Feast Your Ears EP Jay Schlossberg with HFS DJs Weasel and Damian
It was described by a word that we just don’t hear anymore, community. It was something we all felt very much a part of and felt like we were all equal. Common ideals, a common culture a common outlook and to paraphrase Bob Dylan, “the times they were a changin'”. It felt like a whole new town was springing up around us. There were newspapers that reported on our lifestyle, new bands sprang up that played our music, new clubs that featured those bands record stores sold their records and retailers sold the clothes and tools of our life.
And through it all there was a soundtrack of our lives on the radio. WHFS, and that community will never exist again. But now Feast Your Ears: The Story of WHFS 102.3 the movie will bring back the memories and save them for posterity. I hope you will join me and my colleagues for the ride – and join our “tribe” – the HFS Heads!
Weasel
P.S.
In case you haven’t heard, I’m still on the radio waves at WTMD, the NPR station in Towson, Maryland. Join me on WTMD 89.7 FM every Friday evening from 7 – 10pm. The program repeats Saturdays from noon to 3pm.
Here’s what WTMD has to say about my weekly radio show…
Remember Radio the way it used to be?
Every Saturday afternoon at 12 and Friday nights at 7, the legendary Weasel brings three incredible hours of music and story telling. Weasel handcrafts long themed sets about news events, pop and American history and whatever else tickles his fancy.
Sets can last long into the hour with Weasel weaving a musical play by play of each tune’s history and importance. Weasel’s long radio career started during the glory days of WHFS in Bethesda and been a friend and musical guide to generations.
In March, the Baltimore City Paper published an article about me written by Charles Cohen. Click here to read all about it!
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Be sure to go to the homepage and sign-up for our news and events alerts to be the first to hear about our upcoming concerts and appearances at Harp and Fiddle and Villain and Saint. We will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in September, and would greatly appreciate it if you would help us spread the word about Feast Your Ears: The Story of WHFS 102.3 documentary in production to all your friends and fellow HFS Heads!
I recently shared this story with Bonnie Raitt – I will never forget one night listening to WHFS and Lowell George and Bonnie Raitt came in and and sang ‘Willin’ live on the air. I don’t believe there was a studio for this activity, they just sat in front of the announce microphone and delivered an amazing soulful rendition of the song with George on an acoustic guitar. A priceless memory! And one very good example of community spirit that the ‘Weez’ is speaking about. Such experiences seem so very scarce today.
– PJ
The conversations between Weasel and Bob “Here” as they cut over to Bob’s evening show in the early 80s left an indelible mark on Cray Kenny’s psyche. The conversations to be stream-of-consciousness, covering anything and everything, Weasel and Bob playing off each other, and often bringing it back to the music. Like Encyclopedia Brittanica meets Wikipedia except they are live and funny and opinionated and they know what the best music on the planet is. Cray Kenny is situated geographically in New England, and currently refers to himself in the third person. He will be following the Feast Your Ears film project with rapt attention via ubiquitous commonplace boring 2015 media.
PJ I believe you’re talking about the epic session when Linda Ronstadt and Lowell sang Willin’ live on the air. The memory has a way of fogging things!!
I came to DC in ’77 and immediately found HFS; it’s one of the main reasons I love music so much and why I listen to artists that others don’t even know. Back then we were dependent on radio (and friends) to introduce us to music outside the mainstream, and HFS was always delivering. The only negative thing about HFS was that the sets were so long that you would hear a great new song in the car but have to get out before you knew the artist! My 2 other HFS Heads buddies can’t wait for the movie; any idea on release?
Lived near American U in the early 70’s and loved WHSF. Weasel the Dj started his show with a theme song that had, long lonesome highway never reaching the end, as lyrics. I it’s not the M. Parks tv theme song from about that time, but that’s all
I come up with in searches. Any ideas? stuck in my head.
I was in high school in Wheaton, MD in the early 1970s and grew up listening to Damian, Weasel, Cerph and all the radio personalities at HFS. I started making cassette recordings of the shows and also have some fantastic reel-to-reel recordings of studio interviews by Cerph of Frank Zappa and Lowell George that are treasures. When it was announced that HFS was originally going off air I started recording every show I could and amassed a fantastic collection of all the shows, commercials and everything. I am eternally grateful to HFS for helping me learn to appreciate quality music and musicians that I would never have learned listening to pop radio.
It was 1973 for me cruising in my old Chevy thru Severna Park Md.at 1 a.m.Only F.M.station at the time we could receive was WKTK.Scanning the channels I picked up a faint signal playing some Pink Floyd ..Whoa what is this ! Could not pick up the signal on my stereo at home until I extended the antenna. Around 12 a .m the next night there it was that station ! ! And someone playing a Pop goes The Weasel tune .And then Holy wow ! playing This is the End by The Doors..NOONE played that anywhere on the F.M.radio followed by great song after great song..At my High school the next day I spread the word and everyone’s antennas went up at there homes,and it was HFS from then on….40 years later I had moved up to Baltimore Md.Was looking for a good F.M station and low and behold who’s voice do I hear ? Weasels at WTMB amd there I have been ever since .Thank You Weasel for all the great tunes thru the years of our lives !