Today's guests are three ladies, three years apart, who have formed an enduring frienship via WJPZ that has lasted over 20 years.
Tracey (Chilandese) Turner got to the station when Harry and Dena were running a skeleton crew, having just shepherded the station through it's second format change (back to Z89) in just a few years. Trace joined the station as a sophomore, just as Matt DelSignore was taking over for Harry as GM and PD. Harry provided guidance for promotions, and let his dynamic duo take over.
Sarah (Dumont) Fox had no desire to be on the air, but this Plattsburgh native soon found a love for Public Relations. When Dena left, Sarah volunteered to take on that role, coordinating everything from alumni relationships to Banquets.
As these two ascended to station leadership, Lisa entered as a freshman. This die-hard sports fan started doing on-air work and made fast friends off-air with Tracey and Sarah. It was a friendship that transcended the walls of the station.
Today's guests credit their WJPZ lessons as great prepration for their careers. Tracey has worked in music since graduation. Sarah's been in healthcare PR, and Lisa went from NBC page to talent booker to Derek Jeter's outlet, The Players' Tribune.
In this episode, you'll hear about "Shake Your Bon Bon For Ricky Martin," a treacherous trip with a car full of balloons, and some heated moments in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. (Poor Lisa had to share a wall with Jag one year).
But you'll also hear about enduring friendships, including Matt DelSignore joining Sarah for moral support on a week-long job interview trip to New York City before graduation. Where did they sleep? Tracey's couch and loveseat.
Throughout today's podcast, you'll hear about the inclusive culture of Z89 (as opposed to some more traditional classrooms). The knowledge passed down over these 3 years are right in line with the last 50.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
Sign up for email alerts whenever we release a new episode here: jagindetroit.com/WJPZat50
Want to be a guest on the pod or know someone else who would? Email Jag: jag@jagindetroit.com.
Want to stay in the loop with WJPZ Alumni events? Subscribe to our newsletter on the right hand side of the page at http://wjpzalumni.org/
JAG: Welcome to WJPZ at 50, I am Jon Jag Gay. If you could see me right now, you would see the giant you-know-what eating grin on my face right now, because I am so excited to have the three women who really had a key role in keeping WJPZ going in the early 2000s with me today. I'll go around the room we'll go by grad year, give me your name, and your maiden name if you had one, and what you did at the radio station, just briefly.
Tracey: Hey, this is Tracey Turner, I used to be Tracey Chilandese when I was at the station I graduated in 2000.
JAG: And, chronologically, next?
Sarah: Sarah Dumont was then, now Sarah Fox, and no, my husband didn't change his name on purpose, he was given that name, Fox. And I graduated in 2002 and did PR and some promotion stuff at the station.
JAG: In 2003, we have...
Lisa: Hi, I'm Lisa Phillips. Did graduate in 03, the championship year. Yay! Which now just makes me feel super old, but back then I loved saying it. And I was in promotions and I had a few DJ shifts.
JAG: Excellent. So I know the three of you have stayed in contact on and off for the last, sorry, Lisa, two decades, and we're going to get into your relationship with each other, both as students and as alumni.
But I always like to start by asking our guests how they found Syracuse University and then how they found the radio station. So back to you, Tracey.
Tracey: Sure. I was fairly certain that I wanted to start a career in broadcast journalism. And so when I was in high school, I started looking at schools that had strong communications programs.
I remember really wanting to go to USC, but my parents said no way to cross country, like I had to stay at least in the northeast. So I applied to a handful of schools. In the City, in upstate New York and in Boston. And at the end of the day, it really came down to Syracuse and Boston University. I am from outside of Albany.
So Syracuse has a lot of prestige in my area. And it always just seemed like an obvious choice. Even applying to all those other schools at the end of the day, I knew I was going to end up at Syracuse.
JAG: And then how'd you find the radio station when you got there, Trace?
Tracey: So I didn't join until my sophomore year and I really can't remember exactly how I found it. I want to say it must have been a flyer or something. I did go to a winter recruitment session at Watson, but I cannot remember exactly how I had discovered it. It wasn't something that I knew in advance. I just must have seen a flyer. I was like, oh, let me check it out.
JAG: So Tracey grew up outside Albany. If we shoot up 87 and stay in the 518 to Plattsburgh, New York, we meet Sarah.
Sarah: Yeah, I was a little bumpkin in upstate New York and had no idea what to do. I took some tests that I don't think you take anymore, administered by your guidance counselor. And she said, you should do public relations. And I said, where do I go learn to do that? It's still funny that you can get a degree in public relations now doing it for 20 years.
But I applied to Syracuse, a few other places in the state, and I was equally as excited because I was telling everyone this is a big city because I'm from the tiny little town outside of a small town. I was like, this is where the State Fair is. You guys have no idea. And everyone was like, what? Are you kidding? Get out of here.
So I was excited to go. And I just. Fell into it by accident. I think I found the station equally in my bumpkin phase of freshman year, just trying to get acclimated. Everyone seemed to be a lot more knowledgeable about what they wanted, and I was still trying to figure all of it out.
And, I don't remember how, I just vaguely remember going in the early spring semester and helping with the Banquet. And I didn't attend the banquet, but I helped with tickets and something.
JAG: Yeah. You did the banquet for a number of years.
Sarah: I did it for sophomore year, and then I helped junior year, but I was in London spring of junior year, and then I did a little bit of promotion stuff as well.
I think I was one of the very few who never wanted to go on air. It's just, that was, ugh. I did help, when we moved, I helped push buttons that one winter break. So if we had dead air, that was my handicraft.
JAG: Was that when we went to the evil house in Ostrom, you helped out with that?
Sarah: It was winter break of senior year.
JAG: Oh, so that was back to Watson. Okay, got it.
Sarah: That was when we moved back to Watson. But yeah, I just all of it, I just fell into it. And was lucky that I did.
JAG: You were a class of 02 along with me. So we were the class that really benefited from Harry and Dena's leadership of bringing us all in as freshmen. That's for sure.
Sarah: Yeah, for sure.
JAG: Lisa, you're a downstate New York girl, right?
Lisa: Yeah. I'm from the suburbs of New York city, Rockland County, and I always knew I wanted communications. I wanted to do sports or entertainment. So I applied to big com schools and also big sports schools.
Cause I knew I wanted that experience of going to every football and every basketball game. And then there was also a slight chance that I could maybe play softball there. Cause it was a first year program, my freshman year. And then when it came down to it, I got into Syracuse and there was really no looking back.
There was a few girls from my high school, a year older than me that were there. And I went to visit and did a tour and met up with them. And I think I just was like, yep. I saw the campus in a nice time of year. So they do trick you. And I was like, this is exactly out of a TV show or a movie. And I fell for it and loved it.
And then I think the same sort of way my freshman year, I was looking for activities and things to join and I figured it was going to be radio or TV. And I saw a flyer and I remember going to like something at night, like a talk or something. And then I joined and I just remember how amazing and nice everyone was like right off the bat.
I felt very comfortable and that's how I got started.
JAG: You're segueing me into where things were when Tracey got there. So Tracey, when you got there, was it still The Pulse or had it just flipped back to Z89?
Tracey: It had flipped back to Z89. I never experienced The Pulse. In fact, I remember always calling it the Beat of Syracuse, the "all new Z89" and Matt would be like, stop saying "new" after a certain period of time. It was no longer the new Z89 and I didn't really understand until like after the fact because it went from the Pulse to the new Z89 and now we're just a Z89. So yeah, I started right when it had flipped back to Top 40.
JAG: So that's when Harry was there and and Dena were there and then Matt DelSignore, who you mentioned, who was going to come in with our class, who would become program director and general manager. But they had to rebuild the staff, because there was a lot of attrition from when the station had flipped twice in a few years, first to the Pulse, and then back to Z89. Trace, it was probably a skeleton crew when you got there, I'd imagine.
Tracey: It was, but I did not realize that, and only until I heard their episode, Dena and Harry's episode, with you, did I really realize everything that they had gone through. I joined and I just started as a jock and did jock training and started in the overnight shift for my first semester and second semester.
I remember I quickly moved up to Top 8 at 9 and in hindsight, it's clearly because there weren't enough people to fill the slots. And then by third semester, Harry had approached me. So that would have been the end of his time at Syracuse to fill the promotion department. But when. I took it over, it really was non existent, there wasn't anything going on and he just showed me the ropes a little bit.
But it was free reign. I was building it up from kind of nothing. But again, like I didn't realize what they were going through because they kept that all very professional and they didn't let the underclassmen see all of that. I just thought this was the station. And I didn't realize like how small the staff was until the following year when you all came in and the energy came in and that's really when like I'd gotten into my groove as Promotions Director, but it was also like a community was built up again.
JAG: I would encourage anybody who hasn't listened to Harry and Dena's episode to go back and listen to it. It's one of our more popular episodes and we talked about all the stuff going on behind the scenes. But to your point, they kept all of us shielded from it. We had no idea the battles they were fighting so much of it at the time. So Trace, you stayed Promotions Director when Harry handed it over to Matt, right?
Tracey: When Matt became GM, yes. I have a keepsake folder of my Z89 stuff and I was looking through, no one's surprised by that, I was looking through it the other night and if I see you laughing, Du! There was memos that Harry would write and it would be like to me and Matt and just instructions as to how to handle the promotions that we need to line up. So looking back, I think we both, Matt and I, although we're two years apart, grew into our executive positions at the same time.
JAG: Matt and I are still very close to this day, and he has said wonderful things about all three of you in your time at the radio station and the work that you did.
I do have one grudge with you and Matt, Trace, that I should probably air this grievance right now, which is...
Tracey: Can I guess?
Sarah: Oh, I can guess.
JAG: Oh my G-d, both of you know what it's gonna be, don't you?
Tracey: You wanna do it? 1, 2, 3, Du.
Sarah: One, two, three, Britney Spears.
JAG: Do you want to tell it instead of me then? You got me.
Tracey: Go ahead.
Lisa: I don't know this. So tell it.
Sarah: Let it out. It sounds like something that you need if you're holding in.
JAG: This is a grudge that is now old enough to legally drink. But and this would have been the year before you got there, Lisa. This would have been 98, 99 when this young up and coming pop star named Britney Spears played the New York State Fair. And we had tickets to give away.
Sarah: State Fair, right? It's a big thing. Keep going.
JAG: To your points there, yeah. So we had all these tickets to give away and there were two meet and greet passes. And the way Trace is explaining this, it makes perfect sense that the two of the people who were running the show at that point, Matt and Tracey, would have gone backstage to meet Britney Spears.
18 year old Jag was so pissed that he didn't get to go backstage and meet Britney Spears. And I feel better having got that off my chest. How was the meet and greet with Britney?
Tracey: I'm sorry. It was great. That was also a period in my life where, and I still to this day, I'm a pop girl through and through, but Lisa and I had many *NSync experiences together.
And Britney was right up there and I had actually met her prior to that and gotten that drop for Z89 where she would say, Hey, this is Britney Spears and you're listening to Z89. So that was the second time that I met her. And Matt had gotten me back for that promotion, but that was a really big event for the station because again, I think back in the day they did do the New York State Fair quite a bit, but they haven't in years.
And I remember I was interning in the city that summer prior and coordinating it all from the city and then coming back and that it was just such a fun time. We were doing broadcasts from our Omnipoint communication, like, cell phone. And I can remember Peterman being in the studio and like Marty at like our little tent doing the live broadcasts and it was just really fun.
And we gave away tickets to see, it was 98 Degrees and Britney Spears.
JAG: That's right. That's right.
Sarah: I still remember Matt's highlights. Remember Matt? Like really cool. Like 98, 1998. Yes. 1999 hairdo. It was a boy band do. It seemed like a teeny little thing you put in your pocket in between the two of you.
JAG: And Sarah, again, it's weird to call you Sarah. I know people call you Du, Dumont's your maiden name.
Sarah: Go for it. I'll answer to anything.
JAG: There you go. And you and Matt had that in common both being from small towns in upstate New York, him being from Watertown, you guys became really fast friends at the station and you came in and really started to come into a leadership role around that time as well too, right?
Sarah: Yeah, I was like I didn't have the courage to go on air and I felt like this person who was hanging out with all these radio people and still trying to figure out what I wanted to do and find my confidence. And what I was good at, but yeah, Matt and I really bonded because we're both from the North Country, the real upstate, excuse me, Lisa the real upstate, the North Country and just bonded over those shared experiences. And his family lives in my town.
He has family in my town, so I had this just, it was really nice to have this connection to someone from my hometown through Matt and then just falling into this really great space of people who were all creative, enthusiastic, supportive of one another. Making it up as they went along, although to me, everyone looked like they had their stuff together. And I was just trying to catch up. It was great.
JAG: How did you come into sort of the executive staff piece of it, Sarah, do you remember?
Sarah: I don't remember. God, I think maybe I need to get my brains checked a little bit. I don't remember, but I just remember. I was a PR girl. I remember we'd always meet at certain times with Dena and then when she was gone we all met at the same time.
And whomever was in the studio was like, oh, the PR girls are here. Like this extra fixture that didn't go on the air that never got in front of the mic, but we helped facilitate stuff behind the scenes. I think it was Matt and I became good friends. It was a role that Dena had served and served really well amongst many other hats that she wore and they didn't have anybody to fill in the role.
So I volunteered at the time to do it, not really knowing anything. about what it would mean. And at that time it wasn't as much external. It was more internal within the broader Z89 network of keeping us connected to the alumni when they would graduate. So the Banquet being the landmark event and anything else leading up to that and afterwards.
So that was what we focused a lot of our energy on and just staying connected to what everyone else was doing was really important so that when we were talking to alumni, they knew what was going on at present and how what they had left behind was still going forward.
JAG: I think that's important because there, there were times where we had on and off relationship with the alumni, different years, there were different relationships. And a lot of it, just like so many things over 50 years have depended on the personalities involved. But I've got to imagine you and Matt and now Tracey, the two of you again, before Lisa came, I'll get to you in a second, I promise. But the two of you must have hit off pretty quickly to doing promotions and PR working together so much.
Sarah: Yeah. And I think, again, we're all from the same part of the state and just had this. It's really candid, down to earth, dynamic with one another. And it was an extension of the classroom, but it also felt like a job, a real opportunity where we could mess up and it would be okay because you'd have the other person there to pick you back up or to reassure you or to help you figure some stuff out.
It was just a wonderful dynamic to be yourself because oftentimes in the classroom, at least I felt the need to put on a little bit of a performance with your professor or with your fellow students who all seemed like they really knew what was going on, or they were trying to project a certain level of expertise with the professor.
Very similar to going into a boardroom or to a client meeting now. But it was just a space where we could just be ourselves, which I loved most of all. And it didn't matter that you weren't on the air. You were just as much a part of the family that we were building over time. It just was great. A fairly inclusive environment.
JAG: Well said. So that's the year 99, 2000. Sarah, you and I are sophomores. Tracey, you're a senior. And Matt takes over the radio station. And at the same time, Lisa, you come in as a freshman. And this is the one grade ahead of you. We were all there pretending we knew like we were what we were doing. But you walk in as a freshman. What's your experience like seeing us in charge, I guess?
Lisa: You could have fooled me because like I thought it was just like super well run and. I thought Matt was a great leader. He really knew how to deal with different personalities and he was so welcoming and so kind.
So right off the bat from and that trickles down as we've learned throughout probably all our careers as well, leadership and vibe at an office is really from the top. And then, to be honest, and Trace, I don't even know if I've told you this, but I got in with Tracey because I was in promotions right away, and I thought she was the coolest chick on campus.
I literally was just like a freshman, and she's a senior, and we became real friends. It wasn't even, I remember it was before I had a fake ID and all that, but I would go to Tracey's apartment, because she had an apartment, before she'd go out with her roommates and stuff because I couldn't go out and like I just hang with them Like I just felt like that little sister kind of thing and we just became so close and it was not just for the radio station But for my experience at Syracuse to like hop in as a freshman and not know my left from my right, And what I was doing and then to have someone that I really looked up to and you were so kind to everyone there was no like "Oh, I'm cool. You're not. I'm older. You're younger." Who cares? It was just so natural. And then the group of sophomores with Dumont and you Jag and then with Beth and Jana, like everyone took me in right away. So it was just so cool. I just felt really cool walking into that station and becoming part of the team.
And getting my 2 a.m. Tuesday night shift where I had to go to the station by myself and freak out that I was alone at 2 a. m. in Watson, but it was also amazing because there wasn't as much fear because it was 2 a. m. So I'm like, who's listening? And the people that are probably aren't right of mind at that point.
And I learned so much from Tracey about promotions and Little did I know four years later, what I would get into in my career, but I learned so much of what I did there really transferred and I didn't know I was going to become a talent booker, I didn't even know that was a job at the time, and a lot, some of that really translated from working in promotions, so it really helped me, but yeah, I loved it, I thought you guys were just amazing and so nice, and it was like, it really felt like a family right off the bat.
Tracey: I think we also all had this, we all love music, right? So we're doing something that we love. And I can remember like joining Z89 because I wanted to do something. I always loved radio. I was a huge pop culture geek. But I didn't think that you could make a job out of it. And one of the pivotal moments in my time at Z89, which really changed the path of my career.
And I think I mentioned this to Dena recently on socials, but I was deciding I didn't want to do broadcast journalism. I interned at my ABC affiliate and didn't have that spark. I'm like, ah, and Dena must've overheard me. I'm not sure exactly how this came out, but she said we were in the hallway at Z89 and she said, have you heard about the music industry program?
It's run by this man, Professor Soyars, and you can only minor in it. At the time you couldn't major unless you were a performer. Now it's the Bandier program named after Marty Bandier. And it's a huge program at Syracuse. But back then, you could only minor in it. And I went and I met with Professor Soyars.
It was, you had to meet him outside in his minivan while he was having a cig. He had a long line. It was impossible to get office hours with him. But he became my most influential mentor at Syracuse. And truly how I ended up, he helped me get my first internship. He followed me through my first, I don't know, five years of my professional career.
Giving me advice and looking over resume everything. I only met him because of Dena, which goes back to the community family. It's not just about learning radio. It's about everyone having a passion for a similar thing and it resulting in different opportunities for you.
JAG: So there was a whole group of you that were in that music industry program. I remember I came in, but I came in late and it wasn't for me because I think I took the second class before the first class. It was out of order and I ended up not sticking with it. But there were quite a group of Z89 people in that program, as I recall. I don't know for my year if there were. But I feel like Matt and Beth were both involved with it and
Tracey: Were they?
Lisa: Okay. I was a minor. It was my minor for a bit, and then I dropped it.
Tracey: He, Professor Soyars, unfortunately, he passed away, but he was truly one of my biggest champions, and he has a special place in my heart, but he was hard to get into he either loved you or he didn't see you, and that was, like, a really challenging thing, I think, for some people.
Lisa: But I will say, my connection to you, Tracey, because I think I told him. And because I remember how close, and like you gave me some advice and stuff when I was taking some of the classes. And he did, he loved you. Yeah, and I think it helped me too, selfishly.
Tracey: Yeah, he would send me his interns and everything. But, on the flip side, I didn't have classes with Professor Rick Wright, which is like a huge part of my Syracuse experience that I missed out on, other than knowing him through Z89. I went down the more music industry path as opposed to the radio path, and everyone would talk about their Professor Wright classes, and I was like, oh my god, I I missed out on that, but I had my Soyars.
JAG: I feel like you probably got the gist, though.
Tracey: I did. I sure did.
JAG: All three of you have talked about the culture at the radio station and it's something that's echoed through 50 years of this podcast of just little brother, little sister, big brother, big sister, and just taking everybody under your wing and that warm, common atmosphere.
Sarah, you made a reference to somehow having to be "on" at Newhouse and stuff like that. This was totally different, but I feel like, and whoever wants to take this question, everybody on this podcast has talked about experiences specifically they had at the radio station that proved to be valuable lessons from them, both life wise, career wise. Anybody have a story that they want to share that kind of comes to mind?
Lisa: I have one. I think it was your senior year, Tracey. When we did, it was like American Idol was huge. Remember we did that in the mall? For Ricky Martin? Yeah, it was like the talent competition.
JAG: Was it the Shake Your Bon for Ricky Martin?
Lisa: Was that what it was?
Tracey: I think so.
Lisa: I didn't remember what the, but I just remember we put this whole thing together. There was a stage. And we had contestants from the mall. And again, this was just like, wow, we can do this. Like college kids, we can put this together. And it worked and there was no real fear of failure.
Maybe there was fear of failure, but maybe I didn't know better. So I just was like, Oh, this is great. And I think that event really stuck out to me if something like this feels like this is a professional thing and we put this all together from nuts to bolts. And I just thought that was so impressive that you can do things like you can do hard things, whatever it is, but like we can do all that.
And I think it really gave me confidence. Even the next year, I remember doing some events and I was like, okay, now Tracey's not here. I don't have that safety thing. This is me. And we were still able to do it. And I really did carry that throughout my whole, I have throughout my whole career.
Tracey: I think there's something special about the station. First of all, like whether there was any validity to it or not, I always thought that we were competing against the local commercial stations.
Yeah, that was my mojo. I'm like, Oh, we're going to outdo them on this contest. But you had the opportunity to act as an executive in the industry. And take it that far if you wanted to the people that I would cold call or reach out to, fax back then. I was really lucky that I heard back from some of them as a college student at a college radio station, but I think it was just the vibe and they're like, go for it. What do you have to lose and there was such enthusiasm from everyone to really build the station and make it into something exciting and we all wanted to do this for fun.
And it just. Yeah I agree with you, Lisa. I think I carried that into my career, too, because I had that confidence built up in the beginning that I did all this stuff at my college station. Surely I can do this.
Sarah: Sarah, what comes to mind for you? The one that I'll never forget is not when we were physically at the station, but it was just more it spoke to the strength of the network is that when we were graduating, I somehow had during finals week, all my classes were done. So I lined up Interviews in the city and Matt came with me and we stayed at Tracey's apartment and it was just the best. It makes me like all emotional even to this day that like Matt and I were just, two little bumpkins from upstate New York and we bonded and we became really good friends. And he came as moral support for me. And I remember we sat in the Prêt à Manger next to one of the offices where I had to go do the interviews. And I was wearing like a suit I bought on sale at H&M and I don't know, heels I bought from T. J. Maxx. I looked vaguely the part and I did all these interviews and then I would go back to Tracey's house on York Avenue and hang out and crash on her loveseat and couch with her two roommates from Syracuse and it was just that to me, I'll never forget because I didn't think I'd end up in New York City, I didn't think I would end up being able to ever live there, right?
Especially right after I graduated and I left the city with job offers and I had a job by the time we walked across the stage to graduate. I had a job and the support I had from the friends I made at the station really made a lot of difference. And I definitely remember. Just making so many friends that carried me through and gave me confidence.
That was the biggest thing. Any event or moment that I could think of, those details don't stick out to me. It's just the people and the interactions that we had at the time and the acceptance for one another that comes through.
JAG: Tracey, any memories of that week? Of Matt and Sarah staying with you?
Tracey: I mean, I don't remember that week in particular, but I can say that Du, sorry, that Du was one of my closest friends.
Although she was two years younger in New York when I was creating, I lived with two Syracuse friends, but I then was working for Sony at the time and had created this own network, but she was always with me, if she went to a show, if it was my birthday party and all of my crew knew Du. I was saying this before you had gotten on Sarah that like they are Du, they never knew you as Sarah. They knew you as Du.
Sarah: Yeah. Like Chris and she'd be like, Du!
Tracey: But it was a friendship that we never would've had because we were two years apart, but the station and it carried on for many years following.
JAG: Full disclosure, part of my show prep for this episode of the podcast was having an extended conversation with Mr. DelSignore to refresh my memory on some stuff. And Sarah, Matt told me about going to New York with you that week. And obviously you two are very close friends, but the amount of pride and how excited he was for you. When you were landing those job offers, when you were going to all those different places, and anybody who knows Matt won't be surprised to hear this, but he remembers being so excited for you and just so happy to be with you on this trip and staying with Tracey and the whole deal.
It really does speak to all the relationships that we built across the years with this radio station.
Sarah: Aw, I'm gonna cry!
JAG: Alright while Sarah grabs a tissue, we should pivot to what the three of you have done in your all three amazing careers so far. Tell me where you've been in your time since Syracuse, whoever wants to start.
Tracey: I can start. So in between my junior and senior year at Syracuse, I interned at Columbia Records in their radio promo department. And shortly after graduating, I ended up in that exact seat that I interned for as an assistant. So it was really fortunate that all the cards fell into place. And I stayed there for five years working with Beyonce and Jessica Simpson and John Mayer and Ricky Martin.
And then I moved to the video promotion department where I worked MTV and VH1 and did TRL. Lisa and I went to TRL many moons before that, before I was actually working it.
Lisa: Yes, we did.
Tracey: So there I worked with Three 6 Mafia and Wyclef and Boys Like Girls and Adele. Tons of all of Columbia's roster.
After that, I was at VH1 for about five years in their in house music supervision department. It's called creative music integration, and we licensed music for their long form programming. My claim to fame was Love and Hip Hop. Yes. I did all the music for that. And then for the past five years, I've been working with a former colleague of mine through Columbia records, Dan Pearson at his company called Lakeside Entertainment Group, Dan and I both rose through the ranks together at Columbia in radio. And he stayed that path of radio while I ventured in other areas of the industry. So Lakeside really was founded on radio promotion, but we've grown in other verticals. And so we do touring and digital media and marketing. And we worked with the band Lawrence who just opened for the Jonas Brothers this past weekend at Yankee Stadium, which was super exciting. And an artist named Therese, who's on tour with Drake right now.
JAG: Let me go back to ask you a quick follow up on TRL. What was your role when you were working with TRL?
Tracey: So I was at Columbia Records at the time, so I would book artists on the show. So I'd bring Beyonce or Boys Like Girls to TRL to do a performance.
Or 106th and Park at the time, or the VMAs and BET Awards and all of that stuff. Fuse had music, had a music show back then too. So all of the video channels when that was still a big thing.
Lisa: Tracey, do you remember who performed when we went? I do.
Tracey: I don't. I wish I did. I remember my horrific outfit, though. For some reason, that sticks out in my mind. I can't even explain to you what it was, but who performed? I don't remember.
Lisa: It was an R& B group Blaque. Remember them?
Tracey: Yeah. I knew it was Black because they did a song with JC, I think.
Lisa: Yes, I think they did. You're right.
Tracey: Oh my god, I can't believe we saw Blaque.
Lisa: That's very funny. My one and only time at TRL. It was awesome.
Tracey: That's the thing I would be in the TRL studios working. I've been super fortunate with my career and that it never has felt like a job. I just have always loved what I've done. And I think I owe. Z89, a great deal of that I think from Z89 and Soyars and all and Syracuse in general, but yeah.
JAG: So Sarah, when we left you, you had just landed a job before we even graduated in New York, which makes you among the rarefied Newhouse air of like actually having a job when you graduate.
Sarah: Yeah, I didn't mean that as a humble brag, but yeah, humble brag. Keep going.
JAG: We're a family. We're all proud of you. Tell us about your career since then.
Sarah: Oh. You're very kind. It's not anything as fun as TRL, and although I would go to Tracey's office and sit there and just let the fun come through osmosis and I owe every Destiny's Child CD that I own probably still somewhere to Tracey. But I worked in, I got a job at a public relations agency that was only healthcare, and I remember we had the CDC, remember?
We have the Career Development Center, and you would have by then, you'd have your very refined resume on, were they ZIP drives or whatever it was that thing? It was like this big.
JAG: You can get the discs upstairs at Schine in the bookstore. Yep. Yep.
Sarah: And you have your little resume on it and you go to the, and I, so I went in there and an alum from Syracuse had posted a job, an entry level job at a privately owned communications agency. And I was like, I'm gonna apply. So I went to the computer lab, my little drive, and I sent an email. That just shows how delayed all gratification was at the time. Cause then I had several classes and I went back later that day to the computer lab and I had gotten a response.
So six hours went by, I think I would have had a heart attack by now if I had to wait six hours to get a response to anything. But that's how I got the job was through an alum at Syracuse who posted through the network and I stayed there for nine years. And then I just, I've been moving around within the communications agency industry at different agencies in the city doing healthcare.
And then let's see, I did go back to Syracuse while I was at my first job to recruit. And that was always a lot of fun to take all of those experiences with you. And then have it manifest and now you're on the recruitment side. It was a lot of fun to see yourself, your little self, in your H & M suit and your TJ Maxx heels in front of you, it was just really fun, but I think all the experiences so far that I had at the station helped me in client service because it had to have an appreciation for what everyone else was going through and doing so that I could.
Because I didn't know the actual physically how to do any of the stuff that you guys were doing on air, but I had an appreciation for it. And all that kind of lessons, all those lessons really lend themselves to be a trusted advisor. I would say from a communications end. So I don't do anything with music. I don't do anything with entertainment. It's all pharmaceutical devices, non profit organizations, but it's really fun. And I moved, and now I'm a remote employee. I moved during the pandemic back to Plattsburgh. So I get to do that job from up here. It's great.
JAG: So you get the big New York City job without any of the New York City hassle up in beautiful Plattsburgh, New York.
Sarah: Yeah, it's a really nice commute.
JAG: I remember you and I haven't stayed in great touch over the years, but just seeing your updates on Facebook and LinkedIn and stuff, I'm like there's Dumont. She's climbing the ladder and she's got another title, another PR firm, and she's doing amazing things.
And how cool, not surprising, but how cool I remember just like watching from a distance and seeing you climb the ranks through all the different gigs you've had, which has been fantastic.
Sarah: I always thought it was funny when I would hear you on 95 Triple X because I grew up listening to that station.
I was like, he's not at 95 Triple X. And I went and visited you when I was going back to the city. I was visiting my family. And it so happened that you were at 95 Triple X the day that I was leaving. And so I went, I remember going to visit you there before I had to get on a plane back from Burlington to the city. And that was so fun.
JAG: That was really cool. I do remember that day because yeah. So 95 Triple X where I worked for four years. Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York are the same radio market. And 95 Triple X had a huge following, especially in Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh folks really loved the radio station. And I did nights there for four years and then one day Sarah came in and got to come out and hang out and see the radio station. And I got to brag about my uber successful college friend to everybody there. And then she was back down to the city. So that was a fun day. I do remember that day for sure. That was awesome.
All right, Lisa, over to you. I'm excited to hear more about what you've been doing since graduation and where you are now.
Lisa: Yeah. So after graduation, I became an NBC page for about nine months, which was amazing. I took a year off after college. I will say that had a little extra stuff to get out of my system partying a little bit. Waitress.
Sarah: I took your tour. You did a great job.
Lisa: Thank you. Yes. That was super fun. I actually loved being an NBC page. Loved it. Made great friends, learned a lot. And it was just a wild time to be 22, 23 and have that gig. And from there, I met the folks at Conan. When Conan was still in New York, the last four or five years, and I got my first job after the page program there in the talent department.
Who knew, like Tracey said, all my pop culture, random knowledge would actually come in handy one day. And so I was able to start there in the talent department and I got to book my first guest ever during my Conan years. It was Charles Barkley. And it was an athlete, huh? Yeah. Or on air personality at the time.
And then from Conan when he moved to LA I stayed in New York. And I moved over to Fallon and I was a booker for Fallon during late night years, and then I moved out to LA for a few years and I worked for Larry King. Then from there, after three years in LA, was ready to come home to New York, I realized I am definitely an East Coaster.
And I have been at The Player's Tribune. It was just my eight year anniversary, which is nuts. Wow. Yeah. And Jag, who would have thunk it? Eventually working for a company that Derek Jeter started.
Jag and I have been on opposite ends of the sports spectrum. Our whole friendship knowing each other. But yeah. And so I've been here in athlete relations, talent relations for eight years.
JAG: I hadn't realized The Players Tribune was around for that long. That's fantastic.
Lisa: Yeah, we're going to, we're going to be at 10 years actually. Cause I came in a little late. Next year is our 10 year, which is also bonkers.
JAG: And we have so many sports people that are alumni of the radio station. Give me the quick elevator pitch for anybody who isn't familiar with the Players Tribune, what it is.
Lisa: Sure. So it is an athlete-first editorial site. It's everything is a first person narrative from the athlete.
So whether that is a written piece, a podcast, branded content that's sponsored by something, or original video, everything is athlete-led. It was very important to Derek when he retired to give a space where athletes can feel safe and get their message across and tell who they are as people. So it's been pretty great to see the growth and to hear all of these amazing stories throughout the years.
JAG: Should point out. Not only is she working for Jeter, she's now apparently on a first name basis with him. Did anybody else catch that?
Tracey: I did. I did. And I remember just even from Syracuse, like how huge of a New York Yankees fan Lisa was. I remember that one of them lived on the Upper East Side.
Was it Andy? Was he your favorite back in the day?
Lisa: No, Tino.
Tracey: Tino Martinez, that's it. I feel like we may have passed them or something like in the street or something. Yes. So funny. It's no surprise that you ended up working for the Yankees at all.
JAG: So this segues into the story that Lisa and I were laughing about before the rest of you hopped on. Lisa and I were next door neighbors on South Campus. It was her junior year, my senior year and just, small world, that just happened to be that way. And everybody who knows me knows I'm a big Red Sox fan, so we did have that rivalry for quite some time. So in the time that I was in college, from 98 to 02, the Yankees won the World Series my freshman year, my sophomore year, my junior year.
So come to my senior year, they're playing Arizona in the World Series, and my roommate, Bill Leaf, God rest his soul, who was also a summer staffer at Z89, he was a big Mets fan, so he he disliked the Yankees as much as I did. And Arizona wins the World Series. For the first time in our lives, er, our college lives. The Yankees actually don't win the World Series, and I'll be curious for Lisa's recollection of this story. So Bill and I are in the shared backyard in our Yankees Suck t shirts. Spraying each other with Miller High Life because it is the champagne of beers, celebrating that the Yankees finally lost and we weren't going to be surrounded by a campus of Yankee fans rubbing our faces in it for the first time ever and Lisa was not happy.
She was about to call, as I recall, she was about to call Public Safety on us and anybody who knew my roommate Bill knew he could charm his way out of anything. I think he talked her out of calling Public Safety on us. What's your recollection of that story, Lis?
Lisa: That's so funny. Cause I was very attached to the Yankees. They were my team. So I just remember, I just thought your gloating was a bit much, and I got really offended by it. I took personal offense. And I also knew that if the Yankees lost that World Series, Tino would most likely not be re signed. So it was this double whammy. Yes. And I was just like, and the win was there.
Like it should have been the win. So I was just like, so upset, but yeah, but there's so much, I just remember any time if the Red Sox were winning or the Pats were winning, you would be so loud in your side and I would, we would bang cause we were literal neighbors.
JAG: We shared a wall!
Lisa: Yeah, we shared a wall, so he would, and we would start banging on the walls. And I would, yeah, so I was not the best loser, but I will say though, I have gone to, when we made it to the Final Four and the Elite Eight, I've traveled post graduation because who had the money back then to do that? I remember being in Chicago and I still have that fire in me because people were getting down on Cuse and I was pissed. So I still have that. I'm competitive by nature. But yeah, but looking back now, it's so fun. And it was actually awesome that you were next door and we had that. But at the time I was not happy.
Tracey: Public Safety. That's so funny.
JAG: It was 80 some years of frustration at that point before they finally won. It's funny, the Yankees fans and Red Sox fans will tell you the rivalry now is not what it was in the 2000s. It was intense.
Lisa: Yeah, it really was. It was because, and when you go to Yankee Stadium, it was half Red Sox fans. It wasn't even it didn't feel like a home game a lot of the time. You'd be surrounded by Red Sox fans.
JAG: Yeah, Yankees fans would infest Fenway like termites. Yeah, it went both ways.
All right, so while we're on the subject of funny stories, any other funny stories, station or station related, that come to mind for any of you?
Lisa: Not funny, but I remember I would just always, cause also then my sophomore year I lived in Dellplain and, Du, you worked the desk.
Sarah: I loved that. I loved that job.
Lisa: I know. And I would always just come down to want to hang with you. Cause I thought, cause it's funny you say all these things, but I, again, I always was I admired you as well. Like just in the sense of you, I just felt like you, you had it together. Like it's so funny to hear you didn't think you did.
And I was just like, I thought you so much had it together. And even just like doing your work and like working the Dellplain desk and like telling stories. So I feel like I would stalk you down there whenever I was home and you were working.
Tracey: I don't remember exactly, but I remember again, I loved pop music. That goes without saying. And I think it was Destiny's Child, Say My Name. Do you remember this, Du? And I think you and Matt may have gotten upset with me because I was playing it on repeat in his office over and over, and you're like, someone take the CD away.
Sarah: Yeah, I remember that day. I will always associate Say My Name and Genie in a Bottle with being in that station. Yes! Walking in at any moment, one of those songs was playing.
JAG: Statistically speaking.
Tracey: Genie in a Bottle made me think of The Fair. Yeah. Around that time. Yeah. I played it nonstop around the fair time.
JAG: Spring 99. Yeah.
Tracey: Absolutely. I also remember, not that it's super funny, but I remember one Banquet. It must've been my senior year. And I had to go with you to get like balloons for it.
Sarah: Oh my God. Those balloons.
Tracey: And we had to like, pack them into your car.
Sarah: I'm surprised we didn't get in a car accident.
Tracey: We had so much fun doing random stuff.
Sarah: Like my Mercury Sable or like whatever it was my great, no, it was what's the one that's up from
that? And then I had two different used Mercurys.
JAG: Grand Marquis or?
Sarah: No, not that posh. The one in between. It was my great aunt's old car, and it Oh my god, it was a great car.
JAG: Topaz!
Sarah: Oh wait, no. The Topaz was my first car, then the Sable. So yeah, it was the Sable, and we packed in all of these Teal, silver, and white balloons, and we were at some Party City, whatever it was, off of 81, and it was raining, and we had to get back in time, and I still remember the picture that you took, and I was like, getting ready to drive, and I'm like, I'm gonna get in the car wreck.
Tracey: My job was like, to keep them away from you so that you could see, yeah.
Sarah: I just remember a lot of. Anecdotally, I can't remember the specifics of why, but just laughing together with everybody, whether it was at the station, at a party, or you're going down the street Jeg, I think when I moved senior year, our spring semester, I moved from South Campus to Ackerman, and you guys were all down on the other side of Ackerman, and I remember I would just, I'd be walking by.
And you guys would be on the porch, and you're just like, Hey, Dumont! How are you? It was just so great that wherever it didn't really matter where you were, on campus or off campus, you would run into someone. And it didn't matter if you weren't invited, you were then invited, and you were included.
That's what I loved about it, is that everybody was just so welcoming and friendly, and that was the best part of it, because, like I said, I think there was a lot of performative behavior in the classroom. And it was just nice to step out of that and just be real. It was just a group of real people having fun, trying on something, learning along the way, making mistakes.
Lisa: It was great. Was there a Halloween party at Country Club? I remember that. Was that a thing? Did Z 89 do that?
JAG: Probably. Z89 did a lot of stuff at the Country Club. I remember that stuff. Our Friday night party episode with Splice, Komar and Double-A was, they told some country club stories in that one, if you wanna go back and check that out as well.
But yeah, I think we had a lot of clubs there. We had the sendoff party for Donovan McNabb when he got drafted. We had a lot of events at that club with, which in hindsight may not have been the best venue for us. .
Lisa: That's funny. This was a special group. It really was. Everyone, even when I left and I remember Du, we went to Tracey's wedding.
Sarah: Yeah, we sat we sat with Adrian and Matt.
Lisa: Yeah, we sat with Adrian and Matt, and it's just nice to, and with social media the pros and cons of it all, but it really is nice because I feel like through that, I've been able to keep up with everyone and what everyone's doing, and I feel like I know, so even if you haven't spoken all the time, it's just so nice to see you guys always like it will always bring the biggest smile to my face anytime I see a Z89er and I know Tracey, we had a squash. We're gonna meet up in person. We don't live that far from one another. Yes, for sure. But it's just really special group. Good people.
JAG: I think it was Tracey that I started having the conversation with about coming on the podcast and then I think she used that classic JPZ peer pressure to bring the two of you on if I'm not mistaken.
Tracey: Sure did. I sure did. I said, I'm not doing this solo and I have two people. Took a little convincing, but you came around.
JAG: Yeah, you came around Sarah when you found out the other two were on, right?
Sarah: Yeah, I figured that could be my buffer. Because I don't really think, they're not, they have the exciting jobs.
JAG: You're just saving lives and healthcare. That's all you're doing.
Sarah: I'm just fannying out data and FDA approvals. It's not anything exciting.
JAG: You're doing great work.
Tracey: The flu shot. That was my, I remember your first job.
Sarah: Yes, I did a lot. My first job was a lot of vaccine work. So it was really great. Yeah, I would always tell Tracey to get her flu shot. You work with celebrities and stuff like that, but it's not the same. So You always feel a little bit like, oh, I don't think what I do is very exciting. Because they work with celebrities and artists. And then you realize, Oh, it's just a job. There's just things to do. They just, everyone just has a to do list. And everyone has a boss. Everyone's just people. Yeah.
JAG: And I think really that's a great place to leave it. Hearing the friendships from the radio station and then throughout after graduation, some 20 odd years later. I'm sorry to keep bringing up numbers here, ladies.
But I do want to thank the three of you for coming on together. It really was a blast to reconnect with all of you. And Lisa, to your point, we see what each other's up to on social media, but being able to sit here, "face to face" is really a treat to visit with all three of you. So Tracey, Lisa, Sarah, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Appreciate it.
Tracey: Thanks for having us.
Lisa: Thanks, Jag.
Sarah: Thank you.