The Home Of The Real WXB102

Last year I was able to browse the Internet and saw a website about "The Home Of The Real WXB102" which I found very interesting. YUP!! It's not basically related to the other famous WXB102 website that I linked here in my blog. It's basically a recall of 99.5 RT DJ Joe Schmo regarding this Legendary Radio Station here in MANILA called WXB102 "The Station That Dares To Be Different". I was able to meet DJ Joe Schmo only once when I visited K-LITE before. I just I wanna share it to you guys.

SO HERE IT GOES!!
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Joe Schmo of 99.5 RT
Written by Joe Schmo
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
One of the questions people ask me all the time is "what inspired you to take a different direction from Human Resources to Broadcasting?" The simplest answer would be that it runs in the family. My older Brother started way before I did and eventually showed me the ropes. But, when it comes to inspiration, I guess it would be his good friend Rico Severino Aka JJ Michaels of XB fame. I was able to see him in action playing a different set of songs (not pop, not metal, but somewhere in between). They said it was New Wave but that's debatable. He was kept in a small, murky, smelly booth with rotary knobs for a broadcast console - his Technician was only good for buying cigarettes , the records were all soaked in a pail of water, commercials were not a plenty and the worst part of it all was, he didn't know when he was going to get paid for his broadcast services. Still, he looked cool behind the mic and seemed really happy. Little did he know that he, Andy Santillian, Mark Fournier (RIP) and this guy named Fat "o - clocko" Albert would change the radio scene albeit become pioneers of the college radio format. Programming wasn't that harcore yet since there was a disco show at night (from 10 - 12mm) called DISCO ON FIRE with Station Manager Jesse Gonzales of Cute 102 fame. But, during the day you would hear the latest from the UK and some American Bands whom one would think were English! One example of that would be the group PSICOM who had a Filipino member playing bass (eventually, it would regroup to become one-half of Jane's Addiction). Of course it played The Cure, Smiths, Fiat Lux, Lotus Eaters and even Seona Dancing which RT claimed to be Medium by Fade.

The station was located on Donada St. along Taft Ave. and was seconds away from the Rizal Coliseum. It had a black gate; a staircase that led to the studio and ....that was it! The signal was bad but still, people managed to get it - somewhat reminiscent of the FEN Antennae days. Their Top of the Hour line was "This is the Station that dares to be different, DWXB-FM, broadcasting from the Bay Area ( a rip-off of KROQ San Francisco), member KBP. Yeah!

Oh, the parties. My Brother and Rico would often take me with them to places where Goth and New Wave ruled! Vaults in Greenhills, Billboard on Makati Ave. and Times Square where most XB parties were held which was adjacent to the sari-sari store called MANANGS! and the now defunct Halfway Inn on Annapolis St. There were also the St. Scho high school dances/fairs to take into consideration.

I learned more about the station when it transferred for a few months to Merville Pque due to renovations. I saw most of the materials they used, some on Lps, the rest on Cassettes. Still, that didn't stop me from thinking that someday, I would be a jock too! XB no longer exists but the legacy is still alive. Kudos to Manny Pagsuyuin, The Crate, Short Wave Radio Show and the station's one and only sponsor - Khumbmela bags!

JV Faner aka Joe Schmoe
Kiss-Fm/Kiss Jazz
99.5RT
103.5 K-lite
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 February 2007 )


Then came WXB 102....
Written by Vincent M. Faner
Sunday, 14 January 2007
In the early eighties, FM radio in the Philippines was entering a new phase. The choices back then were very limited as the formats were either Top 40 or "soft rock" adult contemporary. Stations like Trans-Radio Broadcasting's 99.5 RT capitalised on playing songs that were not released locally by the record companies. I remember hits from Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Men at Work, etc. all of which were under the CBS label. 99.5 RT had a subscription service that provided them with these exclusive records and they were the first and only station to play them. Alternative stations at that time were RJ-FM and WK 101.9. The former was experimenting with a rock-jazz format while the latter was on it's way out. Then came WXB 102....
I had a short stint at 96.3 WrocK (it was known as RK 96 then) because it was difficult to balance school and work. Besides, my father was ill at the time. I decided to quit radio to study full time to fulfill a promise I made to him shortly before he passed on in 1984. But WXB aroused my interest in radio again and before night classes started, I'd visit my friends at the station along Donada St. in Pasay just to observe and pass the time away. I was invited to join the staff but declined as I couldn't afford the time. I had decided to be a full-time student, preparing for that long overdue graduation day.

Andy Santillan (aka Unbeatable) and Rico Severino (aka J.J. Michaels) knew they had a format that catered to a different kind of audience. It was modern rock/post punk at it's infancy. The listeners were different, had a different lifestyle and expressed it openly. Colored or spiked hair, chains wrapped around clothing, lace-up boots were the preferred clothing. They liked to party too. There was one almost every weekend sponsored by the station.

The station had an untimely death after the EDSA revolution. They knew it had potential but with no support from the owner, it couldn't survive commercially as it's transmitting power was 10 times weaker than the other stations. Two stations capitalized on WXB's demise and had considerable success with it. By 1987, I was back in radio and our office and studio were located right on top of the PCGG office in Philcomcen along Ortigas St. There were a few hardcore WXB listeners picketing outside the building demanding that the radio station be reinstated along with it's format. Unfortunately, the sequestered frequency was sold to a network which was quite successful in the Visayas and Mindanao but had no presence in Metro Manila. They had other things in mind.

WXB 102 stint was short-lived but it's demise started a trend among radio programmers all over the Philippines. Suddenly, new formats popped-up and others were trying cross-formats. Audience rating was shifting among stations and everyone was trying to hold on to their share of listeners. Looking back at it now, FM radio in Metro Manila during the eighties became very exciting after WXB 102 disappeared. I'm just glad to have been a part of that era.

Vincent M. Faner
aka "Barry Kaye" of RK 96Vince of KY 91.5"Rockin V" of Magic 89.9Station Manager of Smooth Jazz, Citylite 88.3 (1997-1998) Vince of 103.5 K-lite
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 February 2007 )
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Well, that's it!!
Check out the website:
http://www.wxb102.org/index.php

ANOTHER XB LEGACY!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD-