An Inspired Chat with Brian Orlando

Brian Orlando shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Brian, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Intelligence will determine the level of integrity and energy that you display to other people. Intelligence is much more than what you learned in school or how much education you receive. You need to be intelligent to understand other types of communication. Energy is an intelligence in and of itself. Intelligence is evident in how you handle yourself. Having integrity, to me, is a form of intelligence. It doesn’t come from a degree, it comes from understanding the human condition.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
For more than two decades, Brian Orlando has been one of New York’s most recognizable rock voices, from 102.7 WJSE to 94.3 The Shark, championing the artists and fans who find themselves in the music. This September, during National Suicide Prevention Month, Orlando is telling a different kind of rock story: how a Candlebox song saved his life and inspired him to raise more than $200,000 for suicide prevention, veterans, and children’s charities.

Now, Orlando is channeling that passion into his debut book, Rock ’n Soul Tarot (2025), a first-of-its-kind blend of memoir, Gen X musical time capsule, and intuitive guide. Using iconic songs, backstage stories, and raw personal reflections as a roadmap for healing and self-discovery, Rock ’n Soul Tarot is more than a book; it’s a spiritual guide built for anyone who ever lived by their Walkman, got saved by a lyric, or found community in a chorus.

Orlando began his radio career in 2004 after trading in his trucker keys for a mic in the Atlantic City/Philadelphia markets. From late-night broadcasts to morning drive-time, he built an unwavering connection with the misfits, night owls, and everyday people who just needed a place to be seen and heard. From 102.7 WJSE to 94.3 The Shark, where he’s spent the last decade amplifying community voices and mental health causes, Orlando’s mission has always been clear: make people feel less alone.

A second-generation psychic and former skeptic, Orlando experienced a series of intuitive breakthroughs in 2020, one eerily timed moment just before a Zoom interview with Candlebox became the spark. He reconnected with the intuitive gifts passed down from his mother and created Rock ’n Soul Tarot as a tool for anyone who has ever found clarity, healing, or purpose in the lyrics of a song.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was just a scared little kid who was constantly doubting himself and music was the only thing that gave a sense of encouragement. I had no control over my weight, no control over my anger or my emotions. I learned in time to use music as a way to help me balance it out and unclutter my thoughts. As I got older, I became someone that made sure no one ever feels the level of shame and doubt that I did. They always have someone who understands.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I lost my best friend when I was 18, two days after high school graduation. Up until that point, any pain that I had experienced revolved around me personally. That was the first time that I experienced loss that affected others even to a greater degree than I was experiencing at the time. It took me over 20 years to stop blaming myself for not being there the night he passed away. Throughout that time, there was one song, Bobby Jean by Bruce Springsteen, that I would play every single time that the loss of him got to be too much. I made sure that that song was always within reach even before digital playlists. Losing somebody that young while I was that young made me realize that the world is a lot bigger than my Long Island neighborhood and as I grew older and gravitated people who also experience profound loss, I realize that we all suffer from the same things and the understanding of the suffering allows you to make connections with others. While you’re helping them, you’re helping yourself and the healing is mutual.

Now when I sign off on my radio shows, I sign off by saying “Until then. Gunna miss you baby. Good luck. Goodbye,” lyrics from the Bobby Jean by Bruce Spingsteen. This is lightly talked about in my new book, Rock n’ Soul Tarot.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Suicide never hit me as hard as it did the day Chris Cornell’s death was announced. The news broke in the middle of the night and, as a rock radio DJ, I had no idea how I would explain to an audience how one of the most beloved grunge icons could take their own life. How someone that we idolized and worshipped could look at this world and say ‘I don’t want to be here any more’, was as foreign of an idea to me as I knew it would be to anyone I had to share this with. The only thing that got me through that day was everyone who called in to share their stories about what his music meant. We broadcasted about Chris for 15 hours that day. I knew from that point after watching how music brought us all together that music was going to be a big part of my message in helping people through whatever they have so they didn’t make the same mistake. My message hasn’t changed since that day: with music you are never alone.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Well that’s sort of an unfair question because my mother had told me that I was psychic at an early age and that I would be a natural radio DJ and I missed my calling while I was driving trucks for my first few years of adulthood. She was right both times and no one wants to listen to their parents. It seems natural to make connections to music whether that’s on the radio or through psychic readings, lyrics are always a big part through that connection whether its on my morning show. It comes so natural to me that its hard to argue that I wasn’t born to do this but by saying this to you, I have to admit that my mother was right. So to answer your questions, I was born to do it and told to do it.

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