In
1978, radio station K-ROQ 106.7 FM was in the gutter of Los Angeles Arbitron ratings. The station was at the avant-garde of new wave and punk rock formats that was about to sweep the national radio markets. The studio was located in Pasadena, California, and I was a high-school student at John Muir High in Pasadena at that time.
Through resourceful negotiations, I blundered my way into garnering a half-hour show on K-ROQ, broadcast on Sunday mornings, from 8:30am to 9:00am. The show was called, Our Time Is Now, and my name was the Wild Child. It was a public-affairs show that addressed local educational issues, interspersed with eclectic album tracks and comedy sketches, all done live, with a bare minimum of coherency and skill. I had a riotous time with teenage friends, and although much of what was produced was tripe, there were a few sparkling moments that I am proud of. The show was cancelled in 1980 after the FCC deregulated the market, and K-ROQ ceased their public-affairs commitment. I never truly returned to radio after that, and I am regretful.
There is a more lengthy history of Our Time Is Now, and for those of you with interest in the story, I offer it at
Radio Days
. I welcome you to visit the site, but I fear that it might prove tedious to
those who are quite uninterested in Los Angeles radio, and the marginal role I
played so very long ago. If you're a fan of the station, however, I think you'll
find it worth a look.
--The Wild Child