MANILA, Philippines - I’m listening to the final hours of NU107, and Filter’s Take a Picture just came on.I have this on my iPod. It’s part of a playlist I call NU107, filled with songs from my time as a DJ there.
I came to NU in 1995 purely for employment reasons. I admit that I only listened to NU sporadically after it opened in 1987. They played Noiseworks and other fare you wouldn’t hear on mainstream pop. NU was a part of my being a radiohead but it wasn’t the only station I listened to. There were only two that I adored: 99.5RT, from as early as my days in high school for being trendsetters, and NU107 because it required a love for alternative rock to enjoy.
A friend told me she had heard of an opening in NU for a newscaster. She passed the word on to mutual friend, Claire, who in turn had me come in to audition.I read the news for Claire, the program director, and was asked to meet Cris, the station manager.
They hired me.
I started as a newscaster and then became a sidekick for “The Morning Show with Jake” which evolved into co-hosting “The Morning Show with Jake and Joey.” I left NU in 1997 to rejoin 99.5 RT, but in 1998 a visit to led to a conversation of returning to NU to host and line produce my own morning show. Jake had left and NU didn’t have anything for their morning programming. Ron, NU’s station manager, and I tossed around ideas for a co-host. We thought about other females, other males, and settled on a newer, younger talent who had been working the graveyard shift. His name was Roli but he used “Zach.”
Zach and I went on the air for the first time on July 13, 1998. For my birthday on July 27, Zach simulated a striptease live on the air. It was hilarious. Listeners loved it. I felt like gagging. Ha ha ha ha!
Zach and I hosted the 1998 Rock Awards. The show was new and we needed to promote it. This is a screenshot from a video of Razorback on YouTube.
So from July 13, 1998, to March 14, 2003, Zach and Joey had the most fun of their radio careers. I’m pretty sure he’d agree with me.
We played Sinead O’Connor’s The Last Day of Our Acquaintance on March 3, 2003 as our farewell, and again the other day when I was Skyped in to do the show one last time. We mostly reminisced over our favorite moments along with listeners who were tuned in to say hello and goodbye.
If you were able to join us, thank you for all the tweets, calls, and Facebook posts and tags. You don’t realize how much we appreciate you.
Cheers to the best thing that was on Philippine airwaves for23 years. I don’t think we’ll ever recover from losing you.