The temperatures have fallen like a speedometer when you spot a highway patrolman on a lonely stretch of interstate. I’m not sure we are gonna have much of a fall this year. I hope so, I love the crispy blue skies and the leaves falling off the trees. According to the Farmers' Almanac's famous long-range weather outlook, “it's going to be a ‘teeth-chattering’ cold one, with plenty of snow. Contrary to the stories storming the web, our time-tested, long-range formula is pointing toward a very long, cold, and snow-filled winter.”
Well, ain’t that just dandy! Really, I can’t complain too much. It has been over a decade since the last big ice storm here. But on the other hand, this summer we have been hit by the remnants of three major hurricanes; Florence, Michael and even Willa crossed Mexico and the Gulf to become our first Nor’easter of the winter. So, I’m not taking it easy I’m digging in for the winter. My heavy sweater from the trip to Scotland this year is still laying out on the bed in the spare bedroom. And if it gets really bad, my “Michigan Coat” from my days traveling up there in the winter to run projects is still hanging at the ready in the coat closet in the foyer. My snow boots are all cleaned up and ready too.
There is a good side to this cooler weather. It’s now comfortable in the Air Studio at WUSC-FM. This summer, temperatures in the studio ran in the mid 80s with little or no air circulation. So “working over a hot console, spinning the tunes” was more literal than allegorical with the hot summer sunlight pouring through the southward facing windows. There was a double whammy with the heat rising off the bricks of the patio three stories below, overwhelming the modest window shades that tried to keep things livable. It’s all the result of progress. The rooms on that floor were reconfigured when the studios were moved down the hall from where they used to be. Unfortunately the HVAC was not reconfigured correctly.
Typical of so many “remote studios” of the old AM radio days, the buildings WCOS occupied at the various Doug Broome’s drive in restaurants had their own challenges. The one on the roof of the Main at Confederate location was accessible only by a ladder and had heating and cooling issues as well. Far better was the 10’ x 12’ cinder block studio in the parking lot at the Two Notch Road near Beltline location where I spent most of my time on the Nightbeat Show. It had large 4’ x 8’ windows on three sides and a door and an air conditioning window unit mounted in the rear wall. Heating in the winter was left to a small electric space heater. Nothing was turned on until the DJ arrived, unlocked the door and turned on all the equipment.
Fortunately, in the summer months, that was not a big deal as the A/C could cool things down in about 5 minutes. But in the winter it was a different story; that space heater needed assistance from the heat from the tubes in all the equipment to make things comfortable. But the worst part of it was the need to warm up the rotary equipment; turntables and cart machines. In the dead of winter, it would take 20 minutes or more of spinning pieces parts before they would operate at the correct speed. It took 15 – 20 minutes to drive out to Doug’s with the records, commercial carts and the rest of the paraphernalia required to do the show. So I had to leave the studios within five minutes after the Open Mike show with Dave Fedor went on the air. It was a good thing that the parking space behind the booth was reserved for the DJ. On the rare days that I was delayed and it was cold, I would call Arthur Broome, the manager of the restaurant and ask him to use their copy of the key to open up the studio and turn everything on. He never failed me.
They say that the sense of smell is the one that provokes memories. I believe that. Right now, sitting here writing, I can smell that studio; the odor of tubes warming up, the grease in the motors of the turntables spinning, the smell of mustard and onions drifting over from the kitchen in the restaurant 50 feet away, and most of all the smell of vinyl.
Left: The vinyl section of the WUSC - FM Music Library. The smell of vinyl being scraped by sharp needles is what I miss most from those old days of 45 and 33 1/3 RPM records. Every radio station had that distinct air about them it permeated the entire station. It isn’t just me. Last Friday Evening the WUSC – FM Alumni Association had its annual reunion gathering at the Village Idiot Pizza restaurant in Olympia. Eventually the smell of vinyl in the studio emerged in the conversation. Eyes glazed over, heads raised up as if we were all smelling those old records. It got a little quieter as we all drifted back into our collective memories. Could it be that we are all addicted to sniffing vinyl?
The comparison between playing a vinyl record at home and the smell of vinyl in an old radio station is like comparing home strength ammonia to that used in blue print machines, or like comparing a peanut to a bowling ball. I’ll just offer you this advice; if someone offers you a whiff of blue print ammonia – DECLINE! Unfortunately, most modern radio stations no longer have vinyl records so it is hard to get that experience. Hmmmm, I think I’m gonna have to take a detour into the music library on my way into WUSC – FM tomorrow morning. In the far back, almost out of sight and mind sit thousands of LP records in their sleeves and covers, just waiting for a DJ to carry one into the studio and put it on the air. Oh MY!
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