Radio, magical voices in the night

by Rick Brown

Joint Ventures crew at Radio Station KVMR, Jim Hickson, Janet Riswold, Rick Brown. Mike Ramm, unable to attend

I have an intimate relationship with radio. Kind of like a lifelong friend.

Recently that relationship was heightened by joining other Joint Venture writers in reading our favorite blogs on the KVMR show Word in Edgewise.  Great fun.

There we stood, Janet Riswold, Jim Hickson and me facing professional-grade microphones while host Tom Wolfe manned the control board.  Our setting – a top-notch recording studio adorned with community radio call letters from stations nationwide.  The only downside to the moment was the absence of fellow-blogger Mike Ramm who could not join us.

Tom later underscored our recorded voices and enriched the effect with music adding a hip, professional element to our readings.  Kinda like a local version of This American Life by Ira Glass. Following the recording we walked up Broad Street to dinner on a dark Sunday night in Nevada City. Strolling through the Foothills’ gem of a city we beamed with the satisfaction of collaborative creative effort.

As we searched for an open restaurant, I reflected on my radio romance, a relationship dating back to a Philco console that brought the world into the room of a 12-year-old kid.

My parents, like most other Americans in the 1950’s, entered the television era that overshadowed all other forms of entertainment including radio. As soon as the RCA, black and white television set arrived, I maneuvered the albatross-like radio console next to my bed and marveled at the huge speaker, the internal antenna, the glistening array of tubes, and the magical dials that brought in electromagnetic signals from distant places.  At night the console’s rectangular light offered entries into the world of radio personalities, musicians, sportscasters and even ships at sea.

Philco radio console,

Keeping the volume low, I tuned into a private world.  While the family slept, I gently rotated the knob to capture various celestial islands in the night – KSFO, KCBS, KXRX and KGO to name a few.  With the right weather conditions, I might even find a station in Reno or Salt Lake City.

One of those voices came from KGO’s Ira Blue.  He broadcast live nightly from San Francisco’s fabled Hungry i where he interviewed nightclub celebrities.  His late-night chats in North Beach offered a level of sophistication, of urban worldliness – a world very different than my own.   With the Philco’s speaker close to my ears, I got to hear Blue adroitly banter with politicians, nightclub comics and local celebrities.  Thanks to radio’s lack of graphic depiction, my imagination took me to a table surrounded by cocktail chatter and big city ambience.

The magic of radio prompted me to buy a crystal radio set complete with antenna, a crystal, earphones and something called a “cat’s whisker” that touched the crystal to receive power from radio waves. Even though the little radio’s range was limited to powerful stations in nearby San Jose, the mystery of capturing electromagnetic sound waves created a private enchantment.

Eventually the love of news and the wizardry of radio led to a degree in broadcast journalism from San Jose State.  As editor of the college station KSJS’s newsroom and an internship at KQED I gained experience in broadcasting the news and practicing the craft of writing for radio. That background led to a job at radio station KUKI in Ukiah, a small town two hours north of San Francisco.  Dan Cubberly, an experienced LA broadcaster had purchased the station a few years before.  In Los Angeles Dan worked alongside broadcast greats like Edward R. Murrow.  In his ownership of KUKI, he held the small station up to his professional standards. 

KUKI’s 1000 watt signal reached the Ukiah valley up to Fort Bragg and little more.  Conversely, only San Francisco’s KGO’s 50,000 watts penetrated our ring of mountains.

At 22 years of age, I found myself as a news director with my own workstation close to the broadcast booth.  Weekdays I was responsible for 20 minutes of airtime at 8:00 a.m., 10 minutes at noon and another 20 minutes at 5:00.  Going on air, a disc jockey would nod to me and light the “on air” sign.  Pure magic.

My routine required about 20 fresh stories a day, some in the field and some generated through phoned interviews from my workstation. Each day I followed a “beat” including the police blotter, local government agenda items, superior court schedules etc.  Time permitting, I could follow up with feature stories like a ride with a crop duster or an interview with a tribal leader from the Pomo indigenous community.  Occasionally Mr. Cubberly let me air a one hour talk show in the middle of the day.

Among KUKI’s staff was a wonderful man, Rod Pacini who announced, did field interviews and gathered ads for the station.  He also shepherded me with collegial support and encouraging wisdom.

My KUKI experience included varied assignments like school board meetings, testy Board of Supervisor gatherings, murder trials, election nights and even an encounter with People’s Temple leader Jim Jones.

The DJ’s used names like Salty Saline and Bob Green the Fun Machine.  The freewheeling ad manager thought it was great fun to pull down his pants while I was delivering the news. Keeping my cool and delivering the broadcast unperturbed discouraged future antics.

I soon learned that the station’s culture included characters who matched the tone of the town, a town that hosted Mendocino State Hospital, loved its high school sports and had a Sherriff named Reno.  A local legend, Reno Batiolomie not only confronted a throng of invading Hells Angels but arrested Charles Manson and many members of the Manson family during his tenure.

After a year, I left the radio career to pursue an advanced degree which led to meeting the love my life, raising a family and settling in a Sierra Nevada Foothills community. A damn lucky life.

In retrospect, KUKI prided itself on being a local, community-based station. 

But times have changed: podcasts, satellite radio, internet and expansive syndication eliminated much of the community flavor of local radio. Most of AM radio is now filled with syndicated sports talk or political hotheads who claim to have an inside track to truth. I witnessed that change a few years ago when revisiting the station.  A solitary employee greeted me as he supervised country music feeds from a Texas corporation. Currently, the station is owned by Bicoastal Media and some of the local touch has been restored but not to the same degree as Dan’s station.

Yes, change – constant change.  That 12-year-old boy listening to the Philco radio set could never have imagined the broadcast world of streaming, podcasts, downloads or webcasting.  Nor would the old crew at KUKI. The current radio voices in the night seem prerecorded, packaged and very, very impersonal. 

Fortunately, community owned and community supported Nevada City’s KVMR has been able to keep the intimate magic going.  Humming along in a stylish studio behind the renovated Nevada Theater, KVMR offers eclectic programs 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The listening gems include 130 programs, all hosted by volunteers including music shows across different genres, news, public affairs, and spoken word content.  Like the golden age of radio, KVMR has even aired live performances in places like the American Victorian Museum. Among my many favorite programs are Celtic Cadance and Backroads.

Dating back to its origin in 1978, the station, 89.5 FM, continually redefined itself, improved its technical quality, created a professional management structure and eventually proved to be a vital voice throughout Northern California. In addition to its live programming, the station maintains an archive that stores previous broadcasts up to a month.

Leaving the station and trekking up Nevada City’s Broad Street that night, the charm of radio lingered.  Only it was better this time.  Collaboration with quirky, literate friends - hosted by a talented personality and being part of that air wave voice in the night. 

And Tom wants us back for future shows.  Oh boy!

Resources:

Mendocino County Historical Society -

https://www.mendocinocountyhistory.org/

Radio World - https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/whos-in-the-bay-area-radio-hall-of-fame

History of Radio Station KVMR - https://www.kvmr.org/the-kvmr-story/#:~:text=July%2014%2C%201978,American%20Victorian%20Museum%20(AVM).