Blogs Done Differently #1

“Dear god they’ve given me the blog”

This was my first thought when Matt offered me this space to write about music. 

For those that don’t know me, I’m Ben Dojutrek, host of Face for Radio and a proud member of WHCM. I really never thought I’d be writing about music weekly. I’m what you call a bit of a music luddite. I hope writing for WHCM can help me expand my horizons beyond the joys of pop music from the 70’s to the 00’s. But first, a bit on how I got here. 

I still remember buying my first record.  I had gotten one for my birthday; it was a crappy old turntable in a suitcase. All I had was the Scorpions and the Moody Blues.  Which is a weird pairing in hindsight.  But I wanted more! More sounds that could pour in from that spinning black disk and fill my room with music, and I was in luck. A new record store was opening right on Main Street in Mount Prospect.

Toska Audio was meant more for stereo equipment, with the large booming speakers revving to life and Pink Floyd to always seeming to be playing. It wasn’t inviting for an awkward high school freshman who often tripped on his own shoelaces. But the hastily written cardboard message said records inside. As the cool air hit my skin, I found the boxes in back with names and artists I could not yet recognize. 

I remember pulling an album with this guy in glasses, talking about a normal quiet life. I recognized “Werewolves of London” but did not recognize the glory of Warren Zevon quite yet.  A storyteller of Headless gunners, fallen colonialists and a very excitable boy. It’s why Mr. Zevon is a frequent featured artist on Face for Radio. His music has been forgotten by most and it’s up to me to capture the same joy and excitement I had; rushing home from the record store and letting the music float around us all.

But enough my blabbering, here’s a few housekeeping notes. The way these are going to work is you’ll get my usual ramblings above, and then a list of special events and programming,  We here at WHCM are Radio Done Differently, so lets call this “Blogs Done Differently”.  As I, Ben Dojutrek, serve as your guide through my memories and the WHCM vault.