| WDVE-FM | |
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| City of license | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Pittsburgh metropolitan area |
| Branding | "102.5 [W]DVE" |
| Slogan | "DVE Rocks" |
| Frequency | 102.5 (MHz) 102.5 (MHz) HD2-Blues (Also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1962 |
| Format | Classic rock |
| ERP | 55,000 Watts |
| HAAT | 250 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 59588 |
| Callsign meaning | W DoVE |
| Former callsigns | KQV-FM |
| Owner | Clear Channel |
| Sister stations | WBGG, WKST-FM, WPGB, WWSW-FM, WXDX-FM |
| Webcast | WDVE Webstream |
| Website | http://www.dve.com |
WDVE (102.5 FM) is a Classic rock music formatted radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA at 102.5 MHz. It is often referred to by Pittsburghers as simply "D.V.E." WDVE's transmitter is located on Pittsburgh's North Side. Since 2006, the station has been the highest-rated radio station in the Pittsburgh market, surpassing longtime market leader KDKA.
The station which was once owned by ABC along with KQV AM and was known as KQV-FM, has aired rock music since 1969when it broke away from simulcast with its sister KQV. The new programming was a tape service of album rock entitled LOVE created by ABC programmers Lee Abrams and Dick McGraw designed specifically for airing on the ABC FM O/O's. The station's current call letters were chosen in 1971 at the height of the "hippie" era. "DVE" was derived from "Dove", the bird of peace. In the Fall of 1971, Allen Shaw and ABC Radio programming executive, Bob Henaberry, replaced the "free form" rock programming with the very first album rock "format", playing only the best cuts from the best selling rock albums with minimal disc jockey talk. Steve Berger was the General Manager, and Dwight Douglas was the Program Director. WDVE was the most successful FM radio station in Pittsburgh throughout the decade of the 1970s. In early print marketing the phrase "Rock 'n Stereo WDVE 102.5" was set in white text against a black oval background surrounded by vivid rainbow-like colors. Later the logo was rendered in white and yellow with red accents against a black background, generally using the slogan "DVE Rocks."
Because of the station having a largely male audience, the station refers to fellow Clear Channel stations WXDX-FM and WPGB as "brother" stations as opposed to the more commonly-used term sister station, since WXDX also has a predominantly male audience and all three having younger listeners. In recent years, the station's format has gradually drifted towards "classic rock" with current releases rarely incorporated into the playlist (That role has largely been taken over by WXDX.), though some recent songs such as Ozzy Osbourne's 2007 hit I Don't Wanna Stop is part of WDVE's playlist.
Starting in the 1980s, the station started playing the Beat Farmers song Happy Boy every Friday around 3PM to signal the end of the work week and the start of the weekend, making WDVE one of the few stations to play a song from the nearly-forgotten cowpunk band on a regular basis. The station also parodies The Beatles song Birthday at times, often incorporating Confucius into the song.
The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications, and (along with WBGG) serves as the flagship radio station of the Pittsburgh Steelers radio network. For years it was the home for Pittsburgh Penguins hockey (now also on WXDX), promoting itself with such oddities as a young Jaromir Jagr reading the morning weather forecast in heavily accented English during his suspension from the NHL.
Contents |
Morning Show
The DVE Morning Show is hosted by local comedians Jim Krenn and Randy Bauman and airs on weekdays from 6 AM to 10 AM. Additionally, the "News and Celebrity Sleaze" is read by Val Porter at the top of every hour, and the sports news is read by Mike Prisuta at the middle of every hour. The show is a fairly standard morning show, with a few songs and comedy skits played between the news sections. Before Randy Bauman joined the show in early 2000, the morning show was hosted by Krenn and Scott Paulsen, who replaced "Little Jimmy" Roach and Steve Hansen of "The DVE Morning Alternative" morning show.
Sketches and characters
The morning show has many unique characters and sketches, mostly dealing with Pittsburgh. These include:
- 69 year-old Seal, a Jewish woman from Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood who has a very raspy voice.
- 72 year-old Otis, a poor black man who often talks about Thunderbird (a cheap wine) and prostitutes.
- Baghdad Bob, an Iraqi man named after the original Baghdad Bob (an Iraqi propagandist who was killed during the Iraq War) who insults Krenn and frequently tells him that he is "not dealing in reality."
- Ben Klingston, an overzealous Barney Fife-styled security guard at various malls in Pittsburgh, including Ross Park Mall and South Hills Village Mall.
- Bobby Subgum, "the world's only ninja entertainer" who tells humorous quotes attributed to Confucius. His catchphrase: "Don't mock me, Round Eye!"
- Booger Smoot, the fictional "reserve windy-day placekick holder" of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who has "all the monies, all the womens, and all the cars."
- Bradley's Cosmetic Corner, hosted by the openly gay Bradley (Jim Krenn) and Wendell (Randy Bauman).
- Evgeni Malkin's Diary, a fictional audio diary home by the Pittsburgh Penguins player.
- Georgie, a fanatical Pittsburgh Steelers fan who uses the phrase "Go Steelers" like a mantra.
- Gladiators/Gunslingers, a segment that splices press conference clips of the current head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers to make it seem they are having a conversation with other characters. Originally began as "Gladiators" with Bill Cowher as the emperor, but was switched to the wild west-themed "Gunslingers" when Mike Tomlin took over as head coach. Tomlin is portrayed as the sheriff.
- Judge Jimbo Browntown, a judge who deals with ridiculous court cases.
- J.T., an angry poet with an African American voice (voiced by former co-host Scott Paulsen) who demands airtime to read "a poetry by J.T." and always threatens: "You gon' say my name on da radio? I'mo kill you."
- Mullet Talk, hosted by Tino Martino.
- Pants 'n At, a fictional clothing store where the customers talk in a heavy Pittsburgh accent.
- Pittsburgh Prom Kings, Tim and Charles, who sell prom packages and speak with a heavy Pittsburgh accent. In a recent skit, the brothers were forced to shut down their prom services and instead became the "Pittsburgh Shovel Kings," offering snow plowing and salting services. The skits always end by the two brothers saying "Yinz guys will love it!"
- Ralph the Cat, Jim Krenn's cat who is constantly high on catnip. His catchphrase is "Wanna burn one?"
- Rollo, who sounds somewhat like Chris Rock.
- Sam Lowenberg, the fictional agent of Jim Krenn who speaks in a Jewish accent and tries to get Jim Krenn to take part in ludicrous gigs.
- Scorekeeper, a man who calls in to what he thinks is the real-life FSN call-in show Savran on Sportsbeat, and begins each call with "First off, Stan, love the show." and often adds "first time caller, long time listener."
- Stanley P. Kachowski, the fictional station manager of WDVE who is a stereotypical yinzer. In early episodes, always mentioned his "pea green Chevy Vega."
- Steely McBeam, the mascot of the Pittsburgh Steelers who talks in a very deep voice and is ambiguously gay.
- Tad Bifferson, fictional Pittsburgh elitist from the wealthy suburb of Fox Chapel. He boasts to have graduated "magna cum laude from Shady Side Academy", and has a young son, Connor, who is a prodigy.
- Tucker and Clem, hillbillies.
- N'At Man and Robert, a pair of Pittsburgh superheroes -- N'At Man is supposed to be Kevin McClatchy, then-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates), whose lair was "somewhere under the 9th Street Bridge", who were sworn to fight silly crime under the direction of Mayor Thomas Smurphy. Bit is no longer used since the departure of Thomas Murphy as mayor, but recordings appear occasionally on KWKAT, Planetfurry Radio, on Saturday nights.
- Willie Whiteshoe, a fictional wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Impersonations
Some of the recurring impersonations on the show include:
- Al Gore
- Bill Clinton
- David Lee Roth
- Dick Cheney
- Donald Trump
- Dr. Phil
- George W. Bush
- Kim Jong-Il
- Michael Jackson
- Mike Tyson
- James Taylor
- John Mark Karr
- Mario Lemieux
- Evgeni Malkin
- Sean Connery
- Sophie Masloff (former Pittsburgh, PA mayor)
- Tom Murphy (former Pittsburgh, PA mayor)
- Stephen Hawking, using Speech Synthesis.
Other Media
- Staff at WDVE provided voices for the segment Action League Now! on Nickelodeon's KaBlam!.[1]
- An extra in the 1986 movie Gung Ho wore a WDVE t-shirt on-screen. The movie, starring Coraopolis native Michael Keaton, was largely shot in Beaver County, just a short drive up Pennsylvania Route 60 from WDVE's studios.
- Bumper stickers for the station appear in the Mark Wahlberg movie, "Rock Star", set in Pittsburgh.
WDVE HD2
On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that WDVE's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on Blues.
References
External links
- WDVE official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WDVE
- Radio Locator information on WDVE
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WDVE
- List of "grandfathered" FM radio stations in the U.S.
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Comedian Gene Collier performs at Olive or Twist on November 5, 2008. Gene Collier has written sports, politics, and media criticism in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for more than 30 years and has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, losing spectacularly both times. He is co-author, with Rob Zellers, of the one-man play "The Chief" starring Tom Atkins and based on the life of Arthur J. Rooney. "The Chief" is the most successful production in the distinguished history of the Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Genes writing popularity has led into a secondary career as a stand-up comic and corporate speaker. A native of Coaldale, Pa, a small collapsed minor town between the 'I' and the 'A' in Pennsylvania, Collier earned a B.A. in Journalism from Penn State and lives in Pittsburgh's North Hills with his wife, Gerry, also a Penn State grad. http://talentnetworkinc.com
Author: talentnetworknews
Keywords: gene collier comedian author journalist pittsburgh post gazette wdve radio talent network entertainment agency talentnetworktv
Added: January 8, 2009
Jim Krenns Dog Found. Gizmo is Back Home
At around 7:30pm this evening some 26 hours later, Gizmo is home. Jim Krenn and wife Hedy found Gizmo in the woods just off of Banksville road with the help of a phone tip that a stray dog was seen running around in the woods near Banksville Park where Gizmo went missing. Jim, Hedy and some close friends went to the area and in the dark found gizmo who ran into there arms. The family is happy to report that Gizmo is in pretty good shape but very tired and shaken. He will be taken to the vet this evening to check on some redness and brush burns. INFO: http://talentnetworkinc.com
Author: talentnetworknews
Keywords: jim krenn dog gizmo wdve pittsburgh talent network
Added: December 17, 2008
Pittsburgh's 102.5 WDVE- Georgie Visiting Steelers Training Camp
A funny skit from the WDVE morning show with Georgie telling about his trip to the Steelers Training Camp. Hilarious clip.
Author: PatriotsSTINK77
Keywords: 102.5 Wdve dve morning show skit pittsburgh steel city steelers training camp tomlin georgie jimmyjim crenn randy boumann penguins ben troy hines ward casey safety pirates PA jeff dunham peanut walter achmed jalipeno on stick larry the cable guy foxworthy blue collar comedy tour funnybill cowher offence deffence touchdon art rooney crash plane field
Added: December 15, 2008
"Jimmy and The Hellgaters" Steelers vs. Cowboys Dec 7 2008 WDVE Pregame Show
Jimmy, of the legendary Steelers hard core tailgating group "The Hellgaters", provides WDVE's Phil Kirzyk and FOX 53's Alby Oxenreiter with an in depth comparative analysis between the Steelers' 2008 opponents and female stereotypes. The segment concludes with another thrilling installment of the Hellgaters' Steelers Fight Song (Cowboys hatred edition, of course ;) )
Author: smarchit
Keywords: Jimmy and the Hellgaters Pittsburgh Steelers Dallas Cowboys pregame fight song WDVE Phil Kirzyk Alby Oxenreiter FOX 53
Added: December 15, 2008
Veterans Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA
This is the view heading inbound on I-279 (Parkway North) into the City of Pittsburgh (Toward Crosstown Blvd). In this video, you are able to see most of the golden triangle, PNC Park, the U.S. Steel Tower, The Allegheny River, and so on.. all to the sounds of scott paulson, formerly of WDVE.
Author: butti627
Keywords: Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA Steel City Veterans Bridge Allegheny River Pittsburgh Driving I-279
Added: December 10, 2008