This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.
Sean Mulrooney loved making mixtapes while growing up.
He would craft playlists for his friends and developed a lifelong love of music. Now, he feels like he gets to make a mixtape for Salem every day on his FM radio station, The Moon 105.5.
A core of volunteer DJs — many of whom have been with the station since it launched in 2017 — spin a range of genres and eras on the commercial-free, community radio station.
"I'm not playing songs just to be overly cute or clever or obscure or cool," Mulrooney said. "Every single song that gets played on The Moon — I love that song."
The passion project stems from his longtime dream of working at in radio. While at Oregon State University majoring in technical journalism, an area of study he said was quite boring with no room for creativity or humor, he found his creative outlet through radio.
He jumped at the chance to volunteer for the midnight to 4 a.m. Monday shift at the campus radio station.
"I was immediately hooked," Mulooney said.
He moved to Salem in 1991 and was the head DJ at the popular dance club at the old Black Angus. After the club closed in 1999, he read an article in Rolling Stone about internet radio and decided to start a station online while working his day job in the mortgage industry.
He went on to use one service and then switched platforms and operated Salem FM online for eight years.
Mulrooney says he felt as if his childhood dream had fallen into his lap when someone approached him out of the blue and asked if he wanted to use a license for an FM frequency they applied for.
He, his wife and an engineer then embarked on a three-year process to find a place to install their transmitter. One spot fell through and they had only 30 days left in their license to find a location, when they finally found a location to broadcast throughout Salem.
A group of volunteer DJs joined the station, and they've spent the last seven years hosting a variety of programs .
"It's been a true team effort," Mulrooney said.
The Moon uses an algorithm Mulrooney developed through programming software to "harmonically mix" the music to make a pleasant listening experience, he said. "All I really wanted was to continue to make mixtapes."
One of the biggest compliments he's received is a note from a listener who said she didn't want to get out of her car after she pulled up to Home Depot in the middle of a set.
"That's exactly the feeling and emotion that I want," he said.
Some people have given up on radio, and Mulrooney wants to give them a reason to listen to radio again.
Amid budget cuts, closures and political turmoil, he wants The Moon to be a bright spot in people's lives.
A recent fundraiser to help support the station has garnered community support, with people donating their tips and spreading the word.
"Salem has been very good to me and my family," Mulrooney said. "Salem rewards people for trying big ideas and trying to make things better."
If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal executive editor Cherrill Crosby at crosbyc@statesmanjournal.com
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com , call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Meet Our Mid Valley: The man behind The Moon, Salem's community FM radio station
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