Andre Gardner, WMGK Radio Personality, and a Man Who’s Living His Dream

When I was about 13, I absolutely knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was going to be a disc jockey on the radio. What could be better than getting paid to play and talk about music, and to even have a voice in deciding what songs and artists become hits.

Andre Gardner had the same dream. But he had the talent and the determination to make his dream come true. Andre Gardner

When Andre was just a young boy, his dad built a real working radio station for him in his house. He was broadcasting his favorite music all around the local communities, and soon he had quite a following. (His father was an engineer at Philadelphia’s all-news radio station, and his older brother was already a DJ at a leading top 40 radio station. So Andre is quick to admit that he had some help in pursuing his dream.)

A Real Job At A Real Radio Station When He Was Just 16

When he was only 16, he heard about an opening for an on-air personality at a small radio station in Trenton, NJ. He didn’t think he had a chance, but he sent in an audition tape of him doing his broadcast from his home studio; and he got the job. He was hired to do the overnight shift, and he couldn’t have been happier.

He was so young that his dad drove him to the studio and took him home in the morning. It was a dream job. But suddenly, it was gone. The station management hadn’t thought about the Child Labor Laws when they hired him. Now they had to let him go. The dream was over.

To Andre’s surprise, he was re-hired when a daytime shift became available; and he’s been working in radio ever since.

Wait, You Get Paid For This?

For more than 30 years, Andre has been a music director, production director and mostly an on-air personality. He was once the official censor for the Howard Stern Show, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

He plays the music he loves. In addition to classic rock, he hosts a syndicated Beatles show. Andre, like me, is a lifelong Beatles fan. He is truly living his dream (and mine, too).

The Perfect Voice For Commercials and On Hold Messages

Along with his on-air gig, Andre is one of the talented voice-over artists used by Mind The Gap for on-hold and in-store messages. He not only has a great smooth voice, but he gives the messages a sense of authority that makes people pay attention. When Andre speaks, people listen.

Andre and Marc Gallo, the Big Cheese and Head Honcho at Mind the Gap, have known each other a long time. Andre met Marc when he was in a very innovative band called Bag back in the 80s. He remembers Marc wearing an egg helmet for the iconic song “Easter Day”.  Marc eventually put his talent and wild ideas to more practical use; and when he did, he already knew the perfect voice to help make his clients’ messages stand out and be remembered.

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