January 15–22, 1998
on media
Mourning Show
Yet another unintended use for the Internet: Easing the pain of fans of defunct radio stations.
Alternative rock station WDRE 103.9 FM signed off for good nearly a year ago, but its Web site lives on (www.wdrephilly.com). And while this in itself isn't especially notable—all sorts of obsolete and forgotten pages clutter the Web—the traffic it continues to generate is. The site is averaging 30,000 hits per month, according to designer and pro bono webmaster Thomas Anthony, who, along with former 'DRE staffer Steve "Spike" McGinnis, has kept the site alive.
And that count reflects the usual holiday lull. In October, Anthony adds, there were an "amazing" 78,000 hits.
WDRE was purchased by national chain Radio One Inc. in December 1996. The change to an urban format (think Power 99) took effect in early February 1997. Today, WPLY (a.k.a. Y100) sounds a lot like the late 'DRE, but apparently hasn't filled the void for all the hardcore alternative fans.
Spike—now morning jock and music director at an alternative station in Detroit—receives an average of eight e-mails a day from still-grieving 'DRE listeners. "I always wanted to touch people like that in radio," he says, "but I never dreamed I would."
Fellow 'DRE refugee Preston Elliott, now a DJ at Y100, says he hears it too.
"I've never experienced anything like it," he says. Everywhere he goes, former listeners express their regret. Teens ask what it would cost to buy and transmitter and reassemble the old crew. Once in a while, he hears from someone who's still gathering signatures for a petition.
"I hate to use a cliché," Elliott says, "but ['DRE] had a real 'stationality.'"
"I think we touched a lot of people," says DJ Marilyn Russell, now at WXPN, "because of the way we were at 'DRE. We lived the lifestyle, we hung out with our listeners. I drove listeners home from shows … We were on the street all the time. We were everywhere."
And like Elliott, she still is approached "constantly" by fans. She spoke at a recent event for high school musicians, and the crowd went wild at the mention of 'DRE.
Russell has been planning a small gathering for former 'DRE staffers and friends, and is relieved to know she's not the only one who can't forget the once-mighty station. "I was thinking, You know, people are going to think I can't let go," she says, laughing. "But I guess there is a part of me that can't let go."
Webmaster Anthony and Spike have been working on an update of the site, featuring new bios of the now-scattered staff, photos from the farewell event Bitterfest and sound clips "right down to the final pulling of the plug at the station," says Spike. The new content will debut on or before the one-year anniversary of 'DRE's demise, Feb. 7.
