Surprising Breaking News out of Stockton! Well I'll Be!

[Burgess]

Johnny Milford....

I hear that voice all over the place. I used to work with you at Silverado, waaaaaaaaaay back in the day. Like 1995. KMIX Country 100.9, Sammy (something) in the morning, then Tom Sisneros, Ken Carr, and me....I went by Billy the Kid....i hate that name.


Freakin' Bob!!

Hey, Jeremy!

I remember you well. Last I heard you were working at The Fish up there in Sac. Hope all is well. Hard to believe it's been 13 years since the KMIX days. I still keep in touch with all those guys on occasion, even Sammy Cruise, who's down in Bakersfield. Even Freakin' Bob!!! LOL! Nice to hear from you.

Sammy is in Bakersfield, huh? We were in Albuquerque at the same time, as well. I lost track of him after that. I left the Fish about a year ago, spent some time at the Zone, then hung 'em up. I work at PR firm in Roseville. Still do alot of voice work on the side... I will send you a message with my email....

 

[Tube Shortwave]

Hey, madmansam. I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out who you are! Same for Tube Shortwave!

Ace. Retired from radio now, but I still do an occasional VO. Working for the state now. Have to keep a fairly low profile due to my job now, so I don't think I should give much more info than that. But, you should pick up on it real quick!

 

[Madmansam]

Hi Johnny! I haven't met you but I know of you. By chance do you know a ROBERT BERTANI who used to work at KWG?

Hey, madmansam. I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out who you are! Same for Tube Shortwave!

Anyway, based on the timeline, I thought for sure we must've crossed paths at Rock 104.1, but perhaps you came on after I left for KWG. Yes, I do know Bob Bertani and run into him every once in-a-while.

To my knowledge, we haven't crossed paths but I have heard VERY GOOD THINGS about you Johnny. Didn't you do mornings with Chrys Frasier at 100.9 when it was some sort of 70's Oldies type of format? I think it was called SUPERSTARS OF THE 70'S? I think the calls then were KEXX? I've been out of the radio business for quite a while and don't miss it though I have great memories. I lived for the past few years in Montana. Back in California though.

 

[Madmansam]

I am surprised the KSTN sale hasn't been reported in THE STOCKTON RECORD newspaper? Gotta get ahold of Record columnist, MICHAEL FITZGERALD. This story would be perfect for his column.

I don't know if he's still at The Record (he was 3 years ago), but another columnist who'd be
great in covering this story would be Scott Linesburgh, a KSJC alumnus with Milford, Garcia,
me, and countless others...
I am stunned that there has been NO mention of KSTN in that paper, either...
--jay

I attended Delta College's Broadcasting Class. Bill Bischofberger(I think I spelled his last name right?) was the teacher. I think he left to work at KJOY. Many KSJC alumni have gone on to big things!

 

[djj]

Bill Bishofberger is alive and well in Lodi, managing a farm, M.M.S....
After leaving KSJC, he worked for the San Joaquin County Board Of Supervisors...
He and the late Dave Steele were my instructors in 1982-83 at Delta College Radio...

His website:
http://www.bbfromca.com/

--jay

 

[milford]

To my knowledge, we haven't crossed paths but I have heard VERY GOOD THINGS about you Johnny.

Money well-spent, LOL! Seriously, that's very nice to hear, thank you.

Didn't you do mornings with Chrys Frasier at 100.9 when it was some sort of 70's Oldies type of format? I think it was called SUPERSTARS OF THE 70'S?

Yes! Not my best work as a jock, but I loved programming that station! It was my baby....although I had invaluable help from Mike Davis, Chrys and Ed Garcia. We sure had fun with it, but unfortunately, upper-management wasn't as committed to it as we were. <sigh> But, the frequency has done quite well with Spanish, I must say. Speaking of Chrys, she was just here yesterday doing a voice-over for me, which she does quite often (and quite well).

I attended Delta College's Broadcasting Class. Bill Bishofberger...was the teacher.

I owe a lot to Bill. Under his tutelage, KSJC was not the typical loose college radio station. His strict formatics prepared many people for a real opportunity in professional broadcasting.

 

[Bitman]

Amazing news and who'd have thought...I'm one of the many who passed through KSTN's doors and very quickly, I might add. I was the first jock hired by then-new PD John Hampton and was quickly shown the door after I refused to burn the trash! Ah, the memories!

 

[Madmansam]

To my knowledge, we haven't crossed paths but I have heard VERY GOOD THINGS about you Johnny.

Money well-spent, LOL! Seriously, that's very nice to hear, thank you.

Didn't you do mornings with Chrys Frasier at 100.9 when it was some sort of 70's Oldies type of format? I think it was called SUPERSTARS OF THE 70'S?

Yes! Not my best work as a jock, but I loved programming that station! It was my baby....although I had invaluable help from Mike Davis, Chrys and Ed Garcia. We sure had fun with it, but unfortunately, upper-management wasn't as committed to it as we were. <sigh> But, the frequency has done quite well with Spanish, I must say. Speaking of Chrys, she was just here yesterday doing a voice-over for me, which she does quite often (and quite well).

I attended Delta College's Broadcasting Class. Bill Bishofberger...was the teacher.

I owe a lot to Bill. Under his tutelage, KSJC was not the typical loose college radio station. His strict formatics prepared many people for a real opportunity in professional broadcasting.

I sure love those ROCK BOTTOM FURNITURE commercials. And remember the Big Yellow Building on the East Side of Highway 99! LOL ;D And I sure have to commend the person producing those commercials!

 

[Tube Shortwave]

Please correct me if I am mistaken...

Wasn't Milford the imaging voice of KSTN AM for a while? I remember "You're driving under the influence of 1420 (sfx: BEEP BEEP!) KSTN" along with others. If so, VERY nice job!

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Yes KSTN is the power and height that is closer to a Class C1 than a B. However it is grandfathered as a Class B which is much better. This allows a booster to cover anywhere within their 54-dbu contour and not just the 60-dbu.

My error -- KSTN-FM is a Class B. If I understand it correctly, Class B is the same as Class C; it is simply the distinction between the zone the station is located in, and the power and antenna limitations within that zone.

• Zone 1 mostly covers the northeastern U.S. (Class B)
  
• Zone 1-A covers most of California. (Also Class B)
  
• Zone 2 is everywhere that isn't in Zone 1 or 1-A. (Class C)

Correct?

 

[kestrel]

LOL!
TubeShortwave, I had it right. (Figured it out talking to Milford on the side.)
Damn, I'm good.
"If you have faults, defects, or shortcomings, you know like arthritis, rheumatism, or migraines...."
Heh.
Rick's out of radio now, still in Stockton, might fly into Boston this summer and come stay with us for a week.
Still with Julie.......can you believe it? Going on 12 years now.
So here I am, a screaming liberal talk show host, in the home of Lizzie Borden and Emeril. Whack! BAM!
Fifth state now. CA-OH-VT-VA-MA. I do get around.

 

[Red78]

Amazing news and who'd have thought...I'm one of the many who passed through KSTN's doors and very quickly, I might add. I was the first jock hired by then-new PD John Hampton and was quickly shown the door after I refused to burn the trash! Ah, the memories!

You should have sued.

 

[Red78]

Interesting that there aren't that many stories about how creepy Knox Larue was as an owner....(or just as a human being in general)

Several people I worked at at other stations had spent time at KSTN in the mid 70's...stories they told included Knox spying on jocks on the request line and business line from extensions in his office...

That sounds like classic Knox.

Not surprised. Some Vacaville station did that too.

 

[Red78]

I was trying to remember the Reverand's name, too...Crosby! lol! Thanks, folks!


Like others mentioned before me, I never had the "pleasure" of working at KSTN, but knew
many others who did in the early-mid-1980s like Gentleman Jim overnights, Charlee Simons,
Jeff Burnett on weekends, and P.D. Marc Hunter, whom John Hampton replaced in 1981!!
(Hunter became my boss at KWG in 1981 during its country format, Feb 1981-June 1982.
I left for KWIN in October '81)...

Hampton's a good guy; I remember when I handled music at Delta College Radio (KSJC),
I would visit KSTN on Ralph Avenue and John would always give us extra copies of records
we couldn't obtain from the record companies or elsewhere. I hope things go well for John
in the upcoming transition...
--jay

Not quite right about John Hampton replacing Marc Hunter. Marc left to work at KJOY and Matt Dillon replaced Marc. John was promoted in August of 1981.

 

[Red78]

The way he fired me was by calling me 'dumb'! Ha ha! I worked the weekends. One weekend, he popped his head in the door and was yelling at me for parking my car where it shouldn't have been, so I said 'no problem' and got up to go move it. Then, he yelled at me for leaving the studio, so I sat back down at the board. Then, he started yelling at me for parking where I shouldn't. You get the idea. So, I just couldn't take it anymore and got up to go move the car anyway. He followed me all the way to the car yelling the whole time, said "You know what you are? You're D-U-M-M, DUMB!". I got in and started the motor, then the thought flashed through my mind to just drive away. I didn't, but I wanted to! Anyway, I parked the car 'where I was supposed to' and went back in and finished my shift. The next payday, my check wasn't signed, but there was a note clipped to it to see Knox. He was in his office, so I went in and said 'Hi'. He told me that I wasn't needed anymore, they got someone else to cover my shift next weekend, and signed my check. Then he thanked me and told me to have a nice day. No big deal. All in all, I thought he did the actual firing with a lot of class. The stuff he did the weekend before was outrageous!

Must have been bi-polar or a schitzo. In any event Knox was a complete disgrace to radio.

 

[Madmansam]

Robert LaRue can always buy KWSX-1280?

Newsperson responds:


I heard through another general manager in Stockton that Robert LaRue is not happy about the sale. Yes he will have to move on except he will have money to buy a different station so he will be in a very good position. I do not feel sorry for him in any way because there are new opportunties ahead that he doesn't know about yet.

That's the latest, does anyone have any other news on this?

Newsperson

Robert LaRue can always buy KWSX-1280 from Clear Channel. Someone had told me that Clear Channel has been looking for a buyer for 1280. This would be the perfect opportunity for Robert to move the KSTN Classic Hits format to 1280 as well as bring in both John Hampton and Shawn Meade not to mention move Mancow to 1280.

 

[Madmansam]

Wow, it has been close to 3 weeks, when this news broke via ALL ACCESS ans RADIO & RECORDS and the local Stockton paper THE RECORD has yet to cover it. Go Figure! ???

 

[Madmansam]

UOP BROADCASTING CLASSES?

I have read about many people attending the Delta College broadcasting classes and KSJC but what about the broadcasting courses at THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC and KUOP? Anyone here attended classes or do radio at UOP?

 

[milford]

I sure love those ROCK BOTTOM FURNITURE commercials. And remember the Big Yellow Building on the East Side of Highway 99! LOL ;D And I sure have to commend the person producing those commercials!

:-[ Hehehehe. Won't win any awards, but it's a living!

Please correct me if I am mistaken...

Wasn't Milford the imaging voice of KSTN AM for a while? I remember "You're driving under the influence of 1420 (sfx: BEEP BEEP!) KSTN" along with others. If so, VERY nice job!

Yes, that was for their transition from CHR to Power Oldies. Thank you for the kind words! Although the writing credit goes to John Hampton. I merely voiced and produced them.

 

[newsperson]

BossRadioDJ,

A Class B is 50KW at 492 feet or 150 meters. A Class is 100KW at around 2000 feet. This may have been rounded down to 600 meters when the FCC converted to meters.

The situation with KSTN is that they are grandfathered wtih power above a Class B and cannot fill in all of that coverage with a booster. They must recalculate what their power should be (as a Class B on Mt. Diablo) and this may be around only 2.5 KW. They are allowed to fill-in that protected contour of 54dbu. However that modified contour does serve San Francisco so they may be considering another tower location.

You mentioned a site in Berkley, would that be a booster site?

So does KSTN become a new East Bay station with Stockton coverage?

Newsperson