Radio Waves Podcast #308

 Radio: August 27, 2021

Low-power FM radio stations are tough to come by in Southern California. Not that there is no interest in launching them, and not that there actually aren’t any. The problem is that commercial stations in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, and even Santa Barbara counties fill every available frequency, and the weather often allows the commercial stations to cover vast areas … meaning that supposedly distant stations can overpower the low-power FM station even it’s licensed area.

Add to that the fact that the LPFMs, as they are called, cannot run commercial advertisements, and you have a situation where a hard-to-find station usually cannot support a budget allowing it to get the word out on its existence.

Of course the whole idea of LPFMs only came about because the FCC allowed the educational band of full-powered stations to stray from its intent of serving local communities, along with allowing huge conglomerates to take control of the rest of the band such that few stations program to a local audience. But I digress.

As I said, though, there are a few LPFMs around. Among them is one I just discovered, quite by accident, due in part to the odd weather conditions near my house.

I happened to be testing out my “new” car stereo — a Kenwood removed from my wife’s car — when I happened upon a station at 90.3 FM. Of course I know 90.3, and you may as well. It’s XHITZ, broadcasting from just South of the border with a transmitter in Tijuana, Mexico. I used to listen long ago when it was a good rock station, with such DJs as Bill Hergonson.

But this time I wasn’t hearing top-40 music as the station now plays. It was oldies, primarily from the 1960s, along with some old-school from the ‘70s and ‘80s. And I wasn’t hearing commercials. Did XHITZ change into something different? Then I heard the top-of-the-hour ID: KLIE/Fountain Valley: Radio Suerte.

It’s apparently not a new station, as it received special recognition from the United States Congress in 2019 even though RadioLocator.com says the license was granted in January of 2021. Either way it is new to me, primarily due to atmospheric conditions that blocked XHITZ and allowed its 90-watts of power to reach me as I was driving around upper San Pedro last weekend.

The station is bilingual, English and Spanish, but the music is the language it speaks. Songs — and occasionally versions of songs — you haven’t heard for a while are the stars. Station CEO Maria Luisa Luna puts it this way, as an introduction of the station website (radiosuerte.com): “Radio Suerte is like no other station you have heard. We are the first bilingual station bringing you golden hits, playing jewels from the 60's - 70's -80's and 90's. We pride ourselves in playing music the whole family can hear.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Maria grew up with the original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) or even the Chuck Martin-programmed KHJ (930 AM) circa 1979-80, which did the same thing. KRLA in particular, when the legendary Art Laboe was involved, created a format often listened to by multiple generations in families.

The station is downright fun. And you can hear it at radiosuerte.com by clicking on the player link on the main page.

HD Update

HD Radio, the digital radio broadcasting system authorized in the United States, had its genesis as a way to improve the sound of AM radio. Yet the state of HD on AM is dismal, at least in Southern California. While almost every FM station in town uses HD to add extra channels (that they rarely promote) and hopefully improve fidelity if heard over an HD Radio tuner, there are only two HD AM stations left that I know of — KBRT (740 AM) and KMZT (1260 AM).

Why did KFI (640 AM), KABC (790 AM), KFWB (980 AM), and KNX (1070 AM) turn off the HD? A KFI spokesperson told me it had to do with a listener in the fringe reception areas annoyed by the drastic sound change when the station switched between analog and HD. I’m not sure about the other stations, but for those of us with HD Radios, it is unfortunate - the sound quality and lack of background noise is striking compared with typical analog.

But perhaps it doesn’t matter, as the future of AM radio — or perhaps radio in general — may be online. Between online internet access, smartphone apps, smart speakers and the like, the value of HD on AM or even FM is somewhat diminished. AM stations sound great via apps, and you can listen to distant stations with ease. 

I’m not ready to say AM and FM over the regular airwaves are dead, but it’s an interesting thought. What are your views?

Tuna on the AM and FM

Charlie Tuna from August 23, 1976 is the star of KIIS AM and FM on a recent MixCloud addition. The short segment features a full newscast, and a reminder that the station was not known as “kiss” back then … it was still K-double I-S, including the jingles that have a groovy soul-full “AM and FM” vocal a part of the package. Also included: a montage of Neil Diamond songs that the station custom assembled. Tuna, as always, sounds great … though he isn’t heard nearly enough.

Hear it at https://www.mixcloud.com/retroradiojoe/kiis-fm-los-angeles-charlie-tuna-8-23-1976/

Radio Waves Podcast #307

 Radio: August 20, 2021

The tremendously accurate recreation of Mellow Sound KNX-FM (now KCBS-FM, 93.1) that was so popular in the 1970s and part of the ‘80s — KNXFM93.com — has another special in store.

Saturday at 5 p.m. and again Sunday at 12 noon (Pacific time), the popular internet station will present 90 minutes of Linda Ronstadt recorded live “over space and time,” says station spokesman and producer Douglas Brown. What he means is that it’s not one concert on one date but a combination of her best performances — and those of some of her friends — recorded over the years and in different venues. Perhaps you were at some of the concerts yourself.

It’s another of the station’s “In Concert” series, and it’s available only inline via the internet, your smartphone using a radio app, or your smart speaker when you say tell Siri, Google or Alexa to “play knxfm93 on TuneIn Radio.”

If you haven’t sampled it yet, by the way, you owe it to yourself to do so. The music mix is huge, and the presentation is top-notch, from the jingles, to the announcements, to the all-new Odyssey File. If you weren’t paying attention to the fact that they run no commercials, you’d swear you were hearing the original KNX-FM. 

Honestly,  I am not sure why someone doesn’t put the format on the traditional radio airwaves. 

DJ Denning

Country artist Travis Denning is performing October 12th at the Greek Theater as part of the Brothers Osborne “We’re Not For Everyone” tour. In celebration, Go Country 105 (105.1 FM) is giving away tickets all this month and giving Denning control of the Go Country airwaves weekdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of the month as the August mid-day guest host.

The station is also giving away tickets to the concert, which are actually possible to win being that the contest is for local listeners, not nationwide like so many cheap discount huge corporate-owned competing stations. You know which stations I mean … 

Speaking of Go Country, station owner Saul Levine is a huge lover of animals and has spent many years promoting and supporting the adoption of shelter animals. He and the station promote the adoptions right on the website, GoCountry105.com.

Valley Fest

Independent 88.5 FM invites you to join them for an evening of great food, fun, and live entertainment as you support local small businesses. It’s called The Valley Fest, and it will be held on Saturday, August 28th from 5 - 10 p.m.

The station calls it an assembly of “hidden gems,” featuring food, brewers, artists, creators, and entertainers. Registration needs to be done through Eventbrite; find information and a link to register at the station website, 885fm.org. The event is sponsored by 88.5 FM, The 818 Insider, and Westfield Topanga and the Village

What is 88.5, you ask? Quite simply a hidden gem itself. Over the air, I think the signal reaches about 27 people … maybe 28. But you can listen online at the website or via your smartphone or smart speaker. One of the few stations that plays new music and new artists, albeit on the adult alternative light-rock side. Definitely worth searching out. It is a service of Cal State Northridge and Saddleback College.

Takeover

Want your 15 minutes of fame? Want to be on KIIS-FM (102.7)? Get both by nominating yourself for Takeover Tuesdays, winners are announced Tuesdays at 2 PM.

Shy? Nominate your friend. Sketchy details are at kiisfm.com.

Radio Waves Podcast #306

 Radio: August 13, 2021

AllAccess.com broke the news that Garry Meier — perhaps best known for his many years paired with Steve Dahl on WLS, WLUP and WLUP-FM in Chicago — has started hosting a new show on KABC (790 AM) Sunday nights at 10:00.

As half of the Steve and Garry Show on WLUP, Meier was part of the WLUP Disco Demolition Night held in July of 1979 which was originally conceived as a publicity stunt for the station to “end disco once and for all.” What ended up happening is that the event, held between games of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the visiting Detroit Tigers, got out of hand when fans stormed the field after the records were blown up, and refused to leave. The second game of the day was first postponed and later ruled a forfeit win for the Tigers.

It was perhaps one of the most notorious radio events of the decade, with news coverage all across the country.

A member of the Chicago Radio Hall of Fame, Meier’s one-hour program  is a lighthearted look at the news and current events … no particular topic is to be discussed or not discussed. The program is also available as a podcast on the KABC.com website.

Speaking of KABC

The station is placing the daily 1 p.m. Doctor Hour — among the highest-rated hours of its broadcast day — on hiatus, “officially” in order to devote time to covering the issues behind the recall of Gavin Newsom. The hour — one third of John Philip’s noon - 3 p.m. weekday program (formerly) airing at 1:00 — is expected to return after the election.

But it won’t necessarily return with Dr. Kelly Victory, the primary and most popular guest on the segment and someone who has been with the station for almost seven years as the go-to expert when public health issues arise. For the past year and a half, Victory has been on the air almost daily weekdays taking calls and answering questions for all things Covid-19.

“After 18 months of donating my time, five days a week, to be the voice of calm and reason on KABC, they called me recently and said they are canceling the hour. They are ‘worried about any negative information about the vaccines.’”

Part of that worry is a corporate culture that lives at the major mega-corp radio companies like KABC owner Cumulus. Cumulus talk host Phil Valentine, heard on 30 affiliates nationwide, was an outspoken anti-vaccine proponent until he became ill with Covid-19 and was placed on a ventilator in late July. The worry, says observers, is listener or regulatory backlash due to the nature of the discussions and public policy.

That’s a bit hard to understand in this case, though. Victory is far from anti-vaccine, though she believes in presenting information and letting people make the risk-benefit decision themselves. She thinks that is exactly the problem.

“I always present a balanced view when I do these segments, whether on KABC or elsewhere,” says Victory, an emergency trauma expert and public health specialist. Part of her expertise is on disaster preparedness and response. “If I can’t speak the truth, then my job is over,” she told me, adding that she always strives to be calm, balanced and measured.

“You can’t make good decisions out of fear,” Kelly said.

Her decision right now is to seek out a different platform to help spread accurate information and help people make informed decisions. “My mission hasn’t changed.” But it does apparently signal a split from KABC, with Kelly stating that she won’t return unless she gets a guarantee that she can say what she believes as truth. My hunch is that she’ll return to the local airwaves, but on a different station. “I’m not going to sign up to be censored.”

“Virtue untested is no virtue at all,” Kelly told me, reflecting on what she feels is the station dropping the segment due to perceived pressure from outside. “I broadcast from the ICU when I was in the hospital – as a patient, rearranged flights and travel plans to accommodate the show, and was on the air almost every day for 18 months — as a volunteer — just to help people out.”

It’s unfortunate, as the doctor hour is definitely one of the best hours on the radio. Hopefully it will be back on the air sooner than later. Somewhere.

Letterbag

“I'm a dedicated listener to Swing Time and I can't find any information about why Johnny Magnus will no longer be hosting. Can you enlighten me?” — Frank Coffey

“Good morning from West Hills!! Did Johnny Magnus leave… there’s a new guy on the air this morning!” — John Del Gatto

“Do you know what happened to Johnny Magnus on K-Jazz?  I don't understand why DJ changes are so secretive.” —  Alex Nigian

It appears to just be a change, with longtime radio personality and programmer Chuck Southcott taking over the Swing Time program from former host Johnny Magnus. Like Magnus, Southcott is an expert on the genre, and can be heard from 7-10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays on KKJZ (88.1 FM). Southcott tells me he loves playing the music once again. 

I am told that the health of Magnus is not an issue. 

“I have been searching the airwaves for a station to take the place of 1260AM when classical music replaced the oldies.  I found it at 88.1 FM coming out of  Cal State University at Long Beach.  They play some jazz and a good mix other stuff and very little talk.  Love it!” — Katherine Samuelsen

Interesting replacement, aside from the difference in music. Saul Levine of 1260 also runs 88.1 — they even use his studios in West LA for the programming.

By the way, the oldies formerly found on 1260 AM can still be heard at LAOldies.com, as well as via phone apps and smart speakers, and on HD radios (KKGO HD2).