Steven Seaweed's
Ten top tenz Lists

THE 10 RADIO STATIONS I HAVE WORKED FOR

10.) KLRB, CARMEL-BY-THE- SEA-WEED
Ahh, my very first radio station. I was a big fan of the original KSAN (more on that below), and my friend Corky was program director of KLRB. They had a similar format to KSAN, meaning no format, and, when nobody wanted to go to work at midnight on New Years Eve, I did my first show. George Harrison's The Concert For Bangladesh had just come out at Christmas. Looking to make a big splash in the world of Underground FM Radio, I began my career by playing all six sides in a row. Vinyl, of course. KLRB was an awesome radio station. We played anything and everything .... rock, jazz, country, punk, folk. To quote Neil Young, "From Hank to Hendrix...." I eventually became program director, which pretty much meant handing out all the records and making sure the weekend shifts were filled. It all started in 1972 and I'm still in touch with most of the folks I worked with. One of the best times of my life.

9.) KSAN, THE JIVE 95
My heroes hired me! But it wasn't even close to being like the glory days of the late 60's and early 70's. KSAN had a format, for god's sake, and was in decline, sorry to say. Still, I had an incredible two years there, worked with some teriffic people, and learned alot about big time radio. The most important thing I learned was that nothing stays the same in this business. If you want to survive, you've got to adapt. I'll always appreciate the great tradition of this radio station. Norman Davis keeps the spirit of The Mighty KSAN alive at The Jive 95. "

8.) KSAN COUNTRY
"There's so much competition in rock in the Bay Area that it's difficult to generate much audience response," said KSAN's general manager, Varner Paulsen. "We haven't been doing much for three or four years." So read the story in the Chronicle announcing the switch from KSAN rock to KSAN country. KSAN was the only station I've ever been fired from, and we all knew it was coming. I actually did three country airshifts to tide them over before the axe fell. Woo hoo .... I've got country radio experience!

7.) KFAT, THE WIDE SPOT ON THE DIAL
It took me 6 months to put that country experience to good use when I landed in the Garlic Capitol of the world, Gilroy, California. Like KSAN, I came in near the end of KFAT's spectacular run at radio greatness, but what a FUN station to be at. It was 1981, I was doing the afternoon shift playing stuff like Bonnie Raitt, Commander Cody, Willie Nelson. One day, with The New Riders of the Purple Sage blasting out Panama Red on the studio speakers, three guys in suits walked in. New owners. More changes. Sad thing is, they didn't have to sell KFAT. Had a total blast working there. Nowadays KFAT's on-air successor is the legendary KPIG in Freedom.

6.) 94.5 KWSS
So KFAT became KWSS, my first venture into Top 40 or whatever they called it. The only slot they had open was overnight, right before Kelly & Kline in the morning. I'm in. By the way, it's true .... there's nothing worse than working overnights .... you never get used to it. And I never got used to playing those Solid Gold Hits either, so with one foot out the door, The Weedman was looking to re-energize his career track.

5.) MONSTER ROCK KCBS-FM
When i got to KRQR, they were just phasing out KCBS-FM's "Monster Rock" (metal/hard rock), and phasing in "The Rocker" (more mainstream rock). Less Krokus and Dio and more Petty and Zeppelin. My friend, Liz St John (who worked with me at KLRB), was there and let me know about a midday opening. Jon Russell (most recently at KFOG) hired me and that was the start of a 14-year run that I'll never forget.

4.) 97.3 KRQR, THE ROCKER
Along with Billy Steel, Peter B Collins, Michael Knight, Liz St. John, The Lobster, Mercy Hawks, Kevin the Rat, Alan Brooks, John McCrae, Mimi Chen and many more, KRQR ruled the Bay Area rock roost through most of the 80's and early 90's. Everybody's grandmother and dog dropped by that radio station - Peter Frampton, David Bowie, REM, Ozzy, David Lee Roth, Chris Issac, Rusty Wallace, Carlos .... Bill Graham. Great people, great parties, great promotions, great music, great fun. By the way, Peter B. was the first person to start calling me "Weedman." Highlights: broadcasting live from a Stones concert at the Coliseum, taking a planeload of Rocker listeners to Disneyland, interviewing James Hetfield backstage at the Cow Palace, broadcasting my show for a week live from the Grammy's in New York, bungee jumping live on-the-air, and generally just partying like a rock star.

3.) ALICE @ 97.3
When they changed the Rocker to Alice, they gave us the opportunity to "audition" to keep our jobs. Somehow i did, and ended up overseeing the very first Alice morning show (knowing that I was just keeping the chair warm for somebody else). When Sarah & Vinnie arrived, Steven Seaweed was once again quarantined to the overnight slot. Time for a career change?

2.) KSAN 107-7, ROCK & ROLL CLASSICS
Hey, I'm good at that - you guys want me? Apparently, yes! Don Daniels hired me for the afternoon shift and for a year we worked out of a 6x12ft makeshift studio right next to where I am nowadays - corner office, 11th floor, Steven Seaweed Building. We had some teriffic people at KSAN 107-7 - John Evans, George Matthews, Scott Mitchell, Rick Neal, Tim Jeffreys, Ali Katz, Sandra Beach. That, and we had the legacy of a great San Francisco tradition. So KSAN country changed back to KSAN rock - different frequency (now 107.7 as opposed to 94.9), but rockin' nonetheless. Maybe it needed to rock a little more.....

1.) 1077 THE BONE
Enter Larry Sharp, former program director of K-FOX in San Jose and The Eagle in Sacramento. As mastermind of "The Bone" concept, Larry had the good sense to keep me employed, and I had the good sense to agree with him. What with four or five other "Bone" formats sprouting up around the country, I'm honored to be here at the original, baby! Just now starting our sixth Bone-a-fied year, I might just stick around till they put me out to pasture. God I love this business.