About

Oedipus’ radio career began in 1975 as a disc jockey at M.I.T.’s college station WTBS (today WMBR). He gained notoriety by creating the first Punk Rock radio show in America, introducing Punk and New Wave to Boston and to the country.  As acknowledged in Gina Arnold’s book Route 666:  On the Road to Nirvana, “Oedipus, the pink-haired D.J. at M.I.T., who ran the first Punk Rock show in America” did the first radio interviews with The Ramones, Talking Heads and The Damned, and legendary on-air conversations with The Clash, PIL, Suicide and many others. In 1977, Oedipus convinced WBCN to hire him as a part-time announcer to bring his cutting-edge sounds to the airwaves. He soon had a full-time shift, and in 1981 was named Program Director. Under his tutelage, WBCN dominated the Boston airwaves with consistently high ratings by weaving the station into the fabric of the Boston community through innovative programming and numerous charitable events.  The station was recognized as an industry leader in breaking new music and received countless awards for its successes. Multiple Billboard, FMQB, and Gavin Magazine award recipient for best Program Director of the Year, Oedipus hosted the acclaimed “Nocturnal Emissions” for over 25 years delivering the most provocative new tracks every Sunday night. He has interviewed countless artists and has broadcast live from Abbey Road Studios and Moscow as well as underwater in the New England Aquarium’s shark-filled Giant Ocean Tank and while Bungee jumping over Fort Point Channel. He has hosted a variety of syndicated radio shows carried across the US and beyond including Rock Watch, a three-hour countdown show and a program entitled New Music Exclusives. From 1995-2004 he served as Executive Producer of the live radio broadcast for the New England Patriots.

In 1995, Oedipus was named Vice President of Programming for WBCN, and in the spring of 1997, he was feted by the music industry as the T. J. Martell Honoree of the year. At the Hard Rock Café in New York, Oedipus was roasted by the likes of Aerosmith, Joey Ramone, and Marla Maples and raised a tidy six-figure sum for the T. J. Martell Foundation, the music industry’s charity. In May 2001 Boston Magazine named Oedipus the third most influential person in the arts in Boston. When the Police were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, they thanked him personally for their initial support in America.

Oedipus is a member of the Board of Directors for The Technology Broadcasting Corporation of MIT, Stop Handgun Violence, and an original member of the Board of Directors for Mobius (an artist-run center for experimental work in all media). He is on the Board of Advisors for Community Servings, an organization that feeds Boston-area families with acute life-threatening illnesses, a former member of the Board of Overseers for the Huntington Theatre and an advisory member of The Center for Arts at the Armory in Somerville and the Boston Music Awards.  He is an avid scuba diver and is a member of the prestigious Boston Sea Rovers.

In July of 2003, Oedipus was elevated to Vice President of Alternative Programming for Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio) responsible for 16 alternative and rock stations throughout the country. In the summer of 2004, Oedipus relinquished his programming duties at WBCN but continued as VP of Alternative Programming for CBS for two additional years. This millennium Oedipus wrote the book for a musical and established his own philanthropic organization, The Oedipus Foundation, dedicated to artistic offense, environmental defense and the enhancement of life. He also attended Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok studying Thai and Thai culture where he met his wife. He now hosts his own website, The Oedipus Project (www.oedipus1.com), podcasting, blogging and championing new, alternative and experimental music. The site was nominated for a 2010 Boston Music Award.  The Oedipus Project can also be heard live on a weekly broadcast at Indie617.com (formerly RadioBDC, the Boston Globe’s internet radio station). His yearly alternative Christmas Eve broadcast is now heard on WGBH, Boston’s local NPR station. In 2016 Oedipus was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He can be found in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in the exhibit Dedicated to the One I Love:  Rock and Radio.

In 2018, the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, issued a proclamation declaring December 24, 2018, as “Christmas Eve with Oedipus Day” in the city of Boston in recognition of his annual Christmas Eve broadcast for over 30 years spreading peace, love and understanding throughout Boston and the world.