Chatterbox Old Time Radio

Christine comes by her love of radio honestly. Middle daughter of Johnny Guarnieri, American jazz and stride pianist. Johnny started with George Hall in 1937. He is possibly best known for his big band stints with Benny Goodman in 1939 and with Artie Shaw in 1940, including Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five where he played the harpsichord. Johnny played with both Dorsey brothers and can be heard as a sideman with artists such as Charlie Christian, Cozy Cole, and Ben Webster among many others. His Guarnieri Trio included Johnny (piano), Slam Stewart (bass) and Sidney Catlett (drums). Guarnieri is also noted for his embellishment and juxtaposition of jazz with classical piano, such as Scarlatti and Beethoven.

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Christine’s first radio appearance was at age five, on the Sunday, NBC, Anthology Program, where she recited ‘I Never Saw a Purple Cow’ by Gelett Burgess (1866-1951).

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Christine has been producing shows for WECS since January 2001. Her eight-hour weekly program (Saturday 6 pm-2 am EST) includes interviews, history of radio, and classic radio comedy, mystery, westerns, sci-fi and drama, and period jazz, blues and big band. She created the “Constellation Cowboy” segment, consisting of live interviews with Astronomer, Dr. Russ Sampson, on contemporary and historical celestial events. She expanded this educational format to include segments "Digging with Drzewiecki" with Dr. Peter A. Drzewiecki and "Consequential Chronicles" segment with Dr. Stacey Close. She also covers 'special topics' that are relevant to the university as well as the local and global community. Topics have included Technology in the classroom, Domestic Violence issues, and looks at the use of Old Time Radio as a vehicle to highlight issues that our society faces.

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Christine believes that Critical Thinking is of the greatest importance in the 21st Century because it’s harder than ever to get accurate information (thanks to the internet). Critical thinking empowers college students and others to discover the truth in assertions, especially when it comes to separating fact from opinion. She offers a different lens to the influence that social media has taken in polarizing society.

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More recently she also includes sections on Superhero of the Week, Science Fact and Word of the Day, and An Attitude of Grattitude. For Christine, ‘An attitude of gratitude means making it a conscious habit to express thankfulness and appreciation for every part of your life. Having an attitude of gratitude means you operate from a place of abundance, rather than scarcity. And that can be a mindset you may need to work on. When you develop an attitude of gratitude you feel happier and more positive.’

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A 2003 graduate of Eastern with a degree in Multi-media Writing and Production for the Deaf. She spent time on the road as Production Stage Manager for National Theatre of the Deaf.

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Christine loves her Veterans, and regularly hosts interviews with one or more organizations to highlight efforts being made to help Veterans. Her commitment to history is to bring awareness of the sacrifices that have been made in our country so that she is free to broadcast every Saturday night.

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Listeners have followed the lives of her grandchildren, who many times slept in the studio, including: ‘Lily the Weather Girl’ who started giving forecasts at age three, Georgia Belle, the Happy Camper, and most recently her youngest granddaughter Miss Molly Memphis who recorded a station break at age four. The rest of the kids have shared their talents on the show with readings, singing, and hosting at times. Several have also appeared as Chatterbox Players.

The Chatterbox Players is a theatre group  that Christine organized, in 2021, to do previous radio scripts (that are in the public domain) as well as her original plays and poetry. She is known for her commitment to the community by hosting live performances, free of charge during Halloween and Christmas. She also spends from 18 hours – 24 hours in the studio at times when hosting other specials.

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Christine is currently followed in eight countries round the globe.