An Interview with Brother Wease
It’s hard to imagine an easier job than writing a colorful article about Brother Wease. With plenty of ink written on the Rochester enthusiast’s liberally tattooed body, he’s the embodiment of an open book. Ask Brother Wease a question, and chances are he will respond with openness, honesty, and passion.
Not surprisingly, Wease had a few words for Midtown General Manager, Glenn William, during an on-air interview on 95.1’s “The Wease Show.” It didn’t take long to understand how Alan Levin (that’s his birthname) has become a staple of morning radio in the Flower City for over 20 years.
For starters, Wease Cares. That’s the name of the charity he founded in 1997 to raise money for children in need. A longtime supporter of cultural events and local talent, Brother Wease has also openly shared about his life as Vietnam veteran, cancer survivor, and part-owner of a local tattoo parlor called Physical Graffiti.
From music to his personal life to just about anything Rochester-related, Wease seems to revel in the spoken word. Luckily for his listeners, there never seems to be a shortage of words, or the rabbit-hole conversations they may lead us down, when Brother Wease is on the radio. Did we mention he loves Rochester?
Glenn William: You’re a tough guy to get to know. Who gets to break into the Wease’s shell? Who really gets to know you?
Wease: My poker friends and another crew; the King, Joe Carbone. I have two crews, and I know “crew” sounds corny.
Glenn: Any suits?
Wease: The poker guys are poker guys. The other crew are all suits. Dr. Joe Carbone, the King, Rob Tramaldy, the policeman, TJ Looki, Tony D, and Jimmy Paperclips. Now there’s a crew. Whoever I left out is gonna kill me
Glenn: Fair enough. Speaking of poker, you play the game a lot, right? How does it personify or serve as a metaphor for you?
Wease: It’s an addiction, bro. It’s something that my wife gets mad about because a lot of times when I’m not playing poker I might want to go to bed at midnight, but if I’m playing poker, I can play till four in the morning.
Just yesterday, for instance, we had our weekly lunch of poker degenerates at Roncone’s. We play three, four nights a week and there are a few afternoon games. It’s a deep game, hold ’em poker. You never stop learning. As we speak, I’m in a good spot, which is rare. I’m progressing.
Glenn: Isn’t it a numbers game?
Wease: Well, there are numbers involved, 100%, but there are people involved that you have to read, figure out how they’re going, see who’s bluffing.
Glenn: So tell me, Alan Levin, who calls you Alan?
Wease: Mike Amalfi and my mother. That’s it and that’s the truth.
Glenn: So how do you make the big bucks on the one side, but be a flaming liberal on the other side?
Wease: You, Glenn, bringing me political merit? Well listen, I don’t want to mess with you, but you have heard of liberal Hollywood, right? Well? They’re rich. But I’m not rich, by the way. I mean liberal to me is empathy and feeling. You know? I don’t want to get too deep. I’m liberal I believe because I have empathy.
Glenn: I know you as a profanity machine, what’s your favorite profane word?
Wease: I can’t say it on the radio. I mean obviously, the same one everybody uses. Yeah, I am a pretty profane guy and I have a great anecdote. I was just called to do a speech for a certain local charity and I don’t like doing them that much because I’m lazy. I had lunch with this lady and I told her that if they really wanted me (and there’s no money involved, it’s for free) that she understand up front that I’m profane. I’m profane whenever I’m not on the radio. I’m not ashamed of it, because I don’t believe there are dirty words. I think words are only dirty because someone told you they’re dirty words. They’re just words, and everybody uses them. So I told her, listen, I will do the speech, but I’m gonna be profane. She said, “Thanks but we’ll look at other alternatives.” I suggested Doug Emblidge.
Glenn: Do you have a tattoo you regret getting?
Wease: No. Actually, yeah. I covered up some tattoos with other tattoos.
Glenn: What did you cover up?
Wease: Women’s names.
Glenn: How many women’s names have you had on your body that you’ve had to take off?
Wease: Two. And the funny thing is, tattoo artists always tell you, “Don’t do it. Don’t tattoo her name because everybody ends it. It’s a jinx.” It’s not true, I got my bubby, we’ve been together for 20 years, I’m pretty sure forever. My kids of course will be forever. And I remember when I was about 21 or 22 years old, being at Don & Bob’s, with some tattoos and some guy at the counter said, “Boy are you gonna regret those when you’re old.” I said, “Screw you, bro!” So nowI am old, and I don’t care.
Glenn: If you could bring back anybody from the dead, smoke a cigar, have a cocktail, who would it be?
Wease: Who do you think? Jesus, of course! Are you kidding me? God, if Jesus isn’t number one with everybody… Who else? I can’t imagine.
Glenn: What would you ask Jesus?
Wease: I’d ask him, “Bro, how much of that crap’s true? Right? Come on. Stop with that stuff, will you please? Tell me the story. You’re here with the Wease. Have some of this tequila, and let’s get down for a real conversation. And by the way, I love you, too, Jesus.” You know, I love that guy.
Glenn: Whatcha got over Howard Stern? What makes you better than him?
Wease: I’m not saying I am better than Howard, I could never say that to the “King of All Media.” If I could be on the same playing field, if I could get the guests that Howard Stern had, I believe I would be just as good or better. But I would never say my show was better. Because how could it be better when he has these phenomenal New York City guests? For years, I had a good head-to-head run with Howard and I beat him in every single ratings book but one. People want to make wars out of radio, it’s ridiculous. It’s a job just like yours.
There are other health clubs; yeah, yours is pretty fancy and great, but there are other ones and they have their own things. There are thousands of radio shows. One thing I do better than Howard is be real. Anyone who knows Howard will tell you that his show is an act. Howard is an act. It’s a good act and acting is a big thing, but I’m not good enough to act. All I got is my own personality and crap, but at least I think it’s interesting to some people.
Glenn: So you’re sitting in the steam room at Midtown with Donald Trump. What’s the first thing you say to him?
Wease: I say, “You’re my newest hero.” I was just talking about him this morning, I hated him until today. Every day the guy gets a new schtick.
Here’s a guy that is a reality show king, and he’s pulling it off where no one has ever done it before. He’s got more than half of the Republican voters on his team, it’s amazing.
Glenn: Okay, tough one…Top three bands.
Wease: Well, you know, Tedeschi & Trucks. Ah geez. That’s a tough one. I gotta spread it out as long as it’s for all time. Bob Marley. I could even corner it off with The Eagles, but I love the Talking Heads. The Talking Heads movie, “Stop Making Sense,” which I was lucky enough to have been at the concert, was the only completely unique concert ever played. It started with one person on an empty stage.
Next came two people. Then they started dragging equipment out. The rhythm of the Talking Heads had the whole War Memorial shaking. Phenomenal. They’re a great band, a great, unique band.
Glenn: How do you reconcile being an old school guy with all this new contemporary stuff? How do you manage that in your head?
Wease: Well, first of all, I work in a young business. So I’m surrounded by young people all the time. I’m the oldest guy I know. I’m not proud of that. You know, every now and then I run into some guys my age and it feels pretty good. We have different things to talk about, but I keep up with all the technology, I keep up with all music. I really get a kick when I meet people with ageism. Cause you know young people always like to f--- around with the old folk. All it proves is I know more than you do. If you don’t believe that you learn something every day, that means I know more stuff than you do, so stop picking on me. I’m smarter than you.
Glenn: If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing?
Wease: I would be a concert promoter. I was before I did this, so I don’t know what else. I would be in the music business.
Glenn: Tell me about getting through this cancer thing.
Wease: I know I was set to join Midtown before I had cancer, because one thing I remember was I was addicted to spinning; I loved that.
And I never got back on. I came back and tried it a couple times and I was very depressed. The cancer thing was tough, bro. That was tough. Really, really hard. I had the greatest doctor. My wife saved my life three times. That was one of them. We went to three hospitals to see which place to get treatment. I had a very rare form of cancer—an Asian form of cancer. When I met this doctor who my wife found, she was the number one doctor in the world for my type of cancer. She was at Sloan Kettering in New York. And the day I met her it was unbelievable.
It was tough, man, the treatment is tough. Radiation in the face and all that crap. I’m going deaf as we speak. This is all from the radiation. Tons of collateral damage, but the cancer’s gone. Knock on wood.
Glenn: On my nickel, will you take a one-on-one Pilates session at Midtown?
Wease: That ain’t an actual question, is it? A one-on-one? Of course. Is anyone doing Pilates?
Glenn: We do a boatload of Pilates sessions every month.
Wease: How come I rarely hear about Pilates?
Glenn: It’s gettin’ there.
Wease: Yoga’s kicking its a--, though.
Glenn: It’s the most incredible stretching, flexibility and core work you could ever do.
Wease: And it counts as exercise?
Glenn: Oh, yeah. Flexibility and stretching. Yes, it’s very challenging. So I’m going to set this up.
Wease: You’re on.
Glenn: What brings you to tears?
Wease: Everything. Bro, I talk about it on the radio. I cry at every movie. I cry at my daughter’s cheerleading. I cry mostly in happy movies. The corny thing is, in a movie when they get together in the end, I cry. I really think I have some kind of problem. There’s something wrong with me cause I cry at crap nobody else cries at.
Glenn: Did you cry 25 years ago?
Wease: I didn’t ever do it then. Might be something with age, drugs, I don’t know what. But bro, do I tear up now. I tear up at every happy thing.