Headin' Out to the Highway

"It was like a bachelor party every weekend," says Norm Leggio of Another State of Mind, the ten-till-midnight Sunday radio show he has hosted for eight and a half years on Rock 105.3.

Leggio, who has interviewed Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P., Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and John Bush of Anthrax, says his last show is June 10.

"I'm tired of waking up Monday morning with a hangover or still being drunk," says Leggio, who turns 40 on Monday. He says the responsibilities of caring for his elderly parents, trying to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend, and keeping two businesses going has pulled him away from radio.

"My heart hasn't been in it.... Radio is going through the same struggles as retail record stores. Radio has competition with XM and Sirius [satellite radio]."

Leggio says all his exposure on Rock 105.3 hasn't helped bring people into his Blue Meannie record store.

"In this day and age, you have people downloading music for free, Wal-Mart giving away music, and Best Buy selling CDs below cost. I could be on Rock 105 24 hours a day, and it wouldn't get people into an independent record store to buy music."

Another State of Mind may not continue after June 10, but "Nothing has been decided yet," says Rock 105.3 program director Shauna Moran.

Leggio, who sometimes would eat cake off the bodies of his in-studio strippers in the middle of a show, would not disclose how many times the girls took off their clothes. Was there ever any in-studio sex?

"No comment," says Leggio -- he usually got away with his on-air debauchery.

"We only got yelled at once. It was when [morning show host] Mikey [Esparza] came in the next morning and found a Heineken bottle cap on the mixing board."