Radio Waves Podcast #116

February 26, 2016

It’s been a while since my last edition of Readers Revenge, a time when you get to add to the conversation either covering things I missed or want to embellish.

As it turns out, call letters mean a lot to you as they do me, and quite a few responses came in with call letter meanings as well as stories of early broadcasting. Some of the meanings mentioned:

KUSC - broadcasting form the University of Southern California, which reader Bill Cosso claims has broadcast classical music since it went on the air. 

KGIL - named after original owner Gil Paltridge, says legendary programmer and DJ Chuck Southcott.

KECA - Earle C. Anthony, who owned what would later become KABC (790 AM), which itself is named after its later owner, the American Broadcasting Company. Thanks, George Lee of La Crescenta.

Adding to the KECA story is Steve Thompson of Glendale, who writes, “In 1929, Earle C. Anthony, a Packard automobile distributor and founder/owner of KFI, bought KPLA (1430 AM) and changed the call letters to KECA, after his initials. Ten years later he bought KEHE-780 from the Evening Herald-Express newspaper. He promptly took the station off the air and moved KECA to 780.  Anthony then moved the studios of KFI and KECA from his Packard dealership in Los Angeles to the former KEHE studios at 141 North Vermont. KECA moved to 790 in 1941 and today is KABC.” A complicated story, essentially confirmed by longtime reader of my column, George Schwenk.

Don Ward added a few: KJLH (originally on AM): John Lamar Hill; KMGM - owned by Metro Goldwin Mayer film studios, later to become KCBH - Crawford’s Beverly Hills (music store) and eventually KJOI - for the obvious K-Joy; KOCS - Ontario City Service; KSOM - Sound of (beautiful) Music.

KMAX - named after the owner, Max (and MaryAnn) ... “can;t remember their last names,” said Deanne Davis of Sierra Madre. Dacis and her husband John lauched a station in yucca Valley from 1988 to 1994 called KROR ... “The Mighty Roar of the desert.”

KPOP - The Popular Station, submitted by Phil Keosababian. KPOP was the original call sign for what later became KGRB and KTNQ.

KFWB - “Keep Filming Warner Brothers” or something related to “Westinghouse Broadcasting,” as both companies were owners at one time or another. Turns out to be more mundane - random sequential letters, says Wikipedia.

Joe McDonald of Whittier asked if three-call letter combinations were meant for “clear channel” stations, those with no other stations on the same frequency that cover large areas of the United States.Locally, KFI (640 AM) and KNX (1070 AM) are clear channel stations. Alas, while a good theory, it turns out that there were four-letter clears as well as three-letters that were not. KHJ (930 AM), for example, is not a clear channel. Three-letters were just what was issued in the early days of broadcasting.

Cory Moore of Compton noted a mis-spelling ... Auburn automobiles are spelled with a “u,” not with an “o” as wrote with Auborn ... I’m going to pretend I did that on purpose.

Next week: some interesting information on early FM broadcasting, including the problems with early stereo.

February 19, 2016

Kindness, Happiness and Joy. George B Storer. Ten-Q. “Kiss-FM.” Power 106. What do all of these have in common? They are all “names” for stations, or more accurately, variations of their call letters. 

Well, sort of.

 

I’m a call-letter guy, in the sense that I like when stations use their given call letters instead of a generic name that can be heard anywhere. But that idea tends to get lost as marketing managers do anything they can to stand out, even if standing out means being a carbon-copy of your co-owned station in Atlanta. Or San Diego. Or Pittsburg. Or all of the above.

But call letters have a certain mystic, due mainly to the fact that only one AM, FM or television station can have the same call sign. Anywhere. For example while you can find “My FM,” (one of the top winners in the stupid name contest) in Los Angeles; Independence, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; or even Idaho Falls, Idaho, there is only KBIG-FM.

So what do call letters mean? And why?

First, the basics. In the United States, call signs begin with the letter K, W or N. N is reserved for military and government use, so we are left with K, generally for stations West of the Mississippi River and W for those East. But it wasn’t always that way: prior to January, 1923 the dividing line was the Eastern borders of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. And the rule was not always fully enforced anyway, so there are some Eastern K stations and Western W stations, though few and far between. According to mentalfloss.com, the most Eastern of the Ks is KYW/Philadelphia, still using the same call sign, and the most Western W station was WLAY/Fairbanks Alaska, which broadcast in 1922 and ’23.

Three letter call signs were all issued in order, similar to ho license plates are issued for cars. Originally, four-letter calls were issued in the same way ... KDKA followed by KDKB, then KDKC, etc. Soon the Federal Radio Commission, precursor to the Federal Communications Commission, allowed stations to request specific call letter combinations, and that’s when the real name game began. And while the original assignment for three-letter calls was arbitrary, after the requests were allowed, stations could request three-letter combos as they became available.

And even the arbitrary letters had marketing meaning ... old timers may remember when KHJ used the slogan Knowledge, Happiness and Judgement; or later Kindness, Happiness and Joy. Supposedly, KFI stood for Farm Information, but like KHJ and KNX, the KFI calls were issued randomly. Other meanings, for stations that may or may not still exist locally:

KGFJ - Keeping Good Folks Joyful

KMPC - MacMillan Petroleum Company

KFAC - Fuller, Auborn and Cord (automobile dealershios owned by station owner E. L. Cord)

KGBS - George B. Storer

KIIS - Not “kiss” but instead “K Double-I S,” chosen because the letter IIS look like 115, the AM frequency that once was the home of the station.

KFSG - Four Square Gospel church.

KPPC - Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

KPCC - Pasadena City College.

KRLA - Radio Los Angeles (KTLA Channel 5 stands for Television Los Angeles).

KCSN - Cal State Northridge.

KBIG - “Big.” The station has one of the most powerful FM signals in Los Angeles.

KBRT - “Bright.” Once paired with KBIG playing beautiful music as Big and Bright.

KEZY - “Easy (listening).”

KTNQ - Ten Q, the ten meaning the rounded-off frequency, 1020 AM.

KROQ - The “rock” of Los Angeles in the 1970s as an AM station; Rock of the 80s later.

KMZT - K-Mozart.

KPFK - named for the owner, Pacifica.

KRKD - broadcasting from the “Arcade” building in downtown Los Angeles.

KLSX - Classics.

KPWR - Power (106).

KRTH - formerly KHJ-FM; named “K-Earth” in the early 1970s due to a format that never happened, harkening back to the attitude that eventually launched earth day.

KSWD - Sound, as in “The Sound.”

KSUL - Cal State University Long (Beach).

KSBR - Saddle Back (College) Radio.

KDAY - “Day,” once a daytime-only station on AM

KGRB - Gloria (and owner) Robert Burdette

KBOB - Bob (Robert Burdette owned this one as well)

I am running short of space so I’ll stop for now. I know, absolutely, I am missing more than a few. If you would like to add to this list please drop me a line. Even if it is out of town but perhaps still well-known. The Chicago Federation of Labor’s WCLF comes to mind, as does once-owned-by-Sears WLS ... World’s Largest Store.

Radio Waves Podcast #115

I honestly thought he was joking.

I was at the local gym talking with someone after a workout, who mentioned the National Football League’s absolute protection of the name “Super Bowl” and the way that radio stations are afraid to even say the game by name for fear of being sued. 

That just wouldn’t happen, I thought to myself. I must have misunderstood.

Turns out, he was right. There ARE some stations, owners and DJs afraid to mention the game by name. Maybe most of them. I hadn’t noticed listening, but in checking over websites such as The Sound (100.3 FM) at thesoundla.com, “Super Bowl” is indeed not always mentioned. In its place: “the big game.

”

Why the fear? The NFL has a lot of money tied up in sponsorships and endorsements and doesn’t want the “Super Bowl” name used if it would weaken the brand, such as if a station ran a promotion that even hinted any direct tie to the NFL.

The methods they use to enforce their intellectual property border on -- if not actually becoming --on thuggery. Every year the league sends out letters spelling out what can and can’t be said in advertisements and promotions. In 2006 it made good on threats by sending cease and desist letters to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeart Media) stations across the country, arguing that their Super Bowl ticket giveaway campaigns violated NFL trademarks.

In a more famous case that actually proved the pettiness of the NFL, the league forced the cancellation of a church Super Bowl watching party, due to the church using the Super Bowl name in advertisements, asking for donations to see the game, and planning to show the game on a television larger than 55 inches.

And while none of these would -- in my opinion -- stand up in court, it costs money to defend yourself, and few organizations have more money than the NFL. So “big game” it is, even though the NFL tried -- unsuccessfully -- to trademark that too.

Not everyone is afraid, by the way. I did note that KLOS (95.5 FM) made mention of Lady Gaga singing our national anthem at the Super Bowl on its home page (955klos.com).

Good thing national treasures that actually matter, such as the names of things inside Yosemite Park, could never be trademarked by some unscrupulous company in order to demand money for their fair use. Oh, wait ...

Bad Dates

No not Valentines dates. But it was this weekend in 1987 that the legendary KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) played its last song; the air staff having been fired the week before. And this weekend in 1986 is when KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) switched off album rock for all-news, a format that lasted about 20 minutes as I recall. The KMET change became known as the Valentine’s Day Massacre; both resulted in the loss of once-popular stations. 

Canned Tuna

Charlie Tuna is one of the two featured DJs on ReelRadio this week, as an uncut aircheck of him on KHJ (930 AM) from February 27, 1970 was found and uploaded. A small donation is required to hear the recording, but it is well worth it. Tuna is spot on with quick wit and legendary pipes; if you want to hear “oldies” as they are supposed to sound (before they were oldies), along with great personality and amazing station production, this is it.

This Sunday is also the date that curator Richard Irwin is supposed to let ReelRadio fans know will happen with the site, as Irwin plans to move and may not be able to update weekly as he has done since 1996.

Radio Waves Podcast #114

Feb. 5

Norway, which announced last year that all analog FM transmissions will cease in 2017 -- the start of the end is to be January 11, 2017 -- is already seeing some FM stations disappear.

In their place is all-digital broadcasts on an entirely new band known as DAB+ which is being used in Western Europe, Australia and China but which was not authorized for broadcasts in the United States.

Radio in Norway is far different than in the United States, with broadcasts dominated by networks affiliated with the government. The first stations to shut down, though, are independent, and seem to be doing so out of cost-cutting motives; RadioWorld.Com says that the FM stations owned by Bauer Media featured two local broadcasts while the replacements will be just one national digital station.

Prior to the decision to adopt the HD Radio system for digital broadcasts in the United States, there was debate on whether we, too, should go with DAB. In the end FCC was swayed by arguments that keeping traditional radio alive benefits listeners today, while HD Radio can broadcast in a fully digital mode as well, making today’s frequencies viable in the future.

BMW AM

I gave BMW engineers some flak last year for being unable to do what engineers at other carmakers can do: provide AM radio reception in a hybrid car. Yet still the BMW i3 arrives in the hands of buyers without that AM capability. It would seem that BMW shares engineering with the diesel group over at at Volkswagen.

It turns out, however, that AM reception is not impossible, it is just turned off. BMW considers this a “feature,” as explained by company spokesman Dave Bunchko when the issue first materialized:

“We learned from our experience with MINI E and BMW ActiveE that the electric motor causes interference with the AM signal. Rather than frustrate customers with inferior reception, the decision was made to leave it off. HD Radio is standard on the i3 and through multi-casting, many traditional AM stations in key markets are available on secondary and tertiary HD signals.”

Interesting that Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and all others were able to make it work. Regardless, AM is available on the i3 after all, as long as the owner can do some tinkering. You can read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/BMW-AMRadio, though without owning one I have no clue what is involved in accessing the system.

And, He’s Gone ... Again

I’ve gotten a few letters and emails on the subject, so it’s worthy of an explanation.

Fans of Art Bell, original host of Coast to Coast AM heard overnights locally on KFI (640 AM), were excited when he returned to the air via SiriusXM satellite radio in September, 2013. That show lasted six weeks before he decided to end it. Then they were excited when he launched an internet program -- later carried by KABC (790 AM) -- in July of last year. That program ended December 11th.

As always, the reason was “security,” as he and his family  were allegedly subject to trespassing on his property -- and threats -- from someone he believes wants him off the air. Far be it for me to doubt him, but personally I think he -- while a popular host with a true knack for entertainment -- is a few kilohertz short of a frequency. 

Jan. 29

The Radio and Television News Association of Southern California honored numerous broadcast stations in the area at their 66th Annual Golden Mike Awards held January 23rd at the Los Angeles Universal Hilton Hotel.

The Golden Mikes are presented annually by the RTNA, the non-profit group representing broadcast newsrooms in Los Angeles, San Diego, and all of the other markets from Fresno to the Mexican border. The group also coordinates pool coverage of major events and fights for broadcast coverage in courtrooms, and provides scholarships for the next generation of broadcast journalists.

The Golden Mike is Southern California's most prestigious -- and most coveted -- broadcast journalism prize. What sets the Golden Mikes apart from other competitions is the Standard of Excellence: Unlike most awards contests in which winners are determined by selecting which entry is the "best" among all those submitted in each category, winners of the Golden Mike Awards must also meet the Standard ... if the judges decide that no entry in a category meets this "Standard of Excellence", then no award is given.

Awards are split by news department size, Division A being radio stations with six or more full-time news staff members and Division B consisting of stations with five or fewer full-time newspeople. Here are the 2016 winners, recognizing the accomplishments of 2015:

Best News Broadcast over 15 Minutes (Div. A): KNX (1070 AM) (B): No Award

Best News Broadcast Under 15 Minutes (A): KPCC (89.3 FM); (B): K-BEACH (88.1 HD3)

Best Sports Segment (A): KFWB (980 AM); (B): KVTA (1590 AM)

Best Traffic Report (A): KNX; (B): No Award

Best Sports Reporting (A): No Award; (B): KCLU (1340 AM, 88.3 FM)

Best Spot News Reporting (A): KFI (640 AM); (B): KCLU

Best Live Coverage of a News Story (A): KNX; (B) No Award

Best Documentary (One Division): KNX

Best News Public Affairs Program (A): KPCC; (B): KKJZ (88.1 FM)

Best News Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): KVPR/Fresno (89.3 FM)

Best News Reporting by a Radio Network or Content Syndicator (One Division): Westwood One

Best Hard News Reporting (One Division): KPCC

Best Feature News Series Reporting (One Division): KVPR

Best Investigative Reporting (A): KPCC; (B) No Award

Best Serious Feature Reporting less than one minute (One Division): KFI

Best Serious Feature Reporting one minute or longer (One Division): KPCC

Best Light Feature Reporting less than one minute (One Division): KFI

Best Light Feature Reporting one minute or longer (One Division): KPCC

Best News Special (A): KPCC; (B): No Award

Best Entertainment Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): KCLU

Best Business and Consumer Reporting (A): KNX; (B): KCLU

Best Government and Political Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): No Award

Best Medical and Science Reporting (A): No Award; (B): KCLU

Best Use of Sound (A): KPCC; (B): KCLU

Of note is K-BEACH, the student-run station out of Long Beach State, winning Best News Under 15 Minutes for its Hi-Definition News. That’s two years in a row for the station, which broadcasts as a secondary HD channel on KKJZ’s digital stream.  That’s right ... students. Maybe there is a future in radio!

 

Holiday Ratings

The results are in: KOST (103.5 FM) owned the airwaves in Los Angeles during the December Holiday season which basically covered most of December. For the month, KOST was more than twice as popular as the second-highest station, with a 12.3 percent share of the audience compared to KBIG’s (104.3 FM) 4.7.

And you wonder why it starts to sound a little like Christmas earlier and earlier every year ...

Radio Waves Podcast #113

In case you missed the story by The Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth, who broke the news earlier this month, KFWB (980 AM) has been sold and -- pending FCC approval -- will be changing formats when the deal closes sometime on or near February 15th.

KFWB has been running sports programming as The Beast 980 since September 2014; my understanding is that both listeners are distraught. KFWB has never been able to muster more than a small share of the local audience: since its inception it has hovered around a 0.3 share of the audience aged 6 and over.

Not that anyone outside -- or likely even inside -- of owner CBS Radio ever expected anything more. Sports talk just doesn’t fly in Los Angeles as witnessed by the combined ratings of KLAA (830 AM), KFWB, KLAC (570 AM) and KSPN (710 AM) totaling only 2.3 in the December Nielsen ratings. KFWB and KLAA added only 0.5 to that.

What I don’t understand is why it took CBS so long to sell a station it was illegally holding since 2002 when the company’s purchase of KCAL-TV Channel 9 put it over the legal ownership limit. Did it really take CBS 14 years to find a buyer? The station should have had to forfeit the license back in 2002. That they were allowed to hold it for so long proves (in my opinion) how inept, if not corrupt, is the modern FCC.

Regardless, KFWB hasn’t been a contender for years. At one time it was the top-40 music leader in Los Angeles; later it was the source for news and often beat KNX (1070 AM) in spite of being the scrappy underfunded station it was under then-ownership Westinghouse. But recent years have not been kind to the former leader; the last time the station earned a rating over 1.0 is at least five years ago.

In fact, KFWB’s decline mirrors the decline in radio itself as corporate ownership destroyed stations. Even though it was KFWB parent Westinghouse that bought CBS Radio (and kept the CBS name), the station lost its luster as all the attention was given to sister KNX. Eventually KFWB left news to KNX as it became a talk station, then later sports.

What will become of it now? Rumor is that CBS specified that the buyer had to change to a foreign-language format so as to not compete with any current remaining CBS stations. So, as of sometime around mid February, you can expect new owner Universal Media Access, which owns stations in San Jose, Seattle and Boston and focuses on Asian, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, German, and Vietnamese programming, to take The Beast multicultural.

Sounds Different

Programmer Dave Beasing kept his promise of “shaking things up” at The Sound (KSWD, 100.3 FM) last week. Replacing Julie Slater is Andy Chanley, most recently the technical ringleader of Mark in the Morning who launched Andy in the Afternoon on January 15th.

Joining Chanley is Christian Hand, also heard most recently on Mark in the Morning as the super-producer who dissects the music tracks of classic rock songs.

What Beasing hopes to do is a true shake-up. This is personality-driven afternoon drive music radio, something that really isn’t done any more. It’s an interesting evolution in a station that at one time barely allowed the DJs to speak, and has the potential to wake up the entire bland, safe corporate McRadio world. I can’t wait to see how it goes.

And, of course, if it doesn’t work, I’m still waiting by the phone.

Radio Waves Podcast #112

Bill Carroll, who held down the weekday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift on KFI (640 AM) has left the station.

 

His contract was up, and it is very possible that he was pushed out. My sources say no, although it does not seem that management tried hard to convince him to stay.

Here’s what seems to have happened. Carroll has been living in Los Angeles and doing his program from the studios of KFI in Burbank. He’s also been doing an afternoon show since January, 2013 for Toronto, Canada talk station CFMJ, which happens to also broadcast at 640 AM.

Carroll originally came to Los Angeles in 2010 when he was lured from Canada to host the noon to 3:00 shift at KFI. His contract was extended by KFI for three years in December, 2012, the same time that he announced his return to the Toronto airwaves.

At the end of his KFI program on January 8, he announced that he was leaving Los Angeles to return to Canada to be closer to his family.

I believe it. I also believe that if he wanted to stay, and was willing to work for whatever pay KFI offered, programmer Robin Bertolucci would have been happy to keep him on. My hunch, however, is that ratings are not what Bertolucci wanted, so she is not too disappointed that Carroll wanted to return to Canada.

The fact that the contract was not renewed, and that my sources say the separation was “mutual,” tends to make me feel my hunch is correct. 

There’s been no official word on the move from KFI, though the website now lists Gary (Hoffman) and Shannon (Farron) with a longer show and an earlier start: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (formerly 1-3 p.m.); John (Kobylt) and Ken (Chiampou) shifting an hour earlier (2-6 rather than 3-7) and Tim Conway with an extra hour beginning at 6:00 instead of 7:00.

Slater Leaves The Sound

Carroll was not the only one to leave the local airwaves. The Sound (KSWD, 100.3 FM) programmer Dave Beasing announced that longtime Sound afternoon personality July Slater is gone.

“One of our original DJs has left The Sound,” Beasing said in an email. “Please join me in wishing Julie Slater all the best. She remains a good friend to us all and will be missed.”

No word on her replacement, though my suggestion was to put Cynthia Fox in Slater’s afternoon spot and have me cover for Fox on the weekends.

Beasing neglected to respond immediately. I will be waiting patiently by the phone for his call ...

Tough Times Continue

Emmis is the latest radio company to report disappointing financials and layoffs. According to AllAccess.Com, the company laid off 32 employees -- only one on-air position -- and cut the salaries of all senior executives on January 6th. The radio division was off about 5 percent from last year due in large part to the problems faced by Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) -- it’s only Los Angeles station -- in having a new direct competitor: Real 92.3 FM.

KLOS Short Takes

Nothing confirmed at press time, but rumor has Jonsey’s Jukebox expanding to five days a week on KLOS (95.5 FM) -- Monday through Friday form noon to 2 p.m. ... perhaps before you even read this.

In the meantime, the station seems to be heading more current, with at least one morning show recently featuring numerous current rock songs in place of traditional classic rock. Is KLOS heading toward new ground? Indie 95.5? Stay tuned ...

Radio Waves Podcast #111

The holiday season brought a grinch of sorts to internet radio station webcasters: an increase in the cost of licensing fees for the music they play.

In a decision announced in December, new rates were developed as they have been every five years and taking effect as of January 1st. Unlike previous years, the rates did not include a special provision for small to medium-sized webcasters that allowed them to pay a percentage of revenue rather than a royalty per song, per listener. Considering that most small webcasters make no money, this was a huge cost-savings.

And the difference between allowing their hobby to continue or having to let it go. Island Classic Hits, for example, claims on its website that its fees are increasing from roughly $900 per year to more than $30,000 annually. And this is typical, according to other webcasters to whom I have spoken.

So as of January 1st, hundreds of webcasters nationwide have shut down their streams completely or are playing loops of music or messages asking listeners to lobby Congress for help. The royalty rates are set by a three-member panel of judges known as the Copyright Royalty Board, and there is still a chance that the Board will work something out.

Interestingly, while radio stations streams pay these royalties (and of course have advertising to back them up unlike most small webcasters) stations themselves pay no fees for their on-air broadcasts, as the music industry recognizes the place radio exposure has in the sales of music ... without exposure, there are no sales.

Which is why I find it not only ironic but stupid anbd shortsighted that small (it actually should be all) webcasters are not totally exempt from the royalty fees ... radio does a lousy job of exposing new music and new acts; without the internet and webcasters many songs would never be heard at all ... and music sales would suffer more.

Celebration Time

A celebration of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the "Pure Rock" format on KNAC (now KBUE, 105.5 FM) in Long Beach will take place January 8th at 4 p.m. The webcast will be hosted by former KNAC-FM morning man, Thrasher, who will be joined by many of the former Pure Rock personalities to reminisce and share stories about the station. The show will also include recorded airchecks from the nine years that the Pure Rock format existed at the station.

You can experience this event on your computer or mobile device at the following location:

• Via the LA Radio Studio website:http://laradiostudio.com/CamChat/cam.html or with chatroom at http://laradiostudio.com/CamChat/

• Via TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/La-Radio-Studio-s196975/ (audio only)

• Via Shoutcast.com at: http://209.95.50.189:8034/listen.pls(winamp or realplayer) (audio only)

According to my Pure Rock historian and former Pure Rock Talkback host, Michael Stark, some streams may not always work due to internet bandwidth problems, so if one doesn’t work, try another. 

Then, ffter listening on Friday, come out Saturday night and party with the staff - in person - as the KNAC 30th Anniversary Party continues from 8 p.m. to closing time at Saint Rocke, 142 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Changes Down South

I grew up in San Pedro, which due to its location near the coast was a near ideal place to hear radio stations from San Diego. So besides the great local stations, I grew up listening to San Diego’s KCBQ (1170 AM) and others as well.

One of my favorites was B-100 (KFMB-FM, 100.7), San Diego’s first FM top-40 station. Programmed by Bobby Rich, the station included some amazing talent, many of whom came from KCBQ and KGB (now KLSD, 1360 AM) : Gene Knight, Dave Conley, and our own transplant, Shotgun Tom Kelly (now heard on KRTH 101.1 FM weekends).

In more recent years the excitement of B-100 was lost as the station evolved into first Star 100.7 and then Jack-FM (not to be confused with our own Jack). Ratings were decent, but it was certainly not the same.

Now the station is trying something new, and personally I’m kind of excited that they have the foresight -- and the guts to go against modern brand-think -- and are using the actual call letters, saying them much as they did during the B-100 era: “K-F-M, B-F-M”

The new 100.7 KFMB-FM is basically an alternative-leaning classic rock station playing songs similar to KGB-FM (101.5 FM). Or the former Jack format, for that matter. “We play whatever we want, whenever we want” (note to programmers - you should be playing what listeners want) is the new slogan ... not far removed from the Jack concept of “playing what we want.” As I write this. Oingo Boingo’s “Just Another Day” is coming out of the speakers; the launch song on Monday, January 4th at about 10:10 a.m. was “The Spirit of Radio” by Rush.

The new launch wrapped up a week of stunting, in which there was a different format each day after the Christmas music stopped.

Radio Waves Podcast #110

In what must be the most ingenious method of avoiding paying debt, iHeartMedia -- which is carrying a staggering debt load of $21 billion -- plans to buy its way into solvency. Or buy some time, as the case may be.

According to The New York Post, iHeart, formerly known as Clear Channel Communications, is planning to convert most of the $2.4 billion in unsecured debt into equity. This in turn will lower interest payments to the point where the company could actually break even.

How can it convert debt to equity? By buying it.

As near as I can tell, the scheme appears to be akin to buying debt on the open market, similar to how home loans get lumped together and then purchased by other companies. Only in this case iHeart appears to be buying itself, and then using the “equity” it has to do an end run on its balance sheets. 

If it can convince enough investors to go along and thus convert all the unsecured debt into faux equity, iHeart could save $100 million in interest payments every year, putting the company into the black instead of losing a predicted $50 million, $80 million and $120 million in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Now to find a bunch of really stupid investors and convince them this is a good idea. Interestingly, history is on the side of iHeart, as investors constantly make bone-headed moves such as this. I mean, just look at Cumulus ... or iHeart ... or ...

As one source put it, the move “definitely reflects risk and desperation.”

More Cinder

Mike Wagner, former programmer of the original KRLA (now KDIS, 1110 AM) wrote to clarify a bit of information on the dance club owned by former KRLA DJ and popular television personality Bob Eubanks.

There were actually several locations of Eubanks' teen nightclubs called the Cinnamon Cinder. And they were the inspiration for a 1963 hit by the Pastel Six,” which like everything in life can be found on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CWlyeuhz40)

“This info comes from the You Tube page: ‘The Cinnamon Cinder was released by The Pastel Six (Bill Meyers) in early 1963, and was a one hit wonder for the group. The Cinnamon Cinder was also a chain of Los Angeles teen nightclubs started by KRLA DJ Bob Eubanks, which soon spawned a TV show, The Cinnamon Cinder Show (1963-65).’

“‘Acts performed live and were usually backed by a resident band from one of the clubs ... North Hollywood's Pastel Six were one of the most popular, and they got their chance to record ‘The Cinnamon Cinder (It's A Very Nice Dance)’, written by Russ Regan. The show was also known as Bob Eubanks' Hollywood Dance Time.’

“The house bands often backed up such big name artists as Jackie DeShannon, Dick and Dede, The Ronettes, Little Stevie Wonder, The Coasters, The Rivingtons, and Chuck Berry,” said Wagner.

Tim Grobaty wrote of the Cinder for the Long Beach Press-Telegram back in 2008, covering among other things why it was such a success. “strict regulations,” he said, quoting from an even earlier Press-Telegram story on the Cinder from 1963.

Those rules? No alcoholic beverages were served, and people with alcohol on their breath were stopped at the door. No youngsters under 18 were permitted. Single men past the age of 25 were strongly discouraged from seeking entrance. Girls were not permitted in if they are wearing capris or shorts. Boys were barred if they wore T-shirts, sweatshirts, club or school jackets, Levi's or tennis shoes.

According to Grobaty, rules and regulations at the Long Beach traffic-circle location were enforced by the club's manager, Mickey Brown, who was a former LAPD officer. My hunch is that this kept the club safe, while still giving the kids the feeling of having their own place ... and of course, an outlet for them to see their favorite artists.

It lasted eight years, as Grobaty wrote, “the Cinder closed when its wholesomeness had, according to a Press-Telegram reporter, gone to seed.”

I’m trying to figure out how, with his work at KRLA, later work with the Beatles, television programs and more, how Eubanks had time to think!

Seasonal Sounds

From 6 a.m. December 24th through 6 p.m. December 25th, JazzKNOB.org will present its annual 36-hour Christmas programming, Sounds of the Season, highlighted by a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas by the late, great Chuck Niles. This special reading will be presented six times throughout the holiday special: 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. on the 24th; midnight, 6 a.m. and noon on Christmas Day.

JazzKNOB.org is an online tribute to former all-jazz radio station KNOB, licensed at the time to Long Beach. It is now Spanish-language KLAX (97.9 FM).

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