tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2826396948469415708..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Why I'm glad I got out of radioBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54623729060265679432015-10-15T20:21:35.098-07:002015-10-15T20:21:35.098-07:00Shotgun is one of the nicest people I have ever me...Shotgun is one of the nicest people I have ever met.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08639735742592633770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19463450388045291462015-09-02T05:16:14.934-07:002015-09-02T05:16:14.934-07:00Someone mentioned Apple's Beats 1. Here it is....Someone mentioned Apple's Beats 1. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/02/beats-1-drake-jaden-smith-st-vincent-ezra-koenig" rel="nofollow">Here it is.</a> Personally, I think this is already covered by the BBC's Radio 1 & 1Xtra stations. And it has our very own Zane Lowe.<br /><br />Johnny Walker: I'd forgotten but JW is a DJ who worked the pirate ships in the '60s and is still broadcasting on Radio 2: <i>Sounds of the Seventies.</i>Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81670839726309694542015-08-31T18:54:15.554-07:002015-08-31T18:54:15.554-07:00This is partly why I didn't pursue a career in...This is partly why I didn't pursue a career in radio way back when I was in college (I did mornings on the college radio station, and was good enough that a couple of folks said I should keep at it). I saw the writing on the wall then, twenty years ago - the market was incredibly competitive, and the friends I knew who were having a serious go at it were struggling just to pay bills even after they got gigs.<br /><br />I loved radio, but I didn't love it enough to go hungry chasing a job doing it.<br /><br />It's a different world now, and I feel really sorry for my sons... They will never get to really be entertained through this medium the way I and so many commentators here were. They'll get their "personalities" from Youtube videos... #eyeroll<br />Joseph Dickersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10766317582914633672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2790719686616304072015-08-31T08:44:45.189-07:002015-08-31T08:44:45.189-07:00Ken - You were smart to get out of radio. Radio in...Ken - You were smart to get out of radio. Radio in LA started to die back in the 80s. <br /><br />In the 70s and early 80s, KMET was the station to listen to. They knew exactly what the listeners wanted to hear. The music was hand picked by the staff. Not some 'Consultants' in NY. You could go anyplace in LA and you would hear KMET on car radios and boom boxes. KMET started to die when 'Consultants' thought the music the DJ's were playing the wrong music for the demo. The air staff knew what the listeners wanted to hear. The staff of KMET played what the listeners wanted to hear. The 'Consultants' thought other wise. The 'Consultants' were very wrong. Ratings went down hill fast and an icon of LA radio was gone a few years later. <br /><br />It's only a matter of time before KLOS is also a memory. <br /><br />KROQ-FM had a very colorful history. It started out as pretty much as anything goes. Rick Carrol came on board and created the 'Roq of the 80s' format. KROQ became a power house in LA back in the 80s. They played what the listeners wanted to hear. It was very successful for years. When KROQ was bought by Infinity, it became corporate radio. What was a great station, (Side note. I worked at KROQ from the late 70s-mid 80s) became corporate programmed. Freedom to play what the listeners wanted disappeared.<br /><br />The days of radio being ran locally is gone. It's all about a playlist that a computer cranks out, and profits. Radio has become a waste land of the same playlist served up on hundreds of stations across the station by a 'DJ' who is hundreds of miles away. <br /><br />I have fond memories (Well, sorta) of working in LA radio in the late 70s to the mid 80s and to see what radio has become is a shame.Stan Amsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51819199586751001512015-08-31T05:57:01.545-07:002015-08-31T05:57:01.545-07:00Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the &q...Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the "Harry O" crew in '74?<br /><br />Anyhow, radio. A first love. I used to call in nightly to a local station long gone, WMYU, and ask for rare Elvis Presley records, among other stuff. Damned if Tony Lawson didn't go down into the basement and play E's cover of Chuck B's "Promised Land" and such.<br /><br />And our morning guy on WIVK, local legend Claude Tomlinson, used to portray three guys. He wasn't Mel Blanc, but he was ours.<br /><br />We used to have a great sation (WQBB) that played Sinatra and such...with local DJs! on FM! It eventually gave way to syndicated programming of the same music, then went to AM only, then disappeared. For awhile, we had a Music of your Life affiliate. I'd listen to Gary Owens, and Led Brown Jr. in the morning. Better than nothing.<br /><br />Before I got sick, I listened to NPR, Eddie Stubbs on WSM, Jonathan Schwartz wherever he was at the time, and Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray do Braves baseball until 2008.<br /><br />Other than Schwartz, I could get the others over the air. I stopped listening to the other music channels more than 15 years ago.<br /><br />Jean Shepherd airchecks from his WOR years (think a conglomerate would allow THAT over the air today?) have kept me sane on the blue moons I can listen online, as has Jack Benny's classic radio program.<br /><br />Otherwise, they're playing to someone other than me over the air. Even "oldies" means 80s now, for god's sake. And our local afternoon talk show will make you regurgitate, even on an empty stomach, especially when the calls commence.<br /><br />I'm reminded of Dudley Moore's drunken monologue as George Webber in "10."<br /><br />"(What) fucking kind of era is this?" ... with apologies to Blake Edwards.Jake Mabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01908036270824377919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65263106491771769042015-08-31T05:56:59.706-07:002015-08-31T05:56:59.706-07:00Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the &q...Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the "Harry O" crew in '74?<br /><br />Anyhow, radio. A first love. I used to call in nightly to a local station long gone, WMYU, and ask for rare Elvis Presley records, among other stuff. Damned if Tony Lawson didn't go down into the basement and play E's cover of Chuck B's "Promised Land" and such.<br /><br />And our morning guy on WIVK, local legend Claude Tomlinson, used to portray three guys. He wasn't Mel Blanc, but he was ours.<br /><br />We used to have a great sation (WQBB) that played Sinatra and such...with local DJs! on FM! It eventually gave way to syndicated programming of the same music, then went to AM only, then disappeared. For awhile, we had a Music of your Life affiliate. I'd listen to Gary Owens, and Led Brown Jr. in the morning. Better than nothing.<br /><br />Before I got sick, I listened to NPR, Eddie Stubbs on WSM, Jonathan Schwartz wherever he was at the time, and Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray do Braves baseball until 2008.<br /><br />Other than Schwartz, I could get the others over the air. I stopped listening to the other music channels more than 15 years ago.<br /><br />Jean Shepherd airchecks from his WOR years (think a conglomerate would allow THAT over the air today?) have kept me sane on the blue moons I can listen online, as has Jack Benny's classic radio program.<br /><br />Otherwise, they're playing to someone other than me over the air. Even "oldies" means 80s now, for god's sake. And our local afternoon talk show will make you regurgitate, even on an empty stomach, especially when the calls commence.<br /><br />I'm reminded of Dudley Moore's drunken monologue as George Webber in "10."<br /><br />"(What) fucking kind of era is this?" ... with apologies to Blake Edwards.Jake Mabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01908036270824377919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21664186153708323672015-08-31T05:55:33.105-07:002015-08-31T05:55:33.105-07:00Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the &q...Ken: Did you ever run into David Janssen or the "Harry O" crew in '74?<br /><br />Anyhow, radio. A first love. I used to call in nightly to a local station long gone, WMYU, and ask for rare Elvis Presley records, among other stuff. Damned if Tony Lawson didn't go down into the basement and play E's cover of Chuck B's "Promised Land" and such.<br /><br />And our morning guy on WIVK, local legend Claude Tomlinson, used to portray three guys. He wasn't Mel Blanc, but he was ours.<br /><br />We used to have a great sation (WQBB) that played Sinatra and such...with local DJs! on FM! It eventually gave way to syndicated programming of the same music, then went to AM only, then disappeared. For awhile, we had a Music of your Life affiliate. I'd listen to Gary Owens, and Led Brown Jr. in the morning. Better than nothing.<br /><br />Before I got sick, I listened to NPR, Eddie Stubbs on WSM, Jonathan Schwartz wherever he was at the time, and Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray do Braves baseball until 2008.<br /><br />Other than Schwartz, I could get the others over the air. I stopped listening to the other music channels more than 15 years ago.<br /><br />Jean Shepherd airchecks from his WOR years (think a conglomerate would allow THAT over the air today?) have kept me sane on the blue moons I can listen online, as has Jack Benny's classic radio program.<br /><br />Otherwise, they're playing to someone other than me over the air. Even "oldies" means 80s now, for god's sake. And our local afternoon talk show will make you regurgitate, even on an empty stomach, especially when the calls commence.<br /><br />I'm reminded of Dudley Moore's drunken monologue as George Webber in "10."<br /><br />"(What) fucking kind of era is this?" ... with apologies to Blake Edwards.Jake Mabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01908036270824377919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77402529404435852502015-08-30T20:35:06.737-07:002015-08-30T20:35:06.737-07:00BTW, Steve, you ignorant race-baiter, they don'...BTW, Steve, you ignorant race-baiter, they don't speak Spanish in Brazil. The language in Brazil is Portuguese.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84345767763106917782015-08-30T20:32:25.132-07:002015-08-30T20:32:25.132-07:00"Our southern california culture has been lev...<i>"Our southern california culture has been leveled by an hispanic population bomb tossed by billionaires from the other side of the border, and it's not going to ever be resurrected in any important way. <br /><br />Better learn spanish, and get used to Mariachi, kids.<br /><br />California is gone. Little Brazil is arriving.<br /><br />The leftover white folks can only stare into their Iphones, rearrange their little apple playlists, and pretend it's all good.<br /><br />– Steve Pirazzo"</i><br /><br />Wow. Racist much? Voting for Trump? Since California was originally part of Mexico and populated by entirely by Mexicans and Indians, one could rather more accurately say that California culture was leveled by a white, English-speaking population bomb tossed by greedy rapacious white Europeans back east.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16503311921307776582015-08-30T19:57:16.200-07:002015-08-30T19:57:16.200-07:00wwoz.org New Orleans listener-supported net radio ...wwoz.org New Orleans listener-supported net radio WITH personalities, and many of the dj's program their own shows. They also recently added a second stream.DrBOPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179469265158025584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23587976364668577022015-08-30T15:13:32.134-07:002015-08-30T15:13:32.134-07:00Ken, you worked in radio at a very exciting time. ...Ken, you worked in radio at a very exciting time. Unfortunately, KRTH's numbers are good and I can't stand them. Of course being around your age, we are way out of their demo. I would listen to Tuna on KRTH the last few years just to listen to Charlie. The music got in the way,and after an hour or so I couldn't take it anymore..the music,not Charlie. I wish streaming existed during the 60's,70's,80's and 90's. I would have loved to listen to KRTH,KHJ and WMCA and CBS FM in NY. I can get both KRTH and CBS FM on my phone and Internet radio and could care less.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189447895397170825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35545992339195594192015-08-30T11:19:47.831-07:002015-08-30T11:19:47.831-07:00The airwaves we all own? How the hell do we get &#...The airwaves we all own? How the hell do we get 'em back? Local and community in the world of corporate hurt means we as individuals are the losers. Time for some kind of change, ain't it? The days when a local hero can be publicly celebrated right after the news of heroism appears on the morning news are nearly gone; let's not let our local need be completely sucked up by corporate greed. Beans are meant to be eaten, not counted.Steve Hoadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17865849818731900719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3832485965866396832015-08-30T09:50:46.918-07:002015-08-30T09:50:46.918-07:00landed in SF after a small taste of "RADIO&qu...landed in SF after a small taste of "RADIO" in Houston, with dreams of spinning records, as I had several on the AM side as mentors, Jimmy Rabbit knew Gordon Baxter, from Beaumont, Texas, who I found out thru him was put into a TeXas hall of radio fame, and on the Louisiana Side was 'Cousin Curt Maddox" the big mouth of KIKK, first a small am then he moved into a job in Lake Charles, and as the story goes, got into some trouble with a man's wife, who became 'affix' with his 'personality'. He often spoke of 'his ranch' and my dad had commented often, 'Curt Maddox' got no ranch.. Later Dad was to move within shouting distance of Cousin Curt, and visited him as often as I could... Cousin Curt had the 'MOUTH" as those days, so many had the need for.. Twisting some words before he put the 45 onto the turntable... Returning from CA after exposure to FM in SF.. ( KSAN/KMPX,kpfa, and I worked on building the community krcb in Santa Rosa )... Worked with the <br />collation to save the city KKCY, one last attempt for a freeform station in SF..about that time krsh.com came on the air, and Bill Bowker switched over from the KFOX, which went thru a format change and letter change, to playing a heavy roatation of the pop more metal type songs. . . often known in the market as 'boneyard'... **** I have a number of radio people on my friends list, as being raised by a standup radio at Cooper's Grocery, Bancroft, La.. I was exposed to some great music, and of course, Gordon Baxter.. They are running some of his later tapes over klvu.org Beaumont Texas... I was away in CA and missed his migration from AM to FM... roscoebeauregard facebook..... roscoebeauregard@blogspot.com. where sometimes I get back to posting my prose/poetry.. Sabine River Sons work...roscoebeauregard.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03180671472068883928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46179294401562331042015-08-30T06:35:02.070-07:002015-08-30T06:35:02.070-07:00Thank god for The Peak in White Plains, NY. Locall...Thank god for The Peak in White Plains, NY. Locally-owned, live DJ's, no contests or wacky comedy duos, and good music old and new. I listen in the car but I lose the signal when I drive into Manhattan. 107.1, you can probably get it over the internets.Gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12361836428885324631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10538878448631622932015-08-30T06:02:22.635-07:002015-08-30T06:02:22.635-07:00@Steve Pirazzo.................Take that BS to Sto...@Steve Pirazzo.................Take that BS to StormfrontJakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86233392727338379102015-08-30T01:32:28.466-07:002015-08-30T01:32:28.466-07:00I was lucky to get into radio in 1969 as talent du...I was lucky to get into radio in 1969 as talent during the time most consider the glory days of top 40. By the late 70's there were whispers of this thing called deregulation and a lot of us were of the mindset that this might be the beginning of the end of radio. Little did we know. In the mid 80's acquisition fever was in full force and by the time I made it to WLS even ABC had been bought by a little company called Cap Cities. Anyone with a clue could see the writing on the wall, and I knew I needed to make a course correction. Over the years I'd noticed engineers always survived format changes and station sales. The joke was, engineers were furthest from the front door and were less likely to be sucked out with the rest of the staff due to "changes". So I transitioned into engineering by the time I got to Dallas. That change served me well as I was able to ride it through until I retired due to medical reasons in early 2013. While I miss the business, I am happy I no longer have to witness the destruction piece by piece of the industry I once truly love. I was lucky as I worked for the last of the legacy companies who treated me very well, and thankfully it was NOT Clear Channel or whatever they call themselves this week..But God how I miss the "Glory Days"...Old Hippyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08282387739067480806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28418672382628882722015-08-30T00:41:05.664-07:002015-08-30T00:41:05.664-07:00I couldn't agree more, Ken.
I work in San Fra...I couldn't agree more, Ken.<br /><br />I work in San Francisco, and I do the news/weather/traffic/sports for various stations, and it's all pre-recorded and fed into an automation system. We have jocks coming to my outfit for work because they've been cut to a few hours a day in which they record voice tracks. You can't make a living on that. Radio barely paid anyway, as you well know, and the superstars are long gone, as you've described, and it's like watching grandpa die.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89317355803798293782015-08-30T00:08:08.483-07:002015-08-30T00:08:08.483-07:00I haven't listened to the radio since 1986. (H...I haven't listened to the radio since 1986. (Husband wouldn't let me sleep with it on but the silence from turning it off hurt! So I just left it off.) I play mp3s in the car over an old melted tunecast, and Rewound Radio on the weekends. Now I fall asleep to episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Most from the post-Heigl era.Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15227859321809213562015-08-29T17:45:34.566-07:002015-08-29T17:45:34.566-07:00One of the funniest half-hours of television I eve...One of the funniest half-hours of television I ever saw was a Tom Snyder Tomorrow Show Coast to Coast with Charlie Tuna, Scott Muni, an LA jock (might have been Steele) and Lujack. Snyder gets all serious, like he used to do, and asks them about payola and they all deny it until he gets to Lujack. <br />Lujack says, "Payola? You mean paying me money to play records? Sure. You pay me enough money and I'll play any record you want all day long." The other jocks were shocked (no pun intended), and Snyder was horrified.<br />Lujack just smiled at Snyder. Absolutely hilarious. <br />(He told me years later he remembered it and was drunk when he was on the show) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62160082315827366532015-08-29T17:27:09.147-07:002015-08-29T17:27:09.147-07:00Beaver Cleaver was one of the funniest guys on the...Beaver Cleaver was one of the funniest guys on the radio in SoCal, and we were lucky to have a couple of guest appearances in NY on 99X. Ken was smart to get out of radio, and he's right about the state of radio today. It really does suck.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15430424294981546834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38365289639661105712015-08-29T17:16:47.507-07:002015-08-29T17:16:47.507-07:00I think Tom Lykis was told he had to take a drop i...I think Tom Lykis was told he had to take a drop in salary, and he said he'd just leave, and did. Now he's got his own podcast that he financed himself. I guess if you pay a small subscription fee you can hear him live daily, otherwise you can hear the repeat. <br /><br />He's got his same old format, but it seems kind of dated in the podcast world. Also the creative tension isn't there like it was. I guess because it was possible for him to say something to get himself in trouble before. Now as a podcast, he can say anything with nobody to answer to.<br /><br />Probably one of the major accelerants to the demise of the local DJ in Southern California is the influx of hispanic immigrants. How many first or second generation hispanic immigrants really care about the wit of Charlie Tuna? They have no cultural reference related to those guys. They don't care about a classic number from the Beatles. Many don't know or care anything about the Beatles, or any other nostalgic music by American standards. Even hip hop is getting lame. 80% of Compton is Hispanic now. Imagine that!<br /><br />Our southern california culture has been leveled by an hispanic population bomb tossed by billionaires from the other side of the border, and it's not going to ever be resurrected in any important way. <br /><br />Better learn spanish, and get used to Mariachi, kids.<br /><br />California is gone. Little Brazil is arriving.<br /><br />The leftover white folks can only stare into their Iphones, rearrange their little apple playlists, and pretend it's all good.<br /><br />– Steve PirazzoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36237978155952411482015-08-29T17:08:58.102-07:002015-08-29T17:08:58.102-07:00Radio's alive, on the scale of local that'...Radio's alive, on the scale of local that's meaningful. I grew up in L.A., moved to<br />Portland (an excellent public radio town at the time) and then on to Brookings, Oregon.<br />I returned to radio (having spent way lots of time at Loyola University's KXLU and<br />somehow still graduated) in the town of Brookings. I do mornings and on KURY that means<br />the menus for the schools and the senior centers, community groups with access and <br />public service and appearances at local events. It means high school sports, and that<br />includes volleyball and softball....every game, home or away....on the air. The music<br />is varied enough, familiar but not complacent, but it's all the local that goes in <br />between that can't happen anymore in the mega-corporation world of radio. Mega-inserted<br />sound bites can be clever, they can give away the moon and stars...but they can't be<br />your neighbor. elektrik freddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17027589847226647922015-08-29T16:24:02.103-07:002015-08-29T16:24:02.103-07:00Nice try, Ken, but there's no way I'm goin...Nice try, Ken, but there's no way I'm going to listen to Kung Fu Fighting. As for radio, I stopped listening to music stations some years back when the oldies station became all talk. Or ESPN, or something non-musical. Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39902803750685302582015-08-29T16:04:17.478-07:002015-08-29T16:04:17.478-07:00In 1974, I was producing Dick Whittington's ra...In 1974, I was producing Dick Whittington's radio show, and I wrote for him from 1967 on, and eventually I also sold material to Lohman & Barkley. I was spoiled by working with the best right off the block. These days, I don't even own a radio, let alone ever listen to radio. Even in a car, one can pop in a CD and listen to the music I like sans commercials and inane chatter from non-personalities.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9294154629679349372015-08-29T15:04:57.932-07:002015-08-29T15:04:57.932-07:00Amen, Ken. I left it for radio software, then onw...Amen, Ken. I left it for radio software, then onward, but I miss the old days still. More and more entertainment businesses are only cash cows now...even the price for a baseball game for the family and food and/or drink is high. <br /><br />Radio was a grand thing, but as you compared it to typewriter repairman, one cannot stop the march of time and commerce. sighMister Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02740971667961847200noreply@blogger.com