The Why Files
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My WBAB Air Check
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 20:06:54 +0000 UTCWhen I was a youngster doing local radio for WBAB (Long Island, market #18). I was working overnights - but got great ratings! This was Opie's old spot (from Opie & Anthony) who had gone on to do some other things. I heard he was reasonably successful.๐
Yes, that's a quick clip of Roger Luce at the end (of Roger & JP fame). Roger was a big supporter of mine. I owe him a lot. For all you Long Islanders, know that Roger is one of nicest human beings you'll ever meet. JP is great, too. They're still doing mornings over there!
Hope you enjoy baby me...
Comments
David
AJ might know one of the guys on 98 Rock out of Baltimore. One of those guys hails from New York and from Long Island. Seems a lot of talent sprouted from that area.
JOE DUNN
Juan Valdez' donkey looks so sad. That's gold Axl, pure gold! ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
The Neoborn Caveman Show
It's been a running joke about Hecklefish's identity. And since AJ's good at voices...
Greg
Iโm so confused. Everyone is talking about hecklefish, but I donโt hear him or see him in the video at all. Am I missing something? There is an audio clip of Cartman from south park saying tree hugging hippies that kind of sounds like hecklefish.
Lance mangum
Awesomeness
Robert Messina
Wow, Those Were Some Great Years & Times! ๐ Turn Back Time- Felt Like Everything Was Easy Going & Fun... Strange Getting Older & Things Just Kinda Get Tougher. Thanks For The Throw Backs! ๐
Highway Honey
I love it!! Axel!!! You sounded really good!!
Diana Heineck
....You look the same!
Diana Heineck
WOW! I remember this time! Great times! Thanks so much!
JohnnyShabazz
I wonder who has that phone number now, AJ (er, AXL).
Anthony Blacker
That poor donkey.. I always felt SO bad for him.. I thought it was just a bummer carrying all those beans down the mountain. Boy was I wrong!! Great radio check AJ. Awesome to hear that throw back.. I miss the 90s/00s
Tyler Barney
Love it
Travis Helms
I love this I went to school for radio broadcasting so I totally relate to the background! I appreciate you brother ๐๐
Solar
Hecklefish makes an early appearance! Very nice. Liked the jokes too. Classic AJ.
Dan
i smiled the entire time, thank you for sharing. Juan Lmao
Melanie
Happy Juan and his sad donkey
Bryan
Yeah, that's why they made the old "Pawn on a Rope"! ๐
Travis Sheaffer
That was great!
Ginn Wheelock
Love it, I grew up watching WKRP Johnny Fever i always wanted to be a disc jockey
Marilyn nunez
That was ๐ great
Kristy Garlitz
That was fantastic!!!
Eric Fletcher
WAIT.... HECKLE FISH was there also!
Kyle Fenton
Fingers crossed for a new episode tonight ๐ค
Lori Carrig
That was a hoot! Thank you for sharing!
Alex MacLean
Just joined to support. Hope a new show comes out soon :)
SGTquig
As another former ClearChannel Communications employee, Iโm glad to see anybody leave them and find success. They screwed me over and taught me what not to do with my subordinates.
Shawn Grant
Time wise, I think this would line up with when my brothers and I were riding to highschool together and listening to the radio. Really brings back memories.
Aaron Page
All I can say is love ya man, massive talent in two decades agoโฆeven grander today! Thanks for all the huge efforts, you are having an impact๐
Julian Ortiz
Axel, an early aughts Rock station, and a Hecklefish worthy joke about Juan Valdez and his donkey. ๐ซ ๐
Dustin Ognowski
A Hecklefish cameo!??! ๐คฉ
Don Stewart
Poor donkey.....:(
Larry
That was great Axel.. I wish you were around where I live wilkes-Barre Scranton area of Pennsylvania as a DJ,,AJ you even played decent music.. ๐๐ป๐๐ป
W.J. Billz
Hilarious!!!! Juan Valdez's donkey....
Byron J Wassenar
Good stuff. ROFL. Pawn drop, sad donkey, camping, etc. Yeah good Hecklefish lines.
Fizzgig
I did the same thing! ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
Fizzgig
Oh yay! I saw this first on YouTube, but it was just for members. Thank you so much for posting this on patreon too instead of forcing us to pay YouTube instead! LOVED this!โฃ๏ธโฃ๏ธโฃ๏ธ๐ Axel? ๐ค๐คจ๐คฃ
Gus Viera
It seems clear that you've been a natural all your life, AJ. See, that old saying is true: "Work your ass off for 20 or 30 years and you can become "An Overnight Success!" Chapeau, Mr. Gentile...Chapeau.
James
Sounds like Hecklefish has been with you forever. I miss good radio.
Vince In Houston
That was Cartman. "Because hippies suck"
PamS. Divelbiss
I didn't know Heckelfish had been with you that long!! Lol
Vince In Houston
Rosario Dawson said that the donkey show was the deciding factor for her to agree to do Clerks II.
Vince In Houston
I realized for the first couple of seconds, I was waiting for the other guy to stop talking so that I could hear you, when it dawned on me, that it was you! Then I was thinking, 'how could I have not heard it was you from the start?' Too funny. Poor Juan Valdez's donkey. Now I see where Hecklefish gets it from! Oy vey ๐ฎ
Sigma 1-969
The memories must come flooding back AJ..
Naomi Fiordimondo
The Cingular sponsorship logo! Lol. Screams '90
Susi Su
I always envied the US having such great rock radio. In the UK, we have never had decent radio. Even the advent of DAB didn't make them much better, although we did have a great one called Team Rock for a while. Incidentally, it's good to hear the correct pronunciation of Lynyrd Skynyrd!
Joanie Yannotti
Hi from Long Island! ๐
Gordana Rioux
Kinda sounded like Cartman to me
Venom AD
Dead Guy in the envelope baby
Jim Shaffer
Not at all surprised that you've done radio. First time I heard you speak I said to myself that guy's got great radio voice. I did an FM technology talk show here in Spain for 12 years. They liked my American accent. I see Hecklefish has been with you a long time. Cool clip thanks for the memories!
Pintius
Was Hecklefish still Hecklefish?
Ke11er
Juanโs donkey. LOL
Ashdad
Almost didn't watch. If it had been a Pop station I would have been deeply Disturbed.
J. Andrew Medina
Interesting hearing an early bit from Hecklefish too๐๐
Soilman
I give you โBest of Youโ by FF .. enjoy
Fancy Pants
There will be a cringy image everytime I drink my coffee. โ๏ธ It could be worse, have you heard of the donkey show? ๐คฃ
Mark Rizzo
Man, love the 'Don't drop the pawn' joke A.J. ha ha ha. You always know how to enjoy yourself on the air. :-) Thanks for sharing the memory
Chris Conlan
Bro so wild the journey - did heckle fish exist back then ? I swear when you started talking and then South Park cartman audio played I thought it was heckle fish Lolol
Lucas Koeneman
ummm. nice video! when's the episode?
CosmicVoyager
AXL!!!!hell yeah!!!rock and roll baby;you were allready the best AJ
Thomas Braden
"Don't drop your Pawn!" ๐๐คฃ๐๐คฃ
Judy
That was great. Now I know who is behind the voice of the HeckleFish!๐
Richard hill
damn you look very different
Judy
I used to listen to WBAB in the 70s and early 80s before I moved out to California.
russell johnston
The cowboy hat is awesome! Hope you had the boots too!
Ryan Anderson
Hilarious ๐
Simon Owusu
Donโt drop your pawn ๐
Jesse M
I'd have listened to you, that donkey comment was brutal lol
Kevin Nemet
They did a talk show on 102.5 in tampa for years too. Jp still does the show, both really nice .
J Church
I agree. Itโs not fair that men get better looking with age.
OzDrDj-n-Jadelynmon
Love it, I did a little Radio work back in the 80s, but was nowhere near as good as that. I too thought I heard Hecklefish, but on replay, yeah it was Cartman. lol.
J Church
I love this so much. Thanks for sharing baby AJ.
Wolf86
"Isn't that called camping" ๐๐๐๐๐
J Church
โtouwnamentโ โค๏ธ
The Neoborn Caveman Show
Hecklefish ate Cartman? Or was it Cartman hiding in disguise all along?
Greg
Pretty sure it was Cartman from south park.
PowerSurgePerf
Duuude! I totally remember listening to you on WBAB. Did you come over from WRCN?
Deirdre a greene
today.
Deirdre a greene
You are better looking tod
The Neoborn Caveman Show
Was there an early Hecklefish there? Before he became your "Scully"?
Kimmie
So youโre Hecklefish!!!!! The mystery is solved. ๐
Branson Gray
I was upset this wasnโt the HAARP VIDEO. But it was too funny. Iโm not upset anymore. But I still want the video lol
Mo
Born and bread in long Island BAB was my go to radio station. Grew up on it.
jay
Wow, I didn't know that you and Hecklefish went that far back! Good stuff!
Shรถn
I still have my box of tapes from my Jacor and Susquehanna days. Probably some from college too. *shudder*
Xerravon
My Mom worked in radio for 40 years ended up General manager so my siblings worked in radio on and off in our youth. Did you know an engineer named Jimmy Mitchel, I understand he worked at stations all over the country? thanks! edit,mom retired mid 90's so Jimmy was probably before your time.
TWRS
Great classic aircheck. Thanks for sharing.
Joan Robinson
In your black and white photos you look like a 1950's teen heartthrob singer!
cree1069
Why did the donkey look so sad? Because he dropped the pawn during the tournament!
Kelli McMahon
Hippie liberal college student?...Ummmm, that was Hecklefish's voice! And now we know...๐
Jamie Johnson
Yo why does AJ look like Zac Efron post chin-job? :P
Bryan Scott Hardie
Where are the crew posting old pics? Can we see them?
TheCuriousNoggin
Hey Aj, thank you so much for showing us this. I enjoy seeing a Piece of The Why Files History. And not to age you or anyone else, but I was, ah, born in 2002. So... yeah. Thank you again for showing us this, and maybe you can show us a few other things one day. And maybe you can show us what Hecklefish was doing in 2002? Take Care.
Sandra Childress
Absolutely hilarious, what a special treat.!!! Thank for sharing. So GREAT, love ๐
DKW
Awe I loved this and was that an early Hecklefish type in the background I heard.
Brian Smith
That's great AJ. I lost all my air check tapes years ago save for a program I recorded in full when I did overnights at the University of Evansville's Mighty Fine 91.9 WUEV. I had a captive audience: all of my callers were from the Vandenberg County Jail. Good times.
Zeb Francis
Juan Valdez joke was ๐๐ผ
Jessica Abbene
Lmao I'm from Long Island! 102.3!!!!!!
Derek P Payne
Too funny... too funny... wicked sense of humor! And... was that the one and only Hecklefish early on?
Tony K
Love the playlist lineup! ๐ค
Lazy A-Hole Ranch
Hahahahahaha that was fantastic!
Daniel Byrnes
That was really cool, especially the sperm part ๐
Celeste Lusby
Me too!! Hahahaha now we know for sure!!
Beyond Strangeness
Epic!
Laoch Highlander
๐คฃ Loved this! I still love a lot of those tunes
Dinkum Aussie
GโDay AJ , Opie and Anthony are great guys, I worked in the studio next to theirs at WNEW NYC , .We were broadcasting live breakfast radio to Australia , infact they actually brought me on their show and asked me some rather funny questions! ๐ Great Aircheck reel !!
RileyRoo
I grew up on LI listening to WBAB
RicanHavoc
How many of us called the number on the top right of the left image? ๐๐๐ That was awesome! Frosted tips n all!!โค๏ธโค๏ธ
Mark william lane
Camping, swimming, coffee you sure you werenโt a frustrated camp counselor?
Avraam Avraamides
Very James Dean
SGTquig
Dude! ๐ My avatar is pissed.
Michelle Daniels
AJ, you do make me feel less ancient, Ty! Iโm 65 so listened to radio in 60s & 70s. Boston, MA. Same great style of AUTHENTIC radio, where boundaries were often pushed real hard. Surprised that Juan Valdez thing got by censors! Much love to you & the Crew, michelle
April Danann
I heard a Heckle Fish!
Monica Merrem
That was so cool!!! Thanks for sharing...
Michelle Daniels
That was GREAT!
B B
Ha! This explains so much. Thanks for the blast from the past. I too miss real radio.
Randi Bernamonti
Oh goooood the cringe was real! Haha
Adam (Pappy) Koehler
Look at that young AJ !!! Was this before mensa or after ? When did u actually become a member? Who considered you for mensa? I've been wondering that since Gino mentioned it .
Mike Blackburn
Hey Axl, is that still your phone number? ๐
Sharon M
Did you have Hecklefish back then? I thought I heard him.
Davey_D
Ahh... Back-announcing, a lost art!
BrashFink
Damn... I wanna listen to this station. *sigh* I miss REAL radio.
Richard Bramlett (H Y B R I D)
i was going to say, fond memories.... and a lot of cringe ones...
Katherine Carroll
Did I hear Hecklefish?
Cynthia Graham
You comedic timing was great โway back then! Quite fun.
Renee Murphy
It would be great to have some more old recordings youโve done with Hecklefish watch-along commentary.
Daniel Boucher
So, HeckleFish has been around as long as you, eh?
Gary McDonald
Did you get my salt water tip for sinuses ? Works great . Cool old clip by the way.
Drew Zimpelman
The frosted tips ๐
The Why Files
Howard!
The Why Files
It was always in there waiting to come out...
The Why Files
Do you think I could still get away with that one??
The Why Files
It's an uphill battle, but I'm going to stay the course.
The Why Files
Still a solid joke.
The Why Files
Wow... you still spinning vinyl and playing imaging off of carts, I bet! By the time I got in to radio (about 1999) we were 90% computerized. (Enco)
Andrew Lader
Great music playlist!
Antonio Margheriti
I think 4.6 million on YouTube would disagree
C.Hopper5
Thatโs fโing hilarious!!
The Why Files
This. Is. Truth.
The Why Files
I felt it, too!
The Why Files
I honestly don't think I'm that interesting! But thank you, Ant.
Jason Moore
Haha. This is great.
Antonio Margheriti
Youโre a fascinating individual to learn about
Night Of The Living Fred
ok, the juan valdez joke.....you were channeling the fish there i think
Rob Schwager
Creed and Nickleback. It was the best of times, and the worst of timesโฆ ๐
Chris
This is awesome. I used to DJ for the college station at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro back in the early 90's ... I think I used to have a box of reel to reel tape of some of my work, but it's long gone. Wish I had some of it..that would be fun.
Mark Taylor
Sweet! Nice blast from the past.
John Swanson
Lol yes that is camping lol
Richard Bramlett (H Y B R I D)
Long time listener, Axl, I heard you moved on to better things! I'm pullin for ya, buddy!
Vincent Marziale
That coffee donkey joke at the end. Better times.๐
Pfa1981
Loved it I can feel the vibes of the Why Files and hecklefish humour
Avery's Mom
This makes me think of "W eeeehn BC".
Patrick Thomas
Donโt drop the pawn should be a shirt.
MiseriesChild
Nice!! I look back and old photos, (especially band photos) and it's so weird to see the young me, lol!! This is really awesome AJ!! ๐ค๐ค
Justin Friedman
Wow look at those frosted tips!!! I feel like I heard you when I was a kid! Nassau County born here!!
MikeD
Interesting. Sounds like Hecklefish was with you back then too. : -). Fun stuff.
Richard Swaim
I see the beginning of Hecklfish in this.
Dan B
Yep - I was a listener back then. I was an O&A fan and then was introduced to you. Good times! Who knew goldfish had such a long life span.
JT
That's awesome!
MaryJaneMcWeed
Oh wow! Too cool!
AnnieHawk
I grew up on WBAB, but probably before your time. Uniondale. I moved away in 1987.
Texas Joe (from Long IsL.)
Used to listen to you then, am friends with Bob Buc today. You are a great talent!
Sibyle
Nice! Thanks for sharing
Kathleen Dorney
WBAB ! Lawn Guyland !!!
Zaniyah Miles
Thanks!
Gavin Evans
Morning mate from Tassie
