What stations deserve a second chance?

[DaveBayArea]

Well, I'll be... The start of KOFY. I remember I got a phone call this Saturday morning from someone who said "you won't believe what's on TV". Saw most of The Dinosaurs, the intros here, and the Delta Rhythm Kings. Check it out when you have some time (about 13 min. total):

http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoRewind#p/u/1/E6oAhe4g8_E

and the 2nd part:

http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoRewind#p/u/2/0RKxnCkWCJs

I also remember sometime during this show when a police car pulled up and I heard the cop say "do you have a permit" and O'hair replies "No - when you ask for one they always say no - so we didn't ask". Or something like that. Yup. This is one station that deserves a 2nd chance.

Dave B.

 

[Madmansam]

I'll add the short incarnation of KOFY - "coffee radio" to that list. It was on 98.9 after the owners of KKCY sold that frequency to Jim Gabbert. I don't know the whole story and I've heard different rumors, but apparently there was a group called the "coalition to save the city" that attempted to block the sale of 98.9 to Gabbert. They withdrew their complaint when Gabbert agreed to run an eclectic format. For just a couple of months we had Bonnie Simmons, Thom O'Hair, Norman Davis, Nancy Walton, and a couple of others I can't remember (??Maybe Dan Carlisle??). They gave KFOG a serious run for their money at the time and scored a 2-share even though they were only on for 1/2 a ratings period. Then Gabbert pulled the plug and turned it into a top-40 effort that flopped. I agree that a modern version of "intelligent radio" should be tried here. One thing about AAA is that it seems to be different in every market, and the version of AAA that KFOG puts together is pretty lame compared to what is heard in the rest of the country.

I'd even like to see a KPIG-type format here. Only on an FM signal and with local talent - more than just a Monterey Bay translator.

Dave B.

I also like to see KOFY 1050 AM when they were 50's/60's oldies as "The Nifty 1050" from 1986-91. A pretty good traditional oldies station. Better than KYA-93.3 or KFRC-FM.

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

One thing about AAA is that it seems to be different in every market, and the version of AAA that KFOG puts together is pretty lame compared to what is heard in the rest of the country..

Actually, there is a Triple-A chart and most of the stations in the format around the country play the same stuff. KFOG is one of the more "classics"-heavy Triple-As; probably one of ther oldest-skewing, too. Every time they seem to be threatening to go younger they end up backtracking. The new PD appears to have gotten rid of the 2-hour new music block in the evenings, so I guess they can play "Sweet Home Alabama " 6 or 7 more times per week.

 

[radio dx]

I will always say KYA and another favorite that deserves a second chance KNBR "Good Times 68" with the likes of Frank and Mike, CJ , Carter B., along with Ron (Lyons) and Tom (Brown) "Foolery". In the kitchen was also a good segment at lunch time and my favorite fill in person was Stan Dunn and don't forget the news side Gene De A'Cardo, Bob Lasitch (I know the spelling is wrong) and Curtis Kim.

Those folks talked to you not at you and they had a way to make you feel at home like listening to a friend. Personality driven radio at it's best and as Ron Lyons would say " In the greatest city in the world" and "It's Friday all over your body"

 

[recto101]

This Topic is very interesting in San Francisco because If KOFY and James gabbert can have a Second Chance at TV 20. Wendy Tokuda at KPIX and Pete Wilson At KGO. I think Karel should have a second chance at KGO-am. Wow KFOG has been falling apart since Dave Morey left and Big Rick left.

 

[LKellerIII]

This Topic is very interesting in San Francisco because If KOFY and James gabbert can have a Second Chance at TV 20. Wendy Tokuda at KPIX and Pete Wilson At KGO. I think Karel should have a second chance at KGO-am. Wow KFOG has been falling apart since Dave Morey left and Big Rick left.

James Gabbert being back on KOFY isn't really a "second chance" situation, except that viewers get to see him again. He made an enormous fortune selling what was then a valuable WB affiliate. Then TV20 (KBWB) later lost the affiliation when the WB merged. Management decided (wisely) that going back to the KOFY call letters, and pushing Gabbert-era KOFY nostalgia would be good for ratings.

I guess Gabbert likes to stay active (he also fills in at KGO), so he probably enjoys his on-air work at KOFY, but I'm sure he doesn't need whatever nominal salary they give him - he probably donates it to charity.

 

[DaveBayArea]

KFOG is one of the more "classics"-heavy Triple-As; probably one of the oldest-skewing, too.

Without realizing it, I guess that's probably why I described KFOG the way I did. It seems like every time I check them out I hear 1 or 2 songs that are interesting, but you have to wade through the tired old retreads. How many times do you need to hear Peter Gabriel anyway?

Maybe it 's just me, but it seems radio used to be exciting, and people wanted to listen just to see what was coming next. Because you never knew. Granted, the AAA format itself (if you could call it that) was pretty good back then - with John Hiatt doing his Little Village thing, Michelle Schocked, The Smithereens, Los Lobos, etc. But there's still some great artists that aren't recognized today.

Dave B.

 

[Geek-O-Rama]

Fernando Ventura is no longer at MOViN 997, he is on 997 NOW.

so he's on 997 NOW, Now. Was Willie Mays called the Say Hey Kid because he said, "Say Hey" or because he said, "Hey"

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

KFOG is one of the more "classics"-heavy Triple-As; probably one of the oldest-skewing, too.

Without realizing it, I guess that's probably why I described KFOG the way I did. It seems like every time I check them out I hear 1 or 2 songs that are interesting, but you have to wade through the tired old retreads. How many times do you need to hear Peter Gabriel anyway?

Maybe it 's just me, but it seems radio used to be exciting, and people wanted to listen just to see what was coming next. Because you never knew. Granted, the AAA format itself (if you could call it that) was pretty good back then - with John Hiatt doing his Little Village thing, Michelle Schocked, The Smithereens, Los Lobos, etc. But there's still some great artists that aren't recognized today.

Dave B.

Yup. Triple-A evolved out of a Burkhart/Abrams format called "Superstars 2", which KFOG was a client of. It was (back in the '80s) meant to be a mix of good new music and tracks by established artists that were not yet burned out (so: no "Stairway to Heaven" but, say, "Kashmir" instead). That template was still in effect in the '90s when KFOG played then-new artists like James McMurtry, but they also ignored a lot of artists that ended up as Live 105 faves. And then years later KFOG would suddenly add Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Green Day to their library. Meanwhile, I don't get the logic of KFOG duplicating chestnuts that The Bone plays, like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Sweet Emotion", neither of which are very sweet at this point.

 

[mikecroaro]

93.3 KYA. Not the greatest oldies station but a much better playlist that 99.7 KFRC.

Mike

 

[JEREMIAH]

Re: The Nifty Ten Fifty....I loved it. Gabbert offered me the morning slot
but it was the same day that Channel 7 hired me to be the Five O'clock Shadow. If that hadn't happened I would have taken the KOFY gig.
Gabbert ended up doing mornings himself.
Oddly enough, a short time later my wife went to KOFY to do traffic.

Jim is a fun guy...gives great parties.

Oh, when I was at KSFO Jim had me and some other jocks on his sunday night "Sleazy Arms" movie show. Doctor Don Rose was on the show too.
He was a great guy.

Jerry Gordon KNUU Las Vegas

 

[recto101]

How about KYUU FM 99.7 is it good, KABL 98.1 , KSOL 98.9 and KRQR 97.3 should they come back?

 

[DavidKaye]

How about KYUU FM 99.7 is it good, KABL 98.1 , KSOL 98.9 and KRQR 97.3 should they come back?

KSAY 1010 and/or KEEN 1370 definitely would be cool to have back, from the era when both did Western music. KEEN had such luminaries as Cottonseed Clark, and KSAY had Jerry Leeds, both really good DJs and musicians in their own right.

 

[DaveBayArea]

KSAY 1010 and/or KEEN 1370 definitely would be cool to have back, from the era when both did Western music. KEEN had such luminaries as Cottonseed Clark, and KSAY had Jerry Leeds, both really good DJs and musicians in their own right.

I caught the end of KEEN when I moved to the Bay Area. It was mostly just top-40 country by that time, and probably couldn't compete with KSAN. But they had a few gems in their playlist that the regular country stations wouldn't play. I remember they played Lucinda Williams. They had traffic with a lady named Lisa Chrysler, which I thought was sorta creative.

Dave B.

 

[Hunkey Snarkey]

With out a doubt,, KIOI in 1979,, The Time Machine,, and it was Steve Jordan and Bill Holley,, James Gabbert had a great little AM then 1050,,, went off when the sun set !!!!!!!!! I found that station in mid 1979, and followed it to the end in 1980!!!!!!!!! Thanks James Gabbert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DavidKaye]

I caught the end of KEEN when I moved to the Bay Area. It was mostly just top-40 country by that time, and probably couldn't compete with KSAN. But they had a few gems in their playlist that the regular country stations wouldn't play. I remember they played Lucinda Williams. They had traffic with a lady named Lisa Chrysler, which I thought was sorta creative.

Dave B.

Yeah, by then KEEN was garbage. The KEEN (and KSAY and KTRB) of my youth were Western music stations featuring the likes of Lefty Frizzell, early Merle Haggard, Patsy Montana, Tex Ritter (actor John Ritter's dad), Sons of the Pioneers, Maddox Brothers & Rose, etc.

With all this attention to preserving the classical music heritage, I think more attention should be paid to preserving our Western music heritage, which is in much more danger of being forgotten. I'd like to hear a non-commercial station devoted to Western music.

 

[weav]

Yeah, by then KEEN was garbage. The KEEN (and KSAY and KTRB) of my youth were Western music stations featuring the likes of Lefty Frizzell, early Merle Haggard, Patsy Montana, Tex Ritter...

...that's when you woke up...

 

[radio dx]

With out a doubt,, KIOI in 1979,, The Time Machine,, and it was Steve Jordan and Bill Holley,, James Gabbert had a great little AM then 1050,,, went off when the sun set !!!!!!!!! I found that station in mid 1979, and followed it to the end in 1980!!!!!!!!! Thanks James Gabbert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[radio dx]

Gabbert's KIQI AM 1010 would leave the air at sunset and that was about the years 78 KOFY came along a bit later but reduced power at night.

 

[recto101]

How about KLOK 103.7 fm?