Radio Paradise

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 10:22pm
Pearhead wrote: Not as much as the olden days..... I do sniff about & post around here now and then. Days of nu, pending patience, PBR's, and time permitting, I stumble overly into an intriguing (to me) thread what causes login.....this T would be one of those fabulous falls. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello.

Pearhead

Pearhead Avatar

Location: Tega Cay@SC
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 10:18pm

Not as much as the olden days..... I do sniff about & post around here now and then.

Days of nu, pending patience, PBR's, and time permitting, I stumble overly into an intriguing (to me) thread what causes login.....this T would be one of those fabulous falls flatout.

BillG wrote:

Back in 1980-1983 I worked at one of the most unusual stations......

Mucho, mucho gracious for the history book Bill.....tis the shit golden!

Per usual, your gift of powerful brevity ala Amazon review is sickeningly succinct—-it will pawn off copious copies. Duly so.

OlderThanDirt wrote:

Speaking of links, this one.......

My small hat tips big and what little cattle trail me.... fart politely away from your general direction sir....thank you Mr. Dirt for this. ^

What an F'n mudpile these airchecks! They've unearthed a whole wad of remembrance & musical mind goo for moi. {#Cowboy}

KurtfromLaQuinta

KurtfromLaQuinta Avatar

Location: Really deep in the heart of South California
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 10:07pm
OlderThanDirt wrote: I already changed it. Someone (initial L) informed me that I wasn't *there* there. Heck. I've driven past Gilroy many times in my life. I've even drove through Holtville (Carrot Capital of the World) many times. There there.

OlderThanDirt

OlderThanDirt Avatar

Location: In Transit
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 3:27pm

KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:

Thanks for this Bill.
I ordered an analog copy for my reading enjoyment.

And thanks for the Amazon review OTD! {#Lol}

OlderThanDirt wrote:

. . .

Buy the book! If you have never heard of KFAT, This book will tell you what you missed and will entertain you for days. If you were fortunate enough to have been there been in the KFAT listening area when it was happening, you only thought you knew all about it. Again, this book will tell you what you missed. The memories alone are well worth the price of the book.

I already changed it. Someone (initial L) informed me that I wasn't there there. {#Lol}

KurtfromLaQuinta

KurtfromLaQuinta Avatar

Location: Really deep in the heart of South California
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 12:45pm

OlderThanDirt wrote:

BillG wrote:

Back in 1980-1983 I worked at one of the most unusual stations to ever pop up on the FM dial. From the sleepy agricultural backwater of Gilroy (the "Garlic Capitol of the World" and, coincidentally, the place I grew up) KFAT beamed a crazy mix of country, rock, comedy, bluegrass, Hawaiian yodeling, cowboy poetry, and post-hippie weirdness to a major swath of Northern California, including San Francisco, San Jose, Monterey and elsewhere. KFAT bit the dust almost 30 years ago, but you can hear it still at www.kfat.com, and shop for KFAT memorabilia on eBay.

A lot of frankly weird and (in retrospect, anyway) embarrassing stuff went on behind the scenes there, and I assumed that most of those stories would fade away with the passing of time — but I'll be damned if Gilbert Klein (an old friend of mine & longtime KFAT talk show host) hasn't preserved them for all time in a book. If you happen to be a KFAT fan from back then, or if you have a keen appreciation of weird radio in general, you'll probably want to buy this book. It's laugh-out-loud funny in spots, a bit long-winded in others, but based entirely on Gilbert's own experiences & extensive interviews with KFAT staffers. Lots of beans are spilled, including a few from my own past.

Buy the book here (print or Kindle):

Fat Chance: We Were the Last Gasp of the 60s and the Birth of Americana Music But Was America Ready For Us?

Thank you BillG!

I'm not yet halfway through this book, and I've been working on it for a week now. Every time I finish whatever chapter I'm on and decide it's time to put it down and go to bed, I read the title of the next chapter and decide I have to read it too. And the next chapter. Until I just can't read any more.

It's a big book, both in pages and in enjoyment. I bought the Kindle version ($9.99 from Amazon - use the RP link) so I could read it on my smartphone and have instant access to the many internet links provided. The hardcover version (644 pages, $27.95 at Amazon) probably has larger, more easily viewed photos. I will probably order it, too, just so I have a permanent copy. It's that good.

Speaking of links, this one from the book takes you to a page with 58 mp3 KFAT "airchecks", each about 45 minutes long. Thats about 43 hours of some very FAT music. It's on my phone too, and listening to it while I read the book just doubles the enjoyment.

Buy the book! If you have never heard of KFAT, This book will tell you what you missed and will entertain you for days. If you were fortunate enough to have been there when it was happening, you only thought you knew all about it. Again, this book will tell you what you missed. The memories alone are well worth the price of the book.

Thanks for this Bill.
I ordered an analog copy for my reading enjoyment.

And thanks for the Amazon review OTD! {#Lol}

Coaxial

Coaxial Avatar

Location: Comfortably numb in So Texas
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 12:15pm
Listening to KFAT03 and it excellent so far.

William

William Avatar

Location: Eureka!
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:58am

OlderThanDirt wrote:

BillG wrote:

Cool. Glad you're enjoying the book. Thanks for posting the link to the KFAT airchecks!

William

William Avatar

Location: Eureka!
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:57am

OlderThanDirt wrote:

BillG wrote:

Cool. Glad you're enjoying the book. Thanks for posting the link to the KFAT airchecks!

oldviolin

oldviolin Avatar

Location: esse quam videri
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:22am
OlderThanDirt wrote: You're welcome, but it is actually Gilbert Klein's link. I just now edited my post to make it more clear that the link is one of many from his book.

K_Love

K_Love Avatar

Gender:

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:20am
Wow! I lived in San Jose from 76-86 so I'm very familiar with KFAT (although, my faves at the time were KSJO and KOME). I will have to check this out. Thanks, Bill!

OlderThanDirt

OlderThanDirt Avatar

Location: In Transit
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:20am
Coaxial wrote: Thanks for the link, G. You're welcome, but it is actually Gilbert Klein's link. I just now edited my post to make it more clear that the link is one of many from his book.

Coaxial

Coaxial Avatar

Location: Comfortably numb in So Texas
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:15am

OlderThanDirt wrote:

BillG wrote:

Thank you BillG!

I'm not yet halfway through this book, and I've been working on it for a week now. Every time I finish whatever chapter I'm on and decide it's time to put it down and go to bed, I read the title of the next chapter and decide I have to read it too. And the next chapter. Until I just can't read any more.

It's a big book, both in pages and in enjoyment. I bought the Kindle version ($9.99 from Amazon - use the RP link) so I could read it on my smartphone and have instant access to the many internet links provided. The hardcover version (644 pages, $27.95 at Amazon) probably has larger, more easily viewed photos. I will probably order it, too, just so I have a permanent copy. It's that good.

Speaking of links, this one takes you to a page with 58 mp3 KFAT "airchecks", each about 45 minutes long. Thats about 43 hours of some very FAT music. It's on my phone too, and listening to it while I read the book just doubles the enjoyment.

Buy the book! If you have never heard of KFAT, This book will tell you what you missed and will entertain you for days. If you were fortunate enough to have been there when it was happening, you only thought you knew all about it. Again, this book will tell you what you missed. The memories alone are well worth the price of the book.

Thanks for the link, G.

OlderThanDirt

OlderThanDirt Avatar

Location: In Transit
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 8:08am

BillG wrote:

Servo

Location: Down on the Farm
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 28, 2012 - 12:53am

Very cool, Bill!

I was one of the very few people who had read the book "FM" (note that I couldn't even find a link to the book on which the film was based), and was a big fan of "WKRP in Cincinnati" long before the interwebs existed. So when I went looking for the iconic "Turkey Drop" episode I was thrilled to read a more complete backstory after all these years.

I look forward to reading the book, and file it aside stories spun from stations like WQXI-AM and WXRT (a Chicago FM indy station that just happened to be there in the '70s when people rushed en masse to the FM dial) as told straight from the mouth of their own Johnny Mars. History like this needs to be preserved.

oldviolin

oldviolin Avatar

Location: esse quam videri
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 22, 2012 - 1:37pm

BillG wrote:

Yes, I knew Gordy a bit from the pre-KFAT days, and from his time at KPIG — plus here & there during his last couple of years. I was living in Hawaii during the time he did mornings at KFAT.

I met him and several others at the KFAT tent during one of the Garlic festivals. When I think about it all (my life) now, it was such an odd and unique experience for me out there, having grown up in a relatively small North Carolina city. I do treasure those memories, although much of it is a blur by now. So many things happened to and around me out there, and I was just 20-21. I wasn't exactly what you'd call worldly, but I had a blank slate to work with, so KFAT fit perfectly with that. For a while I tried to get out of the Army and just stay out there. One of my pals did that
(got out) and went up to Grant's Pass, Oregon and hooked up with a biker gang. I didn't figure on doing that but I did give it a passing consideration. {#Lol}

Thanks for putting the link up to G.K.'s site. Very interesting. I understand he was sort of monitoring the KFAT web site for a while. Now I guess it just lives in perpetuity. It's not for everyone, but I love it, and I love having been associated with it, even in my small capacity. {#Good-vibes}

William

William Avatar

Location: Eureka!
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 22, 2012 - 1:08pm

oldviolin wrote:

Bill, I was wondering if you knew Gordy at all. He and Sister Tiny as well as Laura Ellen were on a lot when I listened in the early days, as well as Cousin Al with his bluegrass mania.

Yes, I knew Gordy a bit from the pre-KFAT days, and from his time at KPIG — plus here & there during his last couple of years. I was living in Hawaii during the time he did mornings at KFAT.

oldviolin

oldviolin Avatar

Location: esse quam videri
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 22, 2012 - 12:38pm
BillG wrote: (bump) Bill, I was wondering if you knew Gordy at all. He and Sister Tiny as well as Laura Ellen were on a lot when I listened in the early days, as well as Cousin Al with his bluegrass mania.

William

William Avatar

Location: Eureka!
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 22, 2012 - 11:56am

BillG wrote:

(bump)

William

William Avatar

Location: Eureka!
Gender: Male

Posted: Sep 21, 2012 - 8:01am
OlderThanDirt wrote: Ordered it! Will it explain the Dolby experiment that seemed to go on for hours in the middle of the night? I think you're probably referring to Jeremy Lansman's "Fat Dork Show". For that, he provides details but as for an explanation — I'm not sure there is one :-).

Page: Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next