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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The station’s slogan is “Different is good,” but for the past 20 years, WCNR 106.1 The Corner has made its mark by not straying from its original vision.
The music may sound different, but the goal remains the same.
From the first time the station’s original program director, Brad Savage, got behind the mic, The Corner has been intent on fostering an open-minded, music community, transporting people back in time with forgotten hits of yesteryear and giving them a glimpse of the future with new music that could – and often ends up being – the next big thing.
“It was never really about screaming DJs or a funny phone call on the air and looking for a joke or a punchline,” Savage told Cville Right Now this week. “It’s always been more about supporting music and being just a little bit more open-minded and intellectual about the world around us. I remember just trying to have a real person vibe.”
The launch
The Corner launched on Sept. 16, 2006, going on the air at 1:06 p.m. and debuting with the song “Everybody Wake Up” by Charlottesville’s own Dave Matthews Band. The opening lyrics of that 2005 song urge listeners to “wake up if you’re living with your eyes closed.”
Since that moment, The Corner has strived to open listeners’ eyes and ears to a broader range of music than they would hear on more traditional rock, easy listening or country stations.
“The language that so many people in Charlottesville speak is that of, ‘There’s this new thing. And I’m so excited about it and I can’t wait to tell you about it,’” current Corner DJ Anand Harsh told Cville Right Now. “I think that’s where The Corner fits in.This is a place for you to discover your favorite new band. Push your own tastes, push your own boundaries and find out what’s coming next.”
Before Savage ever got behind the mic in Charlottesville, The Corner debuted with 10,000 songs in a row, commercial free.
“Since it was brand new, they didn’t have any advertisers yet anyway,” he said.
Savage remembered the challenges of The Corner’s early years, including nighttime DJ Jaclyn Piermarini coming in during the daytime to dub songs into the on-air computer in real time.
“Just getting the tech up and running took a while,” Savage said.
The first crew on-air at The Corner included Savage, Piermarini, Tad Abbey, Melissa Moody and Jeff Sweatman.
A community station
Savage left the station in 2015, and Pat Gallagher took over as the Program Director and morning host.
“We were celebrating our 10th anniversary, and I came up with the line ‘A decade of different,’” Gallagher told Cville Right Now. “We used that as kind of the theme to the 10th anniversary celebration at The Corner.”
For Gallagher, he viewed the station as a, “local lifestyle hub.”
“The corner is something very special, and this type of radio is very special,” Gallagher said. “They’re deeply into the music. They’re deeply into what’s going on in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. They get involved in things.”
All kinds of things.
Gallagher recalled running in a 5k race dressed as a toilet as part of a local water-conservation campaign.
Savage said the alternative format doesn’t work in every market. But it found a perfect home in Charlottesville. Gallagher agreed.
“It was run like a local station, not like a big corporate rock station or a big corporate country station,” Gallagher said. “It was really run locally. And that is what makes it fun. I think that ‘community’ and ‘local’ are things that are really lacking these days in most radio stations, but continue to be a part of a station like The Corner.”
What makes The Corner different?
Perhaps the biggest challenge of the format is identifying trends and hits before they become mainstream. It’s part of the gig that Harsh enjoys the most. The 41-year-old West Lafayette, Ind., native prides himself on attending mid-week shows and scouring magazines, blogs and message boards for the next big thing, relishing the chance to introduce listeners to songs they don’t know they love, yet.
But maybe the most significant ingredient to The Corner’s success has been its focus on the local music scene. That’s an area where Harsh said current Corner DJ Samantha Federico excels.
“She is so embedded in the local music scene,” Harsh said. “She takes music people have made in their bedrooms or empty church basements, open mics, and she puts them on the radio. To be able to hear your song on the radio at your day, and be like, ‘That’s me,’ that’s very, very cool. For people who won’t fill up arenas, this is the biggest win they’ll have with their music. And it’s very exciting. And it means a lot.”
That’s where The Corner aims to reside, at the intersection of musicians and listeners, building a community around music.
The station got its name from the popular bar and restaurant district adjacent to the University of Virginia. The moniker was first pitched by Charlottesville Media Group’s former operations manager, Rick Daniels, back in 2005. In the years since, businesses have come and gone from that corner just as DJs and program directors have come and gone from The Corner.
The goal is the same. The people are different.
But, as the station has been pitching since 2006, different is good.
(Editor’s Note: The Corner is owned and operated by the Charlottesville Media Group, which also owns and operates Cville Right Now.)