Shake 'n' Vibrate Radio with DJ B The T Jr.

Brendan Toller, WPKN

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Music Interviews

Broadcast on WPKN 89.5FM Bridgeport and streaming at wpkn.org and via our fab free listening apps - “Is it a band? Is it a public relations firm? What does it do, and what is it?” A tour of glam, punk, funk and Connecticut junk accruing speeding tickets on the expressway to your SOUL! Doo-dah.

Oct 8

SPECIAL GUEST DAVE "THE SPAZZ" ABRAMSON on his new book YOUR TIME IS NOW: THE SAMMY PETRILLO STORY, WPKN & MORE!

10/8's Shake 'n' Vibrate Radio with DJ B The T Jr. hosts a reunion of sorts. WPKN's Brooklyn Dave, who decades ago ascended to the studios of WFMU in Jersey City as Dave the Spazz with Music to Spazz By, will be LIVE - back at the WPKN studios. No, not just to locate library record #666 (Dr. Strangelove soundtrack), but to dish on his debut book Your Time Is Now: The Sammy Petrillo Story. Promo reads: The first full-scale biography of the legendary Jerry Lewis look-alike whose strange, funny, and often heartbreaking life unfolded in the long shadow of one of America's most famous comedians... This deeply researched work of comedy history delivers a rare dual portrait: a parallel biography of Sammy Petrillo and Jerry Lewis, two performers bound together by imitation, rivalry, resentment, and an uneasy mutual awareness that lasted decades. Drawing on original interviews with Petrillo, Lewis, family members, show-business insiders, and surviving mid-century comedy figures, the book reconstructs the improbable life of a journeyman comic who both benefited from and was trapped by his uncanny resemblance to a superstar. Blending biography, film history, and cultural criticism, Your Time Is Now explores the strange ecosystem of postwar show business--from live television and burlesque stages to poverty-row film studios and cult movie houses. Readers discover the bizarre making and afterlife of Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, Petrillo's complicated relationship with Jerry Lewis, and previously untold connections to figures such as Barbara Loden and the early development of television comedy culture. The result is a richly detailed, often darkly comic examination of identity, fame, imitation, and failure in American entertainment. Congrats Spazz!
Sep 24

TE TA TA TA TA TA TE TA TA !

THURS 9/24 7-9AM at WPKN 89.5FM Brrrrridgeport and podcast shortly thereafter lets BURN K-DOE BURN it on down with the flashiest, trashiest amalgamation of rock 'n' roll you can imagine at these waking hours. We'll celebrate the imminent WPKN Presents: The Buzzcocks and District Music Hall in Norwalk this Fri. Let's cause some trouble.
Sep 10

(NEW) NEW HAVEN ADVOCATE & NEW/OLD ROCK 'N' ROLL!

Do the dog daze of summer turn into rabid dog daze? Asking for a friend... Speaking of which I have some fabulous friends joining the Shake 'n' Vibrate stratosphere at the 8AM hour. I'm talking Colleen Van Tassell, Tom Smith, and John Guillemette who with a team of mighty volunteers have resurrected the New Haven Advocate - a staggering newsprint arts quarterly that makes us all feel like "nature is healing." Heal with DJ B The T Jr. and some autumnal rock 'n' roll starting at 7AM. On-demand podcast follows on Apple Podcasts for you ne'er do wells!
Aug 27

CHANDLER TRAVIS on new album BRANCHES OUT (Incredible Casuals, Catbirds, Three-O, Chandler Travis Philharmonic, Travis Shook & Club Wow)

This THURS 8/27 7-9AM WPKN & podcast Shake 'n' Vibrate welcomes a rock 'n' roll/pop heavyweight in B The T Jr's world, Chandler Travis, Cape Cod and Massachusetts cult leader, I mean - rock 'n' roll tour de force - with bands and projects that include the Incredible Casuals, Catbirds, Three-O, Chandler Travis Philharmonic, Travis Shook & Club Wow. The Incredible Casuals are all-timers for yours truly. Made this whole thing click. Cavern Club like stuff live, with a wealth of recorded gems transporting you to a world and ways of being you never knew existed. Music is amazing. Chandler's new album Branches Out is a Van Dyke Parksian wonder based on a midwest couple's grapple with dementia, aging, and mind loss and their attempt to communicate and find joy in and amongst art and creation. Branches Out, of course, channels Chandler's brilliant pop and rock 'n' roll warmth and wit, flourishing through a cast of many collaborators that include Patty Larkin and David Greenberger. Beauty, love, loss - stop reading and start listening. There's your pull-quote baby! You can find all Chandler's troublemaking at chandlertravis.com We start it all off with a brief tribute to Darien CT's own Jeff Connolly of the Lyres (MONOMAN!) and DMZ. What a beautiful complicated rockin' soul. Thank you. GO dig Miriam's Kicksville episode with Fleshtones Peter Zaremba for more essential rabbit holes. It's all a gas.
Jul 30

LIL LATIN LUPE LU!

A continuation of an intelligent look into the moronic side of rock 'n' roll. What else can you expect?!
Jul 16

INTERNATIONAL SNAKE DAY!

With sympathies to all who celebrate... Shake N Vibrate returns as ever to its alternating Thursday morning hotbed. This curly haired fella starts us off and then its to a tranche of 45s, and latest assortment of erratic rock n roll and junk to shake your trunk. Get that morning jolt at WPKN 7-9AM tomorrow THURS 7/16 or via the Apple of your ear podcast...
Jul 2

ANY OLE WAY!

Just B the T Jr. and a pile of revved up rock 'n' roll a la (pictured) Wet Leg, Slade, Mary Gauthier, Paul Westerberg, Mickey Dolenz, Otis Redding and never forget - the South Bay Surfers!
Jun 18

CATCH A WAVE 2026 - with 7-9am WPKN shift partner, HERMAN OLIVERA (ReHumanize Yourself Radio)

With thanks to all who donated over $21K in support of radical, freeform, community radio! You can always donate at wpkn.org/donate My shift with Herman Olivera highlighting the summer/fall's great concert dates. DIIIIIG!

Broadcast on WPKN 89.5FM Bridgeport and streaming at wpkn.org and via our fab free listening apps - “Is it a band? Is it a public relations firm? What does it do, and what is it?” A tour of glam, punk, funk and Connecticut junk accruing speeding tickets on the expressway to your SOUL! Doo-dah.

Creator

Brendan Toller, WPKN
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

62
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 Brendan Toller, WPKN