Graphics by Riley Vecchione
Staff Writer Fenton Wright sat down with the host of Chagigah Radio, Hal Slifer (a.k.a. Jersey Hal), to understand a bit more about his life and multifaceted work at the station.
What was the initial spark that got you into music?
I grew up in New Jersey, a couple of miles from New York City, and as a kid I loved listening to the radio and in New York City they had amazing radio hosts. I enjoyed listening to the DJs more than the music. I listened to WWRL which was a rhythm and blues station, WABC which was top 40, and from there I got into my music. Also I had two older sisters who really knew their music. They would drag me to concerts and we had a pretty musical house. Little bit of music from all over the place, from show music to a lot of rock and roll.
Would you say that radio was something that you always wanted to do?
Ever since I was about eight years old, my passion was to be on the radio. My dad would take me into New York City to see different radio stations There was one radio remote at a grocery store in my town, and I stood there for six hours just talking on the radio. I love the idea of radio. That one on one communication. Someone talks, someone listens, so that was my passion ever since I was a kid.
How do you feel like your upbringing prepared you for your career and life in radio and beyond?
I told my parents I want to be a disc jockey on the radio, and they did everything in their power NOT to have me be a disc jockey on the radio. They didn’t think that was a career you could do, they wanted me to be an accountant. I went to school for a year, I went to college. My first year I flunked out, because I was in business, did not like business at all. Came home, and I said to my parents “I want to be a disc jockey on the radio,” and they said “Ok look go to a college where you can get a backup career, like a teacher in case your DJ career doesn’t work out.” Once they realized I’m making a career in radio, they were fine with it. They only wanted what was best for me, being best for me was not to be a radio disc jockey in their eyes.
What specifically do you look for when you play songs on the radio?
For Chagigah which is a Jewish music program, they had another guy on the radio and that particular show was very religious. They realized they didn’t want that. They asked me a few times if I wanted that slot, and I said only if I could do it my way. The management said what would you like to do. I said I’m gonna make it more into a top 40 music show, so instead of just playing religious music we brought in a lot of music from top 40 radio of Jewish singers and songwriters.
Also I realized I wanted to expand the audience, and realized for the Chagigah show half the people listening who are married, are married to people who are not Jewish. I said I want the person who is not Jewish to get into the music, so we’re playing Neil Diamond, Barbra Streissand music from that person’s era, and surprisingly it caught on. We’ve had a pretty successful show with that, nice ratings, the donation times very nice. I wear a lot of different hats. On Sundays I’m “Hal Slifer on Chagigah,” weekdays at the station I’m Jersey Hal playing rock and roll, and I love it.
Is there any one of your roles that you prefer more than the others?
No! When I put the microphone on if I’m on Chagigah I’m having a great time. If I turn the microphone on and I’m Jersey Hal, I’m having a great time as well.
Why do you feel that it is so impactful for there to be a space outside of just political discourse that focuses on Jewish voices and art?
When we first started doing Chagigah radio, it was just a fun radio show, then the world got a little more political, there was a war going on, a lot of anti-semitism in the area, and the listeners of Chagigah were mostly a Jewish audience. They see the news all day long, it’s very stressful these days and I decided after the big war happened after October 7th a year ago, we had a few people come on talk about the war, people from the community. I asked the Chagigah community “is this what you want?” I got a ton of emails back saying “No, we can’t take it anymore, we see it on the TV, we can see it on other radio stations all day long, what we need is an escape.”
So we came up with a new mantra for Chagigah radio, “No News, No Politics, No Noise,” and that formula has worked out great. With the war going on people needed an escape to relax. The show basically is music. It brings back a lot of memories for people from when they were growing up, and we don’t need to talk to them about the war, we don’t need to talk to them about politics they can get that million other places.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m very happy here at WERS. If you notice in the radio landscape, corporations like Beasley Broadcasting, WBOS, they fired everyone cause they were not making any money, they turned into a business radio. Country radio they fired the morning DJs. In the world of radio they’re doing away with live hosts, because after COVID they’re not getting their money back. The great thing about WERS is that it is ten professionals and so many students. This is the place that I want to stay for a long time. I’m happy they give me free reign on Sunday mornings, they’re happy, I’m happy!
Are there any other interesting fun facts you want people to know?
I’m a guy who loves radio. I read about radio history and DJs all the time. When I’m not on the radio I like to go swimming, and while I’m swimming, I think about ideas for Chagigah and AAA. It’s not a job: it’s a passion. If anything, if you have a passion and you enjoy what you are doing, it’s not a job! I came in here, I did my job today. I’ll go home today, I’ll listen to the station going home, I’ll listen to other stations, I’ll listen to music. I’m very happy with everyone here!
You can find more of Hal on AAA on Saturdays, Chagigah on Sundays, and filling in for other hosts throughout the week. If you have any questions for him yourself, he would be happy to answer them at HalSlifer@wers.org!
