When The Alternative Station Died
I just read Lynn Arave's article in the Deseret Morning News today. In his "20 Years Ago" radio happenings was the mention of KCGL dropping their alternative format in favor of religious programming.
November of 1986 was a dark month. KCGL 105.5 FM broadcasting out of Bountiful, Utah in what I understand was quite a dumpy studio was a lifestyle radio station for the kids with weird clothes, strange haircuts, and a taste for music a little more challenging than Madonna, Survivor, and Michael Jackson. KCGL should have never existed in Utah. Nobody should have been playing The Clash, U2, REM, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Models, The Call, The Nails, Scritti Politti, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, New Order, The Stranglers, The The, and many more bands like that.
At the age of 15 I had sort of a re-education in music. The bland top 40 crap on KCPX, KISN, and K-96 (ironic that K-96 later became my home)just didn't enthuse me. I found that Depeche Mode was much more my style. I remember going to Weinstocks in the Ogden City Mall to alter my wardrobe so that I looked more like Bono and the members of Psychedelic Furs instead of Bruce Springsteen. I traded in my 501's for Bugle Boy and Generra. I rolled up the cuffs of my pants (this was cutting edge style and punk in 1985, trust me.) I bought skinny ties at Chess King. I found out who I was, and it all centralized with the style of music I liked.
Yeah, baby. I was a new-waver. The cowboys at Roy High School (and there were many) didn't care much for the new wavers. They despised us. They threw their chewing tobacco at us in the hallways. They called us fags.
It was tough. A little misfit radio station called KCGL held us together. This was before the internet existed. Music was not available with the click of a mouse. We had to buy our records and tapes at places like Toad Tape in Ogden, or make a trip to Raspberry Records in Salt Lake.
DJ's like Mike Summers (who used to change his name to Mike Winters during the appropriate season) kept us up to date with great music in the morning. Lara Jones was easily the most intelligent personality on the dial back then. Her dry wit and utter professionalism contrasted nicely. Biff Raffe was my favorite. Perhaps it was his energy and smart ass attitude. He recently left the radio business, and while he worked for a competing station here in Salt Lake, it is a sad radio dial without his voice. These personalities were my companions when I sat in my bedroom and did my homework with the radio on. Even as a teenager, there was a slight desire to do what they did for a living. Being on the radio seemed like a possibility in my clouded, confused adolescent mind.
When KCGL was sold and changed to a religious station in November 1986, we were lost. New music had no outlet. We couldn't make mp3 blogs or go on myspace for new bands.
Man, it was a bummer. I felt lost without it.
Alternative music eventually came back in a part time format on the weekends on KRPN (107.9 in Ogden and 92.1 in Salt Lake.) Then it moved to KJQ to air in the evenings only. KJQ was a top 40 station during the rest of the day. The wise owner saw his night time ratings go through the roof, so he eventually went "modern music" all day. The station maintained a couple of morning DJ's named Kerry Jackson and Bill Allred. It was May of 1988 when Utah received alternative music 24 hours a day on KJQ.
That's where I joined the team as an 18 year-old working overnights.
It's quite a story.
Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend while X96 visits some of these old bands on our Shuffle Weekend.
November of 1986 was a dark month. KCGL 105.5 FM broadcasting out of Bountiful, Utah in what I understand was quite a dumpy studio was a lifestyle radio station for the kids with weird clothes, strange haircuts, and a taste for music a little more challenging than Madonna, Survivor, and Michael Jackson. KCGL should have never existed in Utah. Nobody should have been playing The Clash, U2, REM, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Models, The Call, The Nails, Scritti Politti, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, New Order, The Stranglers, The The, and many more bands like that.
At the age of 15 I had sort of a re-education in music. The bland top 40 crap on KCPX, KISN, and K-96 (ironic that K-96 later became my home)just didn't enthuse me. I found that Depeche Mode was much more my style. I remember going to Weinstocks in the Ogden City Mall to alter my wardrobe so that I looked more like Bono and the members of Psychedelic Furs instead of Bruce Springsteen. I traded in my 501's for Bugle Boy and Generra. I rolled up the cuffs of my pants (this was cutting edge style and punk in 1985, trust me.) I bought skinny ties at Chess King. I found out who I was, and it all centralized with the style of music I liked.
Yeah, baby. I was a new-waver. The cowboys at Roy High School (and there were many) didn't care much for the new wavers. They despised us. They threw their chewing tobacco at us in the hallways. They called us fags.
It was tough. A little misfit radio station called KCGL held us together. This was before the internet existed. Music was not available with the click of a mouse. We had to buy our records and tapes at places like Toad Tape in Ogden, or make a trip to Raspberry Records in Salt Lake.
DJ's like Mike Summers (who used to change his name to Mike Winters during the appropriate season) kept us up to date with great music in the morning. Lara Jones was easily the most intelligent personality on the dial back then. Her dry wit and utter professionalism contrasted nicely. Biff Raffe was my favorite. Perhaps it was his energy and smart ass attitude. He recently left the radio business, and while he worked for a competing station here in Salt Lake, it is a sad radio dial without his voice. These personalities were my companions when I sat in my bedroom and did my homework with the radio on. Even as a teenager, there was a slight desire to do what they did for a living. Being on the radio seemed like a possibility in my clouded, confused adolescent mind.
When KCGL was sold and changed to a religious station in November 1986, we were lost. New music had no outlet. We couldn't make mp3 blogs or go on myspace for new bands.
Man, it was a bummer. I felt lost without it.
Alternative music eventually came back in a part time format on the weekends on KRPN (107.9 in Ogden and 92.1 in Salt Lake.) Then it moved to KJQ to air in the evenings only. KJQ was a top 40 station during the rest of the day. The wise owner saw his night time ratings go through the roof, so he eventually went "modern music" all day. The station maintained a couple of morning DJ's named Kerry Jackson and Bill Allred. It was May of 1988 when Utah received alternative music 24 hours a day on KJQ.
That's where I joined the team as an 18 year-old working overnights.
It's quite a story.
Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend while X96 visits some of these old bands on our Shuffle Weekend.
posted by Todd Nuke 'Em at 7:13 AM
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