My last day with Judi, right before going off the grid. Fitting

It seems fitting.

My last day on the air with Judi lands right before I head to our family cabin for a week off the grid. Dennis Malloy comes back Monday, July 13, reuniting with Judi after a run I have been genuinely proud to be part of. And I move back into an operations management role with Townsquare New Jersey, putting 48 years of radio experience to work helping not just New Jersey 101.5, but other stations across our company.

I am not disappearing. I will still be heard filling in on our talk shows during the week, and starting July 24, I will be programming and hosting on weekends when the music comes out to play — Friday nights from 7 to midnight, Saturdays and Sundays from 3 to 7 p.m. I am genuinely excited about this next chapter.

I am also excited, as a listener would be, for what's coming. The Dennis and Judi Show returning is going to feel like coming home for a lot of people who grew up with that pairing. And the addition of Lou Russo and Michele Pilenza weekdays from noon to 3 rounds out a lineup full of people I have known for years and consider genuine friends.

Almost fifty years with Dennis

My relationship with Dennis goes back nearly half a century — starting as a listener, then as a coworker across three different radio stations over the decades since. That kind of history does not happen by accident in this business. It happens because you keep crossing paths with the right people, in the right rooms, for the right reasons.

It feels fitting that all of this — the new role, the new lineup, Dennis coming home — lands at the exact midpoint of summer, right as I head somewhere with no cell signal and no wifi at all.

SEE ALSO: Dennis Malloy is coming back to NJ101.5 — here's what I want you to know 

Dennis, Judi & EJ | photo by EJ

Actually off the grid

Our cabin in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania has no cell service, no wifi, no internet, not even a landline. If I want to check messages, I have to drive down the mountain to the general store and use their connection. That is not going to happen often.

Instead of a microphone or a screen in front of my face, I will be looking at meadows, trees, crystal-clear mountain streams, hiking trails, and maybe a pint of beer at a bar tucked deep in the mountains. There is something almost startling about how rare that has become — a week where the only signal you're picking up is birdsong.

I love working with my longtime and dear friend Judi | photo by Judi Franco

What I'm coming back to

I love what I do. I loved the chance to work alongside my close friend, the immensely talented Judi Franco, and the equally talented Kyle Forcini, this past year. I am lucky to still be working with both of them going forward.

And I am fortunate — we all are — that our boss Sam Gagliardi and the leadership team at Townsquare Media keep investing in and improving a 36-year legendary New Jersey institution. New Jersey 101.5 has meant something to this state for nearly four decades, and it is still growing.

I look forward to coming back to this website, this radio station, and all of you. See you on the other side.

"Thanks for listening!" 📻