Controversial morning host Star returned to radio Tuesday a lot more quietly than he left it in May 2006.
In his first day on WNYZ (87.7 FM, Pulse 87), Star talked less about his noisy firing from WWPR (105.1 FM) than about a recent liver transplant and other major surgery that left him 62 pounds lighter and restricted to a diet heavy on baby food.
“I don’t feel a need to discuss events of the past,” said Star (Troi Torain), who was fired after he made crude remarks about the young daughter of DJ Envy, a member of the morning team on rival station WQHT (97.1 FM).
Star was later arrested and did three days of community service. He has said his comments were taken out of context and were just a random shot in a manufactured “radio war” his bosses at Power’s parent Clear Channel encouraged him to escalate.
He said Tuesday, “There’s no bitterness, there are no scores to settle.” But he has a suit pending against Clear Channel, charging he was fired for doing what he was told, and he promised listeners yesterday that “I will tell you all about [the suit] someday.”
Otherwise, he only did a little mild and familiar sniping at former employers Tuesday, referring to Clear Channel as “Fear Channel,” WWPR as “Power One-Oh-Jive” and WQHT as “Shot 97.”
He focused more on current cultural events, saying he loves A&E’s “The First 48,” then deflecting most political discussion after saying he supports John McCain for President.
He spent considerable time promoting Pulse 87, which switched to its uptempo contemporary rhythm format Feb. 11 and has drawn raves from dance fans.
Star played several songs himself, all in the dance format. “It’s nice,” he joked, “not to have to wake up to Jay-Z and P. Diddy.”
He said he will feature a daily mix segment from DJ Yonny, formerly of WWPR and now Star’s new producer. The rest of the team is White Trash Helene, Buc Wild and DX21.
Star said he had “several offers” for other radio jobs before he joined Pulse 87, including a proposal last March from XM.
“XM was great,” he says. “We still might work with them. But playing rap records and cursing a lot wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
Part of the appeal of Pulse 87, he said, is that its signal comes from a low-power TV station, over which Star plans to produce a video version of the show. He also expects radio syndication.
One of his harshest critics, Queens councilman John Liu yesterday said he has no problem with Star back on the radio “if he’s learned his lesson.
“He has pledged to behave responsibly over the airwaves and now we will see if he lives up to that newfound conscientiousness. We’ll be watching.”
Tags: , dx 21, nyc dance music, pulse 87, pulse 87.7, radio, radio news, radio station, star and buc wild, star and buckwild.com, star and bucwild, Star shines at Pulse 87, white trash
