Recently Played Songs

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As a highlight of our 2024 "Spotlight on Our Volunteers" Radiothon theme last week, we were thrilled to present "Behind The Mic," our WHFR Volunteer Spotlight Series where you, our Loyal Listener, got to know a little bit more about your favorite WHFR personalities!

They shared their passions, memories, and unique perspectives by responding to some fun and thought-provoking questions we've posed to them. We have one more to share!

Our bonus participant is: Phil Maq
Host of: Theme Attic
Wednesdays noon-4:00pm
Various music genres which complement a weekly theme.

1. What’s your earliest memory of listening to the radio? When I was growing up, a radio was always on somewhere in the house. Probably 2 or 3 at the same time since I had several older brothers and sisters, and all of them had their own musical interests. Two liked the popular music of the day. One liked country music. Another liked Classical, Jazz, and Broadway musicals. On top of that, my parents liked Polish music. The first song that I think first made me aware of the radio was “Tossin' and Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis—a song about a guy who couldn't fall asleep at night. I apparently had a similar problem as a child, because my Dad used to laugh and describe my sleepless nighttime behavior as pacing a dimly lit hallway with my hands clasped behind my back while everyone else slept. Apparently, for several hours a night.

A close second was “Waterloo” by Stonewall Jackson, a country foot stomper that my older brother would torture me with because he knew I hated it. He had a single of it that he used to like to listen to on repeat. He also had the uncanny knack to constantly find it on a portable RCA radio that he always took on family vacations, or just around the house like when he was shaving or doing other chores. The torture lasted decades! As a personal aside, I like it now that I'm not tortured with it.

2. What is/was your all-time favorite radio show or DJ? What makes/made it special? When I started to control the radio or had access to it for myself, I initially used it for baseball games, so I guess Ernie Harwell and George Kell who did Detroit Tiger games, would be two early favorites along with Jack the Bellboy.(?) I don't remember anything about the show except that he had a bell that he would ring and I guess that got my attention as a toddler. Baseball was my first obsession, and probably like many others with a similar obsession, I would try to pick up as many games as I could from as far away as I could on the AM radio. St. Louis was fun to get as well as Kansas City. I spent many nights listening to the legends!
My first favorite DJ was probably Scott Regen of WKNR AM. The top 40 station out of Dearborn, Michigan was a definite favorite and Scott was sharp! I liked the little jingles that they had specifically for him that referred to him as, “Scott Berger!” which I found out many years later was a variation on his name. And I'm not sure if it was him but I think it was, there was a nightly countdown of the “Top 9 at 9” of the station's song activity based on phone calls and such. My Top 9 at 2:09 is a tribute to that segment of the show. Since I'm not on at 9 o'clock, I wanted to have a countdown on my “Theme Attic” show that referenced that. That was before I was aware that Casey Kasem existed! I sometimes say that I'm a sucker for a Countdown!

Switching to FM when I became aware of it, WABX quickly became my favorite! I mean, they were playing full album sides and artists that I'd only read about! I suppose Dave Dixon was my first favorite because he had a tendency to slip some Beatle bootlegs into his show. Man! Hearing music by my favorite band that couldn't even be purchased was a great reason to tune in! I also found that I liked Jerry Lubin and Larry Miller's musical tastes!
When WABX was playing something that I didn't care for, I would spin the dial one station over and see what WKNR-FM was playing. The only DJ I can remember is local legend Russ Gibb who was also the geniius behind the Grande Ballroom! And I was listening that Sunday afternoon when the world found out that Paul McCartney was dead and The Beatles had replaced him with a lookalike!

3. What do you do at WHFR and how long have you been involved with the station? I am the host of “Theme Attic” heard on Wednesdays from 12PM-4PM ET. I have been at the station going on 14 years, I am the current Folk Music Director as well as the Metal MD. I have served a couple of stints as Head Music Director and established the term Digital Music Library with the help of Jay Korinek during my first term.

4. What drew you to become a WHFR volunteer? I went to the Concert of Colors in 2010 and ran across a table for WHFR which was manned by Dennis and someone else at the time. I had never heard of the station and just started talking about radio and music. Dennis said it sounded like I should be there. I guffawed loudly and said sarcastically, “Yeah. Right.” He said that he was being serious and told me what I needed to do to be on the air. I checked it out and confirmed what he told me. As someone who once went to school thinking he wanted a career as a DJ, being at WHFR was too much to resist. I've been here ever since.

5. What impact do you think WHFR has on the local or global community and why is local/independent radio important to you? Well, this is a tricky question that I'm not sure how to answer, so I'll go with what listeners and artists tell me. Locally, I know that I play many artists that might not get airplay yet deserve airplay. I've never kept track of artists that I played their music on terrestrial radio, but I'm pretty sure it's a fairly large number! I'm not trying to brag. Just stating facts. I'm really proud of that!
Globally, without the backing of major labels, artists in other parts of the world face the same problems that local artists here face. I feel confident that I debuted many of them as well over the years. I also get a kick when I'm doing my show and I'm receiving calls from loyal listeners as well as messages from listeners in Scotland, Germany, France, Belgium, etc... And then they tell me they're loving the show!

6. First album (or CD/cassette) you ever purchased? I only knew one grandparent when I was a toddler. All of the others were deceased, and the only reason she was still around was because she lived into her nineties. She was a little Polish woman who spoke no English. When my family would visit her, we would see her in a dimly lit room and she would say things in Polish. And most of the time, I would receive a dollar coin, which I would thank her for. Well, one time, as I was getting older, I saw my brothers and sister buy music, so I, of course, wanted to buy something for myself, Since I onlyhad $1, I could only buy a single. I didn't realize what power I had in my hand at the time! After much personal deliberation and agitation from whoever took me to buy it, I settled on “Ruby Baby” by Dion. It came with a picture sleeve which I found confusing. I wanted the music, not the publicity cover. I guess I got over it and found out that those were usually worth a little more money for collectors. I think I liked the hand clapping and back up singing! The call and response chorus was pretty cool, too! It must have meant more to me than just that record because it was one of the first songs I learned on guitar years later.

The first album I ever bought with my own money was “The Beatles Second Album.” I had heard many songs from it on the radio like “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Devil in Her Heart,” and “She Loves You.” which had awesome drumming! I lobbied my parents and other family members to get it for me, but was unsuccessful. However, I had a First Communion party coming up and I was told I would receive some money that day. What!? Ding ding ding! An idea popped into my head that I could get it for myself! I told my parents straight up that I wanted to buy the album that day. They said, sure, after the party.

7. Favorite song/artist right now? I'm not really sure how to answer this, so I'll do it this way: I do a weekly Countdown on “Theme Attic” called “Phil's Fave Songs” or “Phil's Fave Albums.” Each week I publish that list and it can be found at philmaq.com. I started it a few months after I became a DJ at the station. At the moment, I am closing in on 2700 posts. I also present yearly Philby Awards, my online award for “brilliant musical achievement.” My music show has always been about recognizing artists and musicians that don't often get a spotlight on them. Of course, there are other musical categories that I am also cataloging like “The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded.” I also have my own “Theme Attic Hall of Fame” to honor the artists that inspired the musicians that influenced their own music. It's a symbiotic relationship. The indie artist probably wouldn't exist without the other.

My favorite song this week is from local singer/songwriter Sigrid Christiansen called “Blue Sky Day.” It will probably change next week to another worthy song and artist.

Some of my longer lasting favorites are “Confetti” by Sarah Morris, “Our Turn to Shine” by Mike Ward, and “The Sun Comes Shining Through” by Linden Thoburn. The last two are local artists, and I can name a lot of favorite songs!

8. If you could play an instrument at expert level, which one would it be? Why? Well, I play an instrument: drums. I wouldn't describe my ability as expert level, but I did get paid for playing them for several years, so I must have been OK.

9. In life, are you more Lead Vocals Front Person or Background Musician/Singer? I have been recording some music over the past few years, and some of it is released. I have also been in bands or musical groups and I am happy doing what's necessary. I like both ends of the experience as a Front Person or a background musician or singer. If it's creating music, any experience is fun and different.