thePULSEHair Metal’s Biggest Fan
By Andrew Jones
Having grown up listening to eighties rock and metal bands on WAAF, local Worcester cat Mike Wild, a graduate of Burncoat High, realized his dream job would be to bring his musical predispositions back to the local lovers of the area’s hardest-rockin’ station. So now he delivers the best hair band experience you can get ~ complete with famous guests and antics ~ between 9 and midnight on Saturday nights. Mike is a great guy with a great sense of humor, and we got to wax a little eighties and see just how many Ratt albums he really owns.
Pulse: How did you first get amped on becoming a DJ?
Mike: Since I was kid I knew what I wanted to do and that was to be on the radio. I had a couple of turntables in my bedroom and I’d just keep dreaming of the day I’d get my chance.
P: Any good stories from back when you first started paying your dues at WAAF in the early 90s?
M: All the good ones are illegal or could get me fired. Seriously though, hanging with the bands backstage is always fun. It’s one of the perks about this job.
P: What the most memorable thing that’s happened on your show so far?
M: Kiss Karaoke! I had one of our weekend DJs, Zakk Giannette, come in and sing Kiss songs with no music. He had to sing a capella and he sang badly! Listeners had to call in and guess the song. It was a challenge for callers because Zakk sang so off key.
P: What’s your favorite term for the infamous mullet?
M: Business in the front, party in the rear. It’s iconic. What other hairstyle has lasted that long? The beehive? The Rachel? Oops, I’m sorry I knew that term. That’s what I get for having a girlfriend in the 90s.
P: Have you always known that WAAF was your calling?
M: Yes. It was the station I grew up listening to. Now if only they had known the whole time!
P: Do you think growing up in Worcester had an influence on your taste in 80s rock?
M: How could it not? Sir Morgan’s Cove was a rockers’ paradise, and with the great bands coming to the Centrum [now the DCU Center], it was all a kid needed growing up. Well, that and my Bo Derek poster. God, you know she really was a 10.
P: Which of your famous guests do you feel you clicked with the most?
M: Stephen Pearcy from Ratt. Did you know I wrote the song “Round and Round?” OK, I’m kidding.
P: According to Winger, she’s only seventeen. Now daddy says that she’s too young, but is she old enough for me?
M: Now she’s 35! With 2 kids…and everything I need.
P: What do you think is more flattering for a dude, 3-foot high White Rain-encrusted hair or religion-revealing Spandex?
M: You really know how to give a guy nightmares. Wow. Well, I would have to go with the hair.
P: Forget the CD player, what’s currently in your old boom box tape player?
M: [*Blows dust off*] Let’s see, Warrant’s “Cherry Pie.” SWING IT!
P: If Mike Wild started a band with Ozzy guitarist Zach Wylde, what would you call it, and what would be the name of your debut album?
M: Wyld Stallions. Oh wait, that was in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, wasn’t it? I guess I’d let Zach name the band. He has a little more experience with that kind of thing.
P: Do you still get giddy when someone you’re a big fan of visits the show, or is it pretty commonplace now?
M: I’m not as awestruck if it’s a newer band or newer members of an older band. But when the originals come ~ the guys I rocked out to who are STILL rocking…THAT impresses me.
P: You’ve interviewed Aerosmith on the show before, now are his bandanas made of real zebra skin? I think the PETA people have a right to know.
M: [Deadpan] He and I talked about that over steak at the Capital Grille. I’m more of a fan of the chinchilla coat myself. We ended up getting side-tracked when he showed me his leather pants and he decided to take me deer hunting.
P: How does one go about becoming a coveted Mike Wild “Babe of the Week?”
M: Cute face, cute bod, the less clothing the better. Send pics to mwild@waaf.com. That was easy huh?
P: Any tricks up your sleeve for some of the upcoming shows?
M: There are always tricks, and a lot of unplanned stuff. That makes for the best sounding show, when something great happens and you didn’t even plan it. Here’s one thing I have planned: Kip Winger will be calling into the show next month to talk about “Winger,” with all original members playing a show at Harpers Ferry in Boston in February. That will be a can’t-miss show!
