Watch NYC 3_94 IMDB' title='Watch NYC 3_94 IMDB' />WLIR Wikipedia. This article is about the internet radio station and history of WLIRWDRE at 9. FM and 9. 8. 5 FM and 1. FM. For the Hampton Bays, New York radio station at 1. FM, see WLIR FM. For other uses, see WLIR disambiguation. Watch Enemies Among Us Online Earnthenecklace'>Watch Enemies Among Us Online Earnthenecklace. WLIR WLIR. FM is an internet and over the air radio station 1. WPTY HD3 Calverton Roanoke that plays the new musicmodern rock that was originally heard on WLIRWDRE 9. FM, 9. 8. 5 FM, and 1. FM in the 1. 97. The spirit of the original WLIR is maintained with the music mix and the personalities, such as Larry the Duck, Malibu Sue, Andre and Rob Rush. Watch Dangerous Calling Online Facebook. Bob Wilson, long time WLIR employee and historian, created the WLIR. FM website and programs the music playlist. WLIR on FM radioeditWLIR was best known as an influential radio station that launched the careers of many music acts and disk jockeys from the 1. In 1. 97. 0, it changed to a progressive rock format before switching to a new musicmodern rock format in 1. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet IMDb Mobile site. WLIR WLIR. FM is an internet and over the air radio station 105. WPTYHD3 CalvertonRoanoke that plays the new musicmodern rock that was originally heard on WLIR. The station originally broadcast from studios at the Garden City Hotel, Garden City, New York, then 1. Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, New York, 1. Stewart Avenue, Westbury, New York, and finally, 1. Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York, with its transmitter located on the North Shore Towers in Floral Park, New York. FM beginningseditWLIR was founded in 1. John R. Rieger. It was licensed to Garden City, New York on the frequency 9. FM and played a mix of Broadway tunes and classical music from a basement studio in the Garden City Hotel. The progressive eraeditIn the early 1. Richard Neer and part time announcer Mike Harrison convinced Rieger to change to a progressive rock format. This meant playing obscure artists, playing many cuts off an album not just the hit singles, and having disc jockeys speak in a slow, mellow tone. At this time, the station adopted the famous WLIR Seagull as its logo. Also, in the early 7. Bob Shavelson4 music director began the first ever live broadcasts of major artists from Ultra. Sonic Studios and the club My Fathers Place. Included in the series were Bruce Springsteen, The Allman Brothers Band, Dr. John, Jackson Browne and many other notable celebrities of the era. In addition to the live concert series WLIR promoted local bands such as The Good Rats. The air staff in the early 7. Program Director Ken Kohl, George Taylor Morris, Jim Cameron, Joel Moss, Dave The Wrench Friedman and Public Affairs producer Heather Schoen. As the 1. 97. 0s went on, most rock stations drifted into a more commercial album oriented rock direction, but WLIR bucked this trend. As punk and new wave rock started to become popular at the end of the 1. United States ignored these genres. WLIR, again, bucked the trend by playing artists from these genres. Dare to be differenteditIn 1. Program director Denis Mc. Namara recommended to the stations owner that he choose one of two formats, either progressive adult contemporary or New Music. Although adult contemporary seemed commercially appealing, New Music was chosen because it was more in step with the dare to be different campaign being used to promote the new format and it was more fun. On August 2, the format switch occurred. The station featured new wave Mc. Namara hated that term because he felt it was a trendy phrase that might be out of style in a year5, synthpop, post punk, early alternative rock acts as well as novelty records. The personalities of the disc jockeys became much more upbeat. The station became known worldwide for introducing new artists and playing singles months if not years before other stations. WLIR became the first radio commercial station in the country to play U2,6The Cure, The Smiths, New Order, Duran Duran, Madonna, George Michael, Men at Work and Prince. The station was one of the few commercial radio stations in the United States to play these types of artists. One method of doing so was the Screamer of the Week, a feature in which listeners would call in and vote for their favorite new song of the week. New Order, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Yaz and Blancmange were early staples of the new music format. According to Mc. Namara, the entire music industry was looking upon LIR and that LIR marketplace of New York and Long Island as one of the hippest music areas of the world. People used to refer to it as the gateway to America if you were an upcoming artist. In 1. FCC. 8 As a result of this revocation, the station changed ownership on December 1. WLIR call letters were changed to WDRE by the new owner, Jarad Broadcasting8 it would regain the WLIR call letters some years later. The interim operator Elton Spitzers Phoenix Media Corp. WLIR call letters to an AM radio station in Rockland County, New York. The previous owners also took the Dare To Be Different slogan with them as intellectual property, so WDREs moniker became New Music First. The feature Screamer of the Week became Shriek of the Week, and the station remained on the cutting edge of new music as they broke new bands into the next decade, like Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and others. Alternative rock expandseditIn 1. The Cutting Edge of Rock. The explosion in popularity of grunge and alternative rock in the early 1. The synthpop based music on which much of the stations playlist was based was now out of fashion. Alternative rock artists which used to be played almost exclusively on the station were now being played on many rock and pop music stations. In 1. WDRE started simulcasting its programming with what was 1. WIBF FM Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which later became WDRE JenkintownPhiladelphia. Subsequently, in the mid 1. Greg Morey claims to have created the first alternative rock network known as The Underground Network. The Underground Network consisted of the following stations Notesa As of January 6, 2. Nights only1. 2. The WLIR logo used from 1. Four years after WIBF became WDREs first affiliate, The Underground Network was disbanded. In 1. 99. 6, it was decided that WDRE Garden City would switch formats to adult album alternative AAA, bring back Malibu Sue1. Russ Mottla, change its call letters back to WLIR and change its moniker to The Island. That same year, WDRE Philadelphia became a local, independent modern rock station. After the Underground NetworkeditIn 1. Gary Cee was named program director, Malibu Sue assistant program director, and night jock Andre Ferro earned the music director position. New features implemented during this era included Malibu Sues All Request Morning, The 5 0. Rush, Flashback Lunch, LIR After Dark, Andres 9 0. Knockout, and In the Mix, an important alternative dance show with DJ Theo1. Andre. The station had a unique sound during that era with the combination of alternative from chart toppers Coldplay, Foo Fighters, No Doubt but also alternative dance from Daft Punk, Wolfsheim, Moby, Fatboy Slim and others. This popular sound helped WLIRs ratings and would continue to the stations end in January 2. Move to 1. 07. 1 FMedit. The WLIR The Box logo used during 2. On January 9, 2. 00. Univision bought the 9. Spanish radio format of WCAA Newark, New Jersey on 9. WZAA. WLIR then signed off at noon with Forever Young by Alphaville. Andre Ferro would be the last jock heard on the 9. The WLIR call letters moved to the 1. Eastern Long Island, which had been simulcasting WLIR for several years. The new WLIR adopted an activemodern rock format and new image as THE BOX.