"recreating a once popular Southern California radio station right before your very ears"
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By James M. Fetters
October 20, 2014 I am honored in that I've been allowed to interview, preview and review the recreating of the long extinct Orange County radio station, KYMS 106.3, for "Nostalgic Southern California" readers. Let me preface this article by saying the new site is set up for easy access to over 11 hours of nostalgic music history. Turn your speakers on and one click takes you back to 1975 and the "Original KYMS 106.3" music programming. Here's the link to go back in time courtesy of RADIO TIME MACHINE PRODUCTIONS (will open in new window) |
Alone in an empty building on West Katella Avenue in Orange, California - a building that, up until 20 years ago, was the home of the legendary Christian rock radio station, KYMS, sits another radio legend, Jeff Davis.
In KYMS' heyday's of the 70's and 80's, Jeff was nowhere near Southern California, much less a religious station. He was making ratings history and playing the hits on WLS in Chicago. The closest that any Davis came to KYMS was his brother, Lee , who worked there in the late 80's and early 90's. Today Lee Davis and his former on-air partner, Kay Poland have taken the KYMS call signs and have started their own Christian station in Rathdrum, Idaho.
For Jeff Davis, who has since carved out a huge radio career of his own on several stations in Los Angeles, including his own voiceover company (and is currently the voice of talk station KABC 790 AM), exactly what is his fascination with an abandoned Orange County radio station? Could it be his penchant for being the occasional radio historian perhaps?
The answer unfolds in this 11 1/2 hour story mostly told with music from Executive Producer, Vince Daniels and Radio Time Machine Productions. It's called "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981," and will be uploaded for an exclusive YouTube release on Thursday, October 23rd and will play out chronologically over ten high definition videos, with a run time of up to an hour and ten minutes each.
In the story, we imagine Jeff walking the building amid cobwebs, pulling away a sheet from the sound board, dusting off old album jackets and rummaging through a fictitious file cabinet in order to wrap his brain around any important KYMS history he can get his hands on. After-all, Jeff has only been given a day to live a dream he's always had, to see what the airwaves would have sounded like if he had been an air personality on "The Gift of 106.3 FM."
To the credit of producer Daniels, the thrust of "The Music of KYMS" is in fact, the music. With Davis as host, we get all our D.J. chatter up front toward the opening of each video, where he announces the kick-off of another full hour of commercial-free back to back music, segued with the same feel that listeners in Orange County remembered hearing on KYMS during their first six years between '75 and '81.
Each song segue is followed to the letter off of old IBM 360 printouts that were included along with the entire KYMS music library which Vince purchased at a thrift store near the radio station in 1998, a few years after KYMS was sold. "I was in heaven," he recalls, "I just bought the 20 year history of a radio station, but I also bought the beginnings of a powerful movement spearheaded by people like Andrae Crouch, Barry McGuire, Phil Keaggy, Jamie Owens, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, The Imperials, Karen Lafferty, Larry Norman, Ernie & Debby and others. My jaw just dropped knowing what I had in my hands and what it all meant."
As for what it all means, and KYMS' role in this revolutionary time in history, host Jeff Davis tells a different story in each of the ten videos in this series, and does it with aplomb. What we learn in the first hour is that KYMS was actually the second station to format "Jesus Music" (the term they were using before calling it CCM). While they were the first major market christian station, KBHL 95.3 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska signed on 9 days before. KYMS changed from Acid Rock to Jesus Music on March 15, 1975. Much of Davis' first hour opener tributes the architect of KYMS' new format, then-GM, Arnie McClatchey. The second hour pays homage to the KYMS D.J.'s that sat behind the microphone, including other station staff in their humble beginnings.
The best way to approach "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981," is to think of it as live radio. Sure, we all know that it's a recorded product and that you can hear it again and again if you want - and I'm sure you'll want to - but my advice is just, let it happen to you. No rewinding, and no skipping ahead. Just simply let The Music of KYMS, happen to you. For this is authentic 1970's and 80's FM radio, a real and not to mention, a lost art. Just as you get through one hour that you wished would never end, you're relieved to know that there's 9 more to go.
Beyond mere retro radio, what you're likely to feel is the purity not only of early Contemporary Christian Music, but how pure and simple the Jesus movement of the 70's was. Whether Vince Daniels intended this or not, one thing I found myself taking away from "The Music of KYMS" is how by comparison, today's Christian Music sucks. I wasn't really into the early stuff when it was out, though I've grown a sincere appreciation for it and how vital it is that those identifying themselves with Christianity today find that honest place within themselves, listen to these 11 hours and then consider returning to these roots, where an artist didn't feel ashamed to use the name Jesus in their lyrics.
The KYMS jingles from this era are sure to bring back memories, as will the moments that station voice, Arnie McClatchey reads from the Word. The start of each video will feature these elements. Video number eight will have the Yuletide-themed jingle along with Holiday advice from McClatchey, as Randy Stonehill leads off with "Christmas Song For All Year 'Round," but not to worry... that'll be the only Christmas song you'll hear. While "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981" stands by its name, the only exception is in the final hour. A spot for Knott's Berry Farm's New Years Eve celebration is played. The only problem is that it's for New Years Eve 1984. The artists that appeared at the event were still relevant for the time, so we can forgive Vince there.
For all that, if I were giving it a grade, I'd give it a solid A+. In a YouTube world overrun by people throwing up their old VHS quality videos and cassette tapes dug up out of their garage, it's refreshing to see and hear that someone took an imaginative concept and professionally brought it to life. After experiencing The Music of KYMS, I can hardly wait for future travels through Vince's time machine, wherever it may take me.
In KYMS' heyday's of the 70's and 80's, Jeff was nowhere near Southern California, much less a religious station. He was making ratings history and playing the hits on WLS in Chicago. The closest that any Davis came to KYMS was his brother, Lee , who worked there in the late 80's and early 90's. Today Lee Davis and his former on-air partner, Kay Poland have taken the KYMS call signs and have started their own Christian station in Rathdrum, Idaho.
For Jeff Davis, who has since carved out a huge radio career of his own on several stations in Los Angeles, including his own voiceover company (and is currently the voice of talk station KABC 790 AM), exactly what is his fascination with an abandoned Orange County radio station? Could it be his penchant for being the occasional radio historian perhaps?
The answer unfolds in this 11 1/2 hour story mostly told with music from Executive Producer, Vince Daniels and Radio Time Machine Productions. It's called "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981," and will be uploaded for an exclusive YouTube release on Thursday, October 23rd and will play out chronologically over ten high definition videos, with a run time of up to an hour and ten minutes each.
In the story, we imagine Jeff walking the building amid cobwebs, pulling away a sheet from the sound board, dusting off old album jackets and rummaging through a fictitious file cabinet in order to wrap his brain around any important KYMS history he can get his hands on. After-all, Jeff has only been given a day to live a dream he's always had, to see what the airwaves would have sounded like if he had been an air personality on "The Gift of 106.3 FM."
To the credit of producer Daniels, the thrust of "The Music of KYMS" is in fact, the music. With Davis as host, we get all our D.J. chatter up front toward the opening of each video, where he announces the kick-off of another full hour of commercial-free back to back music, segued with the same feel that listeners in Orange County remembered hearing on KYMS during their first six years between '75 and '81.
Each song segue is followed to the letter off of old IBM 360 printouts that were included along with the entire KYMS music library which Vince purchased at a thrift store near the radio station in 1998, a few years after KYMS was sold. "I was in heaven," he recalls, "I just bought the 20 year history of a radio station, but I also bought the beginnings of a powerful movement spearheaded by people like Andrae Crouch, Barry McGuire, Phil Keaggy, Jamie Owens, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, The Imperials, Karen Lafferty, Larry Norman, Ernie & Debby and others. My jaw just dropped knowing what I had in my hands and what it all meant."
As for what it all means, and KYMS' role in this revolutionary time in history, host Jeff Davis tells a different story in each of the ten videos in this series, and does it with aplomb. What we learn in the first hour is that KYMS was actually the second station to format "Jesus Music" (the term they were using before calling it CCM). While they were the first major market christian station, KBHL 95.3 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska signed on 9 days before. KYMS changed from Acid Rock to Jesus Music on March 15, 1975. Much of Davis' first hour opener tributes the architect of KYMS' new format, then-GM, Arnie McClatchey. The second hour pays homage to the KYMS D.J.'s that sat behind the microphone, including other station staff in their humble beginnings.
The best way to approach "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981," is to think of it as live radio. Sure, we all know that it's a recorded product and that you can hear it again and again if you want - and I'm sure you'll want to - but my advice is just, let it happen to you. No rewinding, and no skipping ahead. Just simply let The Music of KYMS, happen to you. For this is authentic 1970's and 80's FM radio, a real and not to mention, a lost art. Just as you get through one hour that you wished would never end, you're relieved to know that there's 9 more to go.
Beyond mere retro radio, what you're likely to feel is the purity not only of early Contemporary Christian Music, but how pure and simple the Jesus movement of the 70's was. Whether Vince Daniels intended this or not, one thing I found myself taking away from "The Music of KYMS" is how by comparison, today's Christian Music sucks. I wasn't really into the early stuff when it was out, though I've grown a sincere appreciation for it and how vital it is that those identifying themselves with Christianity today find that honest place within themselves, listen to these 11 hours and then consider returning to these roots, where an artist didn't feel ashamed to use the name Jesus in their lyrics.
The KYMS jingles from this era are sure to bring back memories, as will the moments that station voice, Arnie McClatchey reads from the Word. The start of each video will feature these elements. Video number eight will have the Yuletide-themed jingle along with Holiday advice from McClatchey, as Randy Stonehill leads off with "Christmas Song For All Year 'Round," but not to worry... that'll be the only Christmas song you'll hear. While "The Music of KYMS: 1975-1981" stands by its name, the only exception is in the final hour. A spot for Knott's Berry Farm's New Years Eve celebration is played. The only problem is that it's for New Years Eve 1984. The artists that appeared at the event were still relevant for the time, so we can forgive Vince there.
For all that, if I were giving it a grade, I'd give it a solid A+. In a YouTube world overrun by people throwing up their old VHS quality videos and cassette tapes dug up out of their garage, it's refreshing to see and hear that someone took an imaginative concept and professionally brought it to life. After experiencing The Music of KYMS, I can hardly wait for future travels through Vince's time machine, wherever it may take me.