NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
-affiliated, non-commercial, triple-A station
WBJB-FM
WBJB-FM (90.5 MHz, "Brookdale Public Radio, 90.5 The Night") is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public FM radio station. It is licensed to Lincroft, New Jersey, and is owned by Brookdale Community College. It serves Central New Jersey wi ...
in
Lincroft, New Jersey
Lincroft is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. WBJB-FM, Brookdale Public Radio, is also known as 90.5 The Night. Jeff Raspe, who began his career in radio on
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
in 1988, is an avid music enthusiast who has received the Asbury Park Music Award for Top Radio Personality several years running.
WHTG-FM
Prior to joining the WBJB staff, he was a DJ at modern rock radio station WHTG-FM, 106.3 FM, from October 1988 until March 2001. While there he hosted the new music radio show called "The Underground". In March 2001, the station was purchased by Press Communications, and he moved to WBJB.
WBJB-FM
Raspe currently hosts two radio shows at WBJB, "Afternoons With Jeff" on weekday afternoons from 3:00 to 7:00 pm, and "Fresh Tracks", a new music show, at 11:00 pm on Tuesday. They can be heard over the radio in central
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
or at www.wbjb.org online. In the course of his time at WBJB, Raspe has interviewed such notable acts as
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...
,
Jim Keller
Jim Keller is an American musician, producer, manager, publisher, and composer whose work in the music business spans more than 40 years. He was the co-founder, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter for the American rock band Tommy Tutone based ...
,
The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, " I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...
,
Rich Robinson
Richard Robinson (born May 24, 1969) is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band the Black Crowes. Along with older brother Chris Robinson (singer), Chris Robinson, Rich formed the band in 1984 (originally called ''Mr. ...
, and
Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...
, among others.
Absolute A Go Go Records and Miracle Management
Raspe also worked for independent record label, "Absolute A Go Go Records" whose artists have included
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...
, The Vestrymen,
Tiny Lights
Tiny Lights was a music group formed in Hoboken, New Jersey by John Hamilton (musician, scholar), John Hamilton (guitar/vocals) and Donna Croughn (vocals/electric violin) in 1985. Original members include Dave Dreiwitz (bass/trumpet), Jane Scarp ...
,
The Figgs
The Figgs are a rock ‘n’ roll band formed in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1987. Originally known as The Sonic Undertones, their output includes thirteen studio albums and multiple EPs and singles. They’ve served as the backing band for r ...
, and
Black Sun Ensemble
Black Sun Ensemble is a Tucson, Arizona, US–based psychedelic rock band, led by Jesus Acedo that was formed in the mid-1980s. The initial albums garnered rave reviews from ''Rolling Stone'' and several of the independent music journals of the ...
and "Miracle Management", whose artists include
Miracle Legion
Miracle Legion was an American college rock band formed in 1983 in New Haven, Connecticut. They earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but also in the UK, where they were feted by music media such as ''NME'' and ''M ...
,
Shelleyan Orphan
Shelleyan Orphan were a British alternative music group that came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. They played a style of pop influenced by chamber music, and which featured dual male-female vocals.
Career
In 1980, Caroline Crawley a ...
, and
The Figgs
The Figgs are a rock ‘n’ roll band formed in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1987. Originally known as The Sonic Undertones, their output includes thirteen studio albums and multiple EPs and singles. They’ve served as the backing band for r ...
.
Main Man Records
Raspe also coordinated and served as executive producer on a tribute album for the New Jersey band Winter Hours for Main Man Records called "A Few Uneven Rhymes" in 2008. Artists on the recording included
Gordon Gano
Gordon James Gano (born June 7, 1963) is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and songwriter of American folk punk band Violent Femmes.
Early life
Gano was born in New York City to actor parents Norman and Faye Gano, and grew up in ...
(
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza ( ...
), The Ryan Brothers, (
The Bogmen
The Bogmen are an indie rock band from Huntington, Long Island, New York. The band was formed in 1993 by Billy Campion, Bill Ryan, Brendan Ryan, Mark Wike, P.J. O'Connor and Clive Tucker. Although they were signed by major label Arista Reco ...
),
Matthew Caws
Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
(
Nada Surf
Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals).
After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...
), and several members of
The Feelies
The Feelies are an American rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 after having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and released new albums in 2011 and 2017.
Although not commercially suc ...
. In 2011, Raspe was a co-producer on another Main Man Records project; a tribute to the band
The Runaways
The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...
called, "Take It Or Leave It: A Tribute To The Queens of Noise, The Runaways". The album, while controversial, was critically lauded and featured performances by artists such as
The Donnas
The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (dr ...
,
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...
and original Runaways singer
Cherie Currie
Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and h ...
.
Personal life
Raspe is known to friends and fans as "Unkajeff". When not in the studio, he frequents local live music venues on the
New Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...
. Raspe has been quoted as saying "In other musical communities, you're lucky to have four or five good bands come out of it every few years. In Asbury, you'll have four or five good bands to see on a Tuesday." Raspe has served as the host of the
Asbury Park Music Awards {{Infobox award
, name = Asbury Park Music Awards
, image = Sarah Tomek at APMA.jpg
, imagesize =
, caption = Sarah Tomek of Days Awake, recipient of three Asbury Music Awards, on drums at the 2007 Asbury Music Awards ceremo ...
at
The Stone Pony
The Stone Pony is a music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.WBJB and The Saint in
Asbury Park, NJ
Asbury Park () is a beachfront City (New Jersey), city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States cens ...
.
Volunteer work
Raspe has served as volunteer emcee for the annual
Light of Day
''Light of Day'' is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands and Joan Jett in her film debut. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman and the cine ...
shows to benefit
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
. He has also served on the awards committee for the Jersey Acoustic Music Awards.