By Joe Costantino
PLAINFIELD, Indiana--Tony Zubrowski had no idea what was going to happen to him one
Tony, a deacon in the Indianapolis A.M. congregation, works in the health care industry and was in the process of converting a nursing home into an assisted living retirement center. He was invited to be a guest on the WIRE morning show to answer questions about his work with seniors.
After the interview, Tony met John and Mary Ellen Dotas, the owners of WIRE, who said he had a good voice. The station's marketing manager told the owners that Tony had been a disc jockey when he served in Vietnam, and as a musician had also recorded an album titled "Faith, Family and Friends."
After listening to the album, the owner told Tony that he had been thinking about starting a Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) show, and asked Tony to host it. He agreed, and the show has been on the air Sundays since May 1995.
With high quality recording equipment in his home studio, Tony records the half-hour show featuring CCM artists and thematic commentary. The show, called "Cross Country Music," also introduces new artists and songs on a regular basis. Through the show, Tony has developed relationships with area musicians in a variety of denominations.
Steve Kramer, another deacon, is the primary announcer on the show. But occasionally Tony's 4-year-old son Josh crawls on his father's lap and announces, "You're listening to Cross Country Music featuring my dad, Tony Zubrowski!"
Tony and his wife, Pat, live in Plainfield, just west of Indianapolis, with their three children, Talitha, Rachel and Josh.
Tony has been involved in music all his life, and has played in bands since he was 16. His first exposure to CCM was hearing Steven Curtis Chapman's "Great Adventure" album. Excited by what he heard, he began to attend concerts in the Joplin, Missouri, area (he lived nearby at the time) and took the church teens along.
In January 1994 his company transferred him to Indianapolis and he brought his enthusiasm for CCM with him. He soon found he had landed in a church area with lots of musical talent, and began putting his first album together with musicians from Cincinnati, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; and Indianapolis. He produced the album at his home studio, known as New Genesis Music.
WIRE has been pleased with the radio show, and has moved it from its original Sunday morning time slot to Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m., which exposes it to a much larger audience. Tony feels that CCM provides people with a source of "encouragement, support and hope."
"Music moves the human spirit," and, he says, his exposure to CCM "was a kind of revival for me personally." It also crosses generational boundaries. "It's neat to see teenagers at a concert excited by music with worshipful lyrics."
LEARNING EARLY--Josh Zubrowski, Tony Zubrowski's 4-year-old son, has his chance at the mike with the announcement, "You're listening to Cross Country Music featuring my dad." [Photo by Joe Costantino]
| Home | Issues | Contents |
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God,1996