When deciding who we were going to talk to for our January First Friday interview, we determined that it had to be a Mummer! One of our favorite Mummers – and all around cool person in Philadelphia – is WMMR’s DJ Jacky Bam Bam. Kate knew him from the good ole’ WYSP radio days and hit him up for an interview. Since we were all still recovering from New Year’s Day, this a little late and not exactly on “First Friday.” Give us a break…. we were busy!
Philly PR Girl: How did you get the name Jacky Bam Bam?
Bam Bam: I am a drummer…well used to be . Chops are a bit rusty these days. [laughs]
Philly PR Girl: Your shows on WMMR run from midnight until 5 am during the week. What does a typical day look like for you? What helps you to get through the early mornings?
Bam Bam: My day is all about my gig. I wake up, talk to God, do some aerobics, and start prepping my show from 8 – 11 p.m. Put the Batmobile in gear and make my way into the Batcave… and a lot of high-energy caffeine goes into my IV to make it up to our morning show with PNS! Then I must “turn it down” cause they are just waking up!
Philly PR Girl: What is your favorite thing about your job?
Bam Bam: Playing RNR and dragging the city awake. I LOVE speaking with our 93.3 WMMR full-time “vampire listeners” and hearing what is going on in their life each morning.. There is a whole world out there that is turning and burning while the day dwellers stare at their eyelids!
Philly PR Girl: It seems like you’ve interviewed everyone in the music industry! Is there any person you would never want to interview again?
Bam Bam: You can’t really say that. [laughs] I’ve interviewed many people and really haven’t run into any jerks. I’ve spoken to a few artists more then once, whom now I can call my friends, like John Wate, Carmine Appice, Tom Keifer… just to name drop a few! Everyone is just happy to be talking to someone that “gets it.” I would kill to sit and go over my Stones notes with Mick, Keef, and the boys. (PIERRE, I’m talking to you here!)
Philly PR Girl: If you could only spin tracks from five albums for the rest of your career, which albums would they be?
Bam Bam: That’s too hard! I can’t really answer that, but few artists just hit the nerve. Willie Nelson, Motley, BB King, Stones, Rod Stewart, Kix, Faces, John Waite, Aerosmith, Kiss…Too hard. Not fair.
Philly PR Girl: In the spirit of New Year’s and our mutual love for the Mummers, tell us why being a part of the Mummers parade is so important to you?
Bam Bam: It’s Philly. It’s family bonding. I make so many memories with my family and friends every January 1st. It’s been in my blood since I have been a little boy. There is NO New Years, at least for me, without The Mummers Day Parade. I have no clue what my life would be like without being in the Mummers!
Philly PR Girl: That’s awesome! We feel the same way. So which five people, dead or alive, would you want to have to dinner? (We know you are a huge Rolling Stones fan, so we’ll exclude them from this question!)
Bam Bam: Off the top of my head in no particular order: Liza Minnelli, because she has the BEST haircut; Stevie Nicks, we would talk about being gypsies and white doves; Prince, because he’s a GOD; Chuck Berry, because he invented it; and Alice Cooper, because he’s like me – we don’t eat, but we LOVE RED VINES!
Philly PR Girl: What events or shows are you most excited about in 2014?
Bam Bam: ELVIS has left the building…
To check out Jacky Bam Bam’s Mummers performance this year click here and to learn more about Jacky visit http://www.wmmr.com/shows/jacky-bam-bam/. Thanks for the awesome interview Jacky!
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