Michael Tearson - a pioneer underground DJ, actor and Philadelphia Daily News pro wrestling columnist

Geo: Where were you born & what school did you attend?

Michael: Born--Baltimore, MD.  Attended The Park School, Brooklandville, MD
(1966). Came to Philadelphia for University of Pennsylvania--graduated 1970

Geo: Did the Philadelphia TV show, "American Bandstand" with DJ & host, Dick
Clark have an impact on your decision into the field of music & radio in the early 60's?

Michael: Not Really

Geo: On September 7, 1954 Alan Freed broadcast his first Rock & Roll
show on WINS in New York. By 1957 his show was syndicated across America &
overseas in Britain on Radio Luxembourg. Did Alan's power as a radio DJ have
any influence on you?

Michael: Not directly.  But through other DJs, yes, he did.

Geo: In what year & with what station was your first DJ gig
broadcast?

Michael: 1967-70--WXPN--including the very first FM Rock shift on the station in
January, 1967 and my Saturday night show The Attic 1/69-1/70
Commercial radio: WDAS-FM--1-6/70, WMMR 6/70-12/76, back on WMMR
6/78-8/78 part-time and full time return 9/78-3/92

Geo: A pioneer to FM radio's underground free-form shows was Tom
Donahue @ KMPX fm in San Francisco.  Did Tom's show (early 67) which featured album
tracks from the emerging underground music scene (Hippies, Mods, Blues) have an
impact on your choice in this new field of FM radio?

Michael: Not directly.  I never heard Tom.  I predated the starts of both
WDAS-FM and the Marconi Experiment on WMMR.  These did influence my
ultimate decisions to pursue radio.

Geo: What was your impression of Philly's underground music scene
(local Philly bands & venues) in the late 60's & early 70's? Did you have a
favorite Philly band back then?

Michael: We had a bunch of exciting bands.  Loved the Electric Factory and Main
Point and Second Fret.  Favorite band of the era: Edison Electric Band
for their great songwriting and great instrumental chops.  Sweet Stavin
Chain, the American Dream and Good God were other faves I feel obligated
to mention.

Geo: Did you find this new style of radio a relief from the Top 40
formatted playlist of AM radio?

Michael: ABSOLUTELY.  I came to WXPN in 1966 as a freshman with a vision.  But
since freshmen weren't supposed to have any ideas I was shunned and went
away for a year.  Came back as a soph in '67 and proved my vision was
correct.

Geo: Who was your favorite & most interesting artist that you
interviewed for your radio show in the past?

Michael: Most interesting: Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet hands down.  Don
loved to do shows with me as I was one of the VERY few who "got" him and
could do repartee with him on his very screwy level.  Second most
interesting: Proctor & Bergman of Firesign Theatre.  Doing my first show
with them--on NO notice--was like getting into the ring and trading
punchlines with the champs.  Favorite:  Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.
I knew both Gram and Emmy before they met each other!

Little Feat has always been a band I have championed, and over the years
I have gotten pretty close with them, especially Paul Barrere and Bill
Payne.  On May 14, 1995 they were in town to play at Penns Landing, and
before the gig they were scheduled to do an interview on the air with me
playing several songs live acoustically.  As fate would have it my wife
Lynne succumbed to her breast cancer
on the 10th and her funeral was the 13th.  Against the advice of nearly
everyone I insisted that I be allowed to do that Sunday afternoon show.
Needless to say I was very emotional and numb at the same time.  Being
able to share some time with friends who I see all too rarely really
helped me get through that awful period.  The interview was one of my
best, and the foursome of Payne, Barrere, then new member Shaun Murphy
and Fred Tackett were wonderful.  And they played great.  That day's show
is one performance I will always be very proud of.  And it is one of the
few I had the foresight to keep on tape.

Geo: Over the years you have hosted different themes on your radio shows.
What for you stands out as a crowning glory "best theme show" you broadcast?

Michael: A sea theme I keep redoing over the years.  I first did it in the early
80s as a Psychedelic Psunday Psupper,  did it on WXPN in The Attic in
1993 and have done it a couple more times in the last couple years on
WBZC most recently last fall when I did it as 2 one hour shows: one of
the theme, one of "out takes"--music I couldn't fit in the hour.
Essentially this last take was two different takes on the same idea with
totally different music.

Geo: When & why the move into acting?

Michael: Started in '75 when I got to do a WMMR TV commercial as on-screen
principal and used that job to get into SAG for a ridiculously low
initiation fee.  As for why, simply because acting offers opportunities
for expression radio does not.  I see them as complementary performances.

Geo: How, when, why & with who did you start the band The Deftones?

Michael: The Original Deftones grew out of being invited by the John Cadillac Band
to sing on stage with them.  With my 10th Anniversary celebration at WMMR
in 1980 it developed a backing band which Alan Newman conscripted.
Special thanks forever to the great Allan James and Bob Holden, the rocks
the band was built around.

Geo: In what year did you start in the wrestling world & at what
level do you work in that field today?

Michael: Started in about 1985 as a ring announcer at WWF events at the Spectrum
and got to do NWA/WCW events at the Civic Center, too.

Michael: Now I do the weekly Thursday On The Mat column ion the Philadelphia Daily
News and occasionally ring announce and referee.  In one area independent
promotion 3PW I have been promoted from ref to manager, and a very wacky,
delusional manager at that.  To do this last I have had to do serious
work on my cardiovascular training.  And that's not a bad thing at all.

Geo: These days you are a DJ on WMGK (Saturday mornings) that hearken back
to the days of free form underground radio. Do you think the DJ has a chance
today to break a new record or is it all prepackaged & programmed music
for the DJ today with no say as what he/she will choose play?

Michael: Formatted radio whether commercial or noncommercial gives the DJ no
choice at all in what he/she plays.  Thus there is no chance to bring
something you are excited about to the table.  Too bad.  We used to break
a lot of very important artists that way.  Ask Bowie, Springsteen, Yes
and many others if the DJs at WMMR made a difference.
The only exceptions are special shows like my Saturday morning WMGK
Saturday 60s show, my WBZC shows Psychedelic Psupper and The Attic (both
tm michael tearson) which I compose and especially ion the case of the
WBZC shows brainstorm.  In the WMGK context I look at the format shows I
do as the dues I must pay to have a chance to be an artist with the 60s
show.  That show sounds nothing like the rest of the station mostly
because I get to do something that has nearly vanished from contemporary
radio: the pure song to song segue.
Back around 1998 I read about one of those dratted radio consultants
saying, "When I hear a segue I hear a missed opportunity for a
billboard."  Reading that I felt radio had completely passed me by.  His
comment shows arrogance and utter lack of faith in and contempt for your
audience and your product.

Geo: Do you think the major label CD's are over priced to the public?

Michael: Yes.  But the major companies are so bloated they need all that extra
cash to pay for all the people who are in noncreative capacities.  They
are horrendous models for a business.  Smaller labels, even DIY artists
have a much better chance of coming out ahead.  But the majors have the
stranglehold on mega-sales.

Geo: What do you think of people stealing music off of the internet &
the artist/writer getting nothing in return?

Michael: Once again it shows contempt for the artist and art in general when
people decide that they are ENTITLED to an artist's work without giving
the artist anything back.  Besides it is a clear infringement of
copyright to the point it makes copyright virtually worthless.  As the
question puts it it is stealing pure and simple.  Theft is never right.
However, when a songwriter gets ideas from existing material that is
artistic process and always has been for centuries.

Geo: With the new DJ underground that took off in the 80's: House,
Rap,Hip-Hop, Garage & later Trance, Trip-Hop, Jungle & Raves a new Star
was born in the nineties. The new DJ's like: Fatboy Slim, King Britt, Josh
Wink, the Chemical Brothers, Junior Vasquez, Frankie Knuckles Todd Terry,
Paul Oakenfold, Sasha etc. What is your take on this new style of the DJ
superstar?

Michael: I have no real opinion about this phenomenon.  I am not a part of that
world at all.

Geo: What is next & new for you in 2003?

Michael: I hope to launch a syndicated show.  Working title: The Next to Last
Radio Show.  First and flagship station is WMSS in Memphis, TE where
former WMGK APD Steven Richards is now PD.  I hope to sell it to Adult
Alternative stations as well as a version specially for XM or Sirius, the
two satellite radio companies.

Contact Michael @ : MichaelT@wmgk.com or visit him at: http://www.wmgk.com

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