Early Danny Dare in Suit

Danny Dare now

While in high school, I participated in the Broadcast Club and we put on a live 15 minute show every Saturday morning on KTIM in San Rafael. Also, I was able to sit in the studio with Don Sherwood, who had the Number One show in San Francisco (KFSO), and watch and listen. Don had an engineer who did all the work, while he sat with his microphone and two babes in a separate studio and did his show! What a job!!

After completing my time in the service, I thought that playing records and talking to girls would be a great way to make a living, so one day I went down to the KFXM studios at the Holiday Inn to find out about becoming a DJ. Al Anthony was on the air. I think I just walked right into the studio, or somebody told me I could go in, but Al was very cordial and told me I needed to get a FCC First Class license before most stations would consider hiring me. While he was talking to me, he cued-up and started playing on the air Please, Please, Please, by James Brown, then potted-down and played a KFXM jingle, and then potted-up just in time for the next set of please, please, please, pleases by James Brown. Was I impressed!

So off I went to the Don Martin School of Radio & Television in Hollywood! One of my classmates was Bill Surrey (Stevens) and he came to class one day and said that he had been hired part-time for weekends at KFXM by Al Anthony. As soon as I got my license, I put together an audition tape and went to see Al. He put me on KDUO-FM, the goodmusic station, full time with the opportunity to do a weekend all-nighter on KFXM when an opening occurred. This was November, 1965.

Well, I think I did two Sunday night shows and I know Al wasn.t too happy and neither was I!! Then one day in January, 1966, Bob Bunnell, the station manager, who I hardly knew, came in to the KDUO studio and told me I was fired. The owner, John Hearne, who listened to his station constantly, had called Bob and ordered him to fire me because I had mispronounced a musician's name. I remember that Herne had called me a couple of weeks earlier to complain about me playing that f#@king Sinatra. on his station!

I did some weekend work at KHSJ in Hemet(1966) and then got hired by KDES- it had just become the first Top-40 station in Palm Springs. After six months, I went back to see Al Anthony and he listened to my aircheck and asked: why weren't you able to sound like this before?! And he hired me for the all night show (ll p.m. to 5:30 a.m.). It was September, 1966 and I was making a fast $400 a month and all the movie passes I could use!

In January, 1967, Al Anthony called a special jock meeting and announced (1) he was taking himself off the air and (2) everyone was getting a $50 a month raise!! (of course, now there were only 5 DJ's to cover the 24 hours instead of 6!). Schedules were rearranged and I was bumped up to the 6 p.m - ll p.m. slot. Additionally, I was given the job of writing the ED GRrrrrr SEZ column for the weekly Tiger Magazine.

These were great times! KFXM recaptured the Number One ratings from arch-rival K/MEN, I pulled a 21 on the PULSE rating . triple the competition and higher than all the other stations combined in my timeslot (I got another $50 raise!). Something exciting was always happening..constant contests (cars, motorcycles, TV.s, bedroom furniture, records, movie tickets, trips, dates with stars, etc.), personal appearances (car shows, concerts, schools, parades, record stores, nightclubs, wherever!).

Most of this was orchestrated by our fearless leader, Almondo! All we had to do was show up! A lot of remote broadcasts and posing with beauty queens:

I was able to pick up a few extra dollars MCing concerts, and was fortunate to work with stars of the sixties like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Janis Joplin. I really remember Janis, she was suckin on her Southern Comfort and swearin like a sailor at her band when we took this picture in her dressing room, but she was awesome on stage!

In September, 1968, I took over the afternoon-drive slot (3 p.m.-7 p.m) and became Music Director for KFXM, staying in these positions until my departure in the fall of 1969.

Some memorable moments include: setting the record for most records played in one hour (complete, at normal speed): 35!! Doing my show live, dressed in nightgown and cap, in a bedroom set, in the storefront window of a furniture store (Julien's in Riverside prone DJ in PJ's). Racing ostriches on a track at the Orange Show, being dragged off the air and thrown in the Holiday Inn pool by Al Anthony and Jocko Tiger Trainer (and salesman) Al Barnett- who let Jocko loose on me in the control room while I was doing my show! (he was pulling my pant leg! )

And then there is the infamous article I wrote for the Tiger Mag that was picked up and reprinted in Teen Life magazine entitled: So You Want to be a Disc Jockey, and I quote:

First of all, I would like to discourage any girls who are interested in radio announcing. There is no prejudice on the radio industrys part rather, on the part of the general public. The listening audience seems to prefer to listen to a male voice. However, there are a number of other interesting jobs in radio for a girl to pursue..

While at KFXM, I did some weekend work at the original oldies station, KWIZ in Santa Ana. I also spent the summer of 1968 working for KASH in Eugene, Oregon, before returning to Tiger Radio 590.

After KFXM I went back to college, getting an A.A. degree in telecommunications from San Bernardino Valley College. Did some newscasts and also worked as a master control switcher for their PBS- TV station. Then I got my B.A from Cal State, San Bernardino (political science, pre-law major).

So now that I was educated, what did I do?? Go back into radio! I worked for a short period of time for KKAR in Pomona (1972) and K/MEN, San Bernardino (1973) before moving to Hawaii to be Program Director for KORL in Honolulu. Six months later, I helped put Honolulu's first FM rock station, KGMQ (now KQMQ) on the air as Music Director and air personality (December, 1973). This was my last full-time radio gig.

After leaving KGMQ (1974) I helped develop the number one solar energy company in Hawaii. I did some part-time DJ work for K-108 (1974 -75, bump radio! ...remember Disco Duck?!), but my head was now in sales (although my heart has always been in radio!). When the federal tax credits for solar ended December 31, 1985, it temporarily killed the industry , but real estate was booming and I spent the next 10 years selling recreational resort properties, eventually forming my own company. When real estate died in the 90's, I segued into estate and financial planning. I opened a small insurance firm with agents to provide long-term financial planning and a pre-paid legal service with attorneys to provide estate planning.

I sold my companies the end of 2005 and do some consulting for the new owner, but primarily I play!

Life is great and I'm a lucky guy to have survived the 60's. Looking back, I.ll always have a fondness for KFXM, Tiger Radio 590, and feel privileged to been a part of its .Golden Years.

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