http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/ent...nt/7835319.htm

<<PHILADELPHIA - Ed Sciaky, a Philadelphia disc jockey who helped bring attention to artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, died Thursday while in New York, his employer said. He was 55.

The cause of death was not immediately known, according to Greater Media Inc., which owns WMGK-FM, the classic rock station where Sciaky worked since 2002.

"Artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Yes may never had been heard on the radio if it weren't for Ed's ability to hear new talent and bring it to his listeners," said Rick Feinblatt, Greater Media's vice president for radio.

Sciaky was born in New York and raised in Philadelphia, where he graduated from Central High School and Temple University. He began his radio career at the university's station, WRTI-FM, in 1966, then got his first professional job at WDAS-FM in 1968.

He moved to WMMR in 1970, where he became known for recognizing and promoting new artists. He moved to WIOQ in 1977, then to classic rock WYSP in 1986 before switching to WMGK, where he hosted a show dedicated exclusively to Springsteen's music on Sunday nights.
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Ed was good for playing new bands, and I used to like his soothing voice, almost as good as Pierre Robert. Godspeed Ed.

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John Street Sucks. Duh.
STARSKREAM

I especially liked when Ed Sciaky and David Dye were both at WIOQ in the late-1970s/early-1980s, before commercial radio became so rigidly formatted. Those days are long gone.

So young ... wow, I just am really bummed out. I got a call from a family friend of mine who is around the same age as Ed and he's really upset ... he just really defined a culture for people here.

I wonder what this will mean for the radio scene here. He was so much a part of it.

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Ed's death is definitely a great loss to independent music, and rockers everywhere. He brought a fresh edge to rock radio that was a nice break from the pre-programmed play-it-until-they-can't-stand-it approach that many radio shows have become.

I hope more radio DJs and station managers can have the guts to play more new material that is not necessarily on their playlists. Otherwise, mainstream radio risks making itself irrelevant to people seeking new, edgy music.

I hope so too, but if the experience of WDRE in the mid-1990s is any example, it's not likely to happen. 'DRE had the feel of a college station but it lasted, what, five or six years? Now the program director and much of the staff are at Y100, and are far more conservative in their playlists and seem do be doing well (financially) with it. I think the only place to hear genuinely innovative radio programming these days (aside from a few college stations like WPRB) is on satellite radio. Or on my iPod.

Whoops, just reread my last post. My iPod comment at the end sounds like I'm passing myself off as a music programming savant. I'm not. All I meant to say was that the iPod's playlist features have allowed me to categorize my music collection in unusual ways that don't conform to typical radio formats, that's all.

Don't you guys realize that it is not the station managers and program managers who pick the jusic anymore, it is a higher up corporate structure. The stations are told exactly what to play if they are owned by a corporation.

But DRE for the first year was awesome. Just incredibly awesome! The 80's lunch was killer. Then it became corporate alt rock. Booooo.

__________________
John Street Sucks. Duh.
STARSKREAM

You are right about the corporate hijacking of mainstream radio, Yatesy. That is a large part of the reason why I seldom listen to music on the radio, aside from a few of the local indie shows (unfortunately, aside from stations like XPN, most of the large stations that do have a local music showcase put it on at some crazy hour like 1AM on Sunday morning or something like that!).

We need to reclaim rock and pop music as a countercultural movement, like it was when it began back in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. The problem is a lot of the so-called hippies, or whatever phrase you choose, grew up, entered the professional world, and sold the heart and soul of rock and roll to corporate America.

Let's take it back for the people!

I love the part in the movie "School of Rock" where Jack Black's character says a few great things about rock music:

"Great musicians don't play for the money and the chicks- they play, because they love the music!"

. . . .

"Rock music is about sticking it to the man (in other words going against the establishment or status quo)"

. . . .

"One great concert can change the world!"

Let's get back to changing the world, people!

Peace,

John