Rock Music ~ KOME StyleRock Music The Old Fashioned Way

I moved to Sunnyvale California in 1979, right after coming home from a little thing called the Iranian Revolution. Before I had moved to Iran in 1976 I was a poor little Long Islander whose entire musical knowlegde base consisted of what ever was playing on the New York Radio Stations, some Doobie Brothers, some Santana, but no real hard core rock ( none that I had heard anyway) In Iran I was introduced to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Boston, Deep Purple, Nazareth , Black Sabbath, and Aerosmith…. the best of the rock scene. I had come alive.

Coming to California was like moving up from the minors to the big leagues. And living in Sunnyvale, going to Peterson High meant that my rock radio virginity was lost to KOME. I will never forget the nights spent sitting in my room after the folks had gone to sleep listening to the greatest voices, the best DJ’s ever and of course the sweetest music. I think that it was Rock Radio heaven for all of use who grew up in that time in the Bay area.

Today I am so bloody proud, so honored to have this interview with Laurie Roberts. She has always floored me with not only her rock voice, and her ability to know exactly what song to play but her real love for radio.Laurie is a powerhouse of rock knowledge. My uncle Dick Summer is another DJ who has spent his life being in radio, not a part of it, not a part time player but a deeply in love with music DJ. Laurie has always been to me a part of what I secretly wished to be, a Rock and Roll DJ to beat all. She just rocks.

Thank you Laurie, for the many years of rock history and fun on the air and also for all my memories. You were a big part of my growing up and to me you will always be like family.

************* Interview with Laurie Roberts *********************************

1.. When did you know you were going to be on the air, was there one
moment or event that helped you decide?

Well, I went to Chico State as a Journalism major and Broadcast minor,
but it got mixed up and they put me in advanced Broadcast courses. I
had never even been in a radio station. I took to it like a duck to
water. I remember the first time walking into the on campus station -
there were two, the Broadcast Dept. station, KCHO, and the on campus
station, KCSC – anyway, there were egg shell cartons on the wall for
the acoustics, and a cool, dimly lit control room with tons of albums.
I felt like I had come home.

2.. Was your first choice as a career to be a Rock DJ?

After I was at Chico for a few months, yeah, that was many people’s
dream. I was one of the lucky ones to get to live that dream.

3.. When did you begin your on air job as DJ in the Bay Area and what
station did you begin with?

I started at KOME in Nov. of 1978, on my birthday. Mikel Hunter
(Herrington) was the Program Director, and he changed my life. He
passed away about 12 years ago. He was doing mornings at KOME, using
the name Lefty. Every day after he died I dedicated each show to him,
‘putting another on the shelf for Lefty’, as without him I would not
have had the success I have been fortunate to have. He is a legend in
the rock radio business to this day.

4.. What was it like to be a women on the air as a Rock DJ when you began,
was it hard and were there many other women Rock DJs’ on the air at that
time?

No, it wasn’t hard at all, at least where I was. Chico State had many
women on the air, and at KOME it was one big party. We were all at the
station all the time, just hanging out together. We appreciated each
others talent, male or female. There were many women on the air on FM
rock radio that, well, felt that the only way to be accepted was to
sound sexy. Bonnie Simmons at KSAN was a big trailblazer locally that
brought content to what she did, not just another breathy voice.

5.. Do you have any D J’s that really stood out for you from all the
others?

When I was growing up KSFO in SF had the best jocks – real personality
people that connected with the audience, which I think is the only way
to go. Guys like Carter B. Smith, Gene Nelson, Dick McGarvin, Terry
McGovern. They were great.

6.. Now for a few rock related questions:

1.. How have you been able to lock away all the fantastic rock history
trivia that you have, is it something you have worked on ?

Yes, it takes consistent research, also, just paying attention in your
every day life, and locking those little factoids away as you come
upon them.

2.. What era in Rock music do you like the best, the least.

I think there is something to like in all the eras – 50’s up til now.

3.. Is there any band that you wished to see and were not able to?

The Beatles. Even though they only played for 20 minutes, and everyone
was screaming so much you couldn’t hear them, it still would have been
amazing.

4.. What bands visited the stations you worked at that were over the top
fun to visit with?

Greg Kihn was always fun – he came prepared with his A game each time,
and it was great later on to work so closely with him at KFOX. Roger
Daltry was a pleasure, Neil Young was interesting, Robin Trower was
very nice, Van Halen was wild, Sammy Hagar always fun, Huey Lewis also
was always a good time. In the sports world, Will Clark was a blast.
He guest dj’d on my show a few times, and was not only fun, but he got
a big kick out of refiling the cd’s. He had great follow through in
baseball, and radio, too!

5.. What is the concert that most stands out in your memories?

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 1978 at Winterland. I hadn’t
been that big of a fan, but everyone said I should go. I had just
started at KOME, and had gotten tickets through the station. I was
with two college friends, and we got to the door, and they said the
tickets were for the prior night, and no good. Well, my friend spots
Bill Graham and says ‘you’re in Bay Area radio now, go talk to him’. I
couldn’t have been more nervous to approach this man I’d heard so much
about. I explained our situation, and he smiled and said ‘go ahead in,
enjoy the show’. We walked in, and Bruce had just hit the stage, and
was playing ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’, and he was being passed around on
the upheld hands of the crowd. We hadn’t been drinking, or doing any
other recreational items, and I was so blown away by him, I forgot to
breath. I have seen him at almost all Bay Area shows since, and met
him three times.

6.. What was it like to be able to introduce new bands and music to your
fans ?
That’s a lot of fun. I love playing a song and getting calls or emails
w/ people enthusiastically asking ‘who was that? it was great!’

7.. Do you have any one band that is your favorite?

Hard to say. I think my top ten would include Bruce Springsteen, the
Beatles, the Stones, Motown, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis &
the News and some players to be named later.

7.. Do you have any interests besides music and radio, such as hobbies or
civic interests?

I love exploring the world of wine. Also, I am a major San Francisco
Giants fan. I also am very involved in animal rescue.

8.. The Internet has become a fast growing place for on line radio, would
you be interested in doing something like Blog Talk Radio ?

Not really, because it just seems like there are a zillion people
doing that, and it would be like yelling down a canyon. I’d rather
focus on what I can do on air.

9.. What was it about KOME that grabbed the rock fans attention in the Bay
Area?

Under Mikel Hunter, it was great sounding, with personalities that
were incredibly creative and colorful with a great sense of humor. Too
much radio takes itself too seriously, and so many dj’s think they are
way too cool. There was none of that at KOME, it was crazy, silly and
it rocked.

10.. Final question’s-

1.. What advice would you give to a person who wants to start out doing
Rock Radio, or who just wants to be a Rock historian?

For someone wanting to be in rock radio, the best thing is to check
out the stations at the local junior colleges. Some of them have great
programs and you aren’t spending a lot of money. Four year colleges
have some good broadcast departments, as well. From there get an
internship at a local station. Do really, really well – show up on
time, do anything they ask, pay attention. Chances are you can get on
part time as a Board Op, and then from there it’s up to you. Also, if
you are really into it, be prepared to work in small markets for
basically no money, but you get to polish your craft. Become a
untility player, be able to do any shift asked of you, plus
production, news, promotions and more. That way you are valuable
because you can do so many things, and these days those are the ones
surviving. To be a rock historian – listen without attitude. Don’t
discount something because it’s popular. There is a reason it’s
popular – people like it. Just because it’s some band nobody every
heard of’s 12th track on their 4th album that nobody bought doesn’t
make it good, and it doesn’t make you sound any smarter to be into
only that kind of thing. Be open minded. Like the obscure, but don’t
discount the hits.

2.. Is there anything about being on air as a Rock DJ that you would do
differently?

These days there are a lot of Program Director’s and corporate types
that think that having the dj’s only talk 20 or 30 seconds is the best
thing. The point is to have someone interesting on the air that get
can get across personality, music and other pertinent info in an
interesting way. As Shakespeare said (and Mikel trained us) ‘brevity
is the soul of wit’.

Found this play list at Rhapsody today ~

KOME 98.5 OUR PLAYLIST “In Loving memory of the station that rock my youth“

So who are you SouthBayRocker??? Come out and let us meet ya, we promise you are among friends here dude!

Great play list at Rhapsody!!!! The link at top is the direct link to the playlist, I now hope we can as KOME fans build on that list some how.

Damn it…. I NEED a Yellow and Black Theme here! I am tired of not having the colors match the decal…… anyway, I hope SouthBayRocker comes over and leaves a comment to let us know of yet another fan who still rocks KOME style.

here is a taste of what is on the play list al la video ~

Dirty White Boy ~ not the best sound, could not find a good copy of the original at either VH1 or MTV ( who does nto even have Forigner in their video playlist.)

ELO ~ Turn To Stone

Dream Police ( yeah baby !!!!!!!!!!!)

and for my fellow KOME fans and friends, one that I recall so well listening to on a Saturday evening…….. I miss ya KOME

Closer to The Heart ~

As promised … the interview with Jeff Blazy~

When did you begin your journey into Radio and what sparked your interest in being on the air.

My dad took my older brother, sister, and me to a radio station when I was four.  He worked for GE and we had a lot of interest in music, radio, and television.
My older brother Martin was into so much new music, that I learned all of it from him.  I was always a funny kid, so put it all together and entertainment was pretty much it.

When did you come to 98.5 KOME and had you heard of the station before you started on air there?

End of ‘86,I was doing mornings in Denver at KBPI and the program director from KOME called and said he heard of me and that he had 65 tapes in front of him and mine was his favorite.  It had been sent by a friend.  The call was a total surprise. I had only been in Denver for a couple of months and turned down the offer. A few months later, Denver was not working out so I called KOME back and by January 2, 1987, I was the new morning guy.  Bob & I began on the air two weeks later. I had heard of KOME, but did not know of the legendary status of “Don’t touch that dial it has KOME on it.”  While I was in Texas starting my morning show career, a listener had given me a tape of bay area radio and KOME (Lori Roberts) was on the tape.

What was it like when you began working at the station, was it a wild place to work?

They were trying to get away from the “KOME” (come) references.  It had gotten them in trouble with some advertisers.  This was the mid-80’s and things had changed.  As for wild, we all worked separate shifts, so we really did not bump into each other much unless it was big events.  I mean, we were all cordial with each other, but we were all radio personalities.  It is a strange existence.

I have asked this of Bob Lilley and Dave Wohlman but would love to hear from you on this….. what was it like to be around all the raw rock talent that graced the halls of KOME?

Well, since I was a kid I would dream of meeting some of them.  Then all of a sudden they are next to you in the studio singing live.  It is like your own concert.  All the work pays off.  Gregg Allman is unforgettable.  He did “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider” on acoustic guitar.  His voice is so strong that it penetrated through my headphones.  It blows you away.  Same with Melissa Ethridge and Brian Adams.  Their voices are so forceful.

As for rockers though, Alice Cooper, Brian May of Queen (who did the dedication on the KOME Acoustic Aid CD I co-produced to raise $ for SF Aids Foundation) and the list goes on and on.  It is always the perk of the job that most of us like so much.  Many times Bob and I would have listeners come in so they would get treated to a one of a kind event.  That’s when it is the best, for the listeners, because they will never forget that performance.  That is why we did those “Blazy & Bob Breakfast Clubs,” so the audience could see what we were seeing and get their chance to hear great musicians doing it “Live, Dammit!”

You and Bob did the Blazy and Bob show from 1987 until 1994 ( if I am correct) treating the fans to the creme de la creme of Rock music, that must have been pretty awesome for you. Were there ever times when you were just in awe of who you were talking with?

You are correct on the years.  The one I remember most was Graham Nash in LA during Grammy’s Week Live.  He even said, “Blazy is freaking out.”  I could play almost every CSN song on guitar and now here’s Nash sitting next to me. I picked up the guitar, and as Bob said, I would ask them to play.  When they wouldn’t, I would start playing their stuff.  I played the intro to a Hollies song and Nash was blown away.  I kept playing and he finally said he would not sing. Well, I tried.  Many others took the bait.

Ringo Starr on satellite was also a big deal for me.  We were always instructed “don’t ask for ID’s or autographs.”  During the interview, I mentioned that “my brother Martin played Ludwig drums because of you.”  A week later, the NBC radio rep had sent me a Ringo Starr autograph, made out to my brother, Martin.  I had it framed with a circa 60’s picture of Ringo by his famous drum set.  My brother wept when I sent it to him in NY for Christmas.

How was it to work on a morning show on the radio, was it very different from the other time slots?

Blazy & Bob mornings 6 to 10 (fast paced), the relaxed and conversational style of Stephen Page 10-3 (he was great…he plugged in separate mike so he could walk around the studio while he talked to you on the air…brilliant) Weird Uncle Frank afternoons, and Dennis Erectus at night.  Very different.  Very distinct styles from each show.  It made a great radio station.  A lot of variety throughout the day, instead of the monotony of most stations today.

This is a question that I personally hope to know more about, was it easy to do the interviews you did or was it a learning process? Was there ever an interview that just did not go well and if so how did you work it out?

Oh, I learned a lot, but I mostly remember us having great interviews.  Dia Stein in NY gave us a great compliment one time.  She told us after Sam Kinison died that she had guests grade each morning show after each interview. They would usually be on about 10 shows in a morning.  She sent us Sam’s scorecard.  We were the only one’s to get an “A” other than his pals in Houston.  That meant a lot to us.  And Craig Shoemaker told Nancy, “See?  They always have something different.”

Most interviews went well, but when I was told by a publicist NOT to ask them to play, I did anyway.  One live show, I begged the classic Robin Trower to play “Bridge of Sighs” with my band, The Blazers.  As the crowd cheers at the idea, Robin leans over and says “Do you want me to knock you of of that f#@king chair?”  No one could hear what he said to me.  It is faintly heard on the tape.  But Bob and I made sure he had a great time and moments later he said he would play “Rock Me Baby” with the band!  Pat Simmons of the Doobies also played after we told, several times, NOT to ask.  He played two songs.  One, my fave from him, “South City Midnight Lady.”  It is amazing to hear and realize that it was 8:45 on a Friday morning, live from Mountain View.  Pauly Shore was also on that show and did “Lisa, Lisa” with The Blazers.

Your band the Blazers ( original members Peggy Bertsch – Keyboard, Dennis Coulter – Drums, Brian Cutts – Bass, Greg Mullins – Guitar) that backed you during the Morning Show jams, how did you get that started and do you still keep in touch with the members?

Don’t forget our other bassist/vocalist, Marcus Miller.  He ended up doing such a good job when Ronnie Montrose was a live guest, that Ronnie asked his to tour!

As for the others, I mastered many of their live performances on CD a few years ago and sent them out.  I thank them to this day for their rehearsing, performing, and professionalism.  Think of what they did for our show…they set up starting at 4:30am to go live at 6…they got paid next to nothing in the beginning.  Later we had a budget where they got paid better than if they were doing a gig at a club.  The real payoff was they got to play WITH some big names.  And those performers always said that the band was great.  Oddly enough, the only guy who would never let us replay his tune was Rick Springfield.  Douchbag.

What is the weirdest thing you experienced while on the air at KOME? 

It’s not really the weirdest, but the funniest odd moment was when we were having one of our many satellite conversations with Gilbert Gottfried.  Gilbert was at NBC studios and saw SNL classic announcer, Don Pardoe, walking down the hall.  He ran to get him, stuck him in front of a mike, and began to make Don announce anything he (Gilbert) said.  He was saying, “See Disney’s Aladdin, featuring the voice of Gilbert Gottfried!”  That big voice of Don’s would be interrupted by Gilbert’s loud whining.  Then Gilbert turned it into a classic bit by making Don say “Gilbert……who was unjustly….fired from Saturday Night Live….”  But Don wouldn’t say the last line, so Gilbert began yelling “Say it!”  Don: “No….not gonna do it!” …still in his announcer style.

Bob and I were in hysterics.  Don Pardoe was the voice of our show for several years…”It’s The Blazy & Bob Show….Live!”

I read that you were on the air in 2000 in Honolulu Hawaii, that must have been a beautiful place to work. Was the experience of being on air there any different from stateside radio stations?

Very different.  I was told “you can’t do that here.”  I got to #2 in the male demo which was way up.  I was also told that I would not be able to do stand-up comedy there because I was white.  It was my first time experiencing racism. It is a tough “club” to get invited into.  

It is also where I met the great people of Sam Adams Beer and began a friendship with founder, Jim Koch.  They are a great team of people.

I saw that you were in Palmetto with Woody Harrelson, how was that for an experience? Hollywood can be a strange place, did you consider going into acting after being in the movie?

I am only heard in the movie when they are at Gina Gershon’s house.  You can clearly hear “the Blazy Show on YNF.”  I was on the set many days, got to interview the cast…  The producer asked if I could give him some info for an actor to read on a radio newscast.  I told him I had a home studio and could deliver it to him tomorrow.  I got paid, was credited, and was invited to the premiere in Westlake Village.  I sat across the isle from Rob Reiner.  Fun Stuff.

You are a stand up comedian, when did that spark hit you and do you still do stand up?

Funny kid, voted most funny in high school, did stand-up in beer bars, did it for fun while doing morning radio.  You get to hear a large group laugh instead of the silence of a radio studio. Yes, I still do stand-up in Northern California.  Most months at the Last Day Saloon in Santa Rosa.  Another great show is Mark Pitta’s Tuesday night show in Mill Valley.  Three of the shows I have done there have featured Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Kevin Pollak, and more.

Who has been your biggest influence in comedy?

I guess George Carlin.  I was in the front row for his last HBO Special.  You can see me in light colored clothes.  I got to open for him in Texas, spend some real time talking to him, and he was cool enough when I was broadcasting live from Vegas one time to return my call personally and invite me backstage to do another interview.  He was a one of a kind and brilliant with our language.

What is the most fun part of doing stand up?  

Getting the big laugh.

What is your favorite genre of music? Who do you have on your MP3 player fav list?

I’ll say rock.  I know it up and down.  I have many styles on the iPod.  I have a pretty good collection of rarities…I’m sure nothing close to what Dave Wohlman has…oh, I envy him.  I heard a rumor that he got the KOME vault. I should let you know that in my entire career, there are not many stations that archived things well.  KOME did.  They had a wall of albums and when you needed to find the Rolling Stones first album for something, it was there.

If you were able to set up the dream line up of Rock Bands who would be on stage?

I don’t know.  Todd Rundgren opens for the Beatles and the they invite him on stage.

What was your reaction to KOME being killed off and do you think that there is any way that KOME could be brought back in some pure Rock form or is that a pipe dream of mine that should be left alone?

The mid-90’s, when the business world really began to change things.  Infinity wanted Stern in SF, not San Jose.  So it didn’t matter. KOME had a huge audience.  Very high ratings.  They were making a lot of money.  But it was in the wrong city for THEIR purposes.

And finally, last question ~ If it could be swung, would you possibly be interested in getting Blazy and Bob back on Bay Area air waves? Is there anything the dedicated and loyal Blazy and Bob fans could do to get the fires started?

Bob and I want very much to work together again.  Email to this website if you want us on in San Jose/San Francisco!!!  We will keep your messages and forward to the people who sit in the big chairs!  We promise you a great show every morning. Then we will owe one of the biggest fans of KOME, the webmaster of this site, a big favor!

Thanks for tuning in to The Blazy & Bob Show!  

*********** end of interview questions **********

I would like to thank Mr. Blazy for doing this interview with me, as always talking with these folks from my favorite Rock Station is a joy and these are memories I will never forget. I will be continuing the project to get all the folks I can to help support getting Blazy and Bob back on the air in the Bay Area. So I am calling all the fans of Blazy and Bob who feel like I do about both the Blazy and Bob show as well as KOME who would like to help me out ~ please get a hold of me at kystorms@live.com.

I will be getting the first newsletter ready to go by the end of this month, you can subscribe at the same email listed.

Thanks to everyone for all the support and comments!

Peace
~;-)

Sometimes the Internet is a most amazing source of great information on a wide array of topics, such as the Death of Rock Radio! I found an article in a really round about way actually, that dates from 1998 concerning the death of Rock Radio titled Who Killed Rock Radio?. A real Gem.

Take for instance this quote from mid way in the article, one that is on topic with what I have found to be true…..

Must commercial radio suck?? Increasingly, the answer appears to be a resounding, disheartening yes. “Ratings matter, and that’s all,” says Shawn Stewart, who worked as music director at REV 105 in Minneapolis before it was purchased by Disney. “If you’re reporting to Mickey Mouse, Mickey’s got a big bottom line.” Stewart now works at a public station, WXPN, in Philadelphia.

Yeppers, those pesky ratings will get ya each and every time you make a move, but I do understand the need for something like ratings. This article while dated in its mentions of the Bands of the Day, is as relevant today as back in 1998 ( whoa, wait a sec, need to place my head between my knees…….. this was done 10 years ago! Arggh)
To read the rest of this article, here is the link to Radio Diversity.

Okay, now on to the latest gossip, er news of Led Zeppelin and the now famous on again off again romance between Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Come on boyz, make up your mind, Page either choose a new front man or wait on Plant, he will eventually see the light. And you Plant, what the hell? You can sit and sing for ever with Allison Crause but you can’t reward the 3 + decades of loyal fans you and the band built with a freaking tour? What , are you too busy for the fans now?

Led Zeppelin members jamming with Alter Bridge singer?

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Jason Bonham are reportedly rehearsing with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy for a potential tour. This is according to online reports and an interview done by MuchMoreMusic with Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, whose manager also works with Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant.

Plant has so far refused to commit to a full-blown Zeppelin reunion tour following the band’s one-off charity show last December in London. Snider said in the interview, “They’re saying (to Plant), ‘We’re all rehearsed, we’re ready to go, here’s a gazillion dollars on the table. If you don’t do it, we’re going out with this kid. And he can sing the s*** out of Zeppelin.’”

Hmm, seems RP better figure out what he really wants, I think he also had better consider the fans in his move. We are after all responsible for the 300 million albums sold.
I have just one pick for tonights favorites because I am working on an Interview and I think you all will be pleased with my chosen Topic! That I hope to have up very soon.
The Who ~ Eminence Front * one of my favorites of the groups entire repertoire.

Be good fellow Rockers, and have an awesome week!

Wow, I have been so fortunate to have been able to Interview some of the best KOME had on the air! Today I have a awesome and detailed interview with Bob Lilley one half of the great morning crew Blazy and Bob that I am sure you all remember!
I can promise you that this interview will bring back the great days of Rock Radio! I am both honored and thrilled to have done this interview with you Mr Lilley and as I said before YOU ROCK!

Interview with Bob Lilley
KOME – FM On Air Personality

This photo was used with Permission by Ted Kopulos of http://www.ted.to/kome/stories.htm

Thank you very much for taking time to do this Interview with me, I was excited to know I was getting the chance to speak with you!

When did you begin your radio career and at what station?
I started in radio in 1976. I was fortunate to run in to a group of people who were in the process of putting a radio station on the air at Boise State University, my alma mater. It was suggested to me that I might be good at it so I attended a couple of meetings and they accepted me. I took the station over within a year. GOOD TIMES!

Have you always been a Rock DJ or are there other genres of music you appreciate as well?

My favorite type of music is Classical but I have only experienced doing Classical radio in college. Rock radio is much more fun. I tried my hand at Top-40 radio but wasn’t really cut out for it.

When did you come to KOME?

1986

How did you and Jeff Blazy come up with the comedy portion of your show, was it scripted or off the cuff? Did you know each other prior to starting Blazy and Bob?

I got to KOME in the fall of ‘86 about the time that Frank Bennett had decided he’d had enough of doing mornings. I had never done mornings so I wasn’t really interested in doing that shift. Mornings is tough! You have to to get up so early that it screws up the rest of your day/life. Eventually the station decided to hire Blazy but he needed someone to work with. The station didn’t want to team him up with a real/professional news guy, they wanted a jock who was interested in news and who could read well on the air. So they asked me if I would consider teaming up with this new guy. We didn’t know each other from Adam, we just plunged in to it and hoped for the best. They told us they’d give us a couple of months to see if it would work out. I guess we passed the audition. As far as the comedy portion of the show goes, that was Blazy’s thing. He has spent years doing stand up comedy and he just has one of those “Class Clown” kinda personalities. Comedy comes natural to him. I’m much more laid back. I usually acted as a counter balance to his tendency to take things too far. I liked doing the news and offering useful information to listeners and I ran the board and took care of everything else that needed to be done. That allowed Jeff to just concentrate on what he had to do. I never paid a lot of attention to what Blazy was up to, fortunately we were in different studios. That way, when Jeff would do his thing, it was new for me, just like it was for the audience. We didn’t practice the stuff, he just did it and I was there to react to it. I told him, right off the bat, that I wasn’t a pushover. If he wanted me to laugh at his stuff, it had better be funny. He earned his laughs, they weren’t canned or to make him look good. He gave me plenty of opportunities to get in the punch lines but they weren’t rehearsed. If I missed my cue, well, I missed my cue and he’d pick it up and use it.

I read that you and Jeff were actually at Candlestick Park during the 89 Loma Prieta Quake, and that you both stayed on air, that must have been very hard to do. Do you have any memories of that day that you would like to share?

We broadcast from the Bay Bridge that day because it was the day the Oakland A’s were traveling over to take on the Giants in what I believe was the 3rd game of the World Series. We were long gone by the time the quake hit. Frank Bennett was on the air when the quake hit. He had some stories to tell!!

I saw on some web pages that are not online anymore, that your morning show had a great deal of Rock Bands come to visit with you. Are there any Bands that you had on your show that stand out in your memory the most?

Yeah, we had a great deal of Rock bands and stars come thru the show. You know we not only had in-studio guests and guests that we interviewed via telephone and satellite hook up but we also traveled a bit and talked to people all over the place. We must have done 3 or 4 Grammy broadcasts, a couple of the annual Universal Studio’s broadcasts, plus a week in New York, interviewing bands out of the old ABC ROCK Headquarters. We broadcast from the 1989 World Exhibition in Brisbane, Australia, the grand opening of Bill Wyman’s restaurant, “Sticky Fingers” in Kennsington, London, England and we did two trips to Jamaica and a week in Tokyo. I mention that because in every one of those places we got a chance to meet and talk to the kind of folks you’re referring to.

We interviewed Ringo Starr and Carlos Santana, two the biggest names I could drop for you. But those interviews were over a satellite feed and even though we did spend a good amount of time with each of them, we never actually got to meet them face to face. Those satellite interviews were convenient for everyone involved and a way for us to do things and expose our audience to more than what was available at hand. We once had James Taylor on a satellite feed and even though we appreciated that Taylor wasn’t a KOME type artist, we always felt that our core audience was full of people who just appreciated good music. We would have welcomed Yo Yo Ma to the show if the opportunity had presented itself. We both liked James Taylor’s stuff so we put him on the air. He picked up a guitar and pumped out 3 or 4 of his classics; not abbreviated versions but album-perfect. What a treat.
But it got even better when we would get to meet these people. Some of them we saw repeatedly and they became kind of friends. Melissa Etheridge used to give me great hugs after her 2nd or 3rd time on. What a sweet lady.

Its hard to whittle this down to a couple of names; Jeff and I met a lot of celebrities. When we were in NY, we invited Ray Davies to come talk to us. At the start of the interview, both Jeff and I blurted out, in unison, “Ya know, you’re a Rock God.” He protested vehemently, “No, I can’t even hold on to a recording contract. The only thing anybody knows about me and the Kinks is that my brother and I feud all the time. That whole scene passed me by.” Jeff and I were dumbfounded, we exchanged a look and then Jeff said something to the effect of “We’d put you in a class with Hendrix, Lennon, Page, Beck….” Ray just shook his head, “You guys don’t understand, I’m nothing compared to those guys. I’m starting from ground zero again, nobody cares. Those guys, if they had a project out, they wouldn’t even need to promote it, it would just be released gold.”

Such stunning stuff. He was right, I guess, but hell, all Jeff and I could think of was, “WERE TALKING TO RAY DAVIES!” He went on the Letterman show that night and we both went to see what he said. He just joked around with Letterman. With us he bared his soul. We were honored.
Kind of like the time we had Ray Manzarek on the show. It was right after the release of that Doors movie with Val Kilmer. We figured he’d be jacked about the movie, what great exposure for the band. So Blazy says, “So what’d ya think of the movie?” And Manzarek went off! “They disrespected us! The made fools of us! They made Jim look like a complete idiot!” On and on. And Leah Garchic (sp) of the SF Chronicle is listening and calls Jeff up for a copy of the tape. Next day in her column she writes how we had landed the primo critique of the Doors movie. A few years later, I walk into the bar at the Four Season’s in SF and there’s Ray, sitting at the bar. He recognized me and called me over. Told me how great it had been for him to get that off his chest. We sat around for a while, drinking spirits and discussing The Doors legacy and whether or not any of the so called fans had ever really gotten what they were trying to say. By the way, if you’re a Doors fan, pick up a copy of the book “The Poet in Exile.” Ray Manzarek attempts to bring a sensible ending to the Jim Morrison story/myth. A fun read.

When we were in London we had one superstar after the other drop by Bill Wyman’s place and talk to us. Peter Gabriel, who actually helped me personally get in contact with someone that we knew in common. Ian Anderson, whom we also had on the show at the station. Jon Lord of Deep Purple. Blazy had our Program Director, who had come along to produce the shows, go out and find one of those little toy pianos that kids have; the miniature baby grands, and Jon Lord played “Smoke on the Water” on this toy piano. Hilarious!

Of course during that trip we also talked to Bill Wyman! Hell, it was his restaurant. “So why did you quit the Stones?” “Those wankers didn’t give me the credit I deserved!” “Every song was attributed to Jagger/Richards, but who do you think wrote the bass lines for all those tunes? They didn’t! They’d come up with a tune of some kind and I had to invent the bass line, I did that! Did I get a bloody writer’s credit? NO!” Wankers!

At that same broadcast, (Sorry Jeff) Chrissie Hynde tried to pick up Blazy. I think I got under her skin by questioning some of her “Save the Planet” stuff by saying, “Ya know its not the planet that needs to be saved. When this planet gets sick enough, it’ll just dispose of us and begin the healing process. Your campaign should be “Save the Humans.” She told me that that was obvious, period. And she then ignored me as much as she could and zeroed in on Blazy. She kind of interviewed him a bit. Eventually we took control of the interview again. I remember asking her, “With all the stuff you tackle and as busy as you are, how do you relax?” Her response, which I still have on tape somewhere was short and sweet, “I smoke a lot of pot.” The Program director went nuts after she left, giving instructions back to the station that that whole thing should be cut out. The shows, by the way were being tape delayed due to the extreme time change. When the PD turned around, I counter manned his order and told Don West, back at the station, “Don’t you dare cut that out!” He later told me he was way ahead of me and that it had already been included.

But now, after the interview and before the flap about whether to keep that piece, when Chrissie ended the interview, you could tell there was something between herself and Jeff. She started asking personal questions and just making serious eye contact. I faded into the back ground and watched from a ways away. But Jeff had a steady lady back home and did the honorable thing. She asked him out for dinner and he turned her down. We were relentless in our ribbing him over that. What an evening it could have been. HA! How many friends of yours have been asked out to dinner by Chrissie Hynde?

We were at the Grammys one year and in walks Roger McGuinn. Now, Blazy always had a guitar with him. When artists would come to KOME he would have his guitar there and try to get any guitarists to play for us. Sometimes, if we were getting nowhere with that, he’d just grab the guitar himself and start to play one of the artist’s tunes, hoping they might get the hint. Sometimes we’d get lucky and other times we’d hit a brick wall, to the extent that one, so called rock star I vaguely remember saying something like, I only play for pay. Don’t remember who that was, but it happened. At other times, guys like Roger McGuinn would walk in, sit down, talk to us for a while about the great old days and then lean over to Blazy and ask, “Do you mind if I check out your guitar?” McGuinn played “Mr. Tamborine Man,” “Turn Turn Turn” and another tune that now slips my mind. Not just snipets but the whole tunes. Jeff and I just that there for our private Byrds concert with these huge grins on our faces. Wow!

I remember an embarrassing but fun moment for me at one of those broadcasts, I think it was at Universal Studios, but might have been at a Grammy’s broadcast. Steve Lukather, the amazing studio guitarist who was also a part of Toto was sitting with us. He had just grabbed the guitar, he knew why it was there and he was just one of those guitar rats. Couldn’t stand not to be playing. So he played us a bit of “Hold the Line” and then played some of “Africa” and then just started messing around, “You guys know this one?” And he’d launch in to like, Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” then something else and then something. Blazy started calling out tunes: “You Really Got Me” then another, I tossed a couple in too and we just couldn’t stump the guy. Finally, I yelled out “99″ and he came to a halt and looked at me with this strange look. I said, “Its one of yours….” It was the 2nd single off the album that had “Hold the Line.” And he went, “Oh yeah.” But by then I had broken the spell. That amazing moment was over because I chose the wrong song to yell out. I thought it would be an easy one. Oops
Hell, this could go on and on. Nils Lofgren played for us, Paul Rodgers and Neil Schon. Wow, did you catch their blues tour! Rick Wakefield, Ronnie Montrose, Leslie West, Steve Miller, Eddie Money, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Frampton, Fleetwood Mac….

Sometimes people would just drop by who weren’t there to be on the air. Once, I was working on a Saturday and one of the salesmen was on his way to take Al Dimeola to an in store promotion. They had had to stop by the station so the sales guy could do something. So he brings Al in to the studio so he won’t be bored sitting in the waiting room. I had a great conversation about the unfairness of the music business. Here he was, a graduate of the Berkeley School of Music in Boston and he was having a hard time getting exposure for his music when any idiot with a guitar could write pop songs and get rich. I told him I used to play him a lot in college but that KOME wasn’t quite ready for that. He understood. Spent quite a while in the studio and then took off. Not your typical studio visitor. Another day like that Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult dropped in to the studio on a Saturday when I was filling in. He was actually at the station trying to get my boss to give him an air shift. He came in to the studio and started complaining about how he had another show that night and how he hated having to go thru the motions again and again. I remember sitting there in amazement as this guy complained about being a rock star. He moped, “I’d trade places with you in a heart beat. I wanna be a radio DJ, I’m tired of being a rock star.” I’m sorry but I just looked at him and told him that there are people out in the world who would cut their nuts off just to get a chance to experience one night of his rock star life. “And you’re cryin’ to me?” No sympathy. He left.

But I guess the coolest thing we ever did with a rock band was, with the help of a dear friend of ours, local South Bay Rocker Robert Berry, we facilitated the reunion of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Berry had been working on an album with Emerson and Palmer, he was like the new Greg Lake. Well, they were all in Campbell, recording and we knew that Greg Lake was around because we had a pretty good relationship with him. We had had him on the show in London and had kept in contact. He had no problem with Emerson or Palmer and didn’t care that they were recording with a new guitarist, our buddy Berry. So we invited Robert and Emerson and Palmer to play on one of our monthly live shows. Then we invited Greg Lake. When they all showed up at the crack of dawn it was like old home week. Big hugs all around and during the show, after Berry had played a couple of songs with Emerson and Palmer, he gave way to Lake and we were all blessed with a mini ELP concert. The crowd went crazy!
I know I’ve left out a lot but I imagine this will suffice.

What was your reaction to the fact that your show was canceled for Howard Sterns show? Was there any recourse you were allowed to pursue to stop that from happening?

NO , My reaction to it was that it was business.

What was the feeling on the streets about how KOME was evolving? ( I was out of state by this time, and had no idea this was happening ) I am interested to know if there were any protests by the fans.

I got fired in 1992 because the station was having problems and they thought that changing the morning show might help out. That, which started out as one of the worst experiences of my life, quickly changed in to one of the highlights of my life. The listeners jammed the phone lines and the fax machine. The station could not conduct business because the phone system kept maxing out. I was honestly touched and humbled. And the station called me back and renegotiated a much nicer contract for me. But when we left in 1994, nobody much seemed to care. The station had taken such poor steps over the last year that I think people were sick of us. They brought in Stern for mornings and a guy named The Greaseman for evenings. Frank Bennett had been fired, we were moved to afternoons, followed by the Grease, Scott Lewis was taken off the air. Erectus was gone. The station was ripped apart; the listeners were gone. Nobody cared anymore. Management had hung us out to dry, purposely, so they could create a Howard Stern in the Mornings, New Rock all day station. We should have seen it coming and left before it ended.

Who are your picks for the top five Rock Bands?

5 fave bands. Only 5?
Pink Floyd, Beatles, CSN&Y, Peter Gabriel, Doors, Traffic and lest we not forget, the most under appreciated super star in music, The Queen of Rock and Roll, Joni Mitchell. Is that 5?

What are you doing now, are you still in radio?

I am a house husband. Haven’t been on the air in years. Why bother when automation does radio so well……………..

Do you feel that the ratings system that is employed in Radio was to blame for KOME being taken off the air, and do you feel that the ratings system was accurately reporting for KOME during those last years?

Everyone in radio takes the ratings with a grain of salt. They can be right on or so far off base you have to scratch you head in wonder. Whenever we had bad books it was usually because the majority of San Jose diaries that period wound up in South San Jose zip codes. The latinos didn’t listen to us. The ratings weren’t to blame for our demise, our demise was the direct result of poor management. Our management lost its edge, fired their consultants and fell on their faces. What we needed was management that hadn’t lost its edge. But we never got it. There is a lot that goes in to running a radio station, and passion is a huge part of it; you have to care. Once your leader losses his/her passion, change must happen or you’re dead. We died because our parent company saw that management no longer had a passion for what we had been doing so they took the opportunity to blow the station up and create something new. And that is what they did, with Howard Stern, The Greaseman and New Rock.

I have to ask, was the Turkey Drop as outrageous as it sounded and did anyone get video of that day?

That was a mess. Wish I’d called in sick that day. I hope there is no video and if there is I don’t want to see or hear it.

And lastly – If by some miracle KOME were brought back to the airwaves in some form, would you be open to coming back to the Bay Area again, or do you think this idea is just a pipe dream? YES

Warning – this is a long post today :~)

Listen, I realize that we can not, should not; go about calling people names, this is something our Mother’s taught us in the early years of our lives. So I do not need to be PC as they say about that issue. I am naturally PC about that and lots of other issues.
But check this out, I AM NOT Politically correct when it comes to some thing being taken from me because of say, ratings or money. What am I speaking of? Well, over two years ago this great show came on CBS called Jericho. I was hooked instantly, not for the star Skeet Ulrich ( tho he is a cutie for sure, so JLA ladies do not come a huntin me k?)

That show was then allowed to run for all of ONE season and poof, gone that next May. Why? Ratings were not up to the CBS PTBdesired levels. So many of the Jericho fans, myself included got a tad pissy about that and began the most interesting, fun and slamming Protest in Television History, maybe in Protest History period

In case you did not hear about this here is the short version, CBS ticked off the fans of Jericho, the fans en mass then proceeded to gather themselves together ( after hearing a DJ Shaun OMac on BlogTalk Radio say maybe we should send nuts I will give the reason later) and started buying nuts from a guy in New Jersey ( Jeff Braverman of NutsOnline) and shipments of said nuts were then dropped off at CBS HQ in New York and LA in Cali.

Check this video out it is my favorite done by a awesome videographer, JerichoBaginz ~ *check out the very worried Security Team in the CBS loading bay, they had no idea what was up! It was freaking hysterical.

Love Note Number 1 ~

Wave Three of our love note to CBS ~

wave 4 ~ 10,000 POUNDS OF NUTS in this one shipment peeps… we rocked CBS’s world that day! Coast to Coast we made our views known.

and the one that showed the resolve to continue our war~

Now to show that even though we went berserk for our show, we did not forget that there are more important things in life we also did something else. Greensburg Kansas was hit by an F% Tornado in May of 2007. So while we were buying nuts to lob at CBS on both coasts in protest we along with Jeff Braverman ( who with great human love in his heart donated portions of all orders) managed to simultaneously also give over $20,000 dollars to the People of Greensburg. Here is the website for that info, and I believe donations can still be given as well. We also started JerichoRangers4OurTroops to get DVD’s of both Seasons of Jericho donated for our troops, a project that has now evolved into JR4OT.org.

Okay, what in the heck does all this have to do with KOME? Well, in my mind I see protest ( peaceful, yet forceful protest) as the greatest means given to us by the many generations of folks who fought to give me this right as the best and most effective means of getting my views across. Had Jericho happened before KOME had been killed off, and had I been in the Bay Area at the time of said murder, I would have done my level best to raise a protest of the same proportions. Would it have worked? Who knows, but I think I would not be too far off base in saying that there are far more Rock fans in the Bay Area alone than Jericho fans. What we Jericho fans did was rock the boat, we did not take what CBS did, we were not quiet and pliant. We were mad as hell and we did what needed to be done.

And before someone emails me and says it, I know….KOME 98.5 is gone. And honestly the magic that was KOME can not be redone. To the person who said you can’t go home again, thanks – you were right and that sucks.
What I do think can be done is to try and buy the letters back and maybe get the new generation of KOME back on the Bay Area air waves. It would not be the KOME of my youth, but it would be KOME. Does that make sense to anyone besides myself?

Some have told me this is the ultimate pipe dream, but I as I showed you above am the Supreme Dreamer.
You want to know what got me in this mood today? Bob Lilly of the Blazy and Bob show posted here today, and I have to say that the huge smile is still on my face from his post and the Interviews I have done with Dave Wohlman and Loren Charles. I was listening to Touch of Grey by the Grateful Dead and well, ya know.. protests, the Dead, in my little heart it just clicked. I love my station, then and today and I want to see if I can fight for it.

So here is my video choice for today – Touch of Grey from the Dead. Enjoy and let me know what you think of my pipe dream, love to hear from the readers. Just be kind okay? And for those who want to know why Jericho Fans used nuts – in the show in a wedding scene in the last episode of Season One, Jake Green is at a table as his Grandfather is telling the story of Gen. Macauliffe who was in the Battle of Bastogne , surrounded by the German forces. When the Germans told Gen. Macauliffe to surrender and his men would be spared, he replied simply — NUTS. WHen the characters of Jericho found themselves surrounded by another town hell bent on taking Jericho over for its resources Jake Green after just losing his father to a gun shot replied to the leader of New Bern, NUTS. It was our rally cry as well.

Please also go support the Artist at their website – The Grateful Dead