19 July 27 - August 2, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents of East Dallas as their opportunity to get on the radio. Singer and solo artist Joe Grah of Jibe, Loser, and South of Earth recalls the house being quite charming. “Inside there was music and records ev- erywhere,” Grah says. “[We] did an on-air performance and Dave Chaos was really cool, so we established a great relationship. I think Animal House is the perfect analogy for the vibe there and us being on the road; we were used to that shit.” Robert Smith of The Cure once showed up to the house after hours just to hang out and sift through the hallways and rooms of music with longtime disc jockey Charlie Don’t Park. Smith had just finished a show at the late, legendary Arcadia Theatre on Lower Greenville?]. “He went through our records and just hung out,” Park says of Smith. “The coolest part was I really didn’t know exactly who he was. He just wanted to be part of it and what we were doing.” Like Chaos, Park started at the station as a volunteer in 1984, just one year after KNON signed on the air. “I was driving my VW by White Rock Lake and they started playing, ‘Tattooed Love Boys’ by The Pretenders,” Park says. “I kept calling and making requests until they just called me. Back then labels didn’t send us albums, we’d just play our own shit.” When Park started, hair metal bands of the 1980s were dominating the radio air- waves, and major record labels started send- ing KNON CDs of RATT, Poison and Dokken to play on the air. Park had other ideas about what was good music. “I looked at that stuff and I said, ‘The [New York] Dolls did it first, and The Dolls did it better,’” he says. “I took those CDs and traded them in for stuff by The Clash and B-52’s. I took that bad metal we were never going to play and built our library out of it.” KNON’s staple rock show, Reckless Rock Radio with Lee Russell and Greg “Spicoli” Reneau, plays all the classic hair metal offer- ings alongside locals Joey C. Jones, Sweet Savage and Salinger. In true KNON fashion, the hosts also mix up the show with recent DFW rock bands such as Rosegarden Fu- neral Party, Royal Sons and Van Damme along with celebrated thrash, metal, alterna- tive, new wave, glam and everything-in-be- tween-rock acts. “All of this music is really good, and re- gardless of its age, it deserves to be played,” says Reneau, who earned his commercial ra- dio wings working for both 97.1 The Eagle FM and 93.3 The Bone FM before being asked by Russell to co-host the show. “KNON lets FM radio be the way it was supposed to be when they started FM radio in the 1970s, when disc jockeys were their own directors and played interesting mu- sic,” he says. “When it comes to radio per- sonalities, you either start at KNON or end at KNON, and I’m happy to end here. It’s the greatest, and I love it.” Blue Lisa, another jockey, whose spe- cialty has been spinning blues artists for KNON over 24 years now, has an experience similar to Reneau’s. “I’ve been here so long because no one tells me what to play on my own show,” she says. “That’s the beauty of KNON. Being a DJ is a lot of work and all of us here are vol- unteers. We ask our listeners to keep us on the air every three months, and it’s their hard-earned money that consistently comes through. “I think it’s the diversity we offer. Where else can you get blues, gospel and world mu- sic on the same station?” Besides receiving gifts and pledges from famous musicians and rock stars, KNON re- lies solely on its listeners for the station’s in- come. Christian Lee, who’s been with KNON since 1998, pulls triple duty as DJ, music director and pledge-drive coordina- tor. After being kicked out of school for hav- ing blue hair in the 10th grade, Lee started volunteering at the station. Chaos brought him into the fold after meeting Lee at a wild afterparty. “Dave and I met at one of these massive appreciation parties he threw for the bands that did shows with us,” Lee says. “We got in trouble with some skaters. Dave got busted in the head, and I instinctively took off my shirt and wrapped it around his head. We’ve been at it working together ever since.” Just like Blue Lisa, Lee’s commitment to the station is validated by the listeners. When pledgers from all over the world con- tribute to the station every three months, Lee knows the station is really doing right by its audience. “When doing a pledge drive during my own show, The Friday Morning Blend, I’m always amazed, humbled and grateful for every single pledge,” Lee says. “They’re giv- ing us their hard-earned money for some- thing they are already getting for free via their radio and other devices.” In 2019, KNON’s studio at North Central Expressway and Northaven Road was de- stroyed by a tornado. It was sheer determi- nation and grit that delivered Chaos and crew through the rubble. In the wake of the incident, staff members raced to the wreck- age with the intention of saving any equip- ment that was still usable. After keeping what they could, the KNON crew agreed to start meeting at the radio towers in Cedar Hill to air their shows. “I wasn’t there when it hit, but right after the building was condemned and we all had to get our stuff that night to keep it from get- ting rained on,” D says. “After we were all making sacrifices to keep it going, driving to Cedar Hill because our antenna was there. Through that time, whatever came up, we did what we had to do to keep things going.” Chaos still remembers standing in the rubble with station engineer and jockey Jesse Gonzales, trying to figure out what to do next after the tornado. Eventually mov- ing into a new studio on Coit Road, just north of I-635, the station again gratefully accepted help from listeners through an all- important pledge drive that helped them get back on their feet. “Jesse is a really great overall station guy. He really gets it done,” Chaos says. “After the tornado, we were back on the air within 36 hours. Once again, like I said, all the peo- ple came together and it’s about the people.” In the year 2023, most radio stations exist in a single room, atop a commercial building, all bunched together down a single hallway with an IHEART logo. Today, a single com- puter plays the Top 40 singles over and over, many times without the presence of a single human in the room. Today, most radio sta- tions rely on their own version of Rod Ser- ling’s “Old Man in the Cave” to run the whole show, and AI is just now showing up for the party. KNON and its 40 years of suc- cess are proof there are still dreamers out there doing things with integrity and a touch of humanity. For Charlie Don’t Park, his dedication and appreciation for KNON has been entirely reciprocated. “At the end of the day, I get to program and produce my own show in a top-five market,” Park says. “That’s pretty rare and a great honor, and I take it very seriously. At KNON we have dedicated listeners.” Kathy Tran Christian Lee is a DJ, music director and pledge-drive coordinator at KNON. Keeping Loud from p18 Hand built not bougHt. Franklins TaTToo and supply TWo loCaTions: 469-904-2665 • 4910 Columbia ave, dallas, TX 75214 open now • 903-710-2028 • 17581 old Jacksonville hwy, flint tx 75762 proFessional TaTToo supply For pros only Call for your appointment or design commissions today!
