KOOL milestone: Spokane oldies radio station gets a new license for life
The demise of Cheney jazz station, KEWU 89.5 FM , saddened many, but the end of one historic broadcast era has opened doors for another nonprofit radio operation.
In an effort to keep oldies music alive and thriving on the local airwaves, in 2012, Bob Fogal and his wife Pati launched KOOL 107.1 FM. They say video killed the radio star, but for Bob Fogal, his biggest headache was audience reach. Plagued by a weak signal which barely touched the outskirts of Spokane, he once lamented the plights of being a “low-powered David against the giant Goliaths of radio.”
His 10,000-watt fix finally arrived.
When Eastern Washington University put KEWU up for sale, Fogal seized a golden opportunity. As a board member for the Oldies Preservation Society, which owns KOOL, he made a bid on that license and powerful signal. KOOL 89.5 FM can now be heard crisp and clear as far west as Ritzville and even east into Sandpoint.
“That is really going to give the KOOL Oldies format what it needs and that is a big, strong signal reaching a lot more people,” Fogal said.
A transition in the making, KOOL is now operating from the same studio space KEWU once occupied.
“We mutually decided that we would manage the station for roughly a year and then actually pull the trigger on the purchase,” Fogal said.
The KOOL crew was welcomed onto the EWU campus with open arms.
“When Bob came in as the preferred bidder for the sale of the license, I was pretty thrilled actually, because it was staying local,” said Pete Porter, a professor of film in the EWU Department of Fine and Performing Arts. “I am pretty sad to see the jazz format go away, but I’m also thrilled that Spokane Public Radio is doing jazz 24 hours, seven days a week now,” he said. That’s KPBZ, 90.3 FM, for those who don’t know.
KOOL is not your typical oldies radio station.
Something of a one-hit-wonder itself, KOOL boasts a library of 5,000-plus songs. The goal is variety, not repetition. That extensive playlist includes a goldmine of hits from the first three decades of rock, along with classic instrumental tunes and obscure titles rarely heard on radio, such as “The Last Farewell,” by Roger Whittaker and “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You,” by Sugarloaf.
A signature selling point for KOOL: short breaks.
“We’re never more than two and a half minutes away from music,” Fogal said. “That’s a big deal and that’s a huge benefit to the listener. You’re not gonna sit there for eight to nine minutes with no music.”
Along for this KOOL retro spin is John Maynard.
Known on air as “Buzz Lawrence,” Maynard was raised in Pullman and began his work as a DJ with Spokane radio stations KNEW and KJRB back in the 1960s and ’70s. Produced in a Seattle studio, his “Buzz Lawrence Show” airs Saturdays on KOOL from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A four-hour trip back to yesteryear, the hilarious segment blends vintage songs with nostalgic ads and jingles. Maynard said this all-in-one-place aspect of KOOL appeals to listeners.
“You could sit down at a computer and you could find it, but who does that? This is served up for you, so it’s a constant flow and highly eclectic mix,” Maynard said.
Indeed. Where else on the radio could you possibly hear “Lipstick on Your Collar,” by Connie Francis, “Lido Shuffle,” by Boz Scaggs and “Everything is Beautiful” by Ray Stevens in one 15-minute stretch?
Once a hybrid business model funded by both listener donations and local advertising revenues, KOOL 89.5 FM now holds a noncommercial, educational license and is supported entirely by listener donations. The Oldies Preservation Society needs a permanent building for KOOL along with volunteers familiar with nonprofit development and radio operations.
“At this point, our plan is to have one major fundraiser a month,” Fogal said. “As they say, all it takes is money and manpower and you can do anything.”
While core KOOL listeners skew older, Fogal said the family-friendly radio station has seen growth in teen and young adult demographic numbers. Known on-air as “Big Bob Anthony,” his own segment runs weekdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. In the future, Fogal hopes to add more specialty shows along with around-the-clock DJs who could share historical tidbits about musical artists and the writing process behind songs.
But, back to that signal …
In his trademark humorous style, Maynard summarized the far-reaching benefits of that KOOL new feature for his good friend Fogal and the Oldies Preservation Society.
“He was working out of a coat hanger hooked up to a toaster oven before,” Maynard said, “and now he’s got 10,000 watts.”
Cynthia Reugh can be reached at cynthia13048@gmail.com.