It began as a pipe dream.  3 pals who wanted to do more personality-based content on the air took to the internet to entertain themselves and perhaps a few others.  The place was Richmond VA.  The station was WDYL.  Charlie was the morning guy, Fletcher was afternoons and Ed drove the van.  As is the usual in radio Charlie ended up in Vermont, Fletcher landed in Georgia and Ed remained in Richmond.  We didn’t let that stop us though and continued to podcast from 3 different states.  Eventually we refined the “show” and somehow hoodwinked WFNX into giving us a radio show in Boston!  If you were around for the first few weeks of the show you probably hated us and could hear how raw we were.  As time went on we got better and you guys embraced us and our stupid nerd bits.  We had a glorious two-and-a-half year run and here we are.

Why did I recount the history of the Sandbox? Because we have gone retro!  I have taken a job in CT as the Producer for Chaz & AJ at WPLR.  It was a tough decision to make because I really love Boston and I came here with my pals as well as making many new ones. This is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up and I am looking forward to lending my talents to Chaz & AJ.

I don’t think this is the end of The Empire or The Sandbox.  We did it once from different states and we can do it again.  I might call on you, the fans to harass Charlie, Fletcher and Big Jim to get off their lazy asses to record a podcast once in a while but you haven’t heard the last from us.

I really want to thank all the Sandboxers for their support over the years and I don’t think of you as fans but as friends.  Even though our first run ended in a less than spectacular fashion I wouldn’t change a thing.  I invite all of you to join me in this new adventure in radio.  With the world shrinking due to technology I hope to hear your voices on the phone or to be reading your snarky IMs every morning at WPLR.

In the spirit of this post here are some “classic” moments from The Sandbox when we were separated by multiple states.

Bah Weep!

-ed

PS – Keep an ear out for the douchey way Charlie says Steve Jobs name.

Charlie and Ed got together for a little bit on Wednesday night to throw together something that resembles a podcast.  You will get caught up on Charlie’s life, hear tales of Ed’s educational downward spiral and be dazzled by tales of dickhead customers!  Just click below to listen now or download it to your favorite digital media player.

We are going to try to get back to a somewhat regular schedule with all this but you know how reliable we are…  I blame Big Jim.

-ed

Don’t even try to lie.  You know damn well you owned a Korn record.  You might not have embraced them as tightly as some did but you rocked out to “Blind” or “Got the Life” at some point.  You might not have gone to the Family Values Tour but you probably enjoyed “A.D.I.D.A.S.”  So Nu-Metal/Rap-Metal/Mostly a Bad Idea might not be your favorite genre chances are good you know the words to one of their hits.

At some point The Sandbox did a week of Mega Robo Thunder Phone Queries about blowing up a Boston icon and then asking what we should replace it with.  After going through icons like Fenway we found our way to Henry Santoro.  Here are the results.

Another Scottish band that I like.  I am not working a theme here it just happened.

Idlewild are Scottish.  I like their music.  That’s it.

What happens when the frontman for a post-hardcore band (Glassjaw) wants to get his groove on?  Head Automatica, that’s what.  Daryl Palumbo created this outlet for his work that didn’t fit into the Glassjaw sound.  After releasing Decadence in2004 and Popiganda in 2006 the band is set to release Swan Damage this year.

I came across the Get Up Kids in 1999 when I was working at WVCW at VCU.  I remember seeing the video for “Action and Action” somewhere and I was taken instantly.  Weezer was on hiatus on the Kids filled that whole in my heart.  I ran out and purchased “Something to Write Home About” and listened to it non-stop for weeks.  I loved it so much I played the whole CD on my little radio show at WVCW.  I was probably the only one that heard it.

I had never been on the Mass Pike but I loved the was they sang about it.  I was lucky enough to catch the Kids a few times before their break-up.  The good news is that they are back together with a new disc coming out.  Keep an eye out for the old guy in the back of the room next time the Kids come to town.  Just might be me.

Ah, the last day that The Sandbox was on the air.  Has it really been that long?  It was December 23rd, 2009 and we had assembled a group of loyal Sandboxers in the studio for our 3rd (and final) Holiday Hootenanny.  Of course, we didn’t know it would be our last day on the air together so we just had a great time as always.  If they had told us we were fired after that show I probably wouldn’t have been too upset becuase it was such a good morning.

Please enjoy the duet of Billy Corgan and Michael McDonald as a late Christmas gift of sorts.

Face To Face has been kicking it since 1991.  I would guess I found them a few years after the fact when my pal Larry let me borrow Big Choice.  This was the period in my life where I started to look for music outside of what was on pop radio.  For whatever reason I had harbored a fear of “punk rock”.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was a nerd from the suburbs who was scared of people with huge mohawks, studded belts and shit kicker boots.  Luckily I was introduced to bands like The Descendents and NOFX who made me realize that it was okay for me to be into punk and that had I any musical inclination or talent I might have been able to create it too!  Since I can’t sing or play an instrument (not that this stopped a lot of punk bands) I just became of fan of the music.

They broke up for a bit back in 2004 but eventually reunited are releasing a new disc this year.  While they might not be the biggest or most loved band in CA punk they will always be in my collection.