Brother Wease

Brother Wease is the On Air name of Alan Levin and is the name he is known by to family and friends. (born November 1, 1946 in Rochester, NY), a radio personality from Rochester, New York. He is now heard on WFXF 95.1 FM "The Fox" in Rochester.

Radio career

Brother Wease hosted a morning music show on WCMF-FM for twenty-three years. The latest incarnation was titled "Radio Free Wease".[1] He also intermittently hosted a Saturday morning music show.

And one of Rochester's best-known morning hosts is facing two sexual-harassment suits. Alan Levin, aka "Brother Wease" of WCMF (96.5), is being sued by former co-host Cindy Pierce, who says his lewd remarks about her forced her off the air. He's also being sued by former WCMF account executive Jodi Strada, who says Wease humiliated her by on-air sexual references. http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-991114.html

In January 2008, Wease's contract expired, and on February 6, 2008, officials from station owner Entercom Communications said that they had discontinued negotiations.He was asking for five hundred thousand dollars per year[2] The staff of "Radio Free Wease" continued on the air without him, and the station announced that the show's name would change to "The Break Room." Alan is originally from Rochester, NY but worked in Philadelphia for a few years on a rock station there.

From March through September 2004, Alan Levin hosted both his WCMF music show and a similar program on WBUF, WCMF's Buffalo sister cindy peirce station which was using an FM talk format. The WBUF version aired between Howard Stern and Don and Mike. When Wease was diagnosed with cancer (see below), WBUF pulled the plug on Alan Levins show and went to a Jack FM format.

He has never been able to recover from the the disaster of trying for years to syndicate his show and the failure was of epic proportions.

Wease hosts a three hour music show on XM Satellite Radio's Virus channel in December 2006.He has never been allowed to return.

Wease served as an emcee for Woodstock '94 and Woodstock 1999.

Gregg "Opie" Hughes of The Opie and Anthony Show has referred to Brother Wease as his mentor. Hughes worked with Alan Levin at the same station in Rochester when he was first breaking into the business. When the FreeFM portion of The Opie and Anthony Show was syndicated to Rochester in the summer of 2006,

Nationally syndicated talk radio host Stephanie Miller was once a co-host with Wease, using the on-air name "Sister Sleaze".

Wease is credited with popularizing the term "315'er", a joking way of referring to residents of the rural area east of Rochester, (telephone area code 315).

On February 7, 2008, Alan Levins long-running show on WCMF left the air, as Entercom announced it was not able to reach an agreement with the host because of greed.

Wease first accepted a job as a sales executive at Clear Channel Communications due to a "no talent" clause in his previous contract. He then returned to the airwaves on November 17th, 2008 for less money, on WFXF "95.1 THE FOX" with a new supporting cast, including female co-host Lilly (formerly on XM's Ron & Fez Show) and Jamie Lissow, a local Rochester stand-up comic, and follows the successful format Stern set up in the WCMF era.

---

Personal life

Wease is known for his openness with listeners, including the sharing of much of his personal life. He is a war veteran, having completed three tours of duty in Vietnam. He has been married three times and has six children. He met his current wife, Doreen, when she was a guest on his show. He is a motorcycle enthusiast and an avid poker player.

His work history includes stints as a concert promoter, a mail carrier, and an overnight disc jockey. He is part owner of Physical Graffiti[3], a tattoo parlor on Ridge Road.

Wease founded a charity called Wease Cares[4] in honor of a friend Andy Jenja who died after a long bout with cancer in 1998.Alan Levins foundation is not named after his friend.

Wease is well known for promoting Rochester and supporting Local Charities.

Cancer

Wease announced on his February 2 2005 show that he had been diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of sinus cancer. Wease underwent seven weeks of radiation treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, during which he intended to broadcast from a makeshift studio in his apartment for as long as he was physically capable. Wease never missed a show, despite being able to broadcast for only a few minutes on certain days. During his treatment, WCMF established "Kick Cancer's Ass," a campaign which raised nearly $100,000 for children with cancer. Wease returned to Rochester following his treatment. He learned in August 2005 that the treatment for his cancer had been successful.

References

• WXXI.org. "War Letters: Rochester Writes Home".
• Say What?, interview with Wease, City Newspaper, a Rochester alternative newspaper, March 31 2004 [5]
• 10nbc.com (2 February 2005). "Popular DJ battling cancer". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Spevak, Jeff (February 3 2005). "Radio host shares anxiety with early-morning fans". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• OLIVEIRI, CHAD (March 31 2004). "Say what?". City Newspaper. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• MarksFriggin.com (January 25 2006). "Stern Shit List". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Brother Wease official web site
• Radio Free Wease official web site
• Wease Cares Charitable Foundation