What happen to Brian Phillips and Jen Ursillo on G-Rock's Morning Show (Monmouth & Ocean Counties, New Jersey)? I really liked that show. Brian and Jen were on yesterday and today Matt Murray and someone else were doing the show. I figured that Brian and Jen were gone for good because it was never mentioned that Matt was filling in. Eventually it was mentioned that a new morning show would be starting next week.
Brian and Jen usually played music I liked and had a lively conversation that really helped the commute (my iPod will not play in my car now so I am stuck with the radio). They seemed to get along and would usually follow each other's lead. Even though G-Rock is an Alternative (Modern) Rock Station I am never embarassed to listen to it with my daughter. The same cannot be said of other stations like Z100.
I hate it when radio stations change jocks and pretend that the original people were never there. At least they could tell the loyal listeners that the radio station is making changes and the morning show is going to be different. I did a couple of google searches and in finally found a press release. Here is from http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=414096 It seemed like Jen did every female voice over the station ran.
The WHTG (G-Rock Radio)/Monmouth-Ocean, NJ morning team of Brian Phillips and Jenn Ursillo exit after four years. Phillips had also been APD/MD of the Modern Rock station.
I really hope they do not bring in one of those nationally syndicated talk shows. I really enjoyed the local feel of the show. When I lived in Charlotte the alt - rock station brought in Bob and Tom. I was not a big fan.
I will wait and see what happens but I maybe listening to Mr. Marty on WRAT now.
48 comments:
I found your blog searching for what happened to Brian and Jenn...
Wondering if you found anything out... I hate that people just "disappear" in the radio world. I'm just happy that some of my favorites, like the Radio Chick from WNEW, KROCK & 104.3, have websites where their fans can find them!
I really am not crazy about the woman, Erin, they have on with Matt now...she's supposed to be continuing the show with a guy called Kramer starting next week. She doesn't seem to have much of a personality or have much to say at all. I guess time will tell.
No. I have not found anything out. I really liked Brian and Jen. They seemed to have a good relationship (or at least they were good at pretending to like each other).
I will give the new show a chance. Matt Murray is not too bad and Erin is ok but not as quick witted as Jen was.
Thanks for clarifying for me what happened to Brian and Jen (even though we still do not know the exact details. I also hate when people are gone and they are treated as if they didn't exist. I thoroughly enjoyed their show during the minimum of one hour that I was on the road daily. I am not terribly impressed with the replacements just yet but I too will give them a chance. Even the traffic report was bad the other day (totally off and there were huge delays where I was headed). The choice of music is also not what I've enjoyed previously so....we'll see. Hoping to hear more about where they went
Brian and Jen were fired the day after Memorial Day by General Manager Wes Matejka for no apparent cause other than Matejka wanting to bring in his former Memphis jock "Kramer". Here's a headline from a Virgina wire released the SAME DAY Brian and Jen were shown the door:
:// Kramer exits Beach morning show
| Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Max Media Hot AC "Beach 104" WCXL/104.1 Kill Devil Hills/Elizabeth City will lose one half of its morning show ("Kramer & Jody") this Friday when Kramer exits the station. We hear Kramer will head north to take over mornings for a station in New Jersey. Coincidently... Press Communications' Alternative "G Rock" WHTG/106.3 Eatontown/Monmouth/Ocean NJ just let go their morning show, Brian & Jen, today after being on the air there for four years. Hmmm"
Seems Matejka had this planned from the day he arrived at G Rock in February.
Thank you for the information. I am giving Kramer and Erin a chance but I still miss the intelligent banter of the Brian & Jen. They were really good!!
I am sorry, but I find Kramer and Jen un-listenable. I now surf throught he stations where I would put on G-Rock in the morning and keep it there.
Sorry they had to go G-Rock had something good there
While I gave Kramer and Erin a chance I never really warmed up to them. Now that I am not working out in Princton I am not listening to a lot of morning radio. However, when I do I also find myself surfing around the dial.
I found Jen on Classic Rock 104.3, she substitutes right now at the morning show with Jim.
any word about what happen with Brian? He was my favorite DJ on Grock.
No I have not heard what happened to him. He is not on any of the stations I usually listen to. I will say that the changes to GROCK have not been for the better. I do like Matt Knight in the afternoon and maybe Matt Murray as well but that is it.
FM radio can thank G-Rock for making the final decision that switched me to sattelite radio. While I miss the local feel of G-Rock, the mindless drone was unlistenable.
The local feel of GROCK is nice. Since most of the other stations such as Z100 and 104.3 seem to miss it. GROCK has been a Jersey Shore institution for some time. However, I do find myself listening to other stations more now. Right now I have 92.3, 95.9, 105.5, 100.3 (for my daughter), 106.3 and 104.3 as my pre-sets. Sometimes the same song is playing on as many as 3 of these stations at the same time. Kind of funny.
As someone in the radio business and someone who knows the afore mentioned Wes Matejka, I can assure you of a couple things...
1) On-air changes in the radio business are very, very rarely ever announced in advance. It's just too risky thanks to the FCC.
2) This was not planned, as stated in this blog, "from when Matejka arrived..."
This change took place after he had been at Press for more than 3 months.
FWIW... G Rock today is the best it's ever been. One of the best Alternative stations in the country and the best web-site in radio.
Of everything I have written on this blog this is the one post that seems to get all the traffic.
I have no insight into the of the reasoning behind the change. I was disappointed to find that the radio station whose signal stretched almost all the way to Pennington had made a change. I remember thinking the week before that Brian & Jen were very good.
On a positive note GROCK did not hire one of the Syndicated morning shows like Bob & Tom. I do like the two Matt shows in the afternoon/evening. So I do agree that GROCK is a great radio station. I have been listening to it since I first moved to New Jersey in 1988.
The music on G-Rock has shown some promise lately, but the morning show of Kramer and Erin is substandard and a poor replacement for Brian and Jen.
Wes Matejka recruited and hired Kramer. While it may not have been Matejka's first order of business, firing Brian and Jen within his first 90 days and replacing them with a former Memphis colleague does seem calculated. Erin does show some individual appeal but seems mismatched with Kramer's "Southern sensibilities."
Nonetheless, Brian and Jen were entertaining and the reason I listened to G-Rock in the morning and stayed tuned the rest of the day.
Love the station but really MISS Brian and Jen!
Where are you Jen?
Kramer and Erin are unbearable . .
painful to listen to . . .
I can't stand Kramer. I won't listen to the station in the morning. I miss Brian and Jen!! They really made me laugh. I'll look for Jen on 104.3, but I would still love to find out where Brian is.
I hear Jen's going to be on Q mornings this week with The Cope while Jim & Shelli are on vacation.
Looks like Kramer now got the boot - hasn't been on for the past week and his picture/bio information isn't found on the G-ROCK Web page anymore...anyone have any inside scoop here?
It seems as though what goes around comes around...
Hi Jersey Jess,
I noticed the same thing. I added a post over the weekend that contains a short press release. The station manager is gone to.
I have noticed that Jen is still doing voice overs for some of the sponsors. They might be old commercials though.
Thank you,
Flametop
The station does not know how to communicate w/its listeners. They just fire & remove content from the website. That's piss poor management. Listeners deserve more if they are to stay loyal.
Hey found your blog, like apparently others, by googling what happened to Kramer.
Like others, I agree Brian and Jen were great. They had very good chemistry and both carried their own weight. Kramer and Erin were awful. Their monotone voices was exactly the thing you did not need waking up. They also were completely unable to entertain. Kramer couldn't do anything but pitch whatever the station wanted him to read, and Erin was unable to do anything but read the first paragraph of a newspaper and follow it up with "That's interesting."
Matt and Erin, though, seem much, much better. Erin seems much more outgoing with Matt.
Here's a wikipedia entry on grock. My, how this station has fallen.
I read someone said the manager was gone.. I met Kramer once and he told me he only came up to jersey b\c his former manager, was now the manager at grock.. So I bet one of them got the boot, and the other followed.
He was very nice, but would put you right back to sleep in the morning. Sigh. Brian and Jen are greatly missed!
Both Wes the General Manager and Kramer were fired the same day a few weeks ago. (Rumor has it Kramer was canned over the phone!)What a great company!
so happy to find this. I really miss Brian and Jen too, they were great together. weirdly, I actually looked forward to listening to them every am. I called the station to ask what happened to them but Kramer answered and said he didn't know and said to google them (sounded annoyed)I thanked him anyway and wished him luck. I tried but just couldn't like Kramer and Erin and now he's gone too. BRING BACK BRIAN AND JEN!
Has anyone listened lately? Matt and Erin sound great together.
I also LOVED Brian and Jen. They had GREAT chemistry and I really enjoyed and looked forward to listening to them. I wish they would bring them back! I hardly listen to the station anymore since they left. I usually surf now. But now that some changes have been made, I will give it another chance. Kramer and Erin didn't have any chemistry. I do like Matt. Maybe this pair will work better.
Kramer and Erin were okay, but I love Matt and Erin, they are both really funny!! Hope they stay. I also think Matt Knight is awesome, only reason I listen to this station is for a bit of the music but more of the DJs.
There are have always been some interesting DJs on WHTG. In the late 80s and early 90s there was a morning guy that was really into Alternative (ie. Punk Music). His newsreader was a recent Monmouth College Grad and the two of them used to bicker. It was really funny.
I have not listened that much lately since I have been traveling.
I know this is total bull*&@#. i loved brian and jen. after i heard their show the first time i never put z100 on again and seldomly listened to k rock or any other morning show. i cant tell you how many classes i missed because i couldn't turn their show off. I want them back and if they're on another station ill listen to them.
Kramer was horrible... I wanted to light myself on fire everytime I tried to listen to him. Erin was less annoying, but now with Matt, she is a little easier to listen to. Brian and Jen was by far the best morning radio show with actual music and no typical circus morning show bullsht.
BRING BACK BRIAN AND JEN PLEASE!!!!
Brian Phillips is now the weeknight jock (7-Midnight) at 101.9 RXP in New York City.
101.9 used to be the Cool Jazz station. I think they were called CD101. They have changed their format and now are playing rock. I think they are going to use the WDHA format and play a mix of both Classic and Alternative.
Brian's bio was not on the website yet.
Have to say I was glad when Brian & Jen were fired. All they did is banter back and forth hardly played any music at all. I found it annoying and didn't really appreciate anything they had to say. Frankly I wasn't too impressed w/Kramer either. The entire station went to the dogs when the new company took over 8 years ago. Wish it could be the way it was where is Sauter & ameible!!! bring them back!
I usually do not like lots of talk on my radio but for some reason I did enjoy Brian & Jen.
Brian is now on 101.9 and I like the mix of music on that station better. Kind of a mix of old and new. I do go back to GROCK every once in while.
I only listen to the radio when I am driving and I am not driving that much these days.
I do not remember Sauter & Ameible. I was probably living out of state then.
Brian was the most entertaining DJ. I started to hate Jen and her snotty attitude. She was very funny and likeable in the beginning but then just got annoying. I loved Brian til the end, though. Kramer just made me ill. I tried to give him a chance, because it took some time to get used to Brian, but I couldn't stand Kramer. Erin, I can take her or leave her, leaning more toward leave her. I love Matt Murray. He is very funny and likeable. I listen while I'm at work and as soon as the morning show is over I put on my mp3 player. I absolutely cannot stand Terri Carr. Her voice and everything she has to say are just horrible. I wonder what happened to Zanyor. Someone on here mentioned Michele Amabile, she's still there on the weekends. And it's true, it would have been easier to transition if they had just mentioned the change. Said something like Brian and Jen have moved on.
Idea for an absolutely awesome morning show!!! Brian Phillips and Matt Murray, Now that would be funny.
I am completely amazed that this post has got as much traffic as it has. By far the most popular of all of my Blog Posts.
Brian Phillips can be found on 101.9 in New York. He is called Phillips and is on from 7 - Midnight. He does a lot of the voice overs just like on G-ROCK. Give the new station a listen. I think you will like it.
Was so glad to learn Kramer is officially off 106.3. Couldn't stand listening to his nonsense. I mean come on - Guess the change in his pocket! One of the worst ever. Stepping back a bit, have to tell you -I was glad to see Brian go before Kramer got onboard. However, Kramer was a huge disappointment. Jen was good. Erin is so so. This station just can't seem to get it right. Totally agree, it's simply bad PR not to communicate/inform your listeners when changes hosts.
Wow - I stumbled across this site, and am nostagically remembering my former morning routine of listening to Brian & Jen. As a Mets fan, I loved their morning recaps of the Mets games (Jen's dad was a former Mets pitcher) and their Yankee-hating comments. They were perfect together - Jen endearingly bitchy and cool-headed Brian. I also miss hearing Jen talk about her little son (I have a son the same age so I could relate). Thanks for the info on their present whereabouts. I hope some other station has the smarts to put them back together again.
Matt Pinfield is the morning DJ on WRXP (101.9). I just looked at his bio and it turns out he is a former WHTG DJ as well.
I have noticed that WRXP's playlist is not as diversified as it was a couple weeks ago. I had a feeling that was going to happen.
GRock Radio is the best station on the dial! The Rat forgot to play nine in a row and they shot the poor bastard! Matt Knight is the best Radio DJ in NJ. Listen to him from 2 to 7 pm. He is amazing. All you Brian and Jen lovers out there, I hear you, but the station sounds the best it has ever sounded. fm 1063 was a bankrupt station that needed a boost.
In the end I think it worked out good for everyone. Although I am not sure what happened to Jen. I had heard that she was filling in other stations.
I now switch between 101.9, 106.3, 105.5 and 104.3 when I am in my car.
I was just thinking & wondering about Brian (and Jen), which is how I found this site. I have G Rock on now. I still like the station & morning show- I like Matt.
Back to Brian & mostly Jen. I was getting a little sick & tired of how Jen abused Staten Island on a daily basis. I was going to stop listening to them (Jen is from & has family on SI- near where I live)because of that. I only continued to listen to them because I like the music, then poof one day they were gone. We we're hoping that Brian was staying and Jen leaving.
I liked Zanyor the most. We had a mock fight on the air one time, it was hysterical. He called me back off air to make sure I knew he was only kidding around. I knew, I got my funny digs in too. Zanyor where are you?
I'm only annoymous because I'm too lazy to put in my info!
I loved Brian and Jen. I was hurt when they weren't on anymore. I hated Kramers voice he was just a mistake.
Brian and Jen.. were the best morning show ever!!! Matt and Erin are cool.. but it has become extremely routine... Brian and Jen just had that special something. They made me actually laugh out loud at times, Matt and Erin just can't do that to me.
Brian played the idiot and Jen teased him. I wish this blog could bring them back.
Well its all over now... The end of alternative music in jersey.
I miss the morning crew, they make the 2 hr drive a lot more interesting and Matt in the afternoon makes listening to the radio fun. I do not like the new music on this station and will not listen to this station again. This really sucks! Thanks for the warning....Bring the crew and the music back and I'll start listening. !!
It is not the end of Alternative in New Jersey. If the market is there someone will fill the void. Just like with WNEW. The station on 104.3 is actually better than WNEW was.
Jen is now on WJRZ 100.1
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