Josh Gaffin is an American radio personality. He is the host and producer of ''The Afternoon Show'' on

WTSQ-LP WTSQ-LP 88.1 FM is a independent community radio station based in Charleston, West Virginia. It specializes in Alternative rock, alternative and Indie rock, indie while offering a diverse mix of genres and styles. Its broadcasting license is owne ...

88.1FM

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

. Gaffin was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, having grown up in both

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

. He is the stepson of

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

journalist and

anti-nuclear The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...

activis
Anna Mayo
and cousin of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

stage manager Artie Gaffin.

Music and television career

At the age of 17, Gaffin became the music director for

Radio Newyork International Radio Newyork International was the name of a pirate radio station which broadcast from a ship anchored in international waters off Long Beach, New York, United States in 1987 and 1988. The history of Radio Newyork International (RNI) is linke ...

(RNI), a pirate radio station which broadcast from a ship anchored in international waters off

Jones Beach, New York Jones Beach State Park (colloquially "Jones Beach") is a state park in the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh St ...

. Gaffin began to receive public attention following the infamous

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

raid on RNI's ship in 1987. He appeared on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

as a guest VJ and was featured as a special guest on episode 141 of Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends. As a teenager, Gaffin worked for

Celluloid Records Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos (sometimes shortened to Jean Karakos) operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the ...

and

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

. He also worked on and appeared in the

Public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

show Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends. At 17, Gaffin started an internship at

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

and was hired following his 18th birthday. Gaffin worked as a personal assistant to

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

. He later worked for Los Angeles-based

Frontier Records Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of BOMP! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways. History Frontier Records first ...

. Gaffin currently works at

WCHS-TV WCHS-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, United States, serving the Charleston– Huntington market as an affiliate of ABC and Fox. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain servi ...

and

WVAH-TV WVAH-TV (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, United States, serving the Charleston– Huntington market as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Catchy Comedy. It is owned by Cunningham Broadcasti ...

. He hosts ''The Afternoon Show'' on

and is known for his unique style of interviewing, eclectic playlists, and extensive musical knowledge.

Appearances

Gaffin is thanked in the liner notes of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

Live MCMXCIII ''Live MCMXCIII'' ("1993" in Roman numerals) is a live album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in 1993 by Sire Records. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/ cassette formats on October 26, 1993 (with t ...

. Photos taken by JJ Gonson of Gaffin with musicians

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

Tony Lash Tony Lash is an American musician and music producer, most notable as a founding member of Heatmiser as the band's drummer. He played with Elliott Smith, in the high school band. Lash played the flute; Smith, the clarinet. He played drums in Sm ...

, and fellow

Heatmiser Heatmiser was an American rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in October 1991. Consisting of Elliott Smith (guitar and vocals), Neil Gust (guitar and vocals), Brandt Peterson (bass; later replaced by Sam Coomes, frontman of Quasi) and Ton ...

bandmates appeared in the ''Elliott Smith: The Portland Years'' photo show and series. In April 2016, Gaffin appeared as the special guest on episode 032 of '' The Real with Mark Wolfe'' podcast. He was featured as a model in a life-size photographic installation of

residents as part of the town's 201
FestivALL
He appeared as a featured artist speaker on ''Three Things'' at the Albans Art Center on November 3, 2016. Gaffin portrayed the role of Jacob, a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

survivor of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, in a 2017 production of Calvin Alexander Ramsey's play, ''The Green Book: A Play in Two Acts'', based on

the Negro Motorist Green Book ''The Negro Motorist Green Book'' (also, ''The Negro Travelers' Green Book'', or ''Green-Book'') was a guidebook for African American roadtrippers. It was founded by Victor Hugo Green, an African American postal worker from New York City, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffin, Josh American radio DJs Living people Radio personalities from Brooklyn People from Greenwich Village Year of birth missing (living people)