In a move that already has AM radio fans celebrating, there are now more oldies on the AM band.
After a few weeks of playing the format for four hours per weekday afternoon – and Spanish religious programming the rest of the day and on weekends – border blaster station XEPRS (1090 AM) has gone all-oldies all the time.
With a twist.
For much of the broadcast day, the station is running recordings of popular DJs of the past, using some of the syndicated programs once heard across the country. For example, Wolfman Jack is on the air using remastered recordings of one of his later syndicated programs, The Real Don Steele is heard playing music from his “Live From the Sixties” program, and Charlie Tuna is back hosting one of his programs that to my knowledge never aired locally. M.G. “Machine Gun” Kelly even has a program on the station; unlike the others, he’s still alive and well.
Listening soon after the switch to 24/7, I noticed something that needs to be fixed immediately … The Steele shows (and presumably others) are in stereo; the station is broadcasting in mono. This is not normally a problem, but in this case it is: The feed used on the air includes only one side of the stereo source — not sure if it is left or right — so many songs (especially early Beatles) are missing vocals or some of the instruments.
Easy to fix, of course, and hopefully it will be soon.
In the meantime, AM music fans have a lot to be happy about. Now we have an oldies station, a classic country station (KKGO 1260 AM) , a news station (KNX 1070 AM) and a few talk stations (KFI 640 AM and KABC 790 AM to name two). Add in play-by-play sports (KLAC 570 AM) and you have almost a full complement of stations to pull some listeners from other entertainment sources. It would be nice to get some current music along with some hard-edged rock … or even some adult standards, but I’ll take what I can get.
I know there will be many who say it will never work, and they may very well be right. The person behind the format is Marc Paskin, and my understanding is that he’s merely leasing time on the station – easier to support back in the old days – today, it’s hard to attract the ad dollars. Further, every format mentioned is attracting an audience outside of prime (young) demographics.
My point, though, is that what has been done more recently is not working either, and it seems that trying formats that are not available elsewhere is a better bet than, for example, syndicated political talk. If you market to local businesses, you can still attract advertisers., even if you don’t get the national accounts. Many areas outside of Southern California do indeed have a semi-thriving AM band, including stations that broadcast in stereo or HD digital.
XEPRS broadcasts 50,000 watts on a clear channel frequency from a transmitter near Rosarito, Mexico; in parts of Los Angeles, the station comes in stronger than some of our own locals. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Speaking of AM … and FM
I lamented the lack of HD available in the latest model cars from General Motors, including the redesigned Traverse. But I have to say, at least the reception on the oldest broadcast band is stellar in the new Chevy. I have yet to find a station I like that suffers from interference problems, and that includes XEPRS and KKGO.
Fidelity, of course, isn’t the best, but it’s honestly not bad.
FM is similarly good, though some of the weaker stations blend to mono (and cut the highs) in poor reception areas much faster than I like. I’d rather have a little bit of hiss with full fidelity. That being said, it is perfectly acceptable. Overall, this may be among the best factory car radios I’ve ever used, just slightly edging out the one in my wife’s Corsair.
I do wonder at times if HD technology is even worth the effort anymore, considering the proliferation of phone apps that often work better than the reception of FM HD secondary channels. Maybe simpler really is better. This would be a good example.
The Big Switch
I thought that by now KOST (103.5 FM) would be all holiday music. But it appears they are holding tight. Will they wait for Thanksgiving weekend?
I’m betting November 15th, perhaps happening as you read this. I would be very surprised if the station waits any longer than that.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socarradiowaves.com
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