On this day, 23 years ago, I completed my demo tape for KCOU 88.1 FM. To me, the idea of getting to be on the air, choosing all of the music from a multitude of formats, in two-to-four-hour increments, was extremely enticing. I'd been recording my own practice radio shows on tape since age 11, so the chance to be on an actual station that listeners could hear was not one I took lightly. I was slated to be on the air from 5 to 6 a.m., and I'd planned portions of my set lists weeks in advance. Although there weren't likely a lot of listeners tuning into a low-power campus station at that hour, I was determined to play a wide variety of music, ranging from B.B. King to The Sneetches, and to treat the whole experience as if I'd been entrusted with state secrets.
The hour went well, although listening to it now, I sounded more subdued on the air than I would become. I made sure there were CDs in both players and records cued up on both turntables at all times, so there would be no dead air between songs, and I made my segues as smooth as possible. "Quarter-turn counterclockwise," I kept reminding myself. To cue up a record, I had to remember to listen to the record in cue off the air, find the first note, stop the turntable, and turn the record back a quarter-turn to give the record player time to get up to speed before the song started.
Mostly, I let the music do the talking. Miles Davis, who had died less than a week earlier, was the station's featured artist that week, so I made sure to play a track from him. I also made sure that I grouped my segues together in ways that made musical sense. Just as you wouldn't program "Frosty The Snowman" next to Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," I made sure not to play any two songs back to back that were jarring to the ear. I also made sure, after I finished my shift, to note on current albums, as required, which tracks I'd played.
At the end of the hour, I retrieved my tape and left it for Dan, the chief announcer. Within a few days, he told me, "You're ready to go on the air." Thus began an enjoyable two years at KCOU. From 1991 to 1993, I played some of the best jazz, indie rock, album rock, blues, R&B, reggae, power pop, international, dance, metal, country, and folk music that I've ever heard and got to know some of the most interesting people. I had the pleasure of being the station's jazz director for most of my time there, reviewing current jazz CDs, placing them in format, and giving feedback on new releases to record labels. Although I enjoyed hosting and programming "Jazz Odyssey" and the oldies show, "Kruzin' Music," regularly, and filling in on "Blues 101," "Retro 88," and "Country Brunch," I enjoyed the general on-air shifts just as much. During those shifts, I could program a jazz track next to a blues track, segue it with an R&B track, back that up with a local band track, and pair that track with an album rock selection. When you have a blank playlist to fill for two to four hours, you draw on every bit of musical knowledge you have, and I was always up for the challenge.
Musically, what did KCOU sound like during those years? Some sample sets from my playlists:
1. I'm Falling Down-The Waking Hours
2. Wanted-The Cranberries
3. Joy-The Sundays
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4. You Move Me Like A Slug-The Boorays
5. Swampabilly Hop-The Aqua Velvets
6. Pebblefytzer Rag-Mason Williams
7. Bourgeois Boogie-Ornette Coleman
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8. Harbour Shark-The Wailing Souls
9. Blue Yes-Chucho Valdes
10. Early Morning Blues-Nat King Cole
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11. Arise And Shine-Vanessa Rubin
12. & 13. Carpe Diem-Maurice Jarre, mixed with The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil-J.R.R. Tolkien
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14. Narrow Your Eyes-They Might Be Giants
15. I Don't Wanna Know About It-Uncle Green
16. Love's Got A Line On You-Scandal
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17. Off The Top-Jimmy Smith
18. Shakill's Warrior-David Murray
19. Samba De Be-Bop-Phil Woods Quintet
20. All Of A Sudden-Rebecca Coupe Franks
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21. Orange Blossom Special-Johnny Cash
22. Wheels-Flying Burrito Brothers
23. Wayfaring Stranger-Emmylou Harris
24. Wrong Side Of Memphis-Trisha Yearwood
25. Bye Bye Blackbird-Rickie Lee Jones
Musically, KCOU provided something for just about every listener. In a separate post, I'll elaborate on some of the people that made KCOU what it was during those years. Stay tuned.
