Reviews Are In (events embellished below)
“An awesome read.” Glen Braget, KSRQ Thief River Falls, MN. The Braget Book Club on KSRQ Radio Pioneer 90.1, 24-thousand watts of independent public radio from Pennington County northwest of the Twin Cities for an hour (link TK)
“A fascinating look into that time of rock ‘n’ roll music. This was a real community station…” Book Picks Show on Northeast Public Radio. NPR host Joe Donahue talks The Jive with Matt Tannenbaum from The Bookstore in Lenox Massachusetts.
https://www.wamc.org/podcast/the-roundtable/2023-09-05/book-picks-the-bookstore-in-lenox
“Risky! Radical! Rewarding! This is a brave documentary on community…a real account compiled by a free spirit who worked in the Jive Gnus Department in the 1970s.” Gerry Fialka in the Venice Beachhead
https://thevenicebeachhead.com/2023/08/21/tribal-jive-here-wow-by-gerry-fialka/
“They broke the mold…KSAN folks could be both playful (they spelled the word news ‘gnus’) and serious, irreverent and reverential, utopian and practical. KSAN was ahead of its time; a pioneering station that helped to shape the counterculture…The Jive 95 includes plenty of station history, humorous tidbits and photographs of most of the key players.” Jonah Raskin in the San Francisco Examiner
“KSAN transformed commercial radio into a real public service…the leading voice of all the political and social alternative ideas that the San Francisco music renaissance spawned.” Ralph Gleason, esteemed SF Chronicle music columlnist/jazz maven
“The writings enable those of us of a certain age to relive often enjoyable parts of our lives, irrespective of our then geographical location.” Jerry Fink, Chicago
“Beautiful…with wild information. Takes me way way back.” Jack Neworth, Santa Monica Daily Press
October 20 2023 w/ Kris Welch, on her Friday KPFA Pacifica show in Berkeley. The brilliant one-time KSAN Gnus Anchor recalled characters she did in “The Watergate Follies” episodes on the Jive 95 created by Larry Lee.
October 26 at San Francisco Public Library in North Beach, which included first cousin and dear friend Andy Ross dropping in from Petaluma while he was visiting (other cousins) from Detroit; Moshe Cohen, Payasos sin Fronteras (Clowns Without Borders)–we met in Amsterdam, and h clowns/cares for Grateful Dead and Wavy Gravy kidlets backstage during shows; David “DJ’ Jensen, loyal-to-the-Jive 95–stalwart & encyclopedic–from the Richmond District; and, two San Francisco hippies who contributed KSAN memories to our circle-of-chairs afternoon session. Peter A. resembled my growing-up-with-me-in-Detroit next-door neighbor (1965-77), Sheldon Cohn of blessed memory, had Shel gone to the Haight instead of into advertising and film…
November 21 Guest on “Phil & Ted’s Sexy Boomer Show” KPFK Pacifica in L.A. Informative Tuesday afternoon (great song) hour w enlightened co-hosts, Phil Proctor & Ted Bonnitt. Clips from Scoop, Pointer Sisters, and other voicers from disc, “Live Jive.”
September w/ Brian Griffiths (“and comely assistant Kathy’) on KRCB, Northern California Public Media, Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, CA. Morning hang out for an hour with warm host Griffiths and Kathy who promised to attend reading at Copperfield’s in Petaluma * but couldn’t make what I must say turned into an awesomely successful-albeit-elderly happening/scene–best comment from gal who wanted her grandchildren to read the Jive 95 so they’ll know she was part of something cool and not just, “Oh there goes grandma…” And Kathy if you are reading pls know I felt a semi-cosmic rockin’ connection with you and thought you might’ve had similar. Will we only always have Rohnert Park?
September KPCA Petaluma CA with rock photographer who’s got skills, Ed Perlstein, and KSAN favorite, Terry McGovern, for what seemed like hours; Terry hilarious and giving tips off-mic to young DJ who has night job waitering in Petaluma’s best restaurant, and wore a mask which sounded like a weirdly-muffled radio announcer. Nice PD and sports show hosts, proving again that community radio rocks! (Speaking of college radio, Loyola Marymount’s KXLU 88.9 just played Isaac Hayes’ funked-outrageous version of Bacharach & David’s “Walk On By”)
* Copperfield’s with KSAN’s Peter Laufer, Terry McGovern, Bonnie Simmons.
“A monument of a book. A fucking monument!” Darryl Henriques, Los Angeles
A music site write-up: https://bestclassicbands.com/ksan-radio-book-jive-95-hank-rosenfeld-9-14-23/
Impressions from Amazon readers:
