Taylor To Fill In On 97.3 Radio

Tracy  Taylor, who has been reporting traffic on KIRO 7, will fill in on KIRO's news partner and former sister station KIRO FM.  The station's regular afternoon traffic reporter will fill in during the mornings, while Tracy will do traffic on Ron And Don's afternoon drive program.  Candy Harper, the usual afternoon reporter will fill in for Chris Sullivan in the mornings, while Taylor will be filling in for Candy.  Taylor will continue her morning reports on KIRO 7.  Many remember Tracy doing traffic on the radio at Sports Radio KJR.

Sportsradio KJR Stops The Dance

In the late 90's, Seattle radio listeners could hear Howard Stern, Tom Leykus, and it's own answer to R rated radio Mitch Levy.  Levy and his side kick Jeff "The Fish" Aaron would spend more time "rating girls" and making ribald comments about women in pop culture. As time went on, the show  would grow up, Levy began doing what he did the best, giving valuable sport incite. 
One thing would remain through the years from that crazy time, "The Dance".  The Dance was originally known as "The Bigger Dance" until the NCAA called in a copyright violation.  It would consist of a field of 64 females that were bracketed (names not the actual girls).  It would start the after the last game of the actual Final Four..  The reason I participated was the prize.  The winner would receive a trip to any sporting event in the world.  My choice. would have been the Le Mans Grand Prix.  The contest would get bigger, growing with internet coverage.  In each contest, caller would say their choice. More and more, women were participating.  Their would always be a meet and greet at some bar, where the fans could go into a booth and vote for one of the "final four".  The winner would be know as the "the queen of the hardwood".
Last few years, the excitement wore down and I predicted to demise would be near and sure enough, there was no "The Dance" in 2015.  The contest, after more than maybe a decade and a half, had run it's course. 

Sportsradio 950 KJR Adds New Voice

Sportsradio 950 KJR, an all sports radio station now for more than 20 years, has added a new host. This week, Chuck Powell has taken the 10am to noon weekday slot, previously held by Seattle Times Sports Columnist Jerry Brewer and long time "Twisted Radio" Bob Rivers sidekick Spike O'Neil.
Powell, who had worked in the Phoenix area, is the station's first major hire from outside the Seattle market in years.  According to his bio, Powell had been in radio for almost 25 years, starting at 19.  Besides sports he has done comedy radio, most recently on KTAR in Phoenix.  I managed to get this snippet from his first show on KJR.  We wish him the best of luck!

Gasman Leaving KJR

It's said that "all good things must come to an end" and today's Seattle Times announced that Mike Gastineau, known as the Gasman on KJR, is leaving the station.   When KJR, one of Seattle's venerable radio stations became a sports talk station in the early 90s, many of it's on-air personalities were abrasive toward both the players and fans who called in.  Gastineau had a much different approach, fair and even handed. Gastineau had a friendly way of educating his callers, who may not have seen the full picture.  As the station has evolved, there are fewer call-ins and more interviews and commentary.  Gastineau has been afternoon drive at KJR for almost 20 years, almost 3 lifetimes in big market radio.  He has been with KJR  for 21 years.  His community service includes hosting the Fred Hutchinson Award and the KJR Kares-A-Thon Charity Auction..  He has said that he will persue other opportunities.

History Of Seattle's Iconic Radio Station KJR

Seattle Radio History - 950AM (KJR) from Twisted Scholar on Vimeo.

My cousin, Burl Barer makes a couple of appearences (in pictures) in this great narrative on the history of Seattle radio station KJR. Also look for a quick snap of current KJR sports talk host Mike Gastineau. Most people will recognize Pat O'Day.

King 5's Tracy Taylor Joins Blogosphere

I like to keep you informed of new and exciting blogs. KING TV traffic reporter, Tracy Taylor has started one called "The Random Acts Of T Squared" Tracy became well known as the morning traffic reporter on KJR-AM. She moved to KING-5 TV at the beginning of last year. She is unique among area broadcasting personalities in her ability to interact with viewers. Her facebook fan page is rapidly approaching 2000 "likes". You can read Tracy's blog by clicking here.