KKEY: Talk Radio Echoes from the 1980s

 I recall residing in the forest with dad, 1983-84, listening on a battery-powered radio to Portland talk radio station KKEY (a favorite station of his). The station (at least the version with those call letters) is long defunct, passing the way of all phenomenona, transitory and evanescent. (Talk radio was especially important in those days before the internet was accessible; and this was also in the heated context suggested by the Talk Radio film.)   I recall from memory walking past the station's singular, small corner office on Burnside street, in downtown Portland, Oregon. The bellicose Dave Collins; Lee Evans (a laid-back host, a retired lawyer), Jerry Dimmitt, Henryne, Mary Pierce, Jim Lindsay, (no doubt some, or all were assumed names) and others fielded phone calls, and discussed political, domestic, and quotidian topics. The hosts held a range of political views, moderate, left, right; or in same cases, they avoided partisan matters completely. The late, controversial religious leader/former mesmerist, Roy Masters, showed up occasionally on the station, in those days; I even called in and asked him a question, once.  

At that time, the station only held a license to broadcast during daylight hours. I recall those twilights, when the station faded early off the air; especially haunting in fall or winter's dusk. 
I have been unable to locate any audio recordings from the station, online or elsewhere. A number of callers were regulars -- one nervous guy seemed to be from the local red cell. His calls always culminated with something about the greatness of the Marxist bloc... "uh... uh...Communism...". My father and I pictured another frequent dialer, as a sort of Captain Willard (from Apocalypse Now) figure, with a pack of smokes, a bottle of pills, and a .45 with a live chambered round; tightly wound and chattering fast. "Caller, you're on the air..."

Casual web-searching indicates few traces of this phantom, in the data record; a photo or two, and a few brief references. It might exist chiefly through recollection.... The nearest thing I have encountered since was Art Bell's radio broadcasts, which a friend drew my attention to around 1998; but Art retired, quit, and flamed out in different ways, before his final passage... 

Digital collage by JF, May 2021 (including an image of the 1983-84 camp; and the same camper, on a 70s slide photo).

A few Notes on Art Bell

It's unfortunate that Art Bell is no longer a host on Coast to Coast AM.  I first started to pick up this radio talk show, revolving primarily around the paranormal,  the occult, ghosts, UFOS, Bigfoot, spirituality, and so on in 1998.  By scanning the Wikipedia article on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Bell, I was reminded of his meteoric nature, his instability, as opposed to those who are reliable, who do the 90% of life that is showing up, who do what they're supposed to.  I heard his repeated retirements and comebacks, his life changes in real time, or close to real time.  Despite his flakiness, though, and his occasional lack of background in subject matter, he was fantastically eccentric and riveting.  His sarcasm was refreshing;  for example, when someone would call in and say "Are you the screener?" (not realizing the calls routed straight through to Art), he might reply, "If you could speak to Art, what would you say to him?"  or I'm the only one here."  The show had a chaotically unpredictable nature then;  you might hear the sounds of hell, or an abductee claiming he saw Ted Kennedy on a flying saucer (the guest, apparently drunk, was kicked off the show after an hour or so).  A line dedicated to time travelers might open up.  Then there were the shows with the "backmasking" guy, and the ensuing falling-out he had with Art.  Just the image of the host sitting in the midst of the wild empty spaces, broadcasting, was magical in itself.

 

Ah well, maybe he'll return...

If you could speak to Art, what would you say to him?