James VanOsdol Publishes 'Oral History Of Q101'

Former Chicago radio personality James VanOsdol has released his new book about the Windy City's late Alternative "Q101" WKQX-FM. The book -- "We Appreciate Your Enthusiasm: The Oral History of Q101" -- "looks at the 1992-2011 modern rock era of the station via the recollections of staffers who worked there during that time," reports Chicagoland Radio and Media. CRM's Larz writes, "James VanOsdol (nicknamed "JVO") had been a staple at WKQX-FM, spending most of his radio career there on and off since 1993. He began as an intern at Q101, was hired as a Programming Assistant, and eventually made it on to the air as the host of 'Local 101.' In his first seven-year stint with the station, he did almost every position there, from on-air host to producer to Assistant Music Director to webmaster. After working at competing stations for a few years, JVO returned to Q101 for almost two years, working overnights and taking over as morning show host after the release of Erich "Mancow" Muller. With his most current two-year stint at the station -- his third -- he was working weekends and fill-in shifts since the Fall of 2009. In all, JVO worked over eleven years at Q101. At the start of June 2011, he voluntarily left the station, supposedly for the final time, claiming to have retired from radio for good." That was right before Emmis sold the station to Merlin Media, which flipped it to the failed "FM News" format.

Over at Time Out Chicago, veteran media reporter Robert Feder writes, "A lot of people had high hopes when Chicago radio veteran and author James VanOsdol announced he was writing the definitive story of Q101 (including more than 385 fans who contributed to his Kickstarter.com project). Now that We Appreciate Your Enthusiasm: The Oral History of Q101 has been published, I can report that it exceeds all expectations." Says Feder, VanOsdol "spent hundreds of hours over 16 months interviewing 75 fellow alums of the legendary modern rocker. The result is a riveting, you-are-there account of a Chicago radio treasure from its flip to alternative music in 1992 to its demise in July 2011. No one has ever captured the story of a local radio station with as much candor and insight."