A little more Fluff

I've been traveling the last 12 hours and I need to go to bed. In application this means I cannot write anything about radio. I am too tired to make any sense, of any kind. So here are more art deco & 1950s style motel signs. It has nothing to do with anything except my 2 spare hours this morning before the flight check-in.

If you forgot, it's here.

The Sagebrush State

It's a moniker that has all the allure of "the Buckeye state" but none of the personality of "the Mighty 590", but Radio always had better branding than politics.

I hunted down a reputed record store this morning called Recycled records. Nice selection, and a very nice old box turntable for previewing. I picked up an Erase Erata remix EP and almost bought the Radiohead "Talk Show Host" import single, but opted not to drop the $10.

I drove around Reno afterwards trying to listen to 1400 KBDB-AM but above 1270 KBZZ-AM a local talker all I find are spanish stations. Evenualy I gave up and tried to get in K-Tahoe, 590 KTHO-AM but this too is inaudible in the neighborhood. KTHO almost lost their tower to a forest fire back in 2002. read about that here. They also have the bold position of being the third American radio station offered for sale on Ebay. Bidding started back in March of 2003 at $450,000. Which considering the last round of auctions is sadly a bargain.

I expected with the distant KTRB departure in Modesto that the RF haze at the bottom of the dial would clear somewhat but no dice. Maybe on the other side of the mountains...

Reno is a town built in the 1950s. The decor everywhere is a very indigenous art deco.. kind of like Cuba. The streets are lined with old Fords and Chevys. I actually saw a Ford Corcel sitting in front of a gas station for sale, only $1,200. And the motels all have large geometric neon lit signs, all very art deco leaning out above the roads. (pics here)

It is fairly certain that the first "licensed" radio amateur in Nevada was 6VI, operated by Mr. Willis Pressel. In the 1915 Department of Commerce Callbook he's listed with the address of "City Hall" here in Reno. it's generally assumed this is the location of his antenna. due to the location of his station's antenna which ran from the top of City Hall over to the Majestic Theater. Never to be left out of the game, The University of Nevada started a wireless station in 1916. I cant' find it's experimental calls but it became KOJ in 1922. It was revoked quickly because it was non-functional only 90 days later.

The first functional station 830 KDZK-AM was owned by the Nevada Machinery & Electric Company. It went live on July 21, 1922. Funding was difficult to maintain, but it's death blow was dealt by the Reno Musician's Union. In 1923 ASCAP began collecting royalties, even on the live performance of live music. The Reno Musicians Union was used as an enforcing arm which put a burden on the struggling new broadcaster.

...Now back to our regularly scheduled programming

The Biggest Little City

Or so they say...
The rental car agency, in a fit of strange humor rented me a white 2007 Mustang instead of the Grand Prix I requested. The auto fits in better in this weirdly country city. Althought the antennas and hardware do not fit at all well in the goddamned gas-guzzling 2-door muscle machine... Anyway, the presets on the car radio were all to country stations or static except one. 105.7 KOZZ.

A station that any other day of the week, any other hour of they day would have bored me to tears was at that hour of the day running the Doctor Demento show. the man is a modern day Count Saint Germain seeming to live forever. His program has been running for more than 4 decades now, having spawned compilation albums, and even the careers of various novelty artists.

About 100 stations carry his program, I dont know what onces since he refusees to post them on his site mysteriously... The fine Doctor beggan his career not all that far from here on 106.7 KPPC back in 1970 while working Los Angeles. [KPPC is known as KROQ these days]

I stopped by a small guitar shop on 6th Street and head about some local color and the fine manufacture of a through-neck guitar. There is no community radio station in Reno, there are two NPR outlets KUNR and KKTO but both are talk heavy. A few miles away in Truckee, CA a repeater on 105.1 called K286AN-FM brings the eclectic KVMR tantalizingly close to Reno.
But these people want to change that, and good luck to them.

I wandered away from the casinos.. or I thought I did I keep finding more. they damn things are everywhere. There are slot machines in the damn grocery store. But in this wandering I found a nice eclectic music shop; The Antique Rocker on 454 Washington Street. They had a great collection of steel guitars, random LPs, and discount mandolins. behind the counter mixed in with the guitar strings was a random mutoscope disc... just sitting there. Well worth a visit.

More Traveling

This shouldn't take long supposing there's no trouble. Posting may be late or interrupted depending on the reliability of air travel, rental cars etc.