Jon Moshier is back on WDET

The Core Belief

30 years ago, before programming services took over the airwaves, almost all kinds of music could be found by listening to the radio. WRIF had a new sounds cavalcade on from Midnight to 4am every Sunday/Monday. It was the first time I heard the Police over the US airwaves. The DJ was correct in assuming the band would be huge although he erred when he said we’d all be calling Sting, Andy and Stewart ‘The Cops.’

Along with the demise of the free form radio format and the locally programmed radio station, the character driven DJ has also left us. Gone are the Dick Purtans and Arthur Penhallow’s. They have been replaced sameness up and down the dial. The Rebecca Wilde’s, Alan Fee’s and Barry Young’s of the world are few and far between.

I am happy to announce personality has come back to the airwaves. Jon Moshier, an old friend and fellow rock and roll animal, will be broadcasting live from WDET in Detroit, 93.3 on the FM dial and streaming live at www.wdet.org every Friday from 9-11pm. His program is called Modern Music Show.

However, as Jon is on a public radio station he needs our support. Here is a message from the man himself:

I need your help. My return to WDET after a three year-absence was marked by the launch of the Modern Music show on January 1 and I feel like it’s rolling along pretty well so far. But I need your help in spreading the word! You’ve all been so great to listen in and support this kind of music on the air, but we need to let more people know that the show exists! The good folks running WDET these days have given us a great opportunity here and put a great deal of faith in the metro Detroit community to make this show successful. Additionally, they’ve put a lot of faith in me and given me total creative freedom to program a show that is unlike anything on the air in Detroit. I’m proud and excited to be able to put music on the air that you can’t get anywhere else in Detroit (and only a handful of radio stations around the country), but it can only continue if we all back it with our support. It’s not about me. It’s about the music. And it’s about the culture of Detroit. And it’s about radio that once again challenges itself and the community in presenting new discoveries and fresh ideas. Together we can make it huge. Together we can make it an important part of the cultural landscape of a city that has always supported the musical vanguard.

Next month is pledge drive and yes, I’ll be asking for financial support and hope like hell that a strong showing will send a clear message about how important this kind of radio is to Detroit. But today, I’m not asking for your money. I’m asking for something much simpler and so critical to the success of the show- SPREADING THE WORD. We don’t have a lot of resources at hand for traditional promotion, so tell yer friends…tell yer enemies. Tune in, turn it up and be proud of Detroit radio!

I’ll be back on the air tomorrow night at 9p.m. EST on the super hi-fidelity FM blowtorch at 101.9 FM in Southeastern Michigan and word-wide on the mp3 stream at www.wdet.org.

Tomorrow night features music from the late Mark Linkous (Sparkehorse), Surfer Blood, new Broken Social Scene, Public Image Limited, new Ted Leo, new Joanna Newsome, new Frightened Rabbit, Neon Indian and lots more.

 I hope you’ll join me and spread the word.

Although I’m not much into Sparklehorse, I do have Jon will play some great new sounds (the Choke perhaps?) Tune in gang. I will be every week.