DJ Spotlight: Will Tentindo

Interview by Remy Frohman

Will Tentindo, COM Journalism ‘18, Class & Sass (Sunday 12-2 p.m.)

How long have you been on Class & Sass?

I’ve been on class and sass since my first semester freshman year so that’s three and a half years now. It’s been a long time.  

Why did you originally decide to join WTBU?

I decided to join WTBU because I wanted to do college radio, I was a journalism major, and so I was going around to all the clubs like the Daily Free Press and BUTV, but I always loved music and radio. Ever since I was a little kid, my mom would drive me to school and play talk radio, so I wanted to join a talk show.

What has been your favorite part about being a DJ?

My favorite part about being a DJ is that it’s 2 hours every week where I get to talk to my friends about things, make people laugh, and play awesome music. I love doing college radio, I love being able to tell people to listen to my show and produce this thing that hopefully makes someone laugh or keeps them informed on some topic, even if it’s a less important topic like Kim Kardashian.

What do you think about the new studio?

Oh I love the new studio, the old studio was great. It was a nice little private area for WTBU which was cool, but I like that this new one is out in the open and I can see people walking by. It reminds me that people are listening and I’m on air, because sometimes, when you’re in a little room it feels like you’re just talking to your friends.That’s nice, but I like being able to know that people might be listening to what I’m saying. It’s just great to see WTBU rebound from the fire like this.

What kind of music do you like to play on the show?

I like to play a whole variety of music, I think today we played Chance the Rapper, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and Lorde, so a weird combo. I like to play old throwbacks and some new Indie songs, pop, top 40 stuff, basically whatever I’m feeling.  

If you could have any celebrity on your show, who would it be and why?

We tried to get Sanjaya our freshman year and a different show got Sanjaya. We were so mad and salty about it about the fact that they got him, that we started fake beef with them. So if I could have anyone it would be Sanjaya, just because we tried and someone else had the same idea as us. Props to them for getting him. The fake beef was just silly things that I really enjoyed, but I’m sure no one else cared about it. I don’t even know if the other show knew about it.

Who is your favorite celebrity to talk about?

She’s not my favorite, but the easiest one to talk about is Taylor Swift. Everyone talks about her. She’s fun to talk about because everyone likes talking about her, but sometimes it can get naseauting after four years of talking about Taylor Swift. I do like talking about Beyonce, she can do no wrong. She’s my queen. When Lemonade came out I actually freaked out.

What has been your favorite pop culture moment to discuss?

Definitely Lemonade, we talked about that a lot, for awhile, just because it was so big. For me it was one of the most important pop culture moments in the past few years. And then also, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian fighting because it was two of the most famous people in the world going after each other with Kanye West. Everyone was getting wrapped up in it and it was a perfect climatic moment of Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian rising to ultra prominence at the same time and it was the only thing anyone could ever talk about for so long.

How do you get out of bed for a 6 a.m. show?

You know, it’s honestly my love of WTBU, it sounds so funny to say, but I love doing this show and I’ve done it for so long that that is why I get up at 6am…also my fear that none of my other DJs and interns will wake up at 6am and if none of us are there, there’s no one to play music. When we had a show at noon I would still want to sleep in but I’d still get there because I love it.

What is your favorite part about your co hosts Andie and Mollie?

Well, me and Andie started together three and half years ago. We were both interns, we didn’t know anyone else on the show, I really got to know her through radio. They are both fun people to talk with, they always have funny things to say, they make me laugh, and if I don’t know what’s going on, they do. I can trust them.

Has there been any stand out moments on the show?

Just seeing my friends I had met through radio freshman and sophomore year that had kinda mentored me, in more ways than just radio, move on was kinda momentous. We had emotional last shows and they were graduating. One of the DJs who started the show moved back to Morocco and she’s in New York now working as a journalist. Some of them are in New York, one’s a journalist in LA. So ya seeing my friends graduating was huge.

Have there been any funny moments?

Us messing up on air probably. I remember me and Andie getting back to radio after we used to have a Sunday noon show, to a Sunday at 6am show in a studio in the basement of COM and all these pipes rattling above us. We were trying to be funny, but we were more delirious than funny. It was nice to be back at WTBU even it was in the basement, but it was definitely a funny moment.

What will you miss most about DJing for WTBU?

I will miss everything about it. I love it. I don’t wanna think about the fact that I’m graduating soon. I love talking on air, I love listening to myself talk. I love having two hours where I get to talk to my friends and be funny and play music I like. It’s the best.

On the show, you guys follow the Kardashian tradition of “peak and pit.” What has been your peak and pit of being on Class & Sass?

My peak of Class and Sass is deciding randomly to join it my freshman year from a list of talk shows because it was one of the best decisions I made. I love it. My pit of class and sass was not getting Sanjaya.