Jaime and the Final 99.5RT Escapade

The RT Mic

The Final Broadcast of the new RT
September 1, 2008-December 9, 2012

 

And today is the last.

Can’t believe that it’s end of the era again for one legendary radio station, and this time it’s for good.

I’ve already aired my thoughts about the end of 99.5RT but I’m writing this one down to cover my last ever visit to RT. When I learned that the powers that be announced DWRT-FM’s nth rebranding, I thought it’d be nice to pay the place a visit for one last time.

I thought 26 October was to be THE final day of the station but at the last minute, it got pushed up to more than a month. Stranger things have happened but not as strange as the limbo-inducing transition period that happened afterwards: Junior Jocks/DJ’s from Magic 89.9 were brought in to fill the vacant slots left by some of the RT jocks who resigned after the announcement was made while some of the station’s in-house bred On-Air Farmers were placed on late night shifts and on weekends.

For a while, I thought that since Christmas was coming, the higher ups would prolong the transition until January just so the new format taking over would start out on fresh grounds. Too bad it didn’t so I had to make that last ever visit to RT.

RT on the first day of its relaunch last September 1, 2008.
Guess who was on board?

RT on the last day of broadcast, December 9, 2012

If in the first day of the RT relaunch 4 years ago there was a lot of noise and excitement filling the entirety of 906-B in Paragon Plaza, it’s quite the opposite for the last day. I was sensing an air of silence. Not much people inside except for kuya, Sir Koji and Dirty J who’s on board when I arrived.

Dirty J

Dirty J, or Jing Jamlang in real life,and a good friend of mine back in our Farm days, made the most of his final boardwork in RT doing what he does best, playing music that is signature to his style as an RT jock, with tracks that for sure we won’t be hearing anywhere else except for Youtube.

Sitting there on the couch listening to the tunes he play, I remembered the times I would visit the station, especially the first time since it happened on the day after my 18th birthday. I’m 22 now and a lot has changed. It’s hard to imagine that something as legendary as RT would be gone from the airwaves for good.

I looked around thinking how much the booth has changed from four years ago. Back in the first day, a large tarp that says “99.5RT” was hanging by the wall behind the DJ. Not long after, it was replaced with a pretty large-scale wide “99.5RT: Rhythm of the City” wallpaper. Don’t know how they’d be able to take it down in time for the relaunch tomorrow. The slick black monitors used for boardwork weren’t there before as well. They were preceded by not-so-slick looking yet ever-so reliable ones.

The deck!

What’s consistent after four years was the hanging flower always there by the side of the DJ’s console. Looks like it’s been through a lot.

The RT Flower: A silent witness to the times.

It surely defined and inspired a generation, in addition of pioneering the radio industry during its golden years. Not often do we get to have a station such as RT around. Yes, Magic and RX are still there somewhere but 99.5 is still the best on my book.

By four in the afternoon, I left RT for one last time. I’m not sure what to expect but hopefully I get to find out what exciting things the new management are going to bring in to the table, and hopefully end up with good results happening for the frequency.

So the question now is: Who’s ready for PLAY?

 

Then…

Now…

Enjoy the music of RT while it lasts:

Note: Final song to wrap up 99.5RT’s more than three decades on the air, “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars.

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