Those were different days back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, when DJs on commercial radio stations played the music they actually wanted to hear and took requests from listeners. Back then, major record companies spent money promoting new and unknown artists in the hopes of hitting the jackpot. Record stores were everywhere and the people behind the counters knew something about music—they may have been as opinionated as the cast of High Fidelity, but you knew their perspective was an educated one. They listened to the music they sold.
Feeling nostalgic, Steve Amann from WZMF (the freeform rock station that signed off in 1978) and Peter Jest of Shank Hall have organized a night to remember. Not unlike a high school reunion for people who probably never went to their high school reunion, the Milwaukee Rock Radio and Record Store Night is a chance for DJs and listeners, record store employees and patrons from the era to get together, share stories and listen to the music. Amann will spin vinyl from his collection (much of it actually from ZMF’s music library). The event is free and open to anyone, even people unborn when FM radio rocked. 7 p.m. to closing, July 19 at Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave.
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