budget that other radio stations
enjoy. The volunteers were fans who gave their spare time to
help the radio station. I think they were angels sent to help
us. The volunteers say it was "love" that brought them
together.
Jacobsen: I've read how WXB 102 was the station which
made Ricky Gervais' group Seona Dancing take off inexplicably
in the Philippines. How did that happen?
Frederick: Like Seona Dancing, many of the acts we played
at WXB were relatively unknown. Seona Dancing's "More To
Lose" was simply a wonderful song that had a controversial
start in the Philippine scene. There was a group of mobile DJs
who brought this record into one of those corporate radio stations.
The radio station loved "More To Lose" and asked the
mobile DJs if they could use it. The mobile DJs agreed for us
long as the radio station did not tell the audience the title
or artist of the song. The mobile DJ's wanted this cut to be
exclusive to them. When the fans of this radio station asked
for the title, the DJs simply said it was "Medium By Fade."
Presumably, the name was taken from how the song ended... with
a medium fade.
Unknown to this big corporate radio station, one of the DJs of
WXB knew the song, played it, and told the public the right title
and artist of the song. This was the controversy that made Seona
Dancing a sensation in the Philippines. As for WXB... we just
thought that "More To Lose" was a wonderful tune that
fans requested daily.
Jacobsen: Why is that nobody decided to revive WXB 102
earlier?
Frederick: Many people wanted to revive WXB, but they did
not know the "magic formula." Program Directors of
other radio stations have tried to copy WXB and failed. There
is a feel to the programming that the fans knew in their bones.
They tried to revive the format, but never got the original staff
of WXB to work with them.
Jacobsen: We're familiar with Michael Sutton from his promotions
work with Peter Coyle and other Liverpool acts before. Did he
reunite all of you?
Frederick: Michael Sutton spent his youth in the Philippines
and was a fan of WXB. He lived and breathed WXB. It was WXB that
guided his life and his career. He never stopped dreaming of
raising WXB from the ashes. His perseverance and tenacity is
what got the DJs together. He e-mailed people who knew how to
get in touch with the old staff of WXB, he called, he asked people
to call, and when he did get to us, he could not take "no"
for an answer. Yes, he did reunite us and we are happy he did
To listen to WXB 102, go to: http://www.wxb102.tk
