Border Blaster oldies station hits So Cal

There’s a new oldies station in town! Kind of.

To be clear, when I say “in town,” I mean broadcasting from Playas de Rosarito, a suburb of Tijuana in Baja California, Mexico. And when I say “new oldies station,” I mean four hours per day, on a station that was once known for playing hit music. But it’s kind of cool anyway, especially considering the station’s history as a “border blaster.”

Reader Steve Mittman mentioned it on Facebook: “XEPRS (1090 AM) is playing oldies with a live DJ form 3-5 p.m. weekdays, followed by two hours of Wolfman Jack Show replays from the past.” I will say, that is a great find!

The Wolfman recordings have a special meaning, as he was one of the legendary personalities broadcasting on the station — either live or via tape recordings (portrayed in the movie American Graffiti) — during its top-40 heyday of  the 1960s through the early ‘70s.

I tuned in to the station on my Carver tuner and noticed how good the station sounds – the signal was clear with a nice balance, including a decent high end. Of course most AM tuners won’t sound this good due to the typical AM receiver design that limits fidelity, but it was nice to hear a station where the owners place importance on sound.

The format during the oldies segment is a nice mix of songs from the ‘50s through the ‘70s … Fleetwood Mac and Heart representing the newer fare and a nice selection of Doo-Wop to keep the true oldies fans happy. The station logo and jingles call it just “1090 AM.” Outside of the block of oldies, the station broadcasts a Spanish religious format … making e think that our own KHJ (930 AM) could do something similar. Just for fun!

KLOS Afternoon Drive Suggestions

Two interesting names have come up through the rumor mill via various observers, including readers of this column. This makes me think they are indeed interested: Frazer Smith and Jim “Poorman” Trenton.

The Fraze has a good history with KLOS … he was the morning guy there for many years, and was among the first to basically do a modern “comedy club” show on the air. More recently he had a long-running weekend shift. It would be an interesting idea … if he is indeed interested.

Another name that came up: Jim “Poorman” Trenton, best known for his work on KROQ (106.7 FM) as well as his current syndicated morning show heard locally on low-power KOCI (101.5 FM and online) in Newport Beach. I was able to confirm with Poorman that he is interested.

My take? Both are tremendously talented and creative. I’d like to hear what they can do.

Cutting the Ribbon

On Oct 3rd during the town’s monthly “First Thursday,” the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for community radio station KCLA (100.7 FM) from 6-7 p.m. According to station manager Ziggy Mrkich, “we will gather at 461 West 6th Street” and the event is open to the public.

Seems fitting to host the event on First Thursday. Mrkich has done a great job getting the station tied in to community events and concerts already after KCLA’s “soft launch” a few months back. Can’t pick up the signal where you live? Head over online at kcla.fm.

Readers React

“Say it isn’t so! Where can 50s, 60s, and 70s classic rock fans go once 105.1 HD 4 switches over to classic country? I’m sure there are many, many more of us out here who prefer to listen to classic rock rather than classic country. 

“I bought an HD radio for my house for the sole purpose of listening to that station. Please Mr. Levine, put your classic rock format somewhere. Yeah, I guess I can dig out my old 45s again, but speaking for myself and many others – we’re not all dead yet and we NEED our oldies!” — Susanne Gilmore

Technically, though fidelity would suffer, a station could offer even more HD stations so oldies could remain regardless. Or one of the two classical streams currently offered (HD2 or HD3) could theoretically give up a slot. But I know classical music is one of station owner Saul Levine’s true loves, so that might be a hard sell …

In the meantime, head over to the oldies on 1090!

“I and my spouse were very sorry to read this week that the 105.1 HD4 spot is going to Go Country Gold! Are we going to be able to hear our beloved KSurf Oldies anywhere else? Can Saul Levine be convinced to keep them on? So sad.” — Anonymous

Next week: Is a county-hit radio hybrid viable? Plus a special recording of a long-gone station and a teenager’s take on this whole radio thing

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