San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s

Subject: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,Miriam
Date: 20 Dec 04 - 01:02 PM

My brother, Chanteyranger, told me about the site and suggested I post here. I am writing a book about the music I was involved with while growing up in San Francisco during the sixties. I am desperately seeking for some information about people working for KMPX and KSAN, the first underground "freeform" radio stations in San Francisco. Was Gale Garnett (of the hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine") an announcer for either station, using the name "Mother" ? (If so, she wasn't on very long--did she substitute for another DJ for awhile?) Any details or memories would be appreciated. There was an engineer, I think on both stations, called Susie or Suzy. At one point she didn't show up for work for awhile because she was hanging out with Ginger Baker. Does anyone remember details about her? Her last name? Does anyone know where the announcer Dusty Street is now, or have any other info about her or memories? Does anyone remember the night she announced Janis Jopliin's death while the Grateful Dead were playing on a televised show from Winterland?

Thanks very much!

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 20 Dec 04 - 01:32 PM

Dusty Street works in Las Vegas - http://www.star1027fm.com

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,Miriam
Date: 20 Dec 04 - 09:04 PM

Thanks for the info, Ron. Dusty Street and I are now in touch, and she told me that the former all-night DJ on KSAN, Edward (the talking) Bear lives in my fair city. You've been very helpful. I look forward to hearing what life was like on their side of the mic while I was listening to them until way, way too late on school nights!

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: M.Ted
Date: 20 Dec 04 - 10:29 PM

If you have been in touch with Dusty Street, she probably has mentioned the website Jive95 and that they are putting together a weekly tribute radio show that will be one the air next month--somewhere, anyway--

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: open mike
Date: 20 Dec 04 - 10:48 PM

My brother-in-law, who was host of radio show in the Bay Area in teh 6o's, Alan or Allan Pierce, the show was called Ten Ton mustard seed
i think or ten pound mustard seed? He worked in radio in south africa for many years, and passed away in 2001. I think he had quite a free-form, free-thinking show...not sure which station, though--
ring a bell for anyone/? one of the more interesting monologues i heard
from him was Natural High, from Shel Silverstein.

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: M.Ted
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 11:33 AM

It is kind of serendipitous that you are bringing this stuff up, Miriam--Last week, at the request of a friend, I started putting a list together of the stuff I listened to and liked back in those days--Like most of us, a lot of the LP's I had have disappeared over the years, and, also like most of us, some of the stuff I liked the best, I never had--keep us posted on your book--

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: sixtieschick
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 07:43 PM

This is Guest, Miriam. As you can see, I joined up, and with a moniker suitable to my persuasions. You Mudcats and chicks are amazing. The information you all supplied, almost instantaneously, for both my requests has been very helpful. I just spent a couple of hours reading the stuff posted at www.jive95.com. Now M. Ted, your post begs the question: What WERE you listening to back then? There were a lot of good groups who made an album or two or three and then got lost in history. Remember H.P. Lovecraft?

Thanks again, everyone.

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 09:10 PM

Whoops - Soooo... Sorry - it is not ?KPFK, San Francisco (Pacifica Radio) late 60's....I could tell a tale or two.

From you description it is the NOT "The Dusty" I knew....she went on to join "The Insane Daryle Wayne," "Jed the Fish," "The Love Master," and "Poor Man" (sic) in the mid 70's at KROQ, Los Angeles.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 09:23 PM

Yes - I am aware of the nomelker "Mother"....

Go to the local SF-Oracle (broadsheet) ((FreePress)) for the late 60's they ran a weekly advertisment...it was advertizments were hand-drawn...and it will appear most likely as a PDF file archive.

Gargoyle

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 09:26 PM

B.Seed -

once a regular poster to the MC forum - would probably be your MOST LIKELY link to the "insider-information" you are seeking.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 09:32 PM

Went to Bill Grahm's Winterland several times - all memorable - Including the ignoble - passing out of Mr. Moon and his substitution from the the audience.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: sixtieschick
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 10:04 PM

Gargoyle--Do tell about a substitute drummer for Keith Moon--do you remember the date--or the year, at least? What do you remember about Mother? Do you mean KPFA in Berkeley? (KPFK is in L.A.) What are (is?) your "tale or two?" about the station? There's only one Dusty Street in radio that I know about--she did go to KROQ after leaving KSAN. She's now in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I just interviewed her for 1 1/2 hours. A great lady. Still rockin' and rollin' after all these years.

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: M.Ted
Date: 22 Dec 04 - 01:22 AM

HP Lovecraft, Love, Love Sculpture--we were supposed to be the Love Generation, after all--

I listened to a lot of different stuff-I was fond of the hippy trippy sort of stuff, of course, but also liked a lot of blues -- Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and our home, John Lee Hooker--In Michigan, and we liked loud, driving, raw music, like the MC5 and the Psychedelic Stooges--

The "album or three" idea is about right--there was the album that everybody liked, then you went searching everywhere for their obscure first album, and then a third album came out with new guys in the band and a different kind of music--

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: michaelr
Date: 22 Dec 04 - 02:06 AM

Miriam -- the one person to talk to about San Francisco radio is (former Rolling Stone writer) Ben Fong-Torres, now author of SF Chronicle column "Radio Waves". No one is bound to be more knowledgeable about the subject. You can email him at [e-mail].

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: Dharmabum
Date: 22 Dec 04 - 07:57 AM

Hi Miriam,welcome to the Mudcat.
I don't know if you'd have any interest in this,but while browsing on Ebay this morning,I ran across this KMPX poster from 1968.
The link below should hopefuly take you to it.

D.B.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=45103&item=3861110805&rd=1

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: PoppaGator
Date: 22 Dec 04 - 11:27 AM

Mention of the MC5 reminds me about their manager/spiritual-advisor John Sinclair, who lived in New Orleans for several years but moved away recently (about one year ago). He was a regularly-scheduled volunteer DJ on our local radio station WWOZ (www.wwoz.org) and also played nightclub gigs "speak-singing" his poetry in front of a band. He recorded a CD or two with them as John Sinclair and the Blues Scholars.

I have no idea where to reach him today. He may have moved to Amsterdam (!)

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: M.Ted
Date: 23 Dec 04 - 10:01 PM

Wouldn't you know, PG that you'd be familiar with John Sinclair--he was quite an entertaining figure, back in Michigan, in the 60's--what with the White Panthers and all--He was the Motor City's obligatory counter-culture guru, and, beneath the also obligatory overblown leftist rhetoric, a decent, intelligent, guy, who knew a lot about music--He discovered Iggy Pop, the MC5, and popularized the idea of Rock and Roll as a catalyst for revolution--he spent a bit of time in prison for possession of a very small amount of marijuana, but really for his radical political views--I once worked with him briefly, organizing a rock festival in my home town, but when the powers that be discovered the political overtones, we lost permission to use the park we'd booked--

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,G.G
Date: 29 Dec 04 - 12:03 PM

Hi 60s Chick. Dusty Street monkeysat our monkey one summer when we went to Mexico.

G.G.

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,David Jackson (SF Radio Museum)
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 03:03 PM

> Was Gale Garnett (of the hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine") an announcer for either station, using the name "Mother"?

Gale Garnett was "Mother," the voice of San Francisco's progressive rock KOIT (93.3 FM, not related to the current Lite Rock KOIT). "Mother" did the pre-recorded voicers heard between songs and commercials on the station.

> My brother-in-law, who was host of radio show in the Bay Area in the 6o's, Alan or Allan Pierce, the show was called Ten Ton mustard seed i think or ten pound mustard seed?

That would be "The Ever Changing Transcendental Multilingual Two-Ton Mustard Seed," produced by Allan Pierce at KFAX and heard also on KFRC in San Francisco from around 1966 to 1968:

http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/mustardseed/

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: open mike
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 05:33 PM

ah ha...this thread has re-surfaced...is this a flash back from the '60's?

KPFA is one of the first listener-sponsored radio stations
and they have been broadcasting for over 50 years. i think
they used to give f.m. radios away so people could tune them
in as there were not many of those radios available.

hooray for non-commercial public radio stations!!

thanks to the s.f. radio museum for documenting some of those
events from back in the day

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,iancarterb
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 11:14 PM

Even the corporate radio was better then! I remember Russ Syracuse very fondly, though I can't remember the call letters. They did keep him on the overnight shift to minimize his impolitic observations.

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: open mike
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 01:55 PM

http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/people/syracuse.shtml
Russ "the Moose" Syracuse was on WNDR AND KUSF
http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/people/syracuse.shtml

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: open mike
Date: 03 Dec 10 - 11:09 AM

I recently watched the movie Pirate Radio (2009)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/and recom-
mend it for any other d.j.;s out there! The sound track
has some wonderful songs...
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pirate_radio/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y_Pc6MX9wM
I was reminded that my brother in law had a radio
program in the 60's..
http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/mustardseed/index.shtml

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Dec 10 - 12:08 PM

I knew Allan Pierce. I was married to his roomate Wally Messmore. Wally worked for Eric-Mainland a Record Promoation Co. His boss was Earl Wolf, and he got acquainted with Allan because he his job was to visit radio stations. Allan conceived the idea of "The Mustard Seed", and Wally got the Promo albums for him. Wally also used to work on the programs with Allan. We all were experimenting with LSD in those days. I used to answer the "fan" mail for the program, and sometimes did readings for it. Once Richard Alpert was on the program, he was Timothy Leary's close friend and "co-believer" in the merits of LSD. I live in Nashville, TN now. I have discovered the true spirituality...after quite a ride, as Gary Paxton would tell you, "He Was There All The Time". No greater love. Jesus Christ and he is coming back!!! My name is now Susan St.Charles. I had so many alias in those San Francisco days, I can't remember them all...but one was Susan Hunter...appropriate, huh? I was hunting for truth!

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,a guy from Portland
Date: 10 Jun 11 - 11:13 PM

Just stumbled on this in June 2011...don't know if anyone still might see this, or respond.

I lived in Berkeley in 1969, and remember a woman DJ named Earth Mama (way up at the start of this thread, someone remembered a DJ named Earth).

She was cool, and after the fact, I too had heard a rumor that she was Gale Garnett. Did anyone figure this one out?

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,John425
Date: 01 May 12 - 06:44 PM

Gale Garnett was indeed "Mother" KOIT (at least as early as 1968 when I arrived in San Francisco) and did the PSA's for the station. A number of them were deliberately provocative and some of the governing agencies were not amused. I think a fellow Texan, Bob Barker, used to help out with the playlist. Much of the station's help was volunteer workers.

When doing the station's call letters, she'd say things like: "This is Mother. This is KOIT (deep toke inhale noise)and then exhale in stoner voice) Saaan Fraaan cisco.

Another: "This is Mother. This is KOIT. We have a surprise for you. If we can sneak it across the border".

Subject: RE: San Francisco Freeform radio in the '60s
From: GUEST,Jim in Montana
Date: 10 Jun 12 - 06:11 PM

About ten years ago Mother was doing a late-night show on a jazz station in Los Angeles. I would let her put me to sleep:)