Brother Wease

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The Radio Free Wease crew. From left to right: Tommy Mule, Brother Wease, John DiTullio, and Sally Carpenter.
The Radio Free Wease crew. From left to right: Tommy Mule, Brother Wease, John DiTullio, and Sally Carpenter.

Brother Wease is the stage name of Alan Levin (born November 1, 1946 in Rochester, NY), a radio personality on station WCMF-FM in Rochester, New York.

Contents

[edit] Radio career

Brother Wease has hosted a morning show on WCMF-FM for more than twenty years. The current incarnation is titled "Radio Free Wease".[1] He has also intermittently hosted a Saturday morning music show.

Wease served as an emcee for Woodstock '94 and Woodstock 1999.

Wease attracted the notice of the radio industry in the late 1990s when he fended off competition from Howard Stern's syndicated show.[citation needed]

Wease hosted a three hour show on XM Satellite Radio's Virus channel in December 2006.

Gregg "Opie" Hughes of The Opie and Anthony Show has referred to Brother Wease as his mentor. Hughes worked with Wease at the same station in Rochester when he was first breaking into the business. When the FreeFM portion of The Opie and Anthony Show was syndicated to Rochester in the summer of 2006, Hughes refused to allow the show to compete against or replace Wease's show in the mornings. The Opie and Anthony Show is therefore broadcast in Rochester during the afternoon via tape delay.

Wease is credited with popularizing the term "315er", an insulting way of referring to residents of the rural area east of Rochester, (telephone area code 315).

[edit] Controversies

  • In one of Howard Stern's books he claimed Wease was but one of many national hosts imitating him.
  • In a February 26, 2004 "community letter" to Wease, Bruce E. Darling of the Rochester Center for Disability Rights took Wease to task for on-air comments “regarding an incident involving a woman who uses a wheelchair.” Darling and added “Your comments were offensive to our community and we ask that you apologize on the air.”[1]
  • In an appearance on the Wease program in 2006, George Carlin uttered the phrase "fucked up" [2] on the air, but the obscenity went unnoticed by the FCC.
  • Wease was sued in the amount of $17 million by former co-host Cindy Pierce, who said his lewd remarks about her forced her off the air.[2] The suit was later settled out of court for an unspecified amount.[3]
  • Wease was sued by former WCMF account executive Jodi Strada, who said Wease humiliated her by on-air sexual references.[4]
  • Bill Franklin, a Rochester comic, attempted to hold a "No Wease" comedy show on March 23rd, 2007. Although Wease is disliked by some, events doomed the anti-Wease show. Comics kept dropping out of the line-up and those that stayed were attacked on-air by the thin-skinned radio host[citation needed]. The venue owner turned on the comics that were to do the show by going on-air inviting Wease and crew to attend.
  • Brother Wease is an avowed liberal, and consistently bashes conservatives daily on the show, shocking in that his station reaches a mostly conservative area of western New York. One of his daily features is reading letters from the local Democrat and Chronicle, usually deriding a letter (or letters) expressing a conservative opinion. He, usually encouraged by his on-air entourage, will mock the letter, encourage the letter writer's coworkers to harass the writer at his or her place of employment, and occasionally will call the letter writer on-air to debate his letter, using typical morning deejay tactics such as turning down the caller's voice, talking over the caller, inviting catcalls and sarcastic laughter from his co-hosts, and letting fans call in to insult the letter writer on-air.

[edit] Personal life

Wease is known for his openness with listeners, including the sharing of much of his personal life. He is a war veteran, having completed three tours of duty in Vietnam. He has been married three times and has six children. He met his current wife, Doreen, when she was a guest on his show. He is a motorcycle enthusiast and an avid poker player.

His work history includes stints as a concert promoter, a mail carrier, and an overnight disc jockey. He is part owner of Physical Graffiti[3], a tattoo parlor in downtown Rochester.

Wease founded a charity called Wease Cares[4] in honor of a friend who died suddenly in 1995.

[edit] Cancer

Wease announced on his February 2, 2005 show that he had been diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of sinus cancer.[5] Wease underwent seven weeks of radiation treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, during which he intended to broadcast from a makeshift studio in his apartment for as long as he was physically capable.[6] Wease never missed a show, despite being able to broadcast for only a few minutes on certain days. During his treatment, WCMF established "Kick Cancer's Ass," a campaign which raised nearly $100,000 for children with cancer. Wease returned to Rochester following his treatment. He learned in August 2005 that the treatment for his cancer had been successful.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Letter, Bruce E. Darling, Rochester Center for Disability Rights, February 26, 2004. Community Letter to Wease.
  2. ^ article on sexual harassment suit at Bostonradio.org
  3. ^ court decision dated 19 March 2004 in sexual harassment case
  4. ^
  5. ^ article on Wease's cancer in the Democrat and Chronicle, 2 February 2005
  6. ^ article on Wease's broadcasts from New York, Democrat and Chronicle, 10 March 2005
  7. ^ article on Wease's cancer in Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, August 3, 2005

[edit] External links

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