ANOTHER MAN DONE GONE
Jive
95 astrologist for several years, Darrell Martinie succumbed to cancer after a
long battle on July 26, 2006. He was 63. Darrell was known to listeners as the
“Cosmic Muffin” who spiced the airwaves with his predictions for more than
30 years. He was named by the governor as the Bay State’s official astrologer.
Read his obituary in the Boston Herald here.
A much longer profile was printed in Darrell's hometown newspaper, the Saugus
Advertiser.
FONG-TORRES' NEW BOOK RELEASED
Ben
Fong Torres' latest book is out. "Becoming Almost Famous" is Ben's
second compilation of articles he's written for Rolling Stone, GQ, and other
publications. Like his first compilation, "Not Fade Away," Ben
includes more celebrity profiles and personal pieces on growing up Asian
American; his love for radio; singing on stage with music legends; producing a
recording with a real singer…and more.
A second book, "The Doors By The Doors," a "big, splashy
volume" according to Ben, will be released in November on the 40th
anniversary of the band's creation. The book includes material from an interview
with Jim Morrison, just before he left in the Spring of 1971 for Paris, where he
died at age 27. There are also recollections from several of Morrison's family,
the three surviving Doors and "tons of photographs."
NEW BLUES SHOWS IN TAOS
Norman Davis, who has been producing and
hosting the blues show Midnight Flyer for 14 years on various
stations in eight states, has added KKIT-FM in Taos, New Mexico. Davis' mythical blues train arrives in Taos every Thursday night at 8 p.m.
A second Davis-produced blues show, "Low Flame Blues," follows from
10-12 m. Midnight Flyer is also
heard from 8-12n Saturdays on KEGR-FM, Concord, CA, (stream here)
and Saturday at midnight Eastern, repeated Monday night at 10 Eastern on www.fatmusicradio.com.
CAPEN MEMORIAL REUNITES JIVERS
Stephen
Capen's life was celebrated by his family and friends April 30, 2006 at Cafe
Trieste in San Francisco. The celebrants included Stephen's children; Amy,
Charlie, Ian, James, Maggie, Stephen and other members of his family. KSANers
attending included; Jim Draper, Ben Fong-Torres, Fred & Joanne Green, Bobby
Cole, Denise Dunne and Alan Beim. (photos here)
Alan reports: "It was a wonderful, healing, fun, good time and painful for me. It was a great tribute to Stephen to hear, see and feel the love his wonderful kids had for him as they spoke of him. His daughter presented a wonderful film she made of his life starting with baby photos to a recent film of him speaking. It was soulful to get to know more about him after he left us. Several others, including friends and some old listeners from KSAN were there. I felt like he was right outside the window, burning a fat one and enjoying the view and what people had to say.
As I thought about Stephen, I thought of something I saw on TV when I was 16 that left a lasting impression on me. Some big Hells Angel was being buried in my hometown in Sacramento; he was like the vice president or something. Thousands of Hells Angels came into town and a TV interviewer was asking what the deceased was like to one of the Hells Angels. 'He was really righteous,' responded the biker! 'Righteous?' questioned the reporter in disbelieving tones. 'What do you mean by that?' The Hells Angel responded, 'Well he was Righteous because whenever there was a party, he was the first to get there and the last to go home!' Steven was a righteous man who was very loved and one of the reasons was that he was a man who really loved people! "
"Mama, don't let your children grow up to be deejays. Unless you want them to wake up one day realizing that what they do for a living is sit in a padded room speaking into a lead pipe."
— Stephen Capen
LAUFER'S NEW BOOK OUT
Intrepid world-traveler, reporter, author and bon vivant, Peter Laufer, has written another book. (How many is that now?) "Mission Rejected" is the story of disillusioned, outraged, and betrayed American soldiers, who are taking a stand against the war in Iraq. Increasing numbers of U.S. soldiers are returning from Iraq horrified by what they witnessed and what they did. Laufer tells how these soldiers are transformed from trained warriors to activists in the struggle to end the War. He puts their experiences into context by drawing on the lessons of the Vietnam War and citing the historical precedents for troops who refuse unconscionable orders. "Mission Rejected" was released by publisher Chelsea Green on April 28, 2006.
Peter also hosts a weekly program on the National Geographic channel. "World Talk" is a one-hour show that takes advantage of the hundreds of explorers and scientists fielded by the National Geographic Society. In a dynamic twist on typical radio talk shows, Laufer calls out to experts all over the world.
You can find more information
on Laufer's other recent books, "Exodus To Berlin" and "Wetback
Nation" here.
KATHY McANALLY DIES
Kathy
McAnally, an award-winning radio journalist who worked at KSAN in the late '70s
and pioneered coverage by women of professional sports, died of cancer in San
Francisco on March 24 at the age of 55. Known for her gifted storytelling abilities, skill at mentoring and infectious sense of humor, Ms. McAnally was one of the first female reporters to be allowed into the locker room of professional sports teams in her reporting for KQED, National Public Radio and many other outlets.
She was in the press box at Candlestick Park awaiting Game 3 of the 1989 World Series when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck. She also made major contributions in her reporting on health and science issues. She produced several segments in "The DNA Files," an NPR series that won a George Foster Peabody Award and other honers. Her obituary here.
BONES VISITS PERU
Joan "Bones" Goldsmith has
returned from a fabulous journey to Peru, where she visited Machu Picchu,
among other scenic delights. Story here.
"TRAVUS T. HIPP FEATURED
Our
own commentator/curmudgeon, Travus T. Hipp was featured in the March 2006 issue
of "The Monthly -- the East Bay's premier magazine of culture and
commerce". Paul Kilduff interviewed our man, who seemed to be as full
of piss and vinegar as ever. Story here.
JOHNNIE WALKER AWARDED M.B.E.
In
early June of 2003, Johnnie Walker announced to his BBC 2 listeners he had been
diagnosed with cancer. He retired from the airwaves for several months, but
following treatment and a good recovery, he was happily well enough to return to
the Radio 2 drive time slot on March 1, 2004.
In
February 2006 he received the MBE award from the Prince of Wales for services to
broadcasting. In March, he announced that he was leaving the popular daily
show to present high profile rock interviews, and host a Sunday show. During his seven years as drive time host, Johnnie added more than two
million listeners to his audience, making him the most popular drive time
host in the UK.
TRIBAL STOMP REUNITES JIVERS
Chet Helms brought music to San
Francisco and the world, starting in the '60s. Much of the hippie/psychedelic
scene happened at Chet's Avalon ball room and later at the Family Dog. Dozens of
the musicians, who were part of that musical history gathered in Golden Gate
park on Sunday, September 30, 2005 to celebrate Chet's life and revisit the
"good old days".
Some
20,000 celebrants converged at the Family Dog's final Tribal Stomp to
honor Chet and listen to the music. Blue Cheer and the Charlatans
reunited, sharing the stage with Country Joe McDonald, It's A Beautiful Day,
Paul Kantner, Country Joe, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Quicksilver Gold, Dan Hicks
and his Hot Licks, Eric Burdon, Harvey Mandel, Canned Heat, Roy Rogers, Cold
Blood and many others.
Quite a few Jivers enjoyed the show and
running into old acquaintances.
Bob Simmons flew in from Texas and reports seeing Beverly
Wilshire in attendance and
Christie Joy Marcus. Christie looked sharp in her "Boy Howdy"
tee-shirt. Carol Dugger, formerly of Dugger and Stuntt, was warmly
present. Funky Jack came to town and said "Hi." Our
own Kathi Kamen was on stage for a couple of numbers. Paul "Lobster"
Wells introduced some of the acts. Joel Selvin came and blessed the event as he
covered it for the Chron. He had a couple of good Dominican cigars (Robustos
they looked like) in his pocket. Dr. Hip said it was a great reunion of geezers.
STEPHEN CAPEN DIES
Stephen
Capen, who spent nearly a decade as a popular Bay Area radio personality,
including the last year of KSAN, has succumbed to lung cancer. He was 59.
Capen passed away Monday night, September 12, just before midnight. His
longtime partner Susan, daughters Ami and Melissa, and sons, Charlie, James and
Deb were with him at the end. Capen had been undergoing treatment for lung
cancer in Massachusetts for nearly two years.
He also worked in Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts, Canada, New York, Illinois and Florida during his career.
Capen's legendary sense of humor was with him to the end. In a recent email discussing his impending demise he said, "Some of the finest hacks in the world are actually up in the scribbling room here and in our offices across the land preparing an obit for places like the San Francisco Chronicle. I don't know what the big deal is about but it could be a kick. "Oh yes, he was odd chap wasn't he -- hey hang on, that's ME they're talking about!"
Capen's last major radio gig was at WXRK FM in New York City in 1988-89. A memorial gathering in San Francisco is being planned. Bay Area Radio Museum's tribute to Capen here. S.F. Chronicle story, WDRC tribute here.
FREE-FORM'S LATEST FLIGHT CRASHES
Raechel Donahue got back from a filming expedition to the Amazon Jungle, to
find her latest radio exploration, "Moonlight Groove Highway" had
reached the end of the road. Donahue and Dusty Street moved to Cleveland
a year ago to run the Rock
& Roll Museum's new radio network. Ben Fong Torres, Paul
"Lobster" Wells and Norman Davis were also involved in the project,
which began broadcasting on February 12, 2005. The
all-nighters fed a small network of stations with an eclectic mix of
classic rock and then some. CEO Rick Szekelyi shut down the six-month-old
operation while Donahue was away. (Can't say we blame him--how would you like to fire Rae to her face?) Ben Fong Torres wrote a column
in the Chronicle about his MGH show shortly before the bitter end.
ROLAND
YOUNG RELEASES TWO ALBUMS
Roland Young has signed with EM
Records of Japan, who are reissuing his 1980 pioneering electronica album,
"Isophonic Boogie Woogie". The album is available at emrecords.net.
And Is Productions has just released Roland's latest CD project, "Twelve
Elements," which he calls, "definitive Roland." "Twelve
Elements" and an earlier album, "Regeneration" are available at
cdbaby.com
LONGTIME FAVORITE PR MAN PASSES
One
of the Jive 95's favorite record promoters, Lou Galliani, died on May 8 in San
Luis Obispo after a three-year battle against cancer. Galliani was the oldest of
the three famous Galliani brothers, (Rick and Bobby) who were all active in
record promotion for many years. Lou was known for his creative promotion ideas
and once put together for KSAN listeners a trip to Hawaii to see Elvis Presley
and the Rolling Stones. Lou had many friends and we will miss him.
"He was definitely one of the good guys." - Ron Middag
obituary
R&R
obit more
pictures
HOWIE
KLEIN GOES BACK TO WORK! (sort-of)
The former co-host of The Outcastes
has been named to the Board of Directors of JamBase,
one of the leading providers of tour date and concert information on the
Web. Since resigning as President of Reprise Records in 2001, Klein has kept
busy with public speaking, and progressive political causes. JamBase is
headquartered in San Francisco.
Joel
Selvin has revived "Selvin On The City," a weekly show he
originally produced
for KKCY in the eighties. The new SOTC is heard at 9 p.m. on Sunday nights on
107.7--"The Bone" (the current owner of the KSAN call letters). Selvin will revive not only the call letters, "but the wacky
unpredictability of the country’s original underground radio station" as
it says in the press release. Selvin says, "I have to confess to this
shameless, crass exploitation of the vaunted KSAN legacy. Please forgive me. I'm
having too much fun to stop now." More here.
KEN WARDELL resigned recently after eight years as Dir. of Marketing for KTVU, to accept a position as Marketing and Promotions Director for KCBS. He says he's glad to be back in radio.
JIVE95.COM SELECTED AS 'WEBSITE OF
THE DAY'
Seven Wonders, a web development company
in Pennsylvania, selected jive95.com as their website of the day for December
23, 2004.
NAMI National Board Member Moe
Armstrong
Honored with National Award
Arlington, VA - NAMI (the National Association for the Mentally Ill) presented
National Board Members, Moe Armstrong of Connecticut and Mindy Greiling of
Minnesota, Eli Lilly and Company's "2004 Helping Move Lives Forward
Reintegration Award," on November 11, in Indianapolis.
The awards honor individual achievements providing hope, help and support for
people living with severe mental illnesses, as well as raising awareness of
mental illness at the local and national level. This is the eighth year the
awards have been given.
"We are extremely proud of Moe Armstrong and Mindy Greiling," said
NAMI
national executive director, Michael Fitzpatrick. "They have worked
tirelessly and show the true spirit and essence of NAMI. It is great to see
their work and efforts being recognized at such a high level."
Armstrong, a decorated Vietnam veteran, an advocate, and a mental health
systems consultant who has spent 20 years mentoring individuals with
disabilities, received the Mentorship Award, recognizing his work as a person
living with schizophrenia in providing peer-to-peer education and support.
LAUFER HOSTS ELECTION SPECIALS ON LINK-TV
Traveling journalist Peter Laufer hosted a series of pre-election programs titled, FAQS LIVE on Link TV.
It was a great effort in spite of the result.
WINER WINS AWARD
Norm
Winer was honored at the Triple A Industry Achievement Awards in Boulder,
Colorado on August 7, 2004. Norm picked up three awards for his station, WXRT,
Chicago, including Station of the Year and Program Director of the Year. Winer
also celebrated 25 years as P.D. of WXRT, where he gravitated after leaving KSAN
in 1979. Radio & Records ran a four-page feature on him last fall.
RADIO WAVES RETURNS TO CHRONICLE
Ben
Fong Torres long running column on San Francisco radio returned to the
S.F. Chronicle in July, '04. RADIO WAVES, a highlight of the pink section for many years,
will be published every other week.
Ben also wrote profiles of country superstar Tim
McGraw and comedian Ellen DeGeneres for the August and September '04 issues of Parade
magazine. And a film production company in New York has optioned Ben's memoirs, The
Rice Room. Ben says, "It only took 12 years after the book's release,
and it's a film option, which usually leads to nothing, but, as with anything
having to do with showbiz, you never know."
DUSTY STREET WINS "BEST RADIO PERSONALITY"
In
a Las Vegas Review-Journal 'Best of Vegas 2004' poll, Dusty Street
won "Best Radio Personality". Here's what they had to say about our
girl before she left town:
"Dusty
Street is a real radio pioneer whose resume includes stints at San Francisco's
KMPX (later KSAN) and Los Angeles' KROQ, both of which occupy a beloved place in
the alternative rock radio firmament. These days, Street shines every Sunday
from 7 p.m. to midnight on KSTJ-FM, STAR 102.7, where you'll enjoy hearing her
seriously cool self as she plays Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bauhaus and other
examples of ’80s rock that you won't hear much anywhere else."
LOBSTER GETS FEATURE IN R&R
Paul
"Lobster" Wells was featured in the May 21 edition of Radio
& Records. His
syndicated and internet radio
show, “Lobster’s Rock Box,” is now heard in Pittsburgh, PA,
Charleston, SC, San Luis Obispo, CA, Yuma, AZ and Helena, MT in addition to KFOX
in the Bay Area. Coming soon to Portland, Toledo, Nashville and Santa Barbara.
Lobster's Halloween Special is on the web Sunday October 31, 9 – 10 PM PDT @
http://www.kfox.com
EXCLUSIVE TO JIVE95, PHIL DIRT writes on the
history of Bay Area Rock Radio. This excellent essay on Bay Area radio before
and after KMPX/KSAN is now posted in the Archives.
FINALLY THE WATERGATE FOLLIES!
For a long time we have been searching
for tapes of one of the most creative and original programs ever produced by
KSAN, The Watergate Follies. For almost a year, in 1973 & 1974, this
hour-long weekly special, produced by the Gnus Dept., covered the Watergate
story with humor, satire, fantasy, interviews, commentary and music. We
were having no luck finding a copy until recently, when a tape of Watergate Follies #7 showed
up (thanks to Billie Sharpe and the Thom O'Hair collection). This show, now posted on the Specials
page, focuses mostly on John Dean's riveting testimony to the Senate committee
investigating the Watergate crimes. We are diligently seeking other programs in
this series and have a clue to where there might be some.
JOHNNIE WALKER RETURNS TO BBC
RADIO 2
Johnnie
Walker responded successfully to treatment of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and
returned to host his top-rated evening drive show on BBC Radio 2 on
March 1st, following a nine-month medical leave of absence. On May 12, Johnnie
was honored at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards. Sir Elton John presented
him with the Gold Award for his long, successful broadcasting career.
PRODUCER OF "WEREWOLVES
OF KSAN" FINDS JIVE95
"Oh
my god -- It's at the top of the list! I AM SOMEBODY!"
That's what I hollered at the top of my lungs as the "Odds & Ends"
page of jive95.com came into view on my kerosene-powered computer screen.
My outburst surprised no one but me as I sat alone in the deteriorating old
house I infest here in Cow Town, a suburb of Yet Another Dead New England
Factory Town.
Quickly I clicked the link to the audio and, for the first time in many years,
listened to the complete version of what was the first song parody I ever
produced. A shortened version of this opus was tacked onto the end of my
audition tapes for many years afterward, no doubt costing me many prospective
jobs with "respectable" stations.
Before Jerry Graham and Glenn Lambert joined KSAN, they worked at another
free-form station, WGRG AM & FM in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Briefly,
I worked with them as a DJ and production drone before going on to Vermont and a
thousand other points of light and darkness on the map. (In Fort Pierce,
Florida, I was a GOD, I tell you; worshipped and adored by literally dozens.
But that's another story.)
About the time KSAN had its 10th birthday, I was doing summer relief for WPTR in
Albany, New York. I had no money, slept in my car a lot, and even pitched
at tent in the transmitter field a few times. (On the bright side, massive
exposure to radiation from their 50,000 watts of AM power now allows me to see
in the dark.) Forced by circumstances to lower myself to the mind-numbing,
soul-crushing Top 40 of that era, longing for my earlier experiences in
free-form radio, and having distressingly large amounts of time on my hands,
I went into the 'PTR production studio one night, slapped together the Warren
Zevon parody, and shipped it off to Bonnie Simmons in San Francisco.
Then, the damnedest thing happened. They played it on the air!
About a year later I was in San Francisco for the
first and only time on a job interview (not for KSAN; I can't even remember who
it was for). With time to kill, I looked up my former colleague Glenn
Lambert and had a short visit in the studio. The "Werewolves"
cart was still in a rack on the wall, but like many others it had a big
"X" in yellow grease pencil on the front. Glenn explained there
had been a lot of changes at the station in the previous months and he was
clearly not a happy camper. Many of the folks mentioned in the song had
long since gotten the boot from the Metromedia suits. He did say, however,
that the song had originally gotten quite a lot of airplay and that people had
even requested it. I would never have thought of it as
"infamous," though, until I saw it described that way on your
excellent website.
Remarkably,
it's 26 years later and the damn thing is still around. I stumbled onto
the website and my miniscule role in KSAN history tonight the way one finds just
about anything on the Internet -- by accident, Google or no Google. I feel
like I'm 19 and just won Dead tickets!
--- Jim Schuyler
Lunenburg, MA
http://www.geocities.com/radioincolor
MISSING HALF OF CONGRESS LOCATED
Howard Kerr, also known as
Karl Truckload in his days with the Congress of Wonders, has been
located still
living in the Bay Area but out of contact with other Jivers since the 70's.
Howard gave up show biz after 15 years and became a gardener, taking care of
"a big crumbling condo where the fetid lagoons meet highway 92." Then
he gardened for Mt. Tam High School and Skywalker Ranch. "They liked my
resume because of the show business parts," he says. "They knew I
wouldn't sit around watching for movie stars. Well, I did occasionally, but I
was discreet."
About this time, Howard's wife, Katherine sold a series of fantasy books about a
country called Deverry. Howard's accountant told him he might as well quit
working, as his income would just go for taxes. "Oh the pain!", he
exclaims, "But I made myself do it." He became a house-husband and
started writing the plays that had been languishing in his notebooks for years.
Then he went back to school to study art. "I have been painting pictures
since I was a child," he muses, "I like to do representative paintings
in a brushy late Victorian style. Of course since the Dot-com revolution my work
has become totally passé, but I'm having a good time. I sell a couple
of paintings a year and get a few portrait commissions as well."
BOB
SIMMONS has returned from Central America to live in Austin, Texas where he
works on media and other projects for his own company and is raising his teenage daughter
. Bob maintains the Jive95@yahoogroups.com mail list and is happy to respond to
any issues you might have re: the list. He can be reached at: telebob(no*spam)@sbcglobal.net
Bob has also been researching developing small Wi-Fi setups for rural
communities, that allow people to acquire broadband service at much lower cost than
hardwire setups.
Joe
Lerer recently returned from a trip to S. E. Asia and says he is glad he
protested that war in the 60's. His son, Ben, is in Cambodia for a six-month
stint between high school and college to learn the music, the language and help
set up a recording studio to help teach the old music and create a fusion sound
with his group of friends who play jazz.
Joe says, "We had incredible experiences with many of the local musicians
playing the traditional music. Many of them still live in squatter's camps in
Phnom Penh. Saw the legacy of Pol Pot which is just unthinkable. The result of
post Viet Nam ping-pong diplomacy between Russia, China, the US and Viet Nam
created the vacuum for his growth. Finally the Vietnamese took him out, but a
legacy of horror is beyond the capacity of your bank of emotions to hold.
Ben took me to a Cambodian 60's party and the music totally rocked. They had
their Sinatra and they even had a surf sound that was amazing. They had real
rock and roll just like we did.
Still the limbless and blind land mine victims play music on the street;
traditional music that illustrates the compassion and abilities of those maimed
to create beauty and hope for us all.
Budd Stuntt would have had a ball doing traffic reports. They have no real
rules. They move like schools of fishes. Thousands of fish crossing though each
other without any ego at all. Works rather well. When you cross the big
boulevards on foot, you simply step out and repeat the mantra, 'Be the fish, be
the fish,' and you successfully find yourself on the other side. Works just
swimmingly.
That's it for now. Good to be back in the USA." - Joe
Norman
Davis returned to Marin County in January, 2004 to visit friends and
relatives. During his stay, a group of Jivers got together for
some reminiscing and brews at the Silver Peso in Larkspur. (more pix here)
Later in the
Evening, several of the group joined Norman at Cafe Amsterdam in Fairfax, to
hear the debut of his daughter Susie's new band, Scrap Pile.
Standing L-R: Richard Gossett, Denise Dunne, Vicky Cunningham,
Paul Wells
Seated L-R: Norman Davis, Susie Davis, Hank London, Gene Schoenfeld
Photo courtesy Billie Sharpe
HANK
LONDON recently visited Australia where he had a fabulous time.
"Everywhere I went the folks I'd meet would want to talk politics and
George Bush and Ahnold," he notes. "They are supportive of their
troops in Iraq, who get three months leave to our boys' two weeks! Most of the younger
folks I met are listening to lots of hip hop and electronica, the adults listen
to the 80's-90's-and-now crap, lots of stations playing exactly the same tunes
in the same order, no matter what format...very small play lists.
Cruised the east coast of their continent by train and bus and loved the
contrasts of rainforest and urban life. Saw lots of long horn cattle, emus, 'roos
and other critters in the wild (and a few in the protected reserves too). Went
horseback riding on the beach, and met lots of drunks after the Aussies lost to
the Brits in World Cup Rugby, which they take VERY seriously!! More than our
football fans, I think!
You can walk down the street and smile at a pretty woman, who will smile back and say hello, not ignore you, or look away in fear. It was so not politically correct that I must retrain myself before returning to work in a couple of weeks. I visited places that were soooooo mellow, they make Hawaii look hyper!
Didn't smell a whiff of herb the whole time, though I
hear lots of folks grow their own. Quite the contrast to the folks toking up out
in front of City College downtown next to my office!!"
TIM
GUBBINS (Thom O’Hair’s son) is a railbird like his dad and has hired on as
an Amtrak Conductor. He and his wife Ardis and their two kids Travis
and Natalie recently moved into a larger house in Roseville with a three-car
garage that Tim has turned into a shop and a space for his 400-square-foot model
railroad.
PETER LAUFER,
our itinerant, globe-trotting author and reporter, checks in from
Germany, en route to Egypt. He is developing radio programming for the National
Geographic society and is currently on the air in several markets with a
one-minute feature. He expects to launch a long form talk show soon.
Before his current project, Peter taught journalism to Egyptian students at
Western Kentucky University, traveled to Greece to research an article on
security at the 2004 Olympics for Penthouse magazine, and consulted a talk radio
station in London. (www.talksport.net)
Raechel Donahue was featured in an August '03 article in The Denver Post. The writer describes her station "The Mountain" as "an echo of a bygone era of rock radio, when the music reflected the musical taste and knowledge of the DJs; when instead of screaming at listeners or telling stupid raunchy jokes for a few yuks, the jocks spoke to audiences about the music like they were sharing their record collection with their best friend."
"I
haven't been able to do this kind of radio in a really long time," Raechel
says. "I even got to play six songs about philosophers – you're
encouraged to think here, and take the music as far as your brain will take
you."
Most radio doesn't take listeners far at all, she says. "People are so used to hearing the same songs in an ever-shrinking circle. When stations test-market today, they ask 'Do you know this song?' and if you say 'yeah,' then they'll play it. So no wonder all you hear is the same stuff over and over."
Aside from the conservative playlists and computer
technology, the main difference between then and now, she says, is that
"When we first started playing freeform rock, there was a limited selection
of music – we were playing the latest albums as they came out. There was no
such thing as 'classic rock,' no oldies."
BUZZY
DONAHUE is living on a 30 ft. sailboat and loving it. “I may never
go back to land,” she enthuses. “Soon I will take sailing classes. My family
is well. Rae is in Denver
working at a radio station, Tommy is in a mental hospital indefinitely, my
sister Dede is a wife, mother of two young girls and has a 'cottage business'
and my brother Jesse and his girlfriend just had a baby boy Vaughn, which means
the mad Donahue gene lives. What I like doing best these days is swimming."
WILLIS
DUFF, whose motto is: "Go to town as infrequently as possible"... or the
more bumper sticker-esque,
"Screw Town," is enjoying life in New Mexico in the East Mountains,
the ridge of the Sandias, Manzanitos, and Manzanos that runs along the east side
of the Rio Grande Valley. “Our place is at 7300 ft.” he notes. “Ponderosa
and mixed conifer woods. We're only 16 miles from town, but except for the
occasional jet, it feels and looks much more rural. I get into Albuquerque about
once a week. We are just at the tail end of the rebuilding chaos.”
Recommended book: “Zen and the Art of Remodeling.”
GLENN
LAMBERT has written liner notes (see Archives) for the DVD release of the
Grateful Dead's 1978 New Year's Eve show, which was also the closing night of
Winterland, and which KSAN simulcast with KQED-TV, with Norm Winer and Glenn
hosting. One of the DVD bonus tracks is Glenn & Norm, 25 years younger,
interviewing members of the Dead at two in the morning on that very nutty night.
The man responsible for this is our old buddy, Nemo. (see below)
JEFF
NEMOROVSKI recently sold the DVD rights to the historic 1978 New Year’s
Eve Grateful Dead show. "The Last Night of Winterland" was the one and
only NEMOVISION production. He produced
it a couple of weeks after his last project at KSAN, which was the KSAN/KQED
ANNIVERSARY ROCK SPECIAL, the first music video "block" on TV (and
five years before MTV started). (more)
LORI COBB is in Denver after spending some time in the New Mexico mountains consulting with Fran Cody (who formed KTWV in L.A., known as the "Father of Smooth Jazz") "We just launched a 'Chill' format," she reports. "It's soon to stream on the net. The calls are KLBU BLU, 102.9." Lori is also hanging onto her gig at Jones Radio Network.
DUSTY
STREET is busy going to school two days a week for the license she needs to
become an official drug-abuse counselor. She has been doing intern work with
teens and also hosting her "KROQ revisited" show Sunday nights on Star
102.7 in Las Vegas. Dusty hopes to syndicate her
popular L.A. 80’s show, as she hears from many people who want to
listen from all over the country and her station wont pay to stream it on the
internet. Dusty had more back surgery and it was successful, but now she needs
some work on her knees. “My body is paying me back for years of abuse,” she
admits. “Next August I'll be eligible for Medicare and then I'll get the knee
surgery. By the time I'm sixty, I'll be the Bionic Woman, then look out.”
DAVE MCQUEEN is news casting
four nights a week at KCBS, usually on weekends. He still does an
occasional carpenter job but is phasing that out except for special projects
like building stairs or specialized concrete forms.
ROLAND
JACOPETTI, “older
and not especially wiser, bummed by virtually all the news, disgusted by what
passes for radio in this benighted age, but with inextinguishable pollyanna-ish
optimism” is still volunteering for KRCB, doing his eclectic, thematic music
extravaganza on Tuesdays 8-10 PM (He says he’s the “Bonnie Simmons of Sonoma
County”). Roland also produces a daily interview show, “Five-minute interviews, and I record
them all in about an hour on Wednesday afternoons. Hey, man - it's an art
form," he brags.
"Fortunately,
living in a beautiful place, which is luckily insulated against the clatter and
crowding of ever-burgeoning Sonoma County. Kids are all married - actual legal
marriages - is that a trip? Two granddaughters, loving wife, nice dog - just
waiting until they cancel my Social Security pension and toss me out of Medicare
so I can become a total curmudgeon, dependant on the kindness of others. Could
be worse.”
JOYCE SHANK
is “happier than a clam,” living in Marin where she has sold two
houses in her new career as a real estate agent. “My motto is ‘If you
don’t like realtors, try Joyce,’” she says. Joyce loves being back in the
Bay Area after decades of globe-trotting. She reports running into Bobby Cole
at an Open house. “He is married to Nancy, a woman he has known for
years,” she reveals, “he looks great...like he was a big executive producer
from LA...all in black, slicked back hair...aging very well.” Joyce has
written a movie script and a director is shopping it in Spain.
LAURIE McCLAY sold her home on Russian Hill and moved to Petaluma last June, where she says she is "really, really happy up here. The weather is so much more interesting than cold San Francisco. I am close to family and feel much more connected. I have two Bengal kitties named Jimmy Choo and Mui Mui. They are very exotic cats bred down from the Asian spotted leopard. I was in New York for business last month and was able to have dinner with Jay Mark (aka Snyder), Bob's best friend. I hadn't seen him before Bob passed so it was really great. Another friend from the New Jersey radio station, Joelle, was also there. She was living in Denmark when Bob went to Europe to see the Stones and interview Mick Jagger. We had a two to three hour love fest with fun memories of Bob."
BEN FONG-TORRES did a sit-down with Paul
Wells for the Lobster's Rock Box show recently, and Paul offered to help convert
the Jive Radio series from KUSF from cassettes to CDs. “Don't know how long
it'll take to produce all those 2-hour stints,” Ben opines, “but if you're
interested in getting copies of particular shows--like, say, yours--let me know
and I'll put your request in the hopper. I just burned my 36-show run of Fog
City Radio (KQED, '94-'95) onto CDs, and am getting the hang of it.” Ben also
became a record producer of sorts last year, cutting a CD with Larry Ching, who was the "Chinese Sinatra" at Forbidden City. It came out in
early June and got a lot of local media attention--mainly, because it was a
debut CD by an 82-year-old crooner, produced by an ex-Rolling Stone editor.
Sadly, Larry passed away about a week after his CD release party. (More here: http://www.larryching.com/)
Ben also had a story in the October Gourmet, of all mags--all about chefs
who play music and like to rock out whenever they're not in their kitchens.
MARSHALL
PHILLIPS reports from Sacramento that Alan Burton, the amiable host
of the all-night show, “Old North Beach” on KKCY in the ‘80s, passed away
in September '03 at his home in Gig Harbor, Washington.
"The herd is thinning," says Marshall.
WES
“SCOOP” NISKER was featured in a September
'03 article, “Joke’s Not Funny: Blame It On Buddah” in the NY Times. You can
still read this article but it will cost you $2.95. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/02/arts/02BUDD.html
SPRING 2003
Taos, NM - You'll never guess what Norman found in his tapes--the long lost, infamous Dr. Hip and Margo St. James show! It's only logger tapes, but definitely worth hearing. The FCC confiscated all the tapes so how did we get it? Don't ask! You want sex talk? You got it!
There are some new pages on site. The Scrapbook page shows clippings, pictures and ads as preserved in the KSAN scrapbooks. Thanks to Ed Ely and Bonnie Simmons for their help. KMPX now has its own page as does the Symbionese Liberation Army. There's also a page for comments from fans.
Denver - Raechel Donahue is temporarily living in a Denver hotel and working for KQMT. She says "it's a sort of free form station. Only 12 spots per hour, no station promotions or on air bullshit, long sets we pick ourselves. It's 99.5 "The Mountain." KQMT. Very cool. I did a ten song San Francisco set last night. I kept my house in Venice, of course, but I love it here, too. I'm a skier so that really makes it work for me." The station owner is trying out the format on several stations.
Todos Santos, Baja California - Stephen Capen is moving to Mexico May 1. Todos Santos, Baja South (midway between Los Cabos and La Paz), a stones throw from the Pacific. "The land is secured, we have temporary quarters in nearby Pescadero while something to live in is built. It's been a long time coming," says Stephen.
Portland - Rick Sadle is working on five new projects in addition to running his restaurant and catering company. "We're just finishing a new building for our catering at the same time we're trying to remodel another building for a second restaurant, and working on a couple of other smaller projects," he explains. "That's why I'm up at my desk at 5 a.m."
Helena - Phil Charles, the GM for KGLT, heard in Helena, Bozeman and Livingston is getting ready to go into fund drive. "After that I get to raise funds for a new transmitter and then build a tower," he says. "I love the non-profit life...beg...beg...beg! Back to work,work,work."
Austin - Bob Simmons just returned from yet another trip to Mexico. "Why is he going back and forth across the border so frequently," you might ask. Bob replies, "why do I go to Mexico ... many of my friends are now in search of our little "Pleasantvilles" where we will dry up and blow away. I tend to like Mexico because it is virulently opposed to GWB though some of this mud splatters on my shoes too. Mexico has so much music, art, and such an interesting history that it keeps you fascinated."
San Francisco - Laurie McClay has sold her house on the hill and bought another in Petaluma. "This is a big deal for me since we (Bob) moved here in 1984," she says. "I'm hoping for a fresh start and a new perspective. There are just too many memories here . . ." She plans to move in June.
New York City - Dan Carlisle finally had to get a job. "I am selling cars, Acura, here in Manhattan at a fancy marble palace of a showroom and hating it, of course," he says. "But I pull myself together everyday and do it. I make money and pay my bills with some left over for fun. It actually pays more than radio. I have been told that an offer is coming my way from out West so cross your fingers for me."
Nevada City - Norman Davis was recently interviewed by KVMR during a special hour honoring the Jive 95. Host Steve Baker talked with Norman and played airchecks, promotions and other audio trivia from KSAN. The show was so popular the station made a CD of the highlights and used it with great success in their fund drive.
LARGE STASH OF KMPX/KSAN TAPES FOUND July
2002
Thanks to a tip from Rae, we have discovered a large collection of airchecks from KMPX and KSAN, collected by Roger Steffans (of Reggae collection fame). Roger has agreed to share these historic tapes with us and asap, they will be posted on the 'Real Jive' page of this site. Roger thinks he has about 50 hours in all. Some of the notable finds include tapes from the week Tom and Raechel got married, the night that Robert Kennedy was shot, the first playing of "The White Album," Nixon's election and inauguration, etc. This is a real treasure and we are grateful to Roger for offering to share it with us.
MORE JIVE TREASURE! July 2002
In February 1992, Kate Ingram, then Program Director for
University of San Francisco station KUSF, invited the KSAN gang to celebrate the
25th anniversary of the station with a
reunion on the air. For 13 hours on Sunday the 16th, Jivers took over the
station and regaled their audience with wild tales and shocking confessions of what
went on at the Jive 95 in its heyday.
Recently, a fan of KSAN contacted us to let us know he had recorded nearly all of the
"History Repeats Itself" special and would share
the tapes with us. Bill Wagner kept his word and
delivered 12 hours on CD. We plan to offer anyone
interested copies of this historic special featuring most of the KSAN gang along
with Joel Selvin, Annie Sampson, Naomi Eisenberg, Jerry Pompilli and other
guests.
Meanwhile, highlights of the show have been posted to this site and
are now available for listening--some funny stuff! Check it out.
NEW POSTINGS Sept 2002
Tom Donahue was famous for many reasons. One of his lesser known
talents was writing pithy memos and letters. A few of his memos
have now been posted on the website. If you have any others worth posting,
please send copies to the webmaster.
SIMMONS & LAUFER IN PERU
Cajamarca, Peru - May 8
by Bob Simmons
As a part of
our world conquest blueprint, Peter Laufer and I are presently in the highlands of Peru
interviewing 16 year old Peruvian DJ´s for possible jobs in the United States as
replacements for automation systems. It is our theory that radio is ready to bring
the sweatshops home to the USA where they belong.
We are in a colonial town called Cajamarca and getting ready to go to some of the lesser known Inca ruins in the Northern Peruvian Andes. Peter keeps telling me that we should not waste time on that tourist trap Macchu Picchu. It is dangerous running the ´chiclero´ gantlet of small children trying to sell you gum and little purses made of llama fur.
We
met several dogs here with no hair and little sweaters on. More later.
(Simmons and Laufer reporting from the Inca Trail.) (You really need a bottle
or
two of this Inca Kola.)
UPDATE JULY 12: Simmons is back in Austin. Laufer is in Mexico City, conducting a study of post-PRI media for the Packard Foundation and Internews. He reveals that the trip to Peru was for a jailhouse interview with Lori Berenson, scheduled to appear in the September issue of Penthouse magazine (so make sure your subscription does not lapse!).
Feb 12, 2002
Pot-Growing Author Busted by DEA
by Jim Herron Zamora
For almost three decades, Ed Rosenthal has helped thousands of criminals commit a
better crime.
"I just give advice on how to cultivate a better garden," Rosenthal said.
"It's not my fault that marijuana -- the plant that is my specialty -- is still
illegal."
The 57-year-old Oakland resident is possibly
the world's No. 1 authority on growing marijuana. He has penned more than a dozen books
and the "Ask Ed" column for High Times and Cannabis Culture magazines. He even
gave tips to the Reagan administration on growing pot at a federal test farm in
Mississippi.
Over the years, Rosenthal said, he just doled out advice but didn't actually grow dope
himself.
But on Feb. 12, he got busted. Rosenthal is one of men facing federal charges of producing
more than 100 marijuana plants for sale at the Harm Reduction Center, a San Francisco
medicinal marijuana club.
The raid was the third in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that
federal anti-drug law makes no exception for seriously ill patients using pot under
California's medicinal marijuana law, Proposition 215, approved by voters in 1996.
"They woke me up at six in the morning with a search warrant," Rosenthal said.
"There I was: naked, sleepy and under arrest." Rosenthal -- co-author of
"Marijuana Law; Don't Get Busted," about what to do if police show up -- heeded
his own advice.
"I didn't tell the cops a thing," he said, with an impish grin. "But I was
polite and cooperative. I gave them the key to my greenhouse so they wouldn't knock down
the door. Hey, it worked -- they didn't trash my house."
POPULAR TARGET
To marijuana advocates, Rosenthal has become a cause celebre, the biggest and best-known
target of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"If they take down Ed Rosenthal, that means they can get anybody," said Steve
Kubby, who co-authored "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal" with Rosenthal and was
the 1998 Libertarian Party candidate for California governor. "This is obviously an
attack on a movement. They want to silence Ed."
In person, Rosenthal looks more like a middle-aged elf than a drug lord. His conversations
move easily from the types of highs produced by cannabis indica to teaching methods at his
children's high schools.
"I always wanted to be a radical," said Rosenthal, who has a son in an Ivy
League college and a daughter at an exclusive local private school. "But I've gotten
so middle class it's disgusting."
Rosenthal, whose column receives 300 e-mail questions a month, is successful. Besides his
writing, his publishing company, Quick Trading, is branching out beyond cannabis and hemp
books.
His home, on an East Oakland cul-de-sac, is a shrine to gardening. He raises a wide
variety of plants -- roses, pumpkins, tomatoes and plumeria flowers. His 8-by-10-foot
greenhouse is his "little Hawaii," where he experiments with varieties of
pineapples and rare orchid strains.
"The feds came looking for pot, but they found a lot of orchids," he said.
"I just love plants -- even illegal ones."
BOTANICAL ROOTS IN BRONX
Born and raised in the Bronx, Rosenthal has had a lifelong interest in plants. As a boy,
he took classes at the New York Botanical Gardens. After college, he worked a few years
for a Wall Street stockbroker. But it was the 1960s and he grew restless.
"If you were interested in plants and you grew up during hippie times, you sort of
just gravitated to learning more about marijuana," he said.
BICOASTAL INITIATIVE
An original Yippie who helped found the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, Rosenthal moved to California in 1972 to help with an initiative campaign, defeated
by voters, that would have legalized marijuana for personal use.
He lived in San Francisco's Mission District and Berkeley before settling in Oakland
almost 20 years ago. All these years, Rosenthal has managed to steer clear of legal
trouble.
But he has spent plenty of time in court -- as an expert witness in the trials of accused
marijuana growers where he debunks government estimates about the value and volume of
marijuana confiscations. His success often means less prison time for the grower.
Federal agents consider pot-club operators and their suppliers to be just like any other
pot dealers. Growing and distributing marijuana is against the law and Rosenthal violated
that law, authorities say.
"Our job is to target major traffickers," said DEA spokesman Richard Meyer.
"We followed leads to them. We are not going to stop our investigation if it leads us
to a marijuana club or a famous person or a politically connected person."
DEA Director Asa Hutchinson has said pot has no proven medical value. According to the
agency's Web site: "There are over 10,000 scientific studies that prove marijuana is
a harmful addictive drug. There is not one reliable study that demonstrates marijuana has
any medical value."
MASTER'S IN MARIJUANA
Rosenthal, who has not yet entered a plea, readily admits he grew marijuana in a converted
West Oakland warehouse near the former Carnation Dairy. But he insists it was solely for
medicinal purposes.
"I've been studying every aspect of this for many years, but myself was not a
grower," said Rosenthal, who became "obsessed" with the drug's medicinal
possibilities in 1990 after writing several articles on AIDS patients smoking pot.
"But I only decided to become a grower because the government is not doing enough
research into medical uses."
Using his extensive knowledge of marijuana strains, Rosenthal said he was "trying to
develop varieties with different profiles so that people could taste and feel the
difference. . . . We would have them try different types of marijuana and see which one
helped their symptoms more."
When describing his methodology, he sounds more like a professor than a pothead.
"I found that certain cannabis sativa varieties are the best at stimulating the
appetite of AIDS patients and cancer patients on chemotherapy. While some (cannabis)
indica types seem to be best at reducing nausea and chronic pain."
Supporters say his arrest was meant to quiet an outspoken and visible proponent of
marijuana. But it may prove difficult to gag a man of so many words.
"The government anti-drug policy is a big lie that is supported by a thousand other
lies," Rosenthal said. "My crime is that I am willing to challenge those
lies."
Thom O'Hair, legendary radio
programmer and personality, passed away on January 8 from the effects of his second major
stroke in four years. O'Hair was severely debilitated by his first stroke and had been
living in a rehabilitation facility in Springfield, Oregon prior to his death. 
Just a few days after Thom's
demise, Bobby Dale, well known west coast radio personality and musicologist, passed away
suddenly, just three weeks after learning that he had incurable cancer. Dale maintained
his finely-tuned sense of humor even after learning of his fate. "I'd give a hundred
dollars for just one nice cloudy day." he said, looking at
the sun through his San
Rafael window just days before his death. Dale agreed to host a farewell party at his
residence but died three days before the event. He signed photographs to be given away at
his wake. The party went on without him as friends and family came from far and near to
pay their respects.