February 25, 2025 • 24 mins
If you want to get a feel for Montclair, NJ head to Radio Free Montclair. We are happy that you can also hear our podcast in their rotation!
In this episode, you will get to know the OG's - the founding fathers - John Sullivan, James Cotter, and Scott Gurian. Theirs is a labor of love, building a radio station fueled by the diverse passions of a community. Together, they are not just broadcasting but also weaving the very fabric of Montclair into their shows.
Curious about how to keep something as dynamic as community radio running? We tackle the logistical hurdles like securing funding and licenses, all while ensuring the station remains a sanctuary for local voices. With an eclectic mix of contributors ranging from bird watchers to DJs, Radio Free Montclair will let you know what people are talking about and what makes this town unique.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Lost in Jersey, everybody.
We're so glad to have RadioFree Montclair team here.
Yes, the OGs right there.
So let's introduce everybodyhere who's on your team at Radio
Free Montclair?
Are you three the founders ofit?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We're the OGs.
John kind of had the initialidea.
Yeah, John, go ahead.
You were kind of the initial.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, john, introduce yourself, if you guys don't
mind, since we have three of you, and it'll make it easier for
the listeners if you could eachsay your name and then how you
got to New Jersey because wealways like to ask that and then
about how this all came about,so we could start with you.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
My name is John Sullivan and I came to Montclair
by way of being born and raisedin central New Jersey but never
really hearing or thinkingabout North Jersey because
that's a different thingentirely, but moved around a
bunch and been here about adecade exactly now, passionate
about all the things that aregoing on in the town.
So I think this was born out ofa community love Do a lot of
work outside of radio, not aradio person per se or an audio
(01:05):
person, but like a hobbyist Amillion years ago did some
things, but really in educationmost of my life and then
teaching and also doing tons ofstuff around town, various
things with Bike Walk Montclair,the PTA being very involved in
certain things and seeing radioand this station as a platform
to kind of all the deep, richkind of community-based stuff
that happens in this town on aplatform and being able to do it
(01:28):
in this era with streaming.
That something we couldn't havedone or needed an antenna to do
in a prior generation.
So very excited about the tech.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
One thing, John, that you said, that I would like to
bring to everyone's attention.
You said you're from CentralJersey.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
Sully.
You're not from Central Jersey,right?
You're from the shore, I'm surewith an H, not with a U, and
I'm assuming that Rachel andJeanette are not from New Jersey
, because otherwise, theywouldn't be lost.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Ask this question All right, all right, all right.
We've heard that it exists, butthere's a debate.
All right, james, tell us alittle bit about you.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
All right, my name is James Cotter and great regret
of my life not been being bornin New Jersey.
I spent the first six weeks ofmy life in Hartford, connecticut
, so I'm so sorry I swear uponmy death.
My abyss explains everythingBorn in Hartford, connecticut,
I'm going to be like no, no, no,I'm a Jersey boy through and
(02:21):
through here.
Ladies, there's no Connecticutin this cotter.
I'm just putting that out there.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, I'm glad you cleared that up, because what if
we Googled you and found thatsomewhere in the deep dark
recesses?
And that was the lead line.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
Heartbreaking.
So, yeah, I came to Montclair,I guess 35 years ago, 36 years
ago, Sully, and I kind of grewup near each other.
I grew up in Red Bank down theshore, not in central Jersey,
Sully and yeah, on your podcast.
And I'm also happy that Lost inJersey is on our platform,
Radio Free Montclair.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Thank you, we're grateful for that.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
All right.
So, Scott, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Sure, my name is Scott Gurian, so I live and I
grew up in Bloomfield.
I was born here, lived here asa child and then moved away for
a number of years, went toschool in Boston, lived in
Portland Maine for a brief time.
I was in Washington DC forabout a year.
I randomly got a job inOklahoma City for like five
years.
Wow, I'm back here now, atleast for the time being.
(03:23):
I'm a journalist.
That's what I've always done.
I worked in public radio for anumber of years for WNYC.
I did reporting followingSuperstorm Sandy.
I was doing investigativereporting for several years
tracking the rebuilding processup and down the Jersey Shore and
, yeah, I've done a lot ofinternational reporting.
My focus right now is my ownpodcast, which I created, called
Far From Home.
(03:43):
It's like a documentary showwhere I report interesting
stories from my travels aroundthe world.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
You did exactly what Jeanette said.
One of her goals was Was itlast?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
New Year's.
You said that, yeah, we wereout to dinner and we all went
around the table saying you knowwhat is something that you want
to do, you know, like, what isthe big thing that you want to
do?
And mine was to drive all fromyou know Europe all the way
across Russia to the very end.
And it looks like you kind ofdid that.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I didn't go quite that far, but the first season
of my podcast I documented thisroad trip I took with my brother
.
We drove from the UK toMongolia and back, so it was
about 18 or he went with mehalfway and then I went back the
other half with another friend.
So, it was about 18,000 milesround trip through, I think, 19,
20 countries, including drivingacross Iran.
As an American tourist visiting, I visited Chernobyl on the way
(04:35):
back, which is the eeriest,most fascinating place I've ever
been to, having all kinds ofcar trouble along the way.
We blew our head gasket inTurkmenistan and had to get the
car on a flatbed truck, towedsix hours to the border of
Uzbekistan and then had to waita week for a new head gasket to
get shipped from Dubai.
So all kinds of crazy storiesin this part of the world, the
Central Asia, that most peopledon't know anything about and
(04:57):
have never been to.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, I have a quick question about that.
My car broke down on.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Grove Street, so top that.
Yeah, my car broke down onGrove Street, so top that?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Yeah, exactly, you can identify.
Okay, what I want to know isthat, from the minute you start
on something, a journey likethat, at what point do you think
, wow, this wasn't as great as Ithought it was going to be.
And then when do you cross backover to?
Like okay, we're actually doing, because you know what I mean
there's going to be a regretmoment and then, okay, we're
actually doing this moment therewere definitely hills and
(05:26):
valleys.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
there were definitely moments where we we questioned
like, can we continue on withthis journey?
Like, do we just throw in thetowel, give up and go home?
Like, is it worth, yeah,continuing to get our car
repaired?
It became like a money pitafter a while.
Is this even possible to get tothe finish line?
It was like an event we weredoing raising raising money for
charity and, yeah, there weremany moments where we kind of
questioned our Saturday and ourlike was this a good idea?
(05:50):
But it, yeah, I mean, I think,the further each challenge we
pass, you know, and overcomeeach obstacle, we overcome you
know it's.
I mean, it's kind of the sunkcost, you know, and just we've
become closer to the finish andit's like we've come this far,
like let's just keep going andit would you know, it would be a
shame not to make it all theway to the end.
So, yeah, we persevered and Idocumented the whole thing
(06:13):
through audio, which was great,so I could you know people
listen in and they feel likethey're traveling along with me.
So yeah, no-transcript.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So you were on your own frequency.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, we actually had a frequency broadcasting, like
at the end of the AM band orsomething, but on a good day our
signal would reach, you know, aquarter of a mile maybe.
So I mean granted it was inAustin in a section of Boston
kind of built up, but still youknow, but it was.
It was cool because we had Imean, it was a real community
(07:31):
radio station.
We had shows in.
You know, it's a very diversearea, so we had shows in like
four or five different languages.
There was Al's punk rock show,there was like a pet show, there
was like a, you know I think, agardening show, activist shows
like all kinds of stuff.
I thought that was super cooland it's great in a community
that's really diverse, and Ifeel like Montclair is the
perfect place for that kind ofthing.
It's very similar in many ways.
It's the perfect place for alittle local community radio
(07:54):
station.
But you know, with internetradio and everyone has a
smartphone in their pockets, youknow, it just opened up more
possibilities.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
When was your first on-air moment?
How many years ago?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
John forgotten now, probably four years at this
point, I think 2021.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Didn't you guys do a New Year's?
I read it somewhere.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Yeah, Yep, that's right.
That was probably the first oneand we were like terrified,
because you know we're like isthis going to work?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Then, lo and behold, it was really great success and
we were like I think we couldprobably go on for much longer
than this.
Yeah, I think very soonafterwards, sully, we got enough
content where we could put newprograms on in a two week
rotation and that's kind ofwhere we're at now, I think so,
and that's kind of where we'reat now, I think.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
So how did you go about?
Oh sorry, how did you go aboutgetting the content, or
determining, you know what wouldbe the content?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
We will put pretty much anything on the air, as
evidenced by hosting yourpodcast Exactly.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I was gonna say it, but you beat me to it.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
This is great.
There are so many contentcreators in Montclair doing so
much interesting work that wehaven't had to do a lot of
solicitation.
People come to us and say wehave this you know amazing
podcast.
We'd like you to host it.
Or I have this radio music showthat I would love to produce
every week.
So we have this amazing rosterof programs.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Really proud of Averse our programming is yeah,
we've had people just come outof the woodwork.
I mean, at times we've had aguy who was a bird watcher who
did a show yeah, someone do like.
Actually, a second person nowwants to do like mental mental
health show.
We had someone who was a Somalidoing a wine show.
So just like a lot of a lot ofthem tend to be obviously music
(09:42):
shows.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
DJs playing wine show .
So just like a lot of a lot ofthem tend to be obviously music
shows djs playing.
I was tuning in just today andI was listening to the music
show.
You know it's like you reallyreflect the town.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
Yeah, we're trying to that's the goal.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I think we captured it.
I think that word eclectic isso important to us because our
community has so many differentthings going on.
Um, I think you know youwouldn't find that in a lot of
places we joke around, a lot oftowns couldn't try to do this
project because they forgetinterest or just the content
wouldn't be there.
Like I feel there are so manypeople willing to share their
interests and passions.
And being involved with thegroup of people who create that
(10:14):
stuff is always this fun time.
We'll just look around and say,look at the diversity of these
shows that are coming on tonightand it'll go from birdwatching
to a jazz show to talk aboutLackawanna Plaza and then back,
and that in the initialiteration or dream was kind of
like that's what it would soundlike.
Back to back over a course offour hours you'd hear something
on a spectrum that sounded likethat.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It was like I have a show called Public Comment where
we bring on community membersto talk about issues and ideas
that are important to them.
But I don't make anydistinction between that and
like the Watch Run Booksellerspodcast.
I mean they're all part of thecommunity, creative community, a
creative spirit.
So I mean our originalbroadcasts are again, are just
like our content creators.
(10:54):
They're all.
They're all part of the mix.
They're all part of the weirdstew that we are.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
For people that want to subscribe to your channel, do
they mainly go to your websiteto access the content?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Yeah, I mean, our website is the place where
people access the station.
We are in the midst of creatingan app to be able to use on
your iPhone or on your you knowany device really.
And then you say hey, alexaplay Radio Fremont Claire but
that's a great idea.
We had to get our 501c3 allsquared away and then we had to
get our licensing agreements allsquared away.
(11:28):
But we're street legal, so whenthose apps come out it'll make
it much easier to access thestation just by voice.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Well, that really does bring up what you just said
, an interesting segue into thelogistics of running a radio
station and where the funding iscoming from for, uh, for this
endeavor.
How did you start?
Just on a whim, and then youstarted to realize this is
taking up a lot of time, I need,we need money.
How did the progression of itand where are you now with that?
Speaker 5 (11:59):
oh boy, look, it's Sully nodding when we take on
something that is, you know,volunteer.
Yeah, yeah, and then we end upfunding the thing.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, yeah, I'll let Sully speak to this.
Yes, and the funding is notjust a money piece.
So, yeah, I think it startedoff as like let's see where this
can go, and every time we talkto is that this is no one's
full-time thing.
You know, every time we talk tois that this is no one's
full-time thing.
If you hear us talk, not onlywe're like we're in teaching and
education and scott's inrecording his podcast, but it's
like even within the communitythere's other projects.
(12:31):
I think that's what drives thisis that every person who's
involved in this group isleading aapi or we're running
other things in town.
It's like it kind of filtersfor people who are doing that.
So that's definitely been astruggle, is like, but it's also
been a beautiful thing becauseof the connections that we
already had bringing into itallowed that to happen.
You know, and I think welaunched on a very iterative
(12:53):
basis, like we do a lot of ourcommunity work in public space
and stuff.
So hey, let's try this for aday, then let's try this for a
weekend.
Those are those initiallaunches.
We're not saying we're going24-7 straight away and see how
the community responds andadjust.
So the money piece has been,you know really something that
comes.
We've really started someformal fundraising in the last
year.
But it's like you know, ifyou're in this community-based
(13:16):
organization space, how hard itis to just be street legal and
we kind of throw that termaround.
But for radio it's even moreimportant because of all the
liability and things like that.
So you can't just keep going onand become very serious and just
say like without doing all thisstuff the one thing I will say
is that we did a good job withis that we wanted to be legit
(13:37):
the listener early and not saywe have this idea and let's get
some money and trust us, it'lllook like this and sound like
this.
So we did put the content andthe website and the listening
piece first, without money, likefunding things, whatever.
We had to take for like a yearand a half saying, here it is,
go to this website.
It really does look clean andyou can see the where you do the
play button, what shows comingup next, and radioco kind of
(13:59):
integrates nicely with a website.
So I think people saw theproduct first and were like, oh,
it is a thing.
And now I see what you'retalking about rather than the
reverse order.
So now we're kind of in thatprocess of saying here's what we
were saying.
Now give us some money to do itmore.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah, but that took a really long time.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
That said, yeah, that said Sully.
If there's anyone listeningright now who has very deep
pockets, you can go toRadioFreeMonkLairorg.
There's a blue donate button atthe top of our page.
We will take any amount to helpus pay, or medium.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Medium depth pockets are fine, so no amount is too
small.
Shallow depth pockets are fine.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Even shallow, shallow .
Even the broke may donate.
Well, so you did decide tobecome a nonprofit.
How hard is that process?
Because from what I can see isit's a lot of work.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It's pain, yeah, work it's, you know, making sure you
have the right forms at theright time.
And for us specifically and Ithink Scott could probably speak
to this better than I, you know, because we have music on our
station we require, you know,licensing agreements with
various organizations to makesure that artists are getting
compensated for the stuff thatwe're spinning.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I think Rachel and I will attest to that we're in the
same.
You know, world is that we'relearning as we go and we're
advancing and you just kind ofkeep tacking on a little bit
more and more and more who.
You're not expected to knoweverything right off the gate.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I would like us to become an indispensable part of
Montclair's media landscape.
You know I want people to thinkof us as the place that they go
, as the repository for all thecreative work in talk and music
and community engagement, likeif that's what we became in the
next five years, like I thinkthat would be success for us.
Yep.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That's great, I'll add that one of our big goals is
having a physical location,because at this point we're all
kind of virtual, online orwhatever, and we're looking into
different possibilities ofactually having a physical
location.
I think for a lot of peoplethat will kind of make us more
real, give us more visibility,because there's so many people,
even though we've been doingthis for several years, they,
you know, and we've been atstreet- fairs and things like
(16:03):
that, but I think so many peoplestill don't know about us.
They don't know we exist.
So I think, if we had aphysical presence, they would
realize that more.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Is there something on your site that seems to be?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
very popular Like is there.
Do you have that kind ofgauging of analytics?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I think James's show probably is the most popular.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
People are really valuing the local news and
content even more than the musicshows.
Like, just given the medialandscape nowadays and that
there's so little local mediacoverage, james's show, where
he's really diving into allthese local issues and having
these discussions aboutLackawanna Plaza or other issues
that are of interest andconcern to people in the town,
it's like where else doresidents turn for stuff like
(16:41):
that?
So we want to have more talkshows, stuff like that, on the
station, because I think that'swhat people really value the
most.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
We're here to try to work out what it is that the
issues present to us.
I think you can have productiveconversations with voices that
are in opposition to one another.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
I think you can have productive conversations with
voices that are in opposition toone another.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
I think we need more of that.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
honestly, we do need more of that.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And of course, we all have our strong opinions, like
very opinionated.
If you want to sit down andtalk to me about
Lac-Vent-A-Plaza, I'll share alot of things, but it's like I'm
not going to not have peoplewho think the complete opposite
of us at this kitchen table andthat's what made for great radio
(17:20):
and that's why the most peopletuned into that.
And I think also the fact thatthat was live, which is another
thing I think I cut out before,is like the live component of
radio being there in the moment,in that time and space with
people is a huge thing.
That is missing from thepodcast space, from the Spotify
space that I think we couldreally try to occupy.
You know, the two things Iwanted to add is that the live
component and the physical, thephysical space together is what
would really be something veryspecial.
(17:41):
And Scott and James are probablysick of this example, but at
the first meeting we ever had, Ishowed the clip from Do the
Right Thing, the Spike Lee movie, with the radio station that's
on the street level in Brooklynand that's kind of like when I
watched that movie was like man,I could see that here and
wouldn't that just be thegreatest and most unique thing,
because I really come from theradio from a public space and
(18:02):
like community kind ofplacemaking is an issue above
all, like we need a place wherethis is anchored in the
community and holds a physicalspace.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
And there is always something so electric about
having it live.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Right.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
People as a listener.
It's exciting.
Do you guys have other radiostations that you like to listen
to?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
I mean, I'm a huge fan of FMU, right that there was
a seminal radio station, fm1063, down the shore.
That just blew our minds whenwe were kids.
(18:43):
It introduced us to new musicand new ideas.
So for me those are the twohallmarks of not only you know
freeform radio, but New Jerseyradio very specifically.
That's great, and, john, I knowFreeform Radio.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
But New Jersey Radio, very specifically Mm-hmm,
mm-hmm.
Oh man, that's great yeah 106.3was just.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
What about you, john and John I know you've taken
some inspiration from Radio FreeBrooklyn also, right.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah.
Yeah, I was just going toAbsolutely Radio Free.
Brooklyn was the first group wereached out to.
Also, there's this, really afarm up in the Catskills with
someone who was used to be downhere, who moved up there.
But they all have thishyperlocal kind of quirky piece
(19:25):
that are filling a void thatpeople are kind of craving.
So that's why I keep comingback to is that, while I love
our music shows our DJs arephenomenal I do think the stuff
that people can't get the mostare the hyper local journalism,
hyper local news and flavor.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Scott, did you want to tell us some of the
inspirational radio shows?
I?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
mean, like I said, this community station I worked
at years ago Austin BrightonFree Radio up in Boston that was
really so diverse and so local,just really having shows in all
these languages from thecommunity.
The local, like the city seniorcenter they had a show and all
like the different you knoworganizations, like they really
recognize the importance of thestation in communicating with
(20:07):
the people in the early dayswhen we first did our some
broadcasts, I would stay up lateto make sure it was still going
and I tuned in.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I said if anyone's listening to this they must be
like what is happening right now.
There's a couple of shows in arow that were just like we were
taking some stuff and there'sthis one guy who did live improv
from his garage and I'm likeit's two in the morning and
there was just moments of notalk.
And then are like people makingfart noises and giggling.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
And I was like this is what it is, and I hope people
are hearing this, and it's 2 am.
It was great Public access TV.
I bet that was great.
Oh, public access TV in NewYork, wow.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
That is just the best , and I think when people hear
the word radio or podcast, theimmediate reflexive reaction is
I'm not a podcaster or I'm not aDJ, and I think we're going to.
In the early stages we've got alot of people who see
themselves as that and do that.
But over time we've had morepeople like high school students
or senior center people Like Ihave a story to tell, but then
(21:05):
they have this great idea butthe barrier is either tech or a
space to do it or assistance todo that.
So I think in our final form,we're really a place where they
come to be able to do the show.
It's not just taking people whoalready do great work, but it's
a learning.
It's an educational experiencetechnically to get their story
out there from across all ages,like from two years old to 100.
(21:27):
Like that would be it.
You can come here and it's allset.
You don't have to worry and sayI didn't record it right and
I'm scared of what it's going tosound like.
We'd take care of that for you.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Yes, that's.
That's a great point, and Ilove that too, because just
getting people's stories outthere who wouldn't, like you
said, be able to normally bebecause of tech barriers or a
million other things, it's niceto be able to get everybody's
story out.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Lowering the barriers to entry and democratizing the
media.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
What we love to do on our podcast is we love to ask
something that you love aboutNew.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Jersey.
I think I really appreciate asa middle-aged adult the
diversity of the state reallylike across everything.
Especially up here in NorthJersey where we are, towns feel
different from each other andthe food reflects that and the
culture reflects that and youkind of take that for granted
until you go somewhere wherethat's not the case at all and
that shines through and I thinkthat's why it's another place
(22:22):
where Montclair is a great townfor community radio but New
Jersey is kind of a great statein general for that stuff.
It's all about that.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I'd say that I mean New Jersey.
Yeah, it's super crowded, ithas the highest population
density in the country and allof that, but on the other hand
it's that makes things veryconvenient.
Everything is close by and andalso kind of going off what
John's saying with the diversityI mean I like to cook a lot,
I'm kind of a foodie.
I just love how I don't evenneed to go into the city, like
(22:50):
just in New Jersey alone, likeif there's any weird obscure
ingredient I'm looking for, likejust off the top of my head,
that I know of, like Polishmarkets, japanese markets,
korean markets, like I couldfind anything without even
driving that far.
West Indian, latin American,like it's just amazing.
I just love that.
Getting good food, I meanobviously, all the restaurants
in Montclair.
I'm in the surrounding area.
(23:11):
I just love having access toall that because we take it for
granted, but many parts of thecountry people don't have that.
I don't know if you've been toCalais Cafe on Broad Street in
Bloomfield.
No, really cool little place.
My former neighbors opened itup.
Awesome, they're from Maltaoriginally and so they have this
kind of Mediterranean vibe, thewhole aesthetics and everything
(23:33):
.
That's a really cute littleplace.
I really like that.
It's, yeah, koliath's Cafe.
And then there's, you know, Ilike 23 Skidoo.
You know the Undertown andBloomfield.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
This is why we asked, because I don't know those two
places.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Oh, you've got to check them out.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
It's a little extra fringe benefit of this show is
that we're learning about allthese places to go that we
haven't gone to before.
It was really great to hear allabout Radio Free Montclair and
learn also individually what youall are doing.
And, believe me, everyone,we're going to promote your
website and your podcast as well, because it's such an
interesting thing that you'vedone with this world travel and
documenting it, so we're excitedto promote that.
Well, thank you so much.
Have a great rest of your day.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Okay, thanks you too.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Bye, thank you.
This podcast is produced byRachel Martens and Jeanette
Afsharian.
Please follow us on Facebookand Instagram.
We hope you share this pod withyour friends and family and let
us know what you think.
Check out our website atlostinjerseysite and don't
forget to get lost.
Welcome to Lost in Jersey, everybody.
We're so glad to have RadioFree Montclair team here.
Yes, the OGs right there.
So let's introduce everybodyhere who's on your team at Radio
Free Montclair?
Are you three the founders ofit?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We're the OGs.
John kind of had the initialidea.
Yeah, John, go ahead.
You were kind of the initial.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, john, introduce yourself, if you guys don't
mind, since we have three of you, and it'll make it easier for
the listeners if you could eachsay your name and then how you
got to New Jersey because wealways like to ask that and then
about how this all came about,so we could start with you.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
My name is John Sullivan and I came to Montclair
by way of being born and raisedin central New Jersey but never
really hearing or thinkingabout North Jersey because
that's a different thingentirely, but moved around a
bunch and been here about adecade exactly now, passionate
about all the things that aregoing on in the town.
So I think this was born out ofa community love Do a lot of
work outside of radio, not aradio person per se or an audio
(01:05):
person, but like a hobbyist Amillion years ago did some
things, but really in educationmost of my life and then
teaching and also doing tons ofstuff around town, various
things with Bike Walk Montclair,the PTA being very involved in
certain things and seeing radioand this station as a platform
to kind of all the deep, richkind of community-based stuff
that happens in this town on aplatform and being able to do it
(01:28):
in this era with streaming.
That something we couldn't havedone or needed an antenna to do
in a prior generation.
So very excited about the tech.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
One thing, John, that you said, that I would like to
bring to everyone's attention.
You said you're from CentralJersey.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
Sully.
You're not from Central Jersey,right?
You're from the shore, I'm surewith an H, not with a U, and
I'm assuming that Rachel andJeanette are not from New Jersey
, because otherwise, theywouldn't be lost.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Ask this question All right, all right, all right.
We've heard that it exists, butthere's a debate.
All right, james, tell us alittle bit about you.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
All right, my name is James Cotter and great regret
of my life not been being bornin New Jersey.
I spent the first six weeks ofmy life in Hartford, connecticut
, so I'm so sorry I swear uponmy death.
My abyss explains everythingBorn in Hartford, connecticut,
I'm going to be like no, no, no,I'm a Jersey boy through and
(02:21):
through here.
Ladies, there's no Connecticutin this cotter.
I'm just putting that out there.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, I'm glad you cleared that up, because what if
we Googled you and found thatsomewhere in the deep dark
recesses?
And that was the lead line.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
Heartbreaking.
So, yeah, I came to Montclair,I guess 35 years ago, 36 years
ago, Sully, and I kind of grewup near each other.
I grew up in Red Bank down theshore, not in central Jersey,
Sully and yeah, on your podcast.
And I'm also happy that Lost inJersey is on our platform,
Radio Free Montclair.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Thank you, we're grateful for that.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
All right.
So, Scott, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Sure, my name is Scott Gurian, so I live and I
grew up in Bloomfield.
I was born here, lived here asa child and then moved away for
a number of years, went toschool in Boston, lived in
Portland Maine for a brief time.
I was in Washington DC forabout a year.
I randomly got a job inOklahoma City for like five
years.
Wow, I'm back here now, atleast for the time being.
(03:23):
I'm a journalist.
That's what I've always done.
I worked in public radio for anumber of years for WNYC.
I did reporting followingSuperstorm Sandy.
I was doing investigativereporting for several years
tracking the rebuilding processup and down the Jersey Shore and
, yeah, I've done a lot ofinternational reporting.
My focus right now is my ownpodcast, which I created, called
Far From Home.
(03:43):
It's like a documentary showwhere I report interesting
stories from my travels aroundthe world.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
You did exactly what Jeanette said.
One of her goals was Was itlast?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
New Year's.
You said that, yeah, we wereout to dinner and we all went
around the table saying you knowwhat is something that you want
to do, you know, like, what isthe big thing that you want to
do?
And mine was to drive all fromyou know Europe all the way
across Russia to the very end.
And it looks like you kind ofdid that.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I didn't go quite that far, but the first season
of my podcast I documented thisroad trip I took with my brother
.
We drove from the UK toMongolia and back, so it was
about 18 or he went with mehalfway and then I went back the
other half with another friend.
So, it was about 18,000 milesround trip through, I think, 19,
20 countries, including drivingacross Iran.
As an American tourist visiting, I visited Chernobyl on the way
(04:35):
back, which is the eeriest,most fascinating place I've ever
been to, having all kinds ofcar trouble along the way.
We blew our head gasket inTurkmenistan and had to get the
car on a flatbed truck, towedsix hours to the border of
Uzbekistan and then had to waita week for a new head gasket to
get shipped from Dubai.
So all kinds of crazy storiesin this part of the world, the
Central Asia, that most peopledon't know anything about and
(04:57):
have never been to.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, I have a quick question about that.
My car broke down on.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Grove Street, so top that.
Yeah, my car broke down onGrove Street, so top that?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Yeah, exactly, you can identify.
Okay, what I want to know isthat, from the minute you start
on something, a journey likethat, at what point do you think
, wow, this wasn't as great as Ithought it was going to be.
And then when do you cross backover to?
Like okay, we're actually doing, because you know what I mean
there's going to be a regretmoment and then, okay, we're
actually doing this moment therewere definitely hills and
(05:26):
valleys.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
there were definitely moments where we we questioned
like, can we continue on withthis journey?
Like, do we just throw in thetowel, give up and go home?
Like, is it worth, yeah,continuing to get our car
repaired?
It became like a money pitafter a while.
Is this even possible to get tothe finish line?
It was like an event we weredoing raising raising money for
charity and, yeah, there weremany moments where we kind of
questioned our Saturday and ourlike was this a good idea?
(05:50):
But it, yeah, I mean, I think,the further each challenge we
pass, you know, and overcomeeach obstacle, we overcome you
know it's.
I mean, it's kind of the sunkcost, you know, and just we've
become closer to the finish andit's like we've come this far,
like let's just keep going andit would you know, it would be a
shame not to make it all theway to the end.
So, yeah, we persevered and Idocumented the whole thing
(06:13):
through audio, which was great,so I could you know people
listen in and they feel likethey're traveling along with me.
So yeah, no-transcript.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So you were on your own frequency.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, we actually had a frequency broadcasting, like
at the end of the AM band orsomething, but on a good day our
signal would reach, you know, aquarter of a mile maybe.
So I mean granted it was inAustin in a section of Boston
kind of built up, but still youknow, but it was.
It was cool because we had Imean, it was a real community
(07:31):
radio station.
We had shows in.
You know, it's a very diversearea, so we had shows in like
four or five different languages.
There was Al's punk rock show,there was like a pet show, there
was like a, you know I think, agardening show, activist shows
like all kinds of stuff.
I thought that was super cooland it's great in a community
that's really diverse, and Ifeel like Montclair is the
perfect place for that kind ofthing.
It's very similar in many ways.
It's the perfect place for alittle local community radio
(07:54):
station.
But you know, with internetradio and everyone has a
smartphone in their pockets, youknow, it just opened up more
possibilities.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
When was your first on-air moment?
How many years ago?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
John forgotten now, probably four years at this
point, I think 2021.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Didn't you guys do a New Year's?
I read it somewhere.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Yeah, Yep, that's right.
That was probably the first oneand we were like terrified,
because you know we're like isthis going to work?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Then, lo and behold, it was really great success and
we were like I think we couldprobably go on for much longer
than this.
Yeah, I think very soonafterwards, sully, we got enough
content where we could put newprograms on in a two week
rotation and that's kind ofwhere we're at now, I think so,
and that's kind of where we'reat now, I think.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
So how did you go about?
Oh sorry, how did you go aboutgetting the content, or
determining, you know what wouldbe the content?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
We will put pretty much anything on the air, as
evidenced by hosting yourpodcast Exactly.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I was gonna say it, but you beat me to it.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
This is great.
There are so many contentcreators in Montclair doing so
much interesting work that wehaven't had to do a lot of
solicitation.
People come to us and say wehave this you know amazing
podcast.
We'd like you to host it.
Or I have this radio music showthat I would love to produce
every week.
So we have this amazing rosterof programs.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Really proud of Averse our programming is yeah,
we've had people just come outof the woodwork.
I mean, at times we've had aguy who was a bird watcher who
did a show yeah, someone do like.
Actually, a second person nowwants to do like mental mental
health show.
We had someone who was a Somalidoing a wine show.
So just like a lot of a lot ofthem tend to be obviously music
(09:42):
shows.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
DJs playing wine show .
So just like a lot of a lot ofthem tend to be obviously music
shows djs playing.
I was tuning in just today andI was listening to the music
show.
You know it's like you reallyreflect the town.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
Yeah, we're trying to that's the goal.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I think we captured it.
I think that word eclectic isso important to us because our
community has so many differentthings going on.
Um, I think you know youwouldn't find that in a lot of
places we joke around, a lot oftowns couldn't try to do this
project because they forgetinterest or just the content
wouldn't be there.
Like I feel there are so manypeople willing to share their
interests and passions.
And being involved with thegroup of people who create that
(10:14):
stuff is always this fun time.
We'll just look around and say,look at the diversity of these
shows that are coming on tonightand it'll go from birdwatching
to a jazz show to talk aboutLackawanna Plaza and then back,
and that in the initialiteration or dream was kind of
like that's what it would soundlike.
Back to back over a course offour hours you'd hear something
on a spectrum that sounded likethat.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It was like I have a show called Public Comment where
we bring on community membersto talk about issues and ideas
that are important to them.
But I don't make anydistinction between that and
like the Watch Run Booksellerspodcast.
I mean they're all part of thecommunity, creative community, a
creative spirit.
So I mean our originalbroadcasts are again, are just
like our content creators.
(10:54):
They're all.
They're all part of the mix.
They're all part of the weirdstew that we are.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
For people that want to subscribe to your channel, do
they mainly go to your websiteto access the content?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Yeah, I mean, our website is the place where
people access the station.
We are in the midst of creatingan app to be able to use on
your iPhone or on your you knowany device really.
And then you say hey, alexaplay Radio Fremont Claire but
that's a great idea.
We had to get our 501c3 allsquared away and then we had to
get our licensing agreements allsquared away.
(11:28):
But we're street legal, so whenthose apps come out it'll make
it much easier to access thestation just by voice.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Well, that really does bring up what you just said
, an interesting segue into thelogistics of running a radio
station and where the funding iscoming from for, uh, for this
endeavor.
How did you start?
Just on a whim, and then youstarted to realize this is
taking up a lot of time, I need,we need money.
How did the progression of itand where are you now with that?
Speaker 5 (11:59):
oh boy, look, it's Sully nodding when we take on
something that is, you know,volunteer.
Yeah, yeah, and then we end upfunding the thing.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, yeah, I'll let Sully speak to this.
Yes, and the funding is notjust a money piece.
So, yeah, I think it startedoff as like let's see where this
can go, and every time we talkto is that this is no one's
full-time thing.
You know, every time we talk tois that this is no one's
full-time thing.
If you hear us talk, not onlywe're like we're in teaching and
education and scott's inrecording his podcast, but it's
like even within the communitythere's other projects.
(12:31):
I think that's what drives thisis that every person who's
involved in this group isleading aapi or we're running
other things in town.
It's like it kind of filtersfor people who are doing that.
So that's definitely been astruggle, is like, but it's also
been a beautiful thing becauseof the connections that we
already had bringing into itallowed that to happen.
You know, and I think welaunched on a very iterative
(12:53):
basis, like we do a lot of ourcommunity work in public space
and stuff.
So hey, let's try this for aday, then let's try this for a
weekend.
Those are those initiallaunches.
We're not saying we're going24-7 straight away and see how
the community responds andadjust.
So the money piece has been,you know really something that
comes.
We've really started someformal fundraising in the last
year.
But it's like you know, ifyou're in this community-based
(13:16):
organization space, how hard itis to just be street legal and
we kind of throw that termaround.
But for radio it's even moreimportant because of all the
liability and things like that.
So you can't just keep going onand become very serious and just
say like without doing all thisstuff the one thing I will say
is that we did a good job withis that we wanted to be legit
(13:37):
the listener early and not saywe have this idea and let's get
some money and trust us, it'lllook like this and sound like
this.
So we did put the content andthe website and the listening
piece first, without money, likefunding things, whatever.
We had to take for like a yearand a half saying, here it is,
go to this website.
It really does look clean andyou can see the where you do the
play button, what shows comingup next, and radioco kind of
(13:59):
integrates nicely with a website.
So I think people saw theproduct first and were like, oh,
it is a thing.
And now I see what you'retalking about rather than the
reverse order.
So now we're kind of in thatprocess of saying here's what we
were saying.
Now give us some money to do itmore.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah, but that took a really long time.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
That said, yeah, that said Sully.
If there's anyone listeningright now who has very deep
pockets, you can go toRadioFreeMonkLairorg.
There's a blue donate button atthe top of our page.
We will take any amount to helpus pay, or medium.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Medium depth pockets are fine, so no amount is too
small.
Shallow depth pockets are fine.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Even shallow, shallow .
Even the broke may donate.
Well, so you did decide tobecome a nonprofit.
How hard is that process?
Because from what I can see isit's a lot of work.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It's pain, yeah, work it's, you know, making sure you
have the right forms at theright time.
And for us specifically and Ithink Scott could probably speak
to this better than I, you know, because we have music on our
station we require, you know,licensing agreements with
various organizations to makesure that artists are getting
compensated for the stuff thatwe're spinning.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I think Rachel and I will attest to that we're in the
same.
You know, world is that we'relearning as we go and we're
advancing and you just kind ofkeep tacking on a little bit
more and more and more who.
You're not expected to knoweverything right off the gate.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I would like us to become an indispensable part of
Montclair's media landscape.
You know I want people to thinkof us as the place that they go
, as the repository for all thecreative work in talk and music
and community engagement, likeif that's what we became in the
next five years, like I thinkthat would be success for us.
Yep.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That's great, I'll add that one of our big goals is
having a physical location,because at this point we're all
kind of virtual, online orwhatever, and we're looking into
different possibilities ofactually having a physical
location.
I think for a lot of peoplethat will kind of make us more
real, give us more visibility,because there's so many people,
even though we've been doingthis for several years, they,
you know, and we've been atstreet- fairs and things like
(16:03):
that, but I think so many peoplestill don't know about us.
They don't know we exist.
So I think, if we had aphysical presence, they would
realize that more.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Is there something on your site that seems to be?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
very popular Like is there.
Do you have that kind ofgauging of analytics?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I think James's show probably is the most popular.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
People are really valuing the local news and
content even more than the musicshows.
Like, just given the medialandscape nowadays and that
there's so little local mediacoverage, james's show, where
he's really diving into allthese local issues and having
these discussions aboutLackawanna Plaza or other issues
that are of interest andconcern to people in the town,
it's like where else doresidents turn for stuff like
(16:41):
that?
So we want to have more talkshows, stuff like that, on the
station, because I think that'swhat people really value the
most.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
We're here to try to work out what it is that the
issues present to us.
I think you can have productiveconversations with voices that
are in opposition to one another.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
I think you can have productive conversations with
voices that are in opposition toone another.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
I think we need more of that.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
honestly, we do need more of that.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And of course, we all have our strong opinions, like
very opinionated.
If you want to sit down andtalk to me about
Lac-Vent-A-Plaza, I'll share alot of things, but it's like I'm
not going to not have peoplewho think the complete opposite
of us at this kitchen table andthat's what made for great radio
(17:20):
and that's why the most peopletuned into that.
And I think also the fact thatthat was live, which is another
thing I think I cut out before,is like the live component of
radio being there in the moment,in that time and space with
people is a huge thing.
That is missing from thepodcast space, from the Spotify
space that I think we couldreally try to occupy.
You know, the two things Iwanted to add is that the live
component and the physical, thephysical space together is what
would really be something veryspecial.
(17:41):
And Scott and James are probablysick of this example, but at
the first meeting we ever had, Ishowed the clip from Do the
Right Thing, the Spike Lee movie, with the radio station that's
on the street level in Brooklynand that's kind of like when I
watched that movie was like man,I could see that here and
wouldn't that just be thegreatest and most unique thing,
because I really come from theradio from a public space and
(18:02):
like community kind ofplacemaking is an issue above
all, like we need a place wherethis is anchored in the
community and holds a physicalspace.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
And there is always something so electric about
having it live.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Right.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
People as a listener.
It's exciting.
Do you guys have other radiostations that you like to listen
to?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
I mean, I'm a huge fan of FMU, right that there was
a seminal radio station, fm1063, down the shore.
That just blew our minds whenwe were kids.
(18:43):
It introduced us to new musicand new ideas.
So for me those are the twohallmarks of not only you know
freeform radio, but New Jerseyradio very specifically.
That's great, and, john, I knowFreeform Radio.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
But New Jersey Radio, very specifically Mm-hmm,
mm-hmm.
Oh man, that's great yeah 106.3was just.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
What about you, john and John I know you've taken
some inspiration from Radio FreeBrooklyn also, right.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah.
Yeah, I was just going toAbsolutely Radio Free.
Brooklyn was the first group wereached out to.
Also, there's this, really afarm up in the Catskills with
someone who was used to be downhere, who moved up there.
But they all have thishyperlocal kind of quirky piece
(19:25):
that are filling a void thatpeople are kind of craving.
So that's why I keep comingback to is that, while I love
our music shows our DJs arephenomenal I do think the stuff
that people can't get the mostare the hyper local journalism,
hyper local news and flavor.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Scott, did you want to tell us some of the
inspirational radio shows?
I?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
mean, like I said, this community station I worked
at years ago Austin BrightonFree Radio up in Boston that was
really so diverse and so local,just really having shows in all
these languages from thecommunity.
The local, like the city seniorcenter they had a show and all
like the different you knoworganizations, like they really
recognize the importance of thestation in communicating with
(20:07):
the people in the early dayswhen we first did our some
broadcasts, I would stay up lateto make sure it was still going
and I tuned in.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I said if anyone's listening to this they must be
like what is happening right now.
There's a couple of shows in arow that were just like we were
taking some stuff and there'sthis one guy who did live improv
from his garage and I'm likeit's two in the morning and
there was just moments of notalk.
And then are like people makingfart noises and giggling.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
And I was like this is what it is, and I hope people
are hearing this, and it's 2 am.
It was great Public access TV.
I bet that was great.
Oh, public access TV in NewYork, wow.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
That is just the best , and I think when people hear
the word radio or podcast, theimmediate reflexive reaction is
I'm not a podcaster or I'm not aDJ, and I think we're going to.
In the early stages we've got alot of people who see
themselves as that and do that.
But over time we've had morepeople like high school students
or senior center people Like Ihave a story to tell, but then
(21:05):
they have this great idea butthe barrier is either tech or a
space to do it or assistance todo that.
So I think in our final form,we're really a place where they
come to be able to do the show.
It's not just taking people whoalready do great work, but it's
a learning.
It's an educational experiencetechnically to get their story
out there from across all ages,like from two years old to 100.
(21:27):
Like that would be it.
You can come here and it's allset.
You don't have to worry and sayI didn't record it right and
I'm scared of what it's going tosound like.
We'd take care of that for you.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Yes, that's.
That's a great point, and Ilove that too, because just
getting people's stories outthere who wouldn't, like you
said, be able to normally bebecause of tech barriers or a
million other things, it's niceto be able to get everybody's
story out.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Lowering the barriers to entry and democratizing the
media.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
What we love to do on our podcast is we love to ask
something that you love aboutNew.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Jersey.
I think I really appreciate asa middle-aged adult the
diversity of the state reallylike across everything.
Especially up here in NorthJersey where we are, towns feel
different from each other andthe food reflects that and the
culture reflects that and youkind of take that for granted
until you go somewhere wherethat's not the case at all and
that shines through and I thinkthat's why it's another place
(22:22):
where Montclair is a great townfor community radio but New
Jersey is kind of a great statein general for that stuff.
It's all about that.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I'd say that I mean New Jersey.
Yeah, it's super crowded, ithas the highest population
density in the country and allof that, but on the other hand
it's that makes things veryconvenient.
Everything is close by and andalso kind of going off what
John's saying with the diversityI mean I like to cook a lot,
I'm kind of a foodie.
I just love how I don't evenneed to go into the city, like
(22:50):
just in New Jersey alone, likeif there's any weird obscure
ingredient I'm looking for, likejust off the top of my head,
that I know of, like Polishmarkets, japanese markets,
korean markets, like I couldfind anything without even
driving that far.
West Indian, latin American,like it's just amazing.
I just love that.
Getting good food, I meanobviously, all the restaurants
in Montclair.
I'm in the surrounding area.
(23:11):
I just love having access toall that because we take it for
granted, but many parts of thecountry people don't have that.
I don't know if you've been toCalais Cafe on Broad Street in
Bloomfield.
No, really cool little place.
My former neighbors opened itup.
Awesome, they're from Maltaoriginally and so they have this
kind of Mediterranean vibe, thewhole aesthetics and everything
(23:33):
.
That's a really cute littleplace.
I really like that.
It's, yeah, koliath's Cafe.
And then there's, you know, Ilike 23 Skidoo.
You know the Undertown andBloomfield.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
This is why we asked, because I don't know those two
places.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Oh, you've got to check them out.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
It's a little extra fringe benefit of this show is
that we're learning about allthese places to go that we
haven't gone to before.
It was really great to hear allabout Radio Free Montclair and
learn also individually what youall are doing.
And, believe me, everyone,we're going to promote your
website and your podcast as well, because it's such an
interesting thing that you'vedone with this world travel and
documenting it, so we're excitedto promote that.
Well, thank you so much.
Have a great rest of your day.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Okay, thanks you too.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Bye, thank you.
This podcast is produced byRachel Martens and Jeanette
Afsharian.
Please follow us on Facebookand Instagram.
We hope you share this pod withyour friends and family and let
us know what you think.
Check out our website atlostinjerseysite and don't
forget to get lost.
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