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We changed the hours of Pacific Concert from 3:00 to 6:00 weekday afternoons to 5:00 to 7:00. There was a break at 6:00 for a 15 minute newscast. We also felt this change would be appreciated by our rock and roll listeners; we thought they would like the extra two hours in the afternoon, and we also thought that the numbers of rock and roll fans fell off during the dinner time hours of 5:00 to 7:00. While there is no confirmation of whether we were right or wrong in our thinking, at least we did have our logical reasons for changing Pacific Concert.
*Format: Special Music Programs
-We also had a number of special music programs. If a particular DJ proposed a show with a specific format, such as jazz, country, or Christian, we usually accommodated them.
+
We also had a number of special music programs. If a particular DJ proposed a show with a specific format, such as jazz, country, or Christian, we usually accommodated them.
-Get lots of listeners to listen to the Broadcast Journalism students learn their craft.
+
Get lots of listeners to listen to the Broadcast Journalism students learn their craft.
-The original production of Little Orphan Amy was in Spring quarter of 1977. Fond memories of LOA gave a small group of us the desire to want to produce an original radio comedy/drama. Frank Thomas, Paula Chambers, and Chuck Schwynoch got the ball rolling near the end of Winter Quarter 1979. For expediency with our workload of school, jobs, and KCPR management duties, we decided to resurrect LOA rather than create a completely new program. We started with the original LOA scripts, as that gave us a basic plot framework, and characters that already existed, and rewrote them. And so LOA II was born.
+
The original production of Little Orphan Amy was in Spring quarter of 1977. Fond memories of LOA gave a small group of us the desire to want to produce an original radio comedy/drama. Frank Thomas, Paula Chambers, and Chuck Schwynoch got the ball rolling near the end of Winter Quarter 1979. For expediency with our workload of school, jobs, and KCPR management duties, we decided to resurrect LOA rather than create a completely new program. We started with the original LOA scripts, as that gave us a basic plot framework, and characters that already existed, and rewrote them. And so LOA II was born.
-Each episode
was written over
the course of the week before taping
. The show was taped in the large studio (was that studio A?) on Sunday night. We met at 7:00 (or was it 8:00?). When taping was over
, usually around 9:30 or 10:00
, which burned down with the Obispo theatre
, but the new location at the corner of Marsh
and Osos
.
-the really hardcore local drinkers
, not the student crowd. So,
when a group of 4 to 6 animated students came in and started dropping quarters in the jukebox between rounds of White Russians, the other patrons
were a bit
disconcerted; especially when we played Roxanne (by The Police); over
and over and over and over again
. Really,
that much
.
+ Time
was spent Monday and Tuesday editing
the voice track into one big coherent chunk
. Ah
,
, grease pencil
, razor blades
, and an aluminum splice block. And time
. The first couple
of episodes of LOA II were especially nightmarish in how much editing was required. One actor, who was a very good DJ
, did
not do well
when reading
a script. It sounded like they
were
and
. This required editing out small chunks of tape from between every single word. In each successive episode
that character had fewer and fewer lines
.
-Time was spent Monday and Tuesday editing
the voice track an aluminum splice block
. And
time. The first couple of episodes of LOA II were especially nightmarish in how much editing was required. One actor
, who was a very good DJ
, This required editing out small chunks of tape from between every single word. In each successive
episode that character had fewer and fewer lines
.
+ Final mixing of
the voice track with sound effects and music was usually done on Wednesday night
, and
. On one memorable occasion, we ran out of
time to finish the final mix before airtime
. So
, Frank and Chuck mixed it as it aired
, and taped
it for posterity
. Quiz: Listen to the posted LOA II episodes and see if you can tell which
episode was mixed as it aired
.
-Final
mixing of the voice track with sound effects and music
was usually done
on Wednesday night
, and sometimes Thursday night just prior to
the show
airtime of 10:00 Thursday night
. On one memorable occasion, we ran out
of time to finish
the final mix before airtime. So, Frank and Chuck mixed it as it aired, and taped it for posterity. Quiz: Listen to the posted LOA II episodes and see if you can tell which episode was mixed as it aired
.
+ At the same time as the
mixing and editing
of one episode
was going
on, the next week
episode was being written
. Writing sometimes continued right up to just short
of taping; just enough
time to get
the script photocopied
.
-At
the same time
as the mixing
and editing
of one episode
was going on
, the being written
. Writing sometimes continued right up to just short
of taping
; just enough
time to get
the script photocopied
.
+ _Technical note:_ In both versions of LOA we let fly with
the swear words, and then spliced in tape from a reel of tone created by the engineering staff just for this purpose. Eventually, both the desire to push the envelope,
as well as some laziness, led to a unique editing technique: Instead of cutting out the center of
the offensive word
and replacing it with an inch or two
of the tone tape, the tape
was simply cut in the middle of the word
, and some of
the tone tape
was spliced in
. Sometimes, several seconds
of tone was used. When heard on air, when an offensive word was uttered, it was sort of like entering a small time warp
; time stopped while a tone played, and then the action resumed exactly where it had left off. Well, we thought it was creative. _Quiz:_ What special frequency was the tone? _Hint:_ The engineers chose it
to have a particular effect if a listener was on a long distance telephone call when
the tone came over his speakers
.
-_Technical note
:_ In both versions
of LOA we let fly with
the swear words, and then spliced in tape from a reel of tone created by the engineering staff just for
this purpose. Eventually
, both the desire to push the envelope, as well as some laziness, led to
a unique editing technique: Instead of cutting out the center of the offensive word and replacing it with an inch or two of the tone tape, the tape was simply cut in the middle of the word, and some of the tone tape was spliced in
. Sometimes, several seconds of tone was used
. When heard on air, when an offensive word was uttered, it was sort of like entering a small time warp; time stopped while a tone played, and then the action resumed exactly where it had left off. Well, we thought it was creative. _Quiz:_ What special frequency was the tone? _Hint:_ The engineers chose it to have a particular effect if a listener was on a long distance telephone call when the tone came over his speakers
.
+
_
:_ The best acted line
of the whole series was Kelly Pierce (as Constance Payne) exclaiming something like
this,
a slumber party! I could have started popping corn HOURS ago!
...
-_The best acted line of
the slumber party! I could have started popping corn HOURS ago!.
..
+
_LOA II historical notes (life imitates art)
:_ Reliable sources reported that shortly after
the
a real food fight erupted in the campus dining hall
. During the summer after LOA II, another reliable source reported cleaning up a beach that had been created in one of the dorm bathrooms
.
-_LOA II historical notes (life imitates art)
:_ Reliable sources reported that shortly after
the real food fight erupted in
the campus dining hall. During the summer after
LOA II, another reliable source reported cleaning up a beach that
had been created in
one of the dorm bathrooms
.
+
_Personal note 1
:_ In listening to LOA II all these years later, I admit to being shocked by
the sheer volume of drug references. I recall only receiving one complaint from
a listener about
the content of
LOA II. As Program Director
, Russ
had
one of the
.
-
-
+
Personal note 2: LOA, both I and II, were great fun with great people. While attending a KCPR reunion in 2000, Frank and I were quite amazed to learn that the kids were rerunning LOA II. They had found the tapes, and were re-airing them. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that LOA II would have a life beyond our time.
-_Historical quiz:_ While LOA spawned LOA II, what spawned LOA?
-
+
_Historical quiz:_ While LOA spawned LOA II, what spawned LOA?<br>
-One person came close to being fired for their on-air antics. And it was for their behavior as a newscaster, not as a DJ. The News Directors went to bat for them, and no action was taken against the miscreant (who probably never even knew how close they came to being fired). That person went on to a long, successful career as a professional broadcaster.
+
One person came close to being fired for their on-air antics. And it was for their behavior as a newscaster, not as a DJ. The News Directors went to bat for them, and no action was taken against the miscreant (who probably never even knew how close they came to being fired). That person went on to a long, successful career as a professional broadcaster.
-A slight problem developed when Chief Engineer Mark Wurfl nearly resigned. Mark was overworked and severely underpaid. FCC regulations required that the Chief Engineer be a paid position. As a nearly-starving student Mark needed a job that actually paid him enough to feed himself and keep a roof over his head. The amount of time he spent keeping KCPR on the air prevented Mark from holding another job. Mark reached a point where he either needed a different job that paid normal wages, or the Chief Engineer position needed to provide a higher wage.
+
A slight problem developed when Chief Engineer Mark Wurfl nearly resigned. Mark was overworked and severely underpaid. FCC regulations required that the Chief Engineer be a paid position. As a nearly-starving student Mark needed a job that actually paid him enough to feed himself and keep a roof over his head. The amount of time he spent keeping KCPR on the air prevented Mark from holding another job. Mark reached a point where he either needed a different job that paid normal wages, or the Chief Engineer position needed to provide a higher wage.
-
-
+
The resulting front page article caused quite a ruckus in the Cal Poly administration. Zuke was _pissed_ about the public airing of internal station business. But, the fallout resulted in the school suddenly finding enough funds to retain our Chief Engineer. Funny how that leaked rumor led to the desired outcome.
-old KCPR studios during the 2007 Alumni Reunion
, those JBL speakers were still hanging
in the Production Studio
.
+ The ASI president, who had been a KCPR staffer, blew a gasket because he thought we were irresponsible to spend that much money on speakers. After all, we could have just gone down to a local store and bought home stereo speakers for a fraction
of that amount. But, as a typical politician, why bother to ask questions, investigate
the facts
, etc.? Better to go public
in The Mustang Daily and slam
the
.
-Paula Chambers took charge of the fund-raising auction. It was a rousing success. According to recent information from Rick DeBruhl it was the third annual auction. At the time it seemed like it was a long-running tradition and we were hell-bent on continuing it as a successful fund-raising event.
+
Paula Chambers took charge of the fund-raising auction. It was a rousing success. According to recent information from Rick -
DeBruhl it was the third annual auction. At the time it seemed like it was a long-running tradition and we were hell-bent on continuing it as a successful fund-raising event.
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