18 July 27 - August 2, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents A n episode of The Twilight Zone, “The Old Man in the Cave,” premiered on CBS on Nov. 8, 1963. Written by the show’s creator Rod Serling and based on a short story by American play- wright Henry Slesar, it told the tale of a small group of survivors from a nuclear apoca- lypse who rely exclusively on an old man whom they’ve never seen or met to check scavenged cans of food for radiation con- tamination. One day, after the old man de- cides that a batch of recently found food is bad, the hungry survivors angrily break into his cave to find that he is not a man at all. He is a computer. The mob destroys the com- puter, then they all perish after deciding to eat the poisoned food. The American viewers watching that epi- sode sat snugly in their homes on that fall night, eyes glued to their televisions. What was widely considered the Golden Age of Radio had ended a decade before. Yet radio stations were still pumping out entertain- ment and producing shows that would be talked about for decades to come. It was the era when disc jockeys like Wolfman Jack emerged and gained significant followers by keeping loyal listeners hip to the latest tunes. Audiences deeply bonded with their hosts and trusted them to play the perfect song for life’s perfect moments. Since then, that special touch of humanity in commer- cial radio has dissipated, to say the least. As we continue to place our trust and taste in algorithms, few radio stations are left in the U.S. that still subscribe to this kind of bespoke experience. Dallas happens to be home to one such station. On July 30, Dallas’ 89.3 KNON-FM will celebrate its 40th year on the air. To mark the occasion, the station is hosting a concert at Granada Theater with artists Jay Perez, R.L. Griffin and Igor and the Red Elvises, among others. On July 30, 1983, KNON was born with just 10,000 watts of power and airtight ide- als about what makes a great radio station last. Barely out of the gate, KNON almost lost its frequency to First Baptist Dallas. But it survived that challenge and many more to come. Over the past four decades the station has called four different locations home, survived a direct hit from a tornado and spawned a plethora of local musicians and disc jockeys who have gone on to help shape the way Dallas listens to music and perceives culture. The entirely listener-funded radio station, known as “The Voice of the People,” hosts some of the most diverse shows on FM radio today. Blues, salsa, world, local, gospel, rock and Latin are just the tip of the iceberg among the station’s ocean of varied sounds, which range all the way to the most sub of subgenres. With the recent launch of KNON Now, the 24- hour streaming online station, KNON is set to expand even further by playing reggaeton, Celtic and even gospel hip-hop. For longtime station manager and radio personality Dave Chaos, the success and lasting power of the station can be credited to one simple but essential ingredient. “It’s the people,” he says. “All the people involved with the station — from the musi- cians to the DJs, the listeners and small busi- nesses — all came together over the years to make it happen. It truly is about the people.” Chaos has made quite a name for KNON by helping turn the station into a cultural life- line for those tired of listening to the Top-40- sap of Dallas commercial radio. In fact, Chaos has done such a great job over the past four decades that David Bowie once gifted him a signed poster inscribed with a personal note, praising Chaos for his work at the station. It hangs proudly in the station lobby along with a slew of other framed posters and mementos from famed musicians. Chaos came to the station in 1987 after moving to Dallas from Madison, Wisconsin, and playing bass in a cover band. At the age of 19, he opened his own record store and initially worked as a volunteer on KNON’s pledge drives. Within three months, he se- cured his first radio show, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Sundays, playing punk-rock, blues and, later, music by local bands. Hanging out with the Dallas-based Loco Gringos intro- duced him to much of the flavor in a thriving 1980s Deep Ellum music scene. “I played local as much as I could get my hands on, and Loco Gringos was the first Dallas band I hooked up with,” Chaos says. “Later on, I played stuff by Rigor Mortis, and then one day Pantera showed up to give me a cassette. They were great. We’ve always had a local scene as good, if not better, than any scene in the U.S. “Dimebag [Darrell Abbott] made a pledge and dropped off a check right as Pantera’s career was taking off. Our highest donation was from Erykah Badu. She sat in my office to give a $5,000 donation to Eddie D’s Knowledge Dropped, Lessons Taught, which is the longest-running hip-hop show going.” EZ Eddie D’s show has garnered atten- tion from musicians all over the world and continues to do so. Through- out his 35 years on the air, KNON has pro- vided D with a place to say what he wants and play what he wants, something no other hip-hop DJ in any city has been able to do. “I think that since it’s KNON, it some- times goes under the radar, but what maybe people don’t understand is the magnitude of being on the air that long,” D says. “Radio is a very hard thing, and I always thought of my show as a platform for social conscious- ness, to both play music and ask questions.” The show originally aired in 1987 from KNON’s first studio, playfully nicknamed The White House of East Dallas. The house was located at 4415 San Jacinto St., which is now an empty field, far before the streets of East Dallas started to become gentrified. Chaos remembers the neighborhood as be- ing “rough.” He also remembers one group being surprised at the studio’s location after hearing so much about KNON and D’s show in particular. “One time this band kept reaching out to get airplay in Dallas,” Chaos says. “Their manager called on a Saturday to see if they could stop by the show, and Eddie was will- ing to do it. Eddie’s show was always Rap- pers Central, so everyone would hang out in the front yard. This giant tour bus pulls up and we start sizing it up. Then all of a sud- den, we get a call from the manager, and he says, ‘This really isn’t an area a radio station would be.’ “That bus took off like a bat out of hell and we never heard from them again. As it turned out, the group was Insane Clown Posse!” he concludes with a laugh. Although Insane Clown Posse got the “ick” when pulling up to KNON, many Dal- las startups saw The White House Kathy Tran KEEPING LOUD After 40 wild years, KNON has no plans to fade into radio silence. BY SCOTT TUCKER ▼ Music >> p19 KNON staff and radio personalities, from left to right: DJ EZ Eddie D, Charlie Don’t Park, Greg A. Smith, DJ Kane, General Manager Dave Chaos (center), Blue Lisa, music director Christian Lee, Red Ghost, Ima Uwagbai and Helen Abara.
