Here, I'm sitting in the engineer's seat at the WMBR studio in the basement of Walker Memorial sometime between 1983 and 1987, and since the board appears ‘live,’ I assume I was in the middle of a show.

I used to host ‘Ebony Express,’ a program that featured dance, soul, and Motown music. I also played ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s rock; soul; and R&B as a substitute DJ when someone was needed to fill in. 

At that time, the control boards were built by hand, so after hours we would end up under the consoles or in the racks fixing whatever needed repair. I learned to solder, and by the end of my time at WMBR, I was qualified to run or repair everything except the tower!

Landon Pate '86, "Tech Reflection: WMBR Radio Station, 1980s," Slice of MIT, 9 April 2026