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I grew up northern New Jersey. (Exit 160 for those of you keeping track.)

In high school, I created and co-wrote a web serial called “Amnesia”. It was highlighted by MSN as a top entertainment site and gained a sizeable cult following; so I basically reached the height of my fame at age 16. Me and American Idol finalists have that in common.

In college, I spent a lot of time designing web sites and writing plays—which is obviously why I ended up in radio. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

But my senior year, I got sucked into the Brandeis University radio station to host a Friday night party show called “BRS Underground.” Every week, we would broadcast live from a different campus party. We played only the hottest pop-dance hits, and it was then that I realized how much I loved radio.

Like most college seniors, I was pretty close to a break down a month before graduation-- “I have NO idea what I want to do with my life!”--when radio marketing guru Caroline Reigel e-mailed everybody at our college radio station with a job offer. Star 93.7 in Boston needed promotions assistants, and it paid better than Starbucks—almost. Anyway, I wouldn’t smell like espresso at the end of the night.

So I took the gig. And only a few days later, I found myself driving a neon green easter egg through the streets of Boston and hosting rounds of “Worcester Idol” at the Centrum. It was fun times, but the studio was where the real action was. So I ended up interning for the Ralphie and Karen morning show, where I learned from some of the most generous souls in radio.

But it was the how I spent my free weekends that turned out to be the biggest opportunity of all. My friend Mike Ortolano was producing a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show called Open House Party with John Garabedian. It’s one of those shows you almost can’t believe is real: Every Saturday night, celebs mingle with fans in the basement of John’s giant suburban home, and they all kick back with a few pizzas and some great tunes.

When I heard there was a job opening over at OHP, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the madness. I was hired as a production assistant and technical advisor. But John, a man of many media, soon asked me to create a brand new show for his blossoming TV network, “XY.tv”.

John, executive producer Jason Sirotin, and I put our heads together, and "Secret Lives" was born--a real-life drama that challenged four total strangers to discover which one of them was living a lie.

Eventually, my need to be back in the NYC-area took hold, and I returned home to a job in the promotions department of the legendary dance station KTU. After a few months, I had the pleasure of working with mid-day personality Diane Prior at the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy. We clicked, and when the position of Diane’s producer became available, we were paired up! From Diane, I learned the fundamentals of what it means to be a good DJ: most importantly, to be REAL!

So hopefully you’ll join me each and every day—kick back, relax, learn a little something new, and enjoy some great music...

Later.