Asheville FM at WSFM-LP 103.3 Asheville

Wednesday nights, 8-10 - Jazz of all kinds, and not just jazz. (What is jazz these days anyway?)

Local musicians will stop in, but we'll be mostly global - the music will take us all over the world and back in time. Astral traveling? Listening to music with headphones on and eyes closed is the closest I come. So if you're not driving or doing the dishes...

Who is this Shinytop dude? A music nerd who's been spinning discs since toddlerhood.

By age 3, he was playing the family turntable so much that his parents bought him a little one of his own so he didn't ruin theirs. So he ruined the little one by pouring his orange juice into it since it had gotten hot from so much use - who says little kids aren't logical?

At age 6 in 1962, his big sister plopped him down in front of a jukebox at a restaurant and it was puppy-love at first exposure to rock music, playing Beatles records nonstop and then sneaking a transistor radio under the covers at bedtime. At age 11, he discovered a trove of jazz 78s in his dad's closet - from Louis Armstrong through swing into bebop - and a lifelong love affair with jazz of all styles was begun. But he is not monogamous when it comes to music - on the air, you'll hear lots of jazz, but also regular forays into other genres and genre-free experimental music.

Professionally, Shinytop co-produced and co-hosted Consider the Alternatives, a nationally syndicated independent program on peace and justice issues back in the 1980s and early 90s. He has been a news reporter and Morning Edition host at two NPR stations and did communication work for UNCA for a long time. Now retired, he serves on the Asheville FM board of directors.

He loves to share what he's learned about music but wants to keep it fun, so if you hear him yammering too much instead of letting the music speak for itself, or if you have requests/feedback, or if you're a musician interested in coming on as a guest, email shinytop@ashevillefm.org.