Interview With Dave Wohlman ~ On Air Personality @ 98.5 KOME
This interview was a real peach for me, I am so excited to get a DJ from the station on here!
Dave Wohlman did a show on Sunday Mornings called The Sunday Morning Time Machine and as you will read he was involved in so much more at KOME!
So read his thoughts, enjoy a walk down memory lane if you are from the Bay Area and relax on this fine, fine Sunday.
************************* Interview w/Dave Wohlman*
Thank you for taking time to answer my questions Dave. You and the other Disc Jockeys from the station 98.5 KOME were very important to mine and so many other peoples lives. To me it was the Greatest Rock Station that ever existed in the US then and now.
You were the Production Director, Promotion and Marketing Director, Assistant Program Director and on air Personality of the Sunday Morning Time Machine from 1982 to 1998.
1. Which of your jobs at KOME were your favorite?
The APD/Promo Director job was a work intensive position, but I never had so much fun working in my life! Every time I came up with a fun contest, angle, party, etc. – I had to one-up it the next time around. But I enjoyed it all.
2. As Promotion and Marketing Director can you tell me some of the Promotions that were the most fun to do and do you still do Promotional work?
It was my job to produce all live remotes (which we did hundreds of), so I was always on the road going to concerts, Blazy & Bob Breakfast Club sessions, Erectus Pajama Parties and the infamous Weekend Starter Parties to name but a few.
I really enjoyed my fun bits as Dink Martindale (the alchaholic black-sheep brother of Wink), Blazy and Bob’s announcer. I was Santa Dink, Dinko the Clown, etc. It was an overblown character and I got to really ham it up!
I recently served as Greg Kihn’s Director of Kihndication of his now syndicated Big Rock Beat show and am available for consultancy promo work with my Radio Free Wohlman company based in Oregon.
3. What was the motivation behind the Sunday Morning Time Machine?
The Time Machine was a labor of love and my baby. It was the precursor to my Radio Free Wohlman broadcasts of today! It was a chance to dig deep and play music from an artists career, rather than hits! It was entertaining and educational. Instead of sleeping in – I did the Time Machine!
In today’s world, we have Blog’s and the Internet that give us all instant gratification when we are in need of a fix for music or info. Back in the 1980′s and 1990s we had to call the station to talk to you all and ask for songs or chat.
4. Was there enough interaction between the DJ’s and the kids of the Bay Area to allow you to see how much influence you were having on the kids in the Bay Area?
The KOME Mainline was ringing non-stop with requests and comments. We kept a feedback book and I always took calls as APD in the office. At remotes, everybody wanted to make suggestions and talk about their likes and dislikes. It all got fed into the machine and came out on-air. You were very important!
5. What was it like to be at the infamous KOME in its most vigorous years?
We had more fun than legally possible( in fact some of it was illegal). We all worked really hard – but the vibe and our love/respect for each other was so strong that the time blew by. We knew we had something very special going on. I am honored to have been part of that team. They are all still very close to me today.
I also met my wife Pam, who was our Traffic Director , at KOME. She is my main supporter and inspiration.
6. I have heard stories that many great bands graced the halls of the station, were there any bands that really made an impression on you?
So many that it is hard to keep track. I had all the members of Jethro Tull in our little Production Studio for an impromptu recording session that I produced (can I have the flute again Ian), Brian May played guitar over Queen records live in the studio, John Lee Hooker, Greg Allman, Scorpions, Alice Cooper, Ian Hunter, literally hundreds of top-notch artists. KOME was a big draw.
7. I read that you were at WMBR in Boston MA back in the 1970′s, a Punk Station! Can you tell me how you came to be a DJ and how you came to be at WMBR?
I was 20 in 1976 and my first DJ gig was at WTBS, 88.1FM in Cambridge. Ted Turner bought the call letters soon after and we became WMBR. My first show was called “Son Of Rock, Etc.” I was immediately on Mon-Thru mornings in a top market! Quite a learning experience and I made all my mistakes on-air for all to hear. But it was the best school I could have attended.
8. How did the Late Risers Club come to be?
Punk was just starting to become a major local/nation/international force in 76 and bands started to make records. The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Jam, etc were mixed with Boston locals like Mission of Burma, Willie Alexander, Unnatural Axe, Human Sexual Response, DMZ and “oldies” like Iggy & The Stooges, Cheap Trick and Bowie. My show soon became The Late Risers Club with like-minded DJ’s including Thom Lane, Greg Reibman, Carter Allen, Blowfish, The Dentons. Others including Tony V. and our spiritual mentor (and later my PD at WBCN, Boston) Oedipus were on every Saturday. I was the Monday morning guy. For a complete look at the Late Risers Club (which is still going on strong 32 years later), read about Marissa Acosta’s Late Risers Club Documentary( http://www.laterisersmovie.com/)- it was very flattering and exciting to see how many lives and bands we touched.
9. I also read that you were at KFJC 89.7 in 2000 and 2001, and your play list was also filled up with Alternative and Punk if I read that correctly ( you have to forgive me, Punk is not my thing )
Is Punk a genre you gravitate towards most?
I think of myself as non-genre specific, but the years of 1976 to 1982 were the most exciting for me musically. I still love The Beatles, Stones, Led Zep, Sabbath, etc. of my youth and all that came before and after, but rock got a kick in the ass in 1976 and it paved the way for exciting times. I am also a big fan of reggae, blues, soul, funk, R&B, jazz, electronic, prog – just about everything but C&W, but I will listen to anything at least once.
Between working for Viacom and Clear Channel, I did shows at KFJC to scratch the itch. It was fun.
10. You now have a Blog called Radio Free Wohlman , what is the history behind the blog and what do you hope for it’s Future?
I always wanted to produce/host a show that had no musical format or rules – and if the were any rules, I wanted to break them. I knew in my head and heart that there was an audience for kitchen-sink type programming where all genres were back-to-back with no discrimination or hesitation. And I was right! I started Radio Free Wohlman (www.radiofreewohlman.blogspot.com) in September, 2006 and in two years, I have over 5200 podcast subscribers, listeners in 135 countries and a daily presence on KYOU, 1550 AM in San Francisco! It is the most satisfying radio I have ever done and it is my daily therapy.
I think the show is perfect for a spot or entire channel of Sirius/XM Sat Radio and have a personal goal to get there. Mel, you can call or write me any time.
11. I was reading over your blog last night and could not help but notice that your musical choices are very eclectic, but in a really interesting way. Do you have a method for how you choose your play list or is it purely random how it comes together?
It is eclectic only because I will play Sonny and Cher next to Frank Zappa or classical next to punk or do a cowboy, rainbow or shoe show. I put all bands, known or unknown, on a level playing field.
Sometimes I have a theme and research/plan – other times I do it seat of the pants style and that is the theme. I sit (actually stand) in my home studio and rock. It is me at my most creative and satisfied. I also take lots of care and effort in the pictures and posts as well. It is a total package experience – and it seems to have struck a nerve in thousands of people. I could not be more happy. Please visit often!
Finally, I hope to ask this question of as many of the folks who were at KOME as I can over time just to see if my idea is fantasy or not.
Do you feel that KOME can be resurrected in some form or is it a impossibility? And do you feel that your ratings for the station were done correctly and did ratings have anything to do with KOME being chosen as the station to be closed down?
Research and managerial stupidity killed the station. They had really smart people like Stephen Page as Music Director telling them what music should be played . But instead, they listened to these research consultants who said – (and I paraphrase) play the same old shit over and over again. It became common-denominator radio. The format change and the subsequent end was a very sad chapter in a wonderful story.
In 2005 – I was the PD of KSJO before it went Spanish (what a sin). I was talking to Blazy & Bob, Stephen Page, Fran Bennett and Dennis Erectus (all so talented) along with other KOME personnel such as King Raffi and Michael Solari (both now with Channel 104.9, San Jose) about moving in that direction. It never made it off the drawing board. It think that was our last chance – but if I ever get the call from a very smart person that wants to rule the Bay Area airwaves once again – I think I and many of the old crew would give it serious thought. Wouldn’t that be something.
Again, thank you Mr. Wohlman for taking time to speak with me, it has been a total blast to do this interview with you, and it has brought some awesome memories back for me. You and the other DJ’s at the station were a very important part of my life, I wanted to tell you thank you for all the great times.
You and all the KOME listeners were as much a part of the station as we were!
Something like KOME only happens once in many lifetimes – lightning in a bottle! I feel very privileged to have had such an impact on so many!
Thanks Lisa!
*************************************** fin****************************************8
* edit — just have to add this here, OMG did you read who he recalls as having walked through the doors of KOME?
This just gets better and better each day I write this blog, I can not tell you how stoked I am at this moment!!!
