the Connecticut School of
Broadcasting and plays guitar
award-winning singer/songwriter
and former concert producer
Click here for the Web version, or pick it up at the newsstand. Here's a taste:
For Paul Curcio and Steve Janowsky, collectively known as 90.9 WKRB-FM’s
“Rocktologists,” mining deep album cuts may just be as rewarding as unearthing ancient
Mayan riches – those Mayans played a mean game of lacrosse, but they sure couldn’t jam
like Keith Richards.
with Paul and Steve
on Kingsborough's
weekly TV talk
show, hosted by
Dr. Oliver Klapper.
Dave White, resident classic-rock guru at About.com, beating Carol Miller
at Q-104 and Paul's alma mater, Fordham University's WFUV-FM.
nice feature about our show. Thanks Dave, and keep up the great work at
About.com, one of our favorite classic-rock resources on the Web.
interview.Click here for the article.
rock podcast by About.com.’s guide to classic rock, Dave White.
The weekly radio show, which airs Sundays on Kingsborough Community College’s student-run
FM station, beat formidable competition from Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc.’s ‘Get the Led
Out,’ hosted by venerable New York deejay Carol Miller on Q-104.3 WAXQ-FM, and ‘Take 5’ on
Fordham University’s 90.7 WFUV-FM, a National Public Radio affiliate.
About.com, part of the New York Times Company, surveyed the top five classic-rock podcasts
and rated The Rocktologists No. 1; Q-104.3 No. 2; ‘Legends of Rock’ from Canada’s Corus
Radio No.3; independently produced ‘Concert Blast’ No. 4; and WFUV’s offering No. 5. Full
details are at About.com’s classic-rock page.
The co-hosts, Paul Curcio and Steve Janowsky, were not surprised by the About.com ranking.
“We’re dedicated to the music,” said Janowsky, a writing instructor at Kingsborough. “As long
as we continue to play what we think is great classic rock, we know people will listen.”
"Our idea is to play great classic rock that you just won't hear on corporate radio,” added
Curcio, an editor at a financial news wire and a part-time teacher at the college. “We have a
different theme every week, so that the songs mean something in relation to each other and the
music never gets stale. It’s like we say on the air: You’re just not going to hear this stuff on those
corporate stations.”
While the Rocktologists do play music from the classic-rock canon – The Beatles, Rolling
Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin – they look for deeper album cuts, outtakes or alternate
versions, as well as playing bands that don’t get much airplay on corporate stations. “Where
else do you get to hear local legends like The Fugs and The Dictators, as well as Fanny, The
Godz, and Atomic Rooster?” Curcio asked. “Nowhere else.”
“We’ll be doing a special on Frank Marino’s Mahogany Rush in April, featuring an exclusive
interview and preview of his latest material, as well as a special on local legends Zebra, with yet
another exclusive interview with front man Randy Jackson,” Janowsky said.
Their themes are as much a part of the show as the songs and bands selected. Recent themes
include classic-rock songs from the hit HBO series ‘The Sopranos,’ the worst classic-rock
songs of all time, and a special tracing the roots of rock ‘n’ roll.
“It’s the theme element that allows us to play music that normally wouldn’t be associated with
classic-rock. We’ve played Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Louis Prima – artists whose music
has greatly influenced the genre but would never get played on more rigidly formatted corporate
stations,” said Curcio.
The Rocktologists air live from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays and simulcast on the Internet via WKRB.
org and Live365.com. Shows are archived at TheRocktologists.com and are available via
Yahoo! Podcasts (http://podcasts.yahoo.com) and Podcast.net.
WKRB-FM is licensed by the FCC and broadcasts 24 hours a day. The listening area covers
most of Brooklyn and is the radio home of baseball’s Brooklyn Cyclones.
For additional information about WKRB, contact General Manager Rob Herklotz at (718) 368-
5604.
To contact Paul Curcio or Steve Janowsky, visit TheRocktologists.com or e-mail
admin@therocktologists.com.
# # #
adds a new twist to an old format by focusing each show around a different theme every week.
It’s the first show of its kind to air on the student-run station located at Kingsborough Community
College in Brooklyn.
Calling themselves The Rocktologists, hosts Steve Janowsky and Paul Curcio hope to offer an
alternative to what they describe as the stagnating state of classic-rock radio. “I’m tired of
hearing the same two or three songs by the same five or six bands on classic-rock radio,” says
Janowsky. “Yes, there’s so much great music that’s being ignored,” adds Curcio. “We hope that
with this show we can present classic rock in a new and interesting way.”
By organizing each two-hour show around a theme, Janowsky and Curcio can play rarely heard
songs by artists that many classic-rock stations have long forgotten or marginalized. Sunday’s
debut will showcase the diverse range of musicians hailing from New York, including Dion & the
Belmonts, Neil Diamond, The Rascals, Simon & Garfunkel, Lou Reed, The Ramones, The
Dictators, Pat Benatar, The Stray Cats, Kiss, Zebra, Twisted Sister, Blondie, and They Might
Be Giants.
The show will also feature interviews and reviews of classic-rock album releases and local live
performances. Upcoming themes include Classic Rock at the Movies, Garage Bands of the
Sixties, and the music of the Beatles recorded by other artists.
Being Brooklyn natives, teachers at the college, and musicians, Janowsky and Curcio say their
backgrounds give them the insight to make the show fun, compelling radio. Janowsky is related
to the singer on the Teddy Bears’ 1958 hit “To Know Him is to Love Him” – a song that
launched the career of famed record producer Phil Spector. And Curcio is an award-winning
songwriter and successful concert producer. He says that he believes their commercial-free
show will be eclectic, entertaining, and enlightening at the same time. “After all,” he says,
“Kingsborough is an educational institution.”
WKRB is licensed by the FCC and broadcasts 24 hours a day. The listening area covers most
of Brooklyn and is the radio home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
For additional information contact WKRB General Manager Rob Herklotz at (718) 368-5604 or
visit www.therocktologists.com.
# # #
