You've reached the home of...
Hello there. You've reached the home of my all ska radio show Pressure Drop on 91.7FM WXCI in Danbury CT. I created Pressure Drop in the summer of 1997 and I played a mix of old school, 2-tone and new stuff. Pressure Drop was officially retired on May 24, 2000 after I graduated from Western Connecticut State University.
For those of you out there who would send me silly e-mail, YES I am aware there is a band called Pressure Drop (actually there are about 20 of them). I picked Pressure Drop as the name because I wanted an old school ska song that everyone knew and could recognize as the theme of my show. Pressure Drop brought you the best in ska music for three years; and the response and listenership over those three years was outstanding! BIG thank you's to everyone who tuned in, called in, won something, e-mailed me, or just said hi at a show. You guys made it a blast for me every week! I hope Pressure Drop meant a little something to you as it always will for me. Thank you.
Here are some facts about Pressure Drop in case you are visiting this page for the first time...
- 1) Pressure Drop was an ALL SKA radio program featuring ska music from 1959-2000.
- 2) Pressure Drop aired for the first time on September 3, 1997.
- 3) Pressure Drop aired for the last time on May 24, 2000.
- 4) Total number of shows: 142
- 5) Each show was 3 hours long.
- 6) Pressure Drop aired every Wednesday night from 9pm to midnight on 91.7FM WXCI in Danbury CT.
- 7) Pressure Drop achieved national recognition as one of the best ska radio shows in the United States when Ska-Tastrophe Magazine added Jesse and Pressure Drop to its "Heavy Hitters" section (one of only 8 shows to get this distinction).
- 8) Guests on the program included Coolie Ranx of the Pilfers, Spring Heeled Jack, Sgt. Scagnetti, Brian Diaz of Edna's Goldfish, and many more...
- 9) Number of times Jesse accidently broke a Federal Communications Commission law: Once (I accidently said shit when I was in the middle of a rant).
- 10) Number of times Pressure Drop was hosted by someone other than Jesse: Once. Tom Feola filled in when I was unable to make it. Other than that, I was there every week for three years!
Jesse and his empire! WXCI Studios
The pins and stickers are all gone...
Every now and then I still get an e-mail from someone asking if I have any pins or stickers left. First let me say that it is a tremendous honor and it's incredibly cool that some people still want Pressure Drop stuff even though the show ended a while ago. Anyway, I am sorry to report that the last of the original Pressure Drop merchandise was sent out at the end of September 2000.
For links to all of the ska shows in the CT/NYC area, check out...
Jesse's Show list
Jesse with old friend Coolie Ranx of the Toasters/Pilfers
Send me some mail and make me a happy fellow!
Attempting to be professional on the air...Attempting
Final Thoughts...
It was a great time in my life. I loved doing every show every week. I did Pressure Drop on Christmas Eve, on New Year's Eve, on my birthday, I never wanted to miss it.
One of Sgt. Scagnetti's final shows, WXCI's Can O' Christmas 12/18/99
I got to meet a lot of you at shows that Pressure Drop sponsored or booked. That was pretty damn cool too! I got to introduce bands, throw out prizes, and generally be a loon in front of a large mass of people. Amen!
The original Pressure Drop Flyer handed out at shows everywhere!
You can still find me on your radio dial today. I am thrilled to have joined the radio station I grew up with; New Haven's WPLR. Sometimes I get e-mails at WPLR from listeners who ask me "Are you the guy that did Pressure Drop on WXCI?"; and it's with great pride that I say say... yup.
Providin' you with the ska music you need!
If you never saw a copy of Ska-Tastrophe Magazine it was a nationwide publication dedicated solely to ska. It had great interviews, tour dates for ska bands, album reviews, and the "Heavy Hitters" section with the playlists from the best ska radio shows in the United States. Pressure Drop was one of only 8 shows to get this honor; and here's an example of what it looked like.
There was no nicer tribute to the show than the supercool article that was featured in WestConn's student newspaper on May 9th 2000. It had a great photo and a very nice write-up. If you'd like to see it for yourself it's right here for you to look at!
Finally, I know this phrase is a tacky cliche; but it holds true. When you really get into ska music it's easy to become "Ska'd for Life". Thanks a lot for visiting this page.
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