KFOG Morning Guy Pinfield Off the Air and Into Rehab - Again

BossRadioDJ said:

I'll go a bit off topic here, but I've got a bunch of old, early KMPX and KSAN airchecks that have Gregorian chants and some ancient 1920s tunes on them. They played some bat-$hit crazy stuff back then!

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Another reason why the 60s are not coming back.

BossRadioDJ said:

I'll go a bit off topic here, but I've got a bunch of old, early KMPX and KSAN airchecks that have Gregorian chants and some ancient 1920s tunes on them. They played some bat-$hit crazy stuff back then!

Click to expand...

I recall that in the mid 70s, little KTIM-FM in San Rafael (great station) got it in their heads to try a totally free-form format. So between the album rock records, they'd throw in Chopin, or some old 30s jazz record. It didn't last long, and they were back to all album rock. Given their signal limitations, didn't have to worry about ratings too much. You could get KTIM in some parts of the city, but it was basically a Marin station.

LKellerIII said:

I recall that in the mid 70s, little KTIM-FM in San Rafael (great station) got it in their heads to try a totally free-form format. So between the album rock records, they'd throw in Chopin, or some old 30s jazz record. It didn't last long, and they were back to all album rock. Given their signal limitations, didn't have to worry about ratings too much. You could get KTIM in some parts of the city, but it was basically a Marin station.

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Yeah, free-form FM radio was like that in the early days. Rock was their bread-and-butter, obviously (and you'd hear nearly every track off many new LPs, not just 1 or 2), but you also might hear a Bessie Smith track from the '30s, or the Andrews Sisters, or who-knows-what. And LOTS of comedy albums got played regularly, often providing the inspiration for a clever segue. When tightly-playlisted AOR formats reared their ugly heads in the '70s, a lot of the"weird" stuff fell by the wayside, even at free-form stations that were doing well.

RadioJunkieMike said:

Yeah, free-form FM radio was like that in the early days. Rock was their bread-and-butter, obviously (and you'd hear nearly every track off many new LPs, not just 1 or 2), but you also might hear a Bessie Smith track from the '30s, or the Andrews Sisters, or who-knows-what. And LOTS of comedy albums got played regularly, often providing the inspiration for a clever segue. When tightly-playlisted AOR formats reared their ugly heads in the '70s, a lot of the"weird" stuff fell by the wayside, even at free-form stations that were doing well.

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Loved those days of 'free-form', when DJs were allowed to have personalities and have a hand in the music played. It was when FM radio was it's height. Still can't believe someone doesn't try that approach today...some stations have nothing to lose.

adradio said:

Loved those days of 'free-form', when DJs were allowed to have personalities and have a hand in the music played. It was when FM radio was it's height.

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Maybe for you, but FM really hit its peak when stations became a lot more focused. If you want free form radio, listen to KPFA.

adradio said:

Loved those days of 'free-form', when DJs were allowed to have personalities and have a hand in the music played. It was when FM radio was it's height. Still can't believe someone doesn't try that approach today...some stations have nothing to lose.

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Grew up in LA - the best ever IMO was KPPC, based in Pasadena - on 106.7, the frequency for KROQ for many years now. I believe Tom Donahue was involved in its inception. Great DJs - lots of bizarre comedy from the Credibility Gap (Harry Shearer and Michael McKean, among others), also the Firesign Theater. There were great DJs - I recall a guy called The Obscene Steven Clean - a take off on The Real Don Steels, I always assumed. When the owners fired the entire staff in 1970 - the great KMET - still running elevator music for about half the day - seemed sterile by comparison.