Thursday, February 18, 2021

LA radio time capsule: KROQ 1982 (video)


(KROQ's Freddy Snakeskin On Air, 8/5/15) Long before CBS reared its ugly corporate head, there was a small and very influential independent LA radio station called KROQ (kay-rock), housed in a dumpy little building in Pasadena.

From his private video collection, all are cordially invited to be Freddy's in-studio guest, one weekday afternoon in the infamous KROQ air studio, circa 1982. Featuring DJ Freddy Snakeskin at the controls, with special cameo appearances by
  • Jed The Fish
  • Poorman
  • Dusty Street
  • Rick Carroll (wearing an actual tie!)
  • Larry Groves
  • "Shotgun Tom" Kelly
  • Dr. George "Baby" Cooing
  • Sam Freeze
  • and more.

Who's scheduled for Coachella 2021?
Original video by Shotgun Tom, aka Buster Hymen. Hope it's as much fun watching now as it was playing radio in that tiny room way back when. Note the many differences between the original "World Famous KROQ" and what's left of it today -- all those juicy vinyl records for one thing (and yes the DJs really could play whatever they wanted, at least "within reason," ha ha ha).

It's kinda sad how all those cheesy 80s beer commercials have been replaced by a never-ending onslaught of annoying ads for banks, car dealers, and guitar shops. On the other hand, no more phony inducements to get trained for a "rewarding career in radio." Not even Trump can sell that crap to New Yorkers today. Oh well, that's progress or whatever the radio industry wants to call it.

Enjoy, and feel free to share. And, if so inclined, adopt a rescue kitty and name him Freddy -- or for even better karma remember the Freddy Snakeskin Unemployment Fund! Better still: somebody please offer this guy a job at KLOS-FM right now!

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