Cavalier Radio, the well-known radio station at Cabrini University, recently hosted its first “Cavalier Radio After Dark Alumni Show.” This show, which went on air Sunday, Feb. 18, hosted by Paul Monte, brought a wave of nostalgia. Monte DJ’d his last broadcast on Cav Radio in May of 1998.
The evolution of Cavalier Radio
Cavalier Radio is currently a studio with enough room to hold two guests, with a connecting production studio for recording outside of the radio studio. But back when the station was known as WYBF, all that was available was a closet-sized room in what is now known as Rooymans Hall.
Paul Monte was a Cabrini communication major with an English minor and graduated in May 1998. Paul is now a full-time actor and currently appears in a Wawa Pizza television commercial.
“Back then,” Monte recalled, “WYBF was literally two closets. So just imagine this setup with the two studios, but shrink it down about 80%.” WYBF was the radio station at Cabrini University until fall of 2022, when it formally became Cavalier Radio, and started streaming online.
Monte said, “We were surrounded by CDs all over the walls. There were no levels, there were knobs, and we were facing a wall, with no room. It was a small space, but it was our space.”
Monte’s radio journey
Monte’s radio journey started as a freshman at Cabrini. “It started for me with Radio Practicum as a freshman, and it quickly led to doing oldies shows and alternative. And next thing you know I did my own thing.”
He soon decided to host a show on Sunday nights. “I knew that a lot of students were out during the day, they didn’t have time to listen, so I figured, ‘What can I do where I know I’m gonna have an audience?’ I figure Sunday nights, everyone’s back in their dorms.”
His show featured love songs, since at the time, most DJs were playing grunge, metal, or rock music. “So, I called it ‘After Dark with Paul Monte,’ and I played all the mushy sappy love songs, built a following over the years.”
Monte said he became so popular that he would get over 30 calls in one night during his show, and the response helped him get more comfortable in front of a microphone.
Doing the alumni show meant a lot to Monte. “I read the announcement and immediately texted my buddy from college and said, ‘We gotta do this, we have to experience this one more time, just to relive some memories.’”
Monte’s show started at 8 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. with a playlist he made beforehand, and requests from many who called into the station; Monte advertised the show on his social media all week. He said, “I was terrified to start because everything here is new to me. But we had a lovely audience just like the old days, and after those first few minutes, I got my sea legs, and it just took me back as the time flew by. I would love to do it again, it was such a trip.”
Monte had a great show, playing all the love songs he used to play back in the ‘90s. To his fellow Cabrini alums, Monte has one message: “I appreciate that we’ve stayed in touch over the years. It’s very important that we do that, especially now. If you have a chance to relive your glory days, by all means, take it, because I guess the chance ain’t gonna happen anytime soon.”
How do these shows happen?
Cavalier Radio Music Director and communication and music industry double major Brianna Mack organizes the alumni shows. She explained she created a Google form asking for the former DJ’s name and graduating year. “It has time slots for shows and everything,” she said.
These shows seem to resonate with Cabrini alumni and students and Mack says she’s getting a great response. “I think it’s important because alumni deserve to be able to come back and celebrate their history in a way that is more natural to them, being able to relive their experience as a student instead of some distant alumni looking back,” Mack said. “When they come back to the studio, they can literally be a student again and remember all the good times that they had.”
Upcoming shows featuring new guest DJs are happening Sunday, Mar. 10 at 4 p.m., and Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 8 p.m. These shows will air throughout this semester, so tune into Cavalier Radio to listen to Cabrini history in the making.
