I visited CBS Radio Seattle today. It was both strange and familiar at once. It has been about a year since I was there last, and that time I got no further than the lobby. This time, I made my way through KMPS and KZOK, catching up with people I had not seen in a long time. It has been two years and four months since I was employed there.
I mentioned my beginnings at KZOK in an earlier post. About a month after moving to Washington State from Massachusetts, I began an internship in the production department. Shortly after that I became the afternoon show producer. I also sometimes produced the morning and midday shows. When the afternoon show host became the program director, he made me his assistant.
Over 15 years, I saw many ownership and personnel changes. The first change in ownership resulted in my first on-air shift. All the full-time "personalities" had to attend a workshop. I got to fill-in on a few overnight shifts. I remember being amazed that someone responded to something I had said by sending me a fax. I still get a little thrill from listener response. Now it is through a "Shout Out" on the KJRW station page at live365.com.
People always want to know which rock stars I met in the KZOK studios. The nicest guys were Paul Rodgers, Graham Nash, and Julian Lennon. Ann and Nancy Wilson were there enough times that I was finally comfortable around them and not star-struck. Other studio guests I met were: Grace Slick, Ian Anderson, Ray Davies, Nick Mason, Roger McGuinn, Mickey Thomas, Sam Andrew, Roger Hodgson, Peter Green, and Donny Osmond. I am probably forgetting somebody. I also got to meet all the members of Aerosmith backstage before a show in the Key Arena as a member of the KZOK staff.
That part was cool, but the thing I enjoyed the most while at KZOK was helping to create a show - from constructing a playlist of songs to producing a funny station identification piece, and making them flow together. After two years of not being able to have that creative outlet, a close friend told me about live365.com, and KJRW was born.
Will I ever return to "CRAZY OKAY"? We'll see...
But, really, do you want to? There must be a better way to use your gifts than to be ignored and abused aka "being taken advantage of" by a bunch of tired, burnt-out white guys...
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