Vinyl radio program celebrates 15 years

EAST SYRACUSE — Still intent on delving deep into their musical archives, where an untold number of “lost and wayward” treasures await rediscovery, the hosts of “The Wax Museum” on WSIV The Voice 106.3 FM/1540 AM celebrated their radio program’s 15th anniversary this month.

The three men at the helm of the weekly East Syracuse-based show, which airs Sundays from 7 to 10 p.m., are Ronnie Dark, “The Commander” John Walsh and Mike Adams, who’s known as “The Night Owl.” The best description for the range of music played by the trio, they say, is “everything from Bach to rock,” an indication that they avoid any pigeonholing or narrowcasting when it comes to their format.

From the start, vinyl records have been vital to the weekly episodes, with each host bringing along bagfuls of LPs spanning various genres and different decades with the intention of piecing them into a cohesive whole and spinning as many as possible over the course of the three-hour freeform broadcasts. Though they’re always putting out new finds in hopes of expanding their listeners’ horizons, the hosts also take requests regularly, and favorite songs of the three often fall into such reliable categories as garage rock, surf, psychedelia, new wave, and AOR.

The show debuted on June 8, 2009 as a one-hour program, with Dark going solo on the studio mic. The second week was when Walsh hopped on, and about a year later, Adams joined the fold after coming across the station’s frequency while cruising New York State Route 49, which led him to call in and strike up a natural friendship with his future co-hosts—both avid record collectors like him.

Early on, the hosts didn’t have the social media presence they do now, so they were taking out ads and hitting all the record stores, garage sales and flea markets they could to hand out business cards and spread the word. Their growing group page on Facebook started in about 2014 and has been going strong ever since as a way for listeners to share personal anecdotes, mention the birthdays or recent passings of musicians, post music videos, and simply interact not just during show hours but all week long.

During the 15th anniversary shindig on June 9, the three radio personalities regularly shouted out their area advertisers, joked around with sound effect buttons, kept an ear out for skips and an eye on the clock, and gave fun tidbits about certain songs as they always do.

All the while, alongside lesser-heard artists like Richie Ranno, The Flight Reaction and The Princetons, they played selections like “Up, Up and Away” by The 5th Dimension, Blondie doing a live rendition of “Ring of Fire,” Fleetwood Mac’s pre-Buckingham-Nicks blues instrumental “Albatross,” “You Better Run” by The Young Rascals next to War’s cover of that band’s “Groovin’,” Elvis Presley with “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” and Argent’s version of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.”

They also thanked everyone who has spent time tuning in from the beginning as well as those who have “jumped on the bus” since then, as Walsh put it. Adams said it’s been an “absolute blast” hanging out in the booth with his pals, and Dark echoed that sentiment, saying he feels “blessed” that “The Wax Museum” has made it 15 years and that he wishes to go another 15 or longer.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” Dark said. “I just hope that we can continue to do this for a long, long time.”

Dark added that doing the show Sunday nights gives them and people listening something to look forward to at the end of the week and a fun experience to wind down with heading into Monday. He also said that the highlight reel over the past decade and a half would have to include The Wax Museum’s interviews with Tommy James of Shondells fame, Micky Dolenz from The Monkees, and Phil “Fang” Volk from his favorite group, Paul Revere & The Raiders.

The hosts said that more than just about anything, they’ve enjoyed passing older music down to younger generations not yet born at the time of its release, promoting the medium of vinyl, and putting people onto songs they wouldn’t normally hear on Top 40 stations.

“It’s always fun hearing that you’ve made somebody’s day by playing something they haven’t heard in a long time or at all,” Adams said.

The 15th anniversary installment was Adams’ second show back after recent health troubles, but by that point, he assured the audience he was “on the mend.” His other show on WSIV, “The Night Owl Lounge,” comes on immediately after “The Wax Museum” every week with Dark again at the controls to put the spotlight on some more tunes “that time forgot,” including lounge and bossa nova gems.

Walsh said being on the air with Dark and Adams “is really an honor” and that they’ve formed a brotherly bond over the years, going on to compare every episode to a structured routine like family dinner and their unveiling of what they bring into the studio to the sharing of presents Christmas morning.

The shows of WSIV The Voice, including “The Wax Museum,” can be heard by clicking the “Listen Online” tab on wsiv1540.com.