AROUND THE STATION

This was the night I was hired at KROQ. It was the first time I had seen the band, and I was sitting in my Ball Road apartment GLOWING because I had finally seen the greatest Rock and Roll band in the world. The phone rings at 1:15 a.m., it's Darrell Wayne asking if I could get to Pasadena by two. "Sure," I said. And later I climbed those back stairs for the first time.

This is one of my oldest memories of KROQ. This is the parking lot where I climbed the stairs the night I was hired. Original logo. From left, Brett Kahlen, Chuck Randall, driver, chick dj I don’t remember, Mike Raphone, me being prophetic about the station’s prospects, Darrell Wayne in nice red pants, Larry Woodside, hairy dj I don’t remember, and the late Al Ramirez. He always looked like he was sneaking away from something. Let me know about the ones I missed.

In probably the best shot of the Pasadena control room, a 28 mm lens reveals Devo judging the Rhino Devotees album, for which KROQ listeners submitted their own versions of Devo songs. With phenomenal luck, two of my own made the album. Rhino at the time was known for their wacky, Dr. Demento tastes. Richard Bronson and Harold Foos went for the Warner Bros. payday. I would. The reason in 1978 I was so excited about working at KROQ, is that it was the home of Devo.