The Milwaukee School of Engineering has maintained a radio station in one form or another since Marconi’s days. But in its present incarnation, WMSE marks 1981 as its Year Zero—the date when its signal, boosted to 1,000 watts, finally reached across the city. Station Manager Tom Crawford grew up with WMSE and has worked at the station for more than a quarter-century. The radio beacon of musical alternatives is his dream job, whether filling in for a volunteer DJ who calls in sick or running the station’s fund drives and special events.
When did you discover WMSE?
It was in 1979. I was up in my bedroom playing with a new stereo receiver. I was messing with the dial and there was The Clash on Milwaukee radio! I started messing with the antenna, moving it to the window for better reception. And then someone came on and said, “This is WSOE” [as the station was then called]. I was hooked.
Did you think you’d be on the air one day?
Never. No, I just really loved radio. Finding WSOE is how I discovered WUWM and Wisconsin Public Radio—it was the doorway to the left side of the dial. But I never once thought I’d be in front of the microphone, spinning records and making a living at it.
How did you begin working with WMSE?
I was in a band called Old Dark House. [WMSE DJ] Neil Mickey invited me to come down and play our tapes on his radio show. I thought this was the greatest day of my life! And later on, out of the blue, Neil asked me if I’d want to come back and play some records on his show. Next, he said I should fill out an application to become a volunteer DJ. All of a sudden, a week later, [Station Manager] Bob Betts called me.
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I did a midnight-through-6 a.m. shift for seven or eight years. After a while, I started doing promotions for the station. I put on a benefit with some other DJs to raise money to replace our broken cassette players. In February 1993 I was hired as promotion and fundraising director. I took over as station manager when Bob Betts retired in 1995.
What are some of your proudest accomplishments as station manager?
We raised the power to 3,200 watts. In 1999 we built a new studio in MSOE’s Krueger Hall, where we are today. It was an old print factory and needed lots of work. The vice president of a local company—a fan of the station—helped us get the carpeting and flooring donated. We did a lot of the work ourselves. We wired the studio with a team of MSOE students and alumni. Also, we’ve become the library of local music, the repository.
And you have worldwide reach through the Web.
The week when David Bowie died, we played more of his music than any station in the world except a couple of satellite stations, Sirius and a station in the U.K. We weren’t trying to set a record. It wasn’t a top-down programming driven decision. It represented the purity of the people at WMSE and what we believe in.
WMSE can be heard at 91.7 FM.
