Author: Rick Pecoraro

Meet Your Wizards: DJ Ed

Rick Pecoraro

In this edition of Meet Your Wizards, we bring you DJ Ed, host of Eighties Schmeighties, Fridays from 10am-noon.

Born: Atlanta, Georgia
Home: Nashville, Tennessee
Drafted into WXNA: 2016
Spins: Left (always left)
Fades: Lefter

I think I discovered independent radio growing up in Atlanta listening to the college radio station from Georgia State, 88.5 I think. Then when I went to school in Mobile, Alabama I was shocked to find out there was a very tiny college radio station, all of 10 watts. (Shout out to WTOH!) It was such a small-wattage station they didn’t care whether or not we followed FCC rules. That’s something I had to learn when I became a DJ at WXNA. Hey, you’re not a real DJ unless you’ve been suspended at least once! I love being the selector on Eighties Schmeighties. It beats therapy!

Most played song: “Clampdown” by The Clash

Vinyl, CD or mp3? All of the above. Whatever works. Love vinyl, but not a fetishist.

Fave WXNA shows: Free Association, Works Progress Radio Hour, Reggae University, and Punk Not Punks

Pinch-me moment: Interviewing some great artists such as Kosmo Vinyl and Vanessa Briscoe Hay.

When I die: Enjoy Every Sandwich…

Our Favorite Records of 2022

Rick Pecoraro

Look, I don’t want to jinx anything, but 2022 almost felt like a completely average period of time, with only basic levels of chaos and anxiety. Frankly, I’ll take it! As with prior years we asked our DJs to look back at the year and suggest some of their favorite records. The sounds and styles in their recommendations are as varied as the shows on WXNA. Perhaps a few of the records below will help you kick-start your listening for 2023.

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Long Distance Dedication: Pete Wilson

Rick Pecoraro

DJ Rhatfink of The Continental appreciates Pete Wilson

Just as the soundtrack to American Graffiti changed my life in the 1970s, so too did DJ Pete Wilson, beginning in the early 2000s with his seminal show, Nashville Jumps!

George Lucas’s film, American Graffiti (1973), sent me down the rabbit hole of rock and roll as a young listener. What an amazing soundtrack! I loved that music so much that I had my father make me reel-to-reel tapes of nothing but classic oldies but goodies like The Five Satins, Bo Diddley and Etta James. I played those over and over again until the tapes wore thin. The bedrock rock of DJ Rhatfink is rock and roll. Yet there was still more to discover as I found out when I started listening to DJ Pete Wilson and his outstanding, long-running radio show Nashville Jumps! This was radio manna from heaven coming to us from out of the past to the here and now, flinging open the musical doors of my proto-rocker brain with tunes from Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris and so many more! Pete plays nothing but the finest early unbleached rock n’ roll, boogie woogie, jazz and jump blues every Friday morning and has helped me continue a family tradition. Just as my dad shared mix tapes with me, I have had the pleasure of sharing Nashville Jumps! with my daughter as I took her to school. History lessons have never been more fun. Thank you, Pete! Long may you continue to spin those big 10-inch records.

More Ways to Support WXNA

Rick Pecoraro

There are plenty of great ways to support your favorite volunteer-run radio station (in addition to our amazing membership program). Here are a few simple ways to donate that you might not have known about:

Amazon Smile

Did you know you can feel less guilty about using Amazon if you purchase via their Smile site? They donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice — including WXNA! Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and select WXNA as your charity of choice today!

Kroger Community Rewards

Do you shop at Kroger? Did you know you could be supporting WXNA every time you do? Kroger donates annually to organizations in their Community Rewards program and YOU can help send some of those funds our way by signing up for a digital account, and linking your Shopper’s Card to the charity of your choice – aka WXNA!

Find us here under WXNA FM.

Donate Your Car

That car or truck you’ve been hanging onto, the one you’re not using anymore, the one that’s too expensive to repair – you can donate it to WXNA! Provide a financial boost for your favorite independent radio station by donating a used car. It’s free to you, easy to do, and a great way to help keep the Music in Music City.

To learn more, head over to CarEasy.org or call 855-500-RIDE (7433).

Long Distance Dedication: DJ Rhatfink

Rick Pecoraro

DJ Pete of Nashville Jumps appreciates DJ Rhatfink

For “The Continental,” Rhatfink spreads his net WIDE to collect a startlingly wide variety of songs on each week’s theme. He does themes better than just about anybody, and I’m a sucker for a show that follows Lord Sitar with Lou Rawls. But what I like best is his talk breaks. They are performances in themselves. I remember reading once that when talking to a baby, you should vary your voice a lot–soft to loud, high to low, swoops and drops–to keep the baby entertained and paying attention. I resolved to do that as a DJ, but my delivery at its best is a little sloppy.. Rhatfink, you are a far better baby-entertainer than I could ever be.

Meet Your Wizards: Laura Powers

Rick Pecoraro

Wherein we pull back the curtain for a personal visit with one of the wonderful wizards of the X. In this case, the DJ keeping us on Needles + Pins weekly — Laura Powers.

Born: Knoxville, Tennessee
Home: Nashville, Tennessee
Drafted into WXNA: 2014
Spins: Right
Fades: Right

I fell in love with independent radio back in high school when I discovered WUTK, the University of Tennessee’s student-run radio station. Doing Needles+Pins each week makes me feel like that 13-year-old kid hearing the B-52’s for the first time. In an increasingly algorithmic world, I love that WXNA is a place where you can still be surprised and excited by music, whether it’s brand new or just new to you.

Most played song: “Sonic Reducer” by Dead Boys

Vinyl, CD or mp3? All of the above. Love LPs but definitely not a format snob.

Fave WXNA shows: Runout Numbers, Bedazzled Paradigm Jukebox, Punk Not Punks

Pinch-me moment: Throwing an on-air dance party with Vanessa from Pylon

When I die: Sprinkle my ashes in the New Arrivals section at Wax’n’Facts in Atlanta

Long Distance Dedication: Randy Fox

Rick Pecoraro


Big Chief Chaz of Gilded Splinters appreciates Randy Fox

I used to be scared of Jerry Reed, mostly because the song “Amos Moses” was blasted at top volume on the Matterhorn ride at the Allegan County Fair. Jerry’s raucous cackling with thumping funk backing was ominous in a way unmatched by “Free Ride” or “Space Trucking”… Smokey and the Bandit sanded off some rough edges, sure — but he still made me nervous.

I’ve grown since then; now when I think of Jerry Reed, I hear the joy and hilarity of “Guitar Man,” “US Male,” “Lord, Mr. Ford,” or a half dozen others played by Randy Fox on the HIPBILLY JAMBOREE every Saturday on WXNA.

Thanks, Randy!

Meet Your Wizards: Ashley Crownover

Rick Pecoraro

Born: Sixth-generation Nashvillian, but
Number of states lived in: 9
Drafted into WXNA: 2011
Show: Friday Friday, Fridays from 7-8 a.m.

I helped found WXNA, mostly by providing massive quantities of unrestrained enthusiasm. I discovered non-mainstream music during my teen years in the ‘80s thanks to the University of Tennessee’s WUTK and Vanderbilt’s dearly departed WRVU, while my love for ‘60s and ‘70s rock comes straight from my dad’s record collection. These days I learn about new music by listening to my fellow WXNA DJs (and, I’m ashamed to admit, via Spotify’s weird algorithms).

Artist Obsession: David Bowie Forever

Favorite WXNA DJ Collaborators: Jonathan Grigsby (Dance Party XNA) and Michael Roark (Hazy Ways)

Biggest (and Funnest) Challenge as a DJ: Playing ear-catching new music in addition to my beloved “oldies”

Most Awkward DJ Experience: When I phone interviewed Denny Laine of Wings and was so in awe I could barely speak. The most notable thing about it was his boredom

Something Listeners May Not Know About Me: In 2008 I wrote a retelling of Beowulf from the female characters’ point of view (Wealtheow: Her Telling of Beowulf, Iroquois Press), and in 2016 I published a children’s book called Nashville Boo (Reedy Press) featuring the ghost of Hank Williams as narrator.