Elastica "Stutter"

Having grown up as the child of a teacher and a coach, it was not uncommon to see young adults come up to my Dad and thank him.  They'd let him know that his guidance in math or sports really made a difference in their lives.  It was something Dad is always quietly, clearly proud of.

While my job isn't as profound or important as a teacher, every now and then I get a taste of what my Dad experiences with each bit of gratitude shown to him.

I got this email on Wednesday:

Hi P.J.,

I found your blog a few months ago by searching for the key words Whats The Alternative, WABN, 92.7, and Abingdon.  My friends and I grew up in Saltville, VA about 20 minutes north of Abingdon.  We loved WTA and listened to it regularly.  To this day I still listen to many of the bands that I heard for the first time on WABN.  The reception in Saltville was pretty bad so me and my skate rat/punk rock friends connected tin foil and unraveled coat hangers to our stereos and hung them from our walls and ceilings in an effort to improve our listening experience and to record better quality tapes.  We had several volumes of tapes that we recorded from Whats The Alternative and traded them with one another.  I was very excited to see your blog and read some stories about WABN.  I had always wondered what happened with the station.  I moved away in 2000 and eventually came back and settled in the Tri-cities.  To this day the area still lacks a station that's like WABN.  WABN was a huge part of my early teenage years as it was always on in our  rooms and on our car stereos.  Again, I enjoy the blog and I hope all is well for you.  Attached are two photos of a tape I recorded from the show.  The tape will not play anymore due to warping from sun exposure.  It is dated 7/28/1995.

Take care,

Jesse Whitt

Mt. Carmel, TN

If you look closely, "Stutter" is one of the tracks on this casette.  And if you search on the blog, you'll find that almost every other track listed on the cassette, has appeared as a fond memory/Weekend Post.


Hear the song on Youtube.