Sometime in 2000, Jade joined Live Wire as a producer. You see, she's the one who's actually gone to school for radio broadcasting. Soon enough, she took over as co-host with Chuck River... in a completely different format (a little pop, a little hardcore (Jade's influence), and then the 11 o'clock blues!!). Around June 2001, Phil came along as an intern at the hallowed halls of RB, and within weeks, proceeded to barge in on everyone's radio shows, since he couldn't have one of his own...yet. Scheduled on Friday nights at the time, both the Live Wire crew and Phil crossed paths on a regular basis when Phil had the bright idea of bringing 'comedic' content to their program, like Top Ten lists, and weird news segments. It got to the point where Phil was being such a pain in the ass, Jade and Chuck had Phil barred from the on-air studio by the management on-duty. (Usually Zsid, now of WXRV fame.) However, they still liked the content Phil provided. (Whether they actually used the content is another matter altogether.)
Cut to 4 months later, a move of the studio facilities (next door!), a cushy Friday night club DJ gig for Chuck, and a format change thanks to Program Director Benjy, left Jade with a hardcore show every night....alone. Phil, ever so diligent in his pursuit of on-air time, resumed his barging techniques, becoming known as the Radioboston 'hooligan' for months. By January 2002, Phil's tenacity finally worked. During a talk break, Jade and Phil developed a strange rapport that somehow clicked with Zsid, listening outside the studio. Funny thing is... it clicked after Zsid threw Phil out of the on-air studio. Within minutes, Zsid asked Phil if he wanted to join the show. It took a couple weeks for Phil to go 'legit' (i.e. know how to fiddle with all of the equipment and actually know what the hell he's doing with it), but in February 2002, Phil officially joined Live Wire... it was about damn time. The radio show took on a looser vibe, mixing Jade's professional detail with Phil's more freewheeling style.... and besides, Phil could sure mug for a webcam. Then it came time when we wanted more people to listen..and new music to play... so out we went in pursuit of new bands... and their fanbases. Our efforts were starting to pay off (we'd just booked our first in-studio guest) when on July 15, 2002, Radioboston closed its doors for good (Phil has a tirade that goes behind that...but won't go into it here). Live Wire was the last full show that aired on the last regular broadcast day of that beloved station. Radioboston will be missed. Live Wire misses Radioboston.
The next year and a half was spent waiting for what we thought was the inevitable return of Radioboston. In that interim we judged many local battles of the bands, and made a LOT of contacts in the New England heavy metal scene... all the while, trying to figure out where we can bring our little radio show. After trying a couple different radio stations, the opportunity came about to come to WMFO. Being a freeform station, it was the perfect opportunity for us to bring our little program to all the radios of the Boston area... not just their computers. Jade and Phil joined WMFO in September 2003 where Phil spent 4 months covering shifts from all hours of the clock. The work paid off when on February 7, 2004, Live Wire made it's grand return on WMFO. And we couldn't have been happier! After a couple months of pavement pounding, countless emails, phone calls, and just a little boasting here and there... we're back and better than before.... in more ways than one!
Well... at least we haven't cursed on the air yet.