Someone had to do it! I was listening to an old Del Fuego's album recently and was reminded of Boston's local 24hr a day music video station and how it was such a big part of my life as a teenager. Like many towns in New England, my hometown of Bridgewater was without cable television back in 1985. So we were missing out on the MTV revolution. Our only exposure to music video's was from a one hour daily show called "Hot Hit Videos" on Channel 7. Then one day in February of 1985 I was turning the UHF knob and saw a flicker a couple of clicks before I got to 68. "A new station", I thought to myself (having no cable, this was a big deal). I clicked back, and it was a music video ( I'm pretty sure it was "Turn Up the Radio" by Autograph). Pretty cool, a new station that had a music video show. Only thing was, 8 hours later the show wasn't over and the videos were still playing! To a 15 year old kid with no MTV this was biggest thing to come along since the Atari 2600. I don't think my knob ever left that spot for the next year and a half. Whether I was at home or at a friends house, it was on just about all the time. When we finally did get cable I watched MTV for a few days and went back to the "V". It just didn't compare to the laid back, local qualities of V-66. Needless to say, after reminiscing about the old station, I figured somebody out there must have created a web site about it. I mean if there is a web site devoted to the Banana Splits, then there's gotta be one about V-66! But after much searching I couldn't find one. What I did find however, were scattered discussion boards with many people talking about the V and what a cool station it was. So I decided to start this site which hopefully will serve as resource for old fans and anyone else who wants to know more about the station.
Unfortunately all I have right now for visual content is the V-66 logo. I restored it by scanning an old bumper sticker I found on a Coke machine behind a gas station, and then touched it up with Adobe Photoshop. Not bad, huh? But I would eventually like to get more, like pictures of the VJ's, the studio, etc. I am currently trying to locate old video footage that I can grab some stills from, which should give this site the content it needs. I've talked to some of the former VJ's via email, and although they have been extremely helpful, they are not to sure where old footage would be. I would think every hour of broadcast would have been recorded at the studio. It's just a matter of finding out what happened to the tapes after the station was sold. I did send an email to John Garabedian, who was 90% owner of the station as well as a VJ. He's a pretty busy guy though, so it may take a while to hear back from him. Another possibility is that some one in the New England area recorded some video's and never erased it (unlike myself). So if you think you might have something check those tapes and contact me (mailto:djohn88@attbi.com) I will pay $$MONEY$$ for good footage. I'm not a rich man, but I'll try to make it worth your while. I'll even give the tape back when I'm done.
The V-66 Story - "Once upon a
time in 1985...."
"V" History - click here for a
timeline of V-66's short but sweet history.
The VJ's - David O'Leary, John
Garabedian, Mary Jo White, et al. Here are some bio's on Boston's favorite
Video Jocks and what they are up to now.
The Videos - One thing fans
loved most about the V were the unique video's you couldn't see anywhere else.
Remember New Man, Digney Fignus, The Fools? What about that homemade Raspberry
Beret video!
Message Board - Have any
V-66 memories, questions, or comments? Share them with us!