Maine man hits high note as a DJ

EAST ORLAND – Plain folks who scrape together a few bucks from their day jobs to make a homespun country music CD have a friend in Cowboy Tommy Dean.

Dean, whose real name is Tom Salisbury, spins traditional and independent country CDs at volunteer-run, nonprofit community radio station WERU-FM (89.9 in Blue Hill, and 102.9 in Bangor).

He has committed to giving people who drive trucks or wait tables during the day a chance to have their original songs played on the radio, even if their songs aren’t quite as polished as those by Shania Twain or Alan Jackson.

And he’s committed to keeping the memory – and the music – of country music legend Johnny Cash alive.

Salisbury’s devotion has not gone unnoticed. This month, he won the People’s Choice Award for DJ of the Year by the Tennessee Country Music Alliance.

Genuinely humble, Salisbury shares the credit for the recognition with WERU and its staff, who have given him the green light to play whatever suits his fancy.

But as shy as he is about the honor, Salisbury admits he’ll have to make room on his already crowded trophy shelf, which includes a North American Country Music Associations International award for co-songwriter of the year, and other honors.

Salisbury, along with Lewiston’s Jim Flynn, wrote “She Took My Cash (And Left Me With The Blues).” The song has been recorded a couple of times already, but has yet to score as a hit.

In his other life, Salisbury, 46, of Ellsworth is co-owner of the Cottage Street Bakery and Deli in Bar Harbor. Five years ago, he decided to pursue a dream he’s had since childhood. “Being on the radio and playing a Johnny Cash record,” he said during a recent interview at WERU’s studios.

Salisbury took the station’s volunteer training, and was able to land a slot playing traditional country music along with co-host Doc Morrill on Thursdays, 6-9 a.m. “Down Home Country” focuses on the golden age of the genre, with names such as Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard and George Jones filling out the set lists, as well as contemporary artists working in the classic country vein.

And on Saturday and Sunday morning, from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., Salisbury’s “Independent Country with Tommy Dean” samples the best of what he can find from independent record companies and self-produced work.

Or as Salisbury puts it, “Small label, no label, music produced on the kitchen table.”

He surfs the Internet and works his burgeoning list of music connections to find the latest newcomer.

“My greatest joy is independent country,” he said. “Most of these people have a day job,” and probably will never make it to the big time.

Yet the music is connecting with WERU listeners, Salisbury said, even in the predawn hours. “People will call up and say, ‘Who was that?”

Salisbury also is committed to championing military veterans. On each show, he plays “Sing Out America For Our Veterans.” The song, written by Ronnie Schewerman and sung by Arlene Renee, is considered the national theme song for vets, he says.

“I just like the song,” says Salisbury, the son of a Korean War vet.

Each of Salisbury’s shows includes a spotlight on one artist, a segment with four or five gospel tunes, and, of course, a few Johnny Cash tunes. For the show, he has interviewed Cash’s sister, longtime guitar player, and a man who introduced Cash at concerts the 1960s.

Denis Howard, WERU’s development director, says “Tommy has an enthusiasm for the music – and for being on the air.” He recalls one day when the station needed a substitute for its reggae show, and enlisted Salisbury.

Introducing himself as the “reggae cowboy,” he told listeners that though he was wearing a Ricky Craven hat and a Johnny Cash T-shirt, and could barely pronounce the names of the artists, he was going to have fun.

WERU’s program director Joel Mann said that fun is Salisbury’s signature.

“I’ve never seen someone have so much fun doing what he’s doing on the air,” he said.