As a young man, I
worked at KSAN. Like the singer
sang all of those years ago, “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got
‘till it’s gone”.John Grivas remembers...
As a young man, I
worked at KSAN. Like the singer
sang all of those years ago, “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got
‘till it’s gone”.
The year was 1973.
I had sent Thom O’Hair a number of air-checks, and he eventually wrote
back saying something like, “Thanks, but no thanks, we don’t have any
openings now, but if you are ever in the area, drop in.”
Now when you are 22
and working for a small radio station in Wisconsin, that seemed like an offer.
It was about 4
o’clock in the afternoon, as the 18-foot U-haul truck I had driven over 2,000
miles finally lumbered its way into San Francisco.
The radio was blasting “Fresh Air” by Quicksilver.
Life can imitate
art.
Everything I owned
including the 1967 red Volkswagen was in the back of that truck, swaying every
time I turned a corner, or when I went up or down one of The City’s famous
hills. The engine had blown a rod
near Salt Lake City and it was cheaper to rent a U-Haul truck than it was to get
the engine fixed.
I actually parallel
parked on Bush Street near China town and got a room at a fleabag
apartment…The next day I went to KSAN, and asked for Thom O’Hair. When he came out into the reception area, he seemed a bit
shocked that I actually drove all of that way after the letter he had written to
me.
He said something like, well let's go for a ride.
So we hopped into a cab and went over by Golden Gate Park to a house just
on the border of the park.
We went inside and I learned that it was The Jefferson
Airplane's house and the current home of Grunt Records...played pool and had
some very interesting "refreshments" with the kids, including Papa
John Creach, who was a bit bummed that day because someone had made off with his
stash... I didn't realize it at the time, but that was my job
interview...
About two hours later, Thom said he would call me.
He stood up and left me there! So
I walked back to Bush Street, probably bouncing off a few walls and doorways,
but it definitely was a wonderful stroll.
A couple of weeks passed and I truly needed a job, so I
went to one of those temporary employment places, and the guy actually hired me as a recruiter for the
agency.
About a week later Thom O’Hair called and said that I
could start working the overnight shift, filling in for Norman, who was going on
vacation.
I left the employment agency and went to KSAN.
But when he and the rest of the staff saw me, it was like I was from
another planet because my hair was so short...he didn't recognize me...but I
started to work and it was a great time...although I did find irony in some of
the staff’s opinions of me, because of my hair.
It was after all just hair, which was the premise of growing it long in
the first place, right?
O'Hair
didn't allow me to use my own name for some reason. He gave me the choice of
"Tony Pig," which
he told me had been used before, but some time had passed and it would be okay
to use it again
or "Johnny Garbage."
Not wanting to confuse the
confused, I went with the Garbage name although I hated it. But
I remember Bonnie Simmons, Raechel, Dusty, Norman, and the Big Daddy himself, as
being very kind and nurturing to me.
Then the energy crisis of 73 hit (can't remember exactly,
it was after all, a haze...), and they cut back some of their staff, so I was
out. I went to work for the
Archdiocesan Communications Center of San Francisco.
We were like the public relations department for the Catholic
church...creating movies for the schools and commercials for the Campaign For
Human Development. They also rented
out their space for other "spiritual" events...I used to do the sound
for the Isadora Duncan Dancers when they did a performance, and the Buddhists.
From there, I went on to work at KOME, KSFM, KPRI, and 91X
in California, and also at WQFM, WZMF, and WLPX, all in Milwaukee.
I teamed up with another person and we did a morning show, “John and
Mary” at WQFM, then KSFM, KPRI, and 91X.
At 91X, which was a 100,000 watt station beaming out from the largest
hill in Tijuana, I signed it on the air with the Airplane’s “Volunteers of
America” from the Woodstock album.
Yes those days
in radio were very magical.
We were usually
hired based on our musical knowledge and how we would put musical sets together,
and how we communicated.
We could create
a mood or tell a story with a music set. It was a beautiful thing going from a
Joni Mitchell or Ry Cooder or J.J. Cayle song
into something by The Stones, The Kinks, Van Morrison, or B.B. King, and
then finishing the set with The Tubes, The Sons of Champlin, Tower of Power, or
Lou Reed.
The songs being
connected by either the lyrics, or musically, meaning one song might end with an
up drum beat and the next one started with a down drum beat...
In those days we
started with a blank canvas and could paint the picture using any color. Then
they changed it to painting by numbers in the late 70's, with play lists that
told us what to play and when to play it. It went from an abstract painting to a
juke box.
Somehow we all,
and I mean those of us on the radio and those of us listening to the radio let
this get away from us.
I often thought
that we were the "tribal drum" of the sub-culture. But then the
sub-culture became the mainstream culture and everybody was banging on a drum
and nobody could hear any more because there were too many drums banging in the
wind...
Amazing journey
when you think of it...
Back in the
early days, Jimi Hendrix and the whole music genre was called "underground
music", then through the years it became known as "progressive",
"contemporary", and "adult contemporary".
Now it is known
as "classic oldies".
What a long
strange trip it HAS been.
But life goes
on, and those of us who were there, on either side of the radio speakers, will
never forget how magical those times were.
For the past 22
years I have been in the promotional products industry here in Wisconsin (Yes,
you CAN go home), selling promotional branded products (pens, caps, clothing,
etc.), premiums, and incentives for marketing programs, internet company stores,
and mass mailing projects for major corporations.
I have been
married for 21 years. We raised our
nephew who is now off on his own and we live “the quiet life” with our two
dogs, Thelma and Louise, along with our cat, Hazel, who just walked into our
lives a year ago. She was a stray
cat that announced herself one day at our doorstep. Kind of like I did all of those years ago at KSAN…
Then at WQFM,
Circa 1975…
Now…
