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3.20.2003
Jimmy C. Gahan, 21; carved a niche in radio
Jimmy C. Gahan, a high school athlete turned college disc jockey, was
gearing up for a big interview with Great White on Feb. 20.
Gahan, 21, of Falmouth, Mass., planned to air the interview on his college
radio show at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass.
"When he gave up whatever dreams he had in sports -- the music filled
that vacuum," his father said.
James Gahan III, 58, said his son was trying to carve out a niche in
the music industry.
Jimmy had launched his first show on college radio last fall, and was
running three shows a week.
His mother, Carol, said two of her son's shows focused on '80s rock music,
including his favorite big '80s band, Poison. The disc jockey liked the
song, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."
But Jimmy also had an interest in country music. He had negotiated some
interviews with singers Blake Shelton and Mark Wills. He had tried, unsuccessfully,
to land an interview with Tim McGraw, following a concert at Mohegan Sun
in Connecticut.
Jimmy Gahan grew up in a cottage on Katharine Lee Bates Road in Falmouth.
He was his parents' only child.
He was a standout athlete at Falmouth High School, his parents said.
He played football, basketball, baseball and golf. He dreamed of a professional
baseball career.
He relished the Patriots' Super Bowl victory in 2002. For reasons that
no one can explain, Jimmy was an avid fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
After graduating from high school, he spent time at a prep school and
moved on to Stonehill College, in North Easton, Mass.
A year later, he transferred to Nichols. He had made the dean's list
last semester. His major was business, his mother said.
Jimmy went to The Station with a close friend, Michael Richardi, of Worcester,
who escaped the fire by jumping out a window.
Pictures from Jimmy's childhood cover the walls in his parents' kitchen.
The framed photographs take up nearly every inch of wall space.
The sight of them brought his mother to tears.
"He's a real good kid," she said. "He's up in heaven now."
She wants a special message engraved on her son's tombstone: "My
shining star."
-- Mark Reynolds
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