George Evans is an important man at WFUV. As Director of Technical Operations and On-Air Fill-in Host, he keeps the equipment working that keeps the music playing, the NPR headlines flowing, and the traffic reports coming. In short, he keeps the station on the air.
"If it has electricity, it's probably my responsibility," Evans says. He is charged with maintaining everything from the studio...
George Evans is an important man at WFUV. As Director of Technical Operations and On-Air Fill-in Host, he keeps the equipment working that keeps the music playing, the NPR headlines flowing, and the traffic reports coming. In short, he keeps the station on the air.
"If it has electricity, it's probably my responsibility," Evans says. He is charged with maintaining everything from the studio equipment to the broadcast equipment to the computer equipment, which is vital to WFUV's online streaming and archiving. He even fixes the microwave. "It's like managing a household," he jokes, "except with more kids."
As for his jobs, Evans enjoys the diversity. "Every day I'll do something different," he says, "which keeps everything very interesting." Being on the air is particularly interesting to this experienced disc jockey. Whether he's recording an underwriting announcement or taking over hosting duties for an absent DJ, Evans is in his element. He started his radio career in 1989, working with Rita Houston at WZFM and WXPS (X107) before going on to WHUD in his native Westchester. He was working at WHUD in the mid-1990s when Houston, by now happily employed at WFUV, recruited him for a position as "a person who can do everything."
Evans is indisputably dedicated. Hard at work on a project, he once spent the night on the floor of Studio A and woke up the next morning with an imprint of the carpet on his cheek. Earlier in his career, he had found himself on the air for 26 hours straight, keeping WXPS going while other DJs were snowbound during a blizzard. By 3 a.m. that first night he was "getting loopy," placing take-out orders with plow truck drivers and playing requests from the area prison for "Jailhouse Rock." Yet Evans was on Cloud 9. "It was one of the best experiences I've had in my life," he remembers fondly.
It seems the busier George Evans is, the better he feels - which is a good trait for someone in his demanding and vital position. "I'm always multitasking," he says. "I guess you could say I'm behind the scenes and in front of the scenes at the same time."
