THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW

CMS On The CMS Radio Network (www.cmsradio.net)
Saturday	7p-9p EST	CMS (T)
Saturday	9p-3a EST	CMS Live
Sunday	11a-5p EST	CMS (R)
Monday	9a-3p EST	CMS (R)
Monday	9p-11p EST	CMS (T)
Tuesday	6p-12a EST	CMS (A)
Wednesday	9p-3a EST	CMS (A)
Thursday	6p-12a EST	CMS (R)
Friday	6p-12a EST	CMS (A)
(T) - Terrestrial (R) - Rebroadcast (A) - Archive Show

The Classic Metal Show is 2 radio shows, a terrestrial show and an online show, hosted by hosts Neeley and Chris.  The show was the brainchild of Neeley, and debuted on a small station in the Akron, OH area in January of 1996.  It aired there until 2003, when the show became an internet only show as a result of Neeley finding a new job opportunity in the Chicago area.  At this point, the show became one of the most notorious on the internet.  In 2005, Chris Akin joined the program.  While the show became a 50/50 talk/metal show, it caught the attention of commercial radio stations that wanted an FCC-Friendly version of the show.  In May of 2008, The Classic Metal Show returned to the commercial airwaves with a 2-hour version of the show to air on 104.7FM, KEIF in Enid, OK.  Shortly thereafter, the show was picked up for syndication by the Pacifica Radio Network; a network of 136 radio stations across the United States and the UK.

NEELEY'S BIO

I've always loved music.

I can remember even at the earliest age growing up in the late 60's and early 70's how rock music caught my impressionable ears. I remember how bands like Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night and Led Zeppelin always caught my attention anytime a radio was within ear shot. However, rock music was not an acceptable form of entertainment growing up in my very conservative family setting. Always being told 'rock music is the devil's music', I was not permitted to purchase or play rock & roll in the house, or at least not with my parents knowledge. I could never understand the logic and reasoning behind the fear that listening to rock & roll would eventually lead to living a deviant life style. That always left me with the question, "Why does the devil get all the cool music?"

As I progressed into my teens in the late 70's and early 80's, rock music was making a noticeable shift toward becoming harder and more aggressive. Bands like Foreigner, Foghat, Thin Lizzy and Blue Oyster Cult would dominate my high school years. As I entered college in the fall of 1982, I began working at a Camelot Music store. It was there that I gained full exposure to an absolute endless source of music, new and old. I remember stocking the shelves with records and tapes from new bands I was not familiar with. I remember seeing the first Queensryche EP come into the store, and not really knowing how to pronounce the name. I also remember seeing and playing the first Dokken album "Breaking the Chains", from there I was hooked on the new wave of hard rock being classified as "heavy metal". Slowly the albums from many of the notable metal acts of the 80's were dominating record sales, as MTV began playing videos from Def Leppard and Quiet Riot in late '83. We couldn't keep enough copies of "Metal Health" or "Pyromania" on the shelves as demand was overwhelming.

After graduating college in late '84, I was offered a chance to move to southern California in mid '85 to start my professional career. It was there in the L.A. area where my affection for "heavy metal" really took hold. Having close access to "the Hollywood scene", with as many venues as L.A. had to offer, it was not uncommon to attend four or five concerts a month. Attending shows at "The Whisky", "Guizzaries", or "The Roxie" on the Sunset strip was always an exciting event for me when I had the chance.

Black N' Blue, Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken, and W.A.S.P. were dominating the airwaves on the main L.A. rock stations KNAC and KLOS. It was really a great time for me, and it just kept getting better. More bands were emerging, getting a foothold in this heavy metal phenomenon. Music videos from Tesla, Guns n' Roses, Cinderella, L.A. Guns, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi were in heavy rotation on MTV, it was almost euphoric. During this time I had the opportunity to get involved with a local night club called "The Pegasus" which catered to the rock n' roll crowd. It was there that I got my first taste of being a disc jockey. With state of the art multi-media at my fingertips, not only was I able to play the videos and music from my favorite bands, I was able to entertain an audence as well. This is where I first had the notion that I might like to pursue a career as a radio DJ. When I made my intentions known to several friends, all of them discouraged me from making such a move, indicating "disc jockeys don't make a very good living". After much consideraton, I put the idea of pursuing a new career aside and went on with my life, not realizing that one day that desire would surface once again.

In the early 90's, I experienced a personal downturn in my life that left me with no choice but to leave southern California, and take to the road as a cross country truck driver. It was during this time of trying to gain clarity in my life, the radio was often my only friend. I had the unique opportunity of listening to a lot of radio from all over the country. The more I listened, the more I realized how many bad disc jockeys there were, doing a job I once considered a coveted position.

At that same time, the first wave of "grunge" was quickly taking over the air waves, making it almost impossible at times to find a good rock station that played the music I loved so much. Almost overnight, the music I revelled in during the 80's had all but disappeared from the radio dial. When I made the decision to drive truck for a living, I never intended to make it a life long career, it was just an interlude until I found my true calling.

Once again, the desire to pursue a career in radio reared it's ugly head. Fueling the fire was my outrage at commercial radio for turning it's back on rock music as I knew it. In early '95, I decided to get off the road and attend a school, taking a one year course in Radio/Television Broadcasting.

I was given the opportunity to fulfill my radio internship at WSTB as a Saturday night DJ. The format at WSTB, at the time, was "new" or "underground" metal. Many of the bands we played were influenced by the music I listened to in the 80's, and I felt that maybe there might be a chance I could do a specialty show featuring the bands other radio stations had rejected when the "grunge" movement came into full swing. I approached the station manager about doing a show for a few hours during my shift and was told as long as I had the music catalog, go ahead and go for it.

In January of '96, "The Classic Metal Show" was born. The show grew in stature from that time, and became one of the most popular and highest rated features on WSTB. For much of that time, "The Classic Metal Show" was the lone outlet for many of the bands in the Classic Metal genre to share their new music with the Akron/Cleveland audience. The show became an interview haven as well, with virtually every Classic Metal band finding time to be interviewed on the air. In January of 2003 though, I had a day job opportunity that I had to take in Chicago, but I refused to let that stop or slow "The Classic Metal Show" down at all. The final episode of "The Classic Metal Show" on WSTB aired on March 1st, 2003. Now, we are reaching a larger audience than ever before. Our core listeners from the Akron, OH area are still there and as strong as ever, and now we're reaching out to the rest of the world to let them experience the greatest music ever created on a show that I'm as proud as ever of.

It's true, as my friends told me years ago, a DJ doesn't make a good living, but I cannot think of anything that has been more fulfilling and satisfying than to bring you "The Classic Metal Show" each week. 

Most important, I want to thank you, the fans, for tuning in and making "The Classic Metal Show" a success. For this I am truly thankful. I dedicate this to you.

Hail And Kill,

Wendell Neeley