This edition of LA Radio Waves http://laradiowaves.com is our first "live" version of the show. We cover the column and a lot of different radio topics, leading up to our marathon of our "career spanning" radio personality interviews, which can be heard until January 6th on the LARadioStudio.com "stream".......
------------------------------------------
It was almost two years in
the making, but it finally happened. Dave Beasing, programmer of The Sound
(100.3 FM) was (with the help of general manager Peter Burton) able to convince
Mark Thompson -- aka “Mark” of Mark and Brian fame -- to return to radio. He’ll
be paired with Andy Chanley in the morning shift beginning some time in
February. Current morning man Joe Benson will take over Chanley’s mid-day shift
at that time as well.
“Mark in the Morning” (I
sincerely hope they come up with a better name for the show by the time it hits
the airwaves) will air 6-10 every weekday morning, promising, according to the
press release, “a rich mix of music and fun conversation, celebrity interviews,
comedy, and the type of spontaneous moments that happen naturally when Mark
Thompson and a radio microphone are in close proximity.”
I know what you’re
thinking. It’s either “I can’t wait to hear him.” Or “I hate that he’s coming
because I like hearing music.”
And I understand both
sides. Mark and Brian (Phelps) were a staple in Los Angeles for a quarter
century on KLOS (95.5 FM). They were very popular. But they played almost no
music, which gave competitors like The Sound itself, ironically, a chance to
gain listeners by playing the songs that KLOS to this day still does not in the
morning.
Which begs the question:
Why do this? The Sound is currently the top-rated classic rock station in town
... why startle the audience by turning off the morning music?
One thing is being left
out, though: Who says music won’t be part of the morning? Beasing says that
music will indeed be part of the morning show, though he did not get specific.
My hunch is that Chanley -- a music expert -- will handle those duties while
also acting as a sidekick. At least I hope so.
Some of the most
entertaining morning shows have been a combination of music and entertainment.
Lohman and Barkley, London and Engelman, Robert W Morgan and the like graced the
airwaves of Los Angeles in the past. Currently Kevin and Bean on KROQ (106.7 FM)
are music intensive AND have entertaining talk. In my opinion, music helps make
the bits better, since they are a transition and buffer. Frankly, I’ve never
cared much for most all-talk morning shows.
Plus, Beasing is not
stupid. If listeners want music, he’ll give it to them. In the meantime, he
freely admits that in a year he’ll either be thought of as a genius or a
moron.
I’m just wondering what
confusion will result from the fact that another Mark Thompson can be
heard on KFI (640 AM) afternoons 1-3 p.m. as half of Thompson and
Espinoza?
Sounds of the Season
Ken Borgers and David Grudt
are once again presenting Sounds of the Season on Borgers’ internet
tribute to the original KNOB (now KLAX, 97.9 FM). You can find it at www.JazzKnob.org.
It’s a 36-hour program that
starts at noon on Christmas Eve. A highlight of the annual program is a reading
of the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by the late, great LA Jazz DJ
Chuck Niles, to be heard this year six times: noon and 6 p.m. December 24th; and
at midnight, 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. December 25th.
Then on December 31st, hear
A Big Band New Years Eve from 4 p.m. to 1 p.m. This program features
recording of Big Band concerts including Duke Ellington and many more.
JazzKnob.org harkens
back to Sleepy Stein’s KNOB/Long Beach, playing straight-ahead jazz 24 hours a
day. Stein was the owner of the original KNOB, launched in 1957 with 320 watts
at its original frequency of 103.1 FM. One year later, he was able to increase
power just a bit ... to 79,000 watts ... by moving to 97.9. He sold the station
in 1966.
No comments:
Post a Comment