Talk about an instant success story! Paul "Tasso Patsikakis" Zakaib has only been hosting The Jewel 106.7 FM's 10 a.m. to Noon slot for two weeks and he has already been handed a nice promotion.
Beginning Monday, April 27, Paul/Tasso will move to the drive home slot from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the unique new station geared specifically to the Hudson, St. Lazare and Vaudreuil-Soulanges area and heard clear as a bell across the West Island. I was able to get it in my car today on the Decarie Expressway. The station, which plays adult contemporary and easy listening music, already has a marquee name in the morning show with Ted Bird.
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| Paul "Tasso Patsikakis" Zakaib |
Now most radio listeners longed for the day when Paul/Tasso would reunite with Aaron Rand. The duo were magic on the old AM 600 and for more than 20 years on Q92 (now The Beat). That certainly won't happen at Rand's current home, CJAD. Now the old pals are actually facing off against each other - something which occurred when Paul/Tasso occupied the same shift on Mike FM for a bit.
"I am not sure we are competing," Zakaib told me when we spoke today. "CJAD is talk radio, we are mainly music. Yes I am trying to bring in some comedy and my cast of characters, but the bits are meant to be very short."
Why such a quick time slot change? "Management I guess liked what they heard," he said. "They wanted me to move to the drive sooner, but I asked for a little more time to prepare."
Zakaib, who lives in Dollard des Ormeaux, says he has been quite surprised by the response from listeners to the new station. "I went to my local garage the other day and a woman stopped to tell me how much she really loves our station," he said. "I am hearing that from a lot of people. We now attract the aged 40 plus audience that Q92 threw away when they became The Beat."
The Jewel is part of an eight station network across the country owned by the Evanov Radio Group.
