MC3 On The Road With Bob Gale

Another Trip, Traveling With The Radio On…

05/08/2013

Last October I spent traveling by Megabus..the low cost bus service that goes through a good portion of the country with fares as low as one dollar per segment. I did it again last month for 8-days, altering my route to hit different cities for as cheap as possible. I spent eight days on the bus, stopping for motels twice. My April travels took me from Baltimore to DC…then Knoxville, Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas, Austin...I had to back track to Dallas and Memphis, then Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, DC and back to Baltimore. Grand total for the bus travel: $17...$5 for the DC-Knoxville leg and a dollar for the rest.

The key to getting those dollar fares is to book as soon as Megabus adds new dates to their website. Traveling mid-week will get you cheaper fares, but if you book as soon as the new dates are added, all fares start at a dollar. I guess I was about two hours late booking that DC-Knoxville leg.

Being semi-retired, but still in radio doing a live oldies show on Saturday and voice tracking during the week allows me to take these little trips. I'm one of the few who don't mind spending an overnight on a bus. Of course these are very nice double-decker buses and I was lucky to have a seat to myself on all but one of my legs of the trip.

I combine my love of travel and radio in these trips. At least two radios are with me on every trip I take, and here are my musings about what I heard on my eight day journey.

I left Baltimore on Saturday April 13. Sports radio dominates in "Charm City". At 1300 AM, WJZ (the original calls of WABC) runs CBS Sports Radio. There is also an WJZ-FM airing sports at 105.7 FM and a couple of others on AM. In my opinion, Baltimore as well as so many markets has an over saturation of all sports stations. Two should be enough for any market, but I guess they are easy to sell. How small can you slice the pie?

Every market has a dominant AM heritage station and in Baltimore it is WBAL, which is way down in the latest ratings.  An hour and fifteen minutes to Washington's Union Station.

The DC dial is pretty stable. Not too many format changes recently. Urban stations dominate in the Nation's Capitol. WTOP 103.5 FM is the dominant station in DC…rare that an All-News is #1 in any market, and the fact that it is the nation's top biller, as well. There is also another all news station in DC, actually in the Maryland suburbs, WNEW 99.1 FM, which has a great signal in Baltimore, too. Unusual there are two all news stations in any market, and both are FM. Only New York and Washington have two All-News stations.

WBRF 98.1 FM 60dBuCoverage

On to Knoxville, via Virginia. Half asleep, half awake I enjoy WBRF 98.1 FM, a 100Kw. station licensed to Galax, Va, but puts out an incredible signal into Winston Salem, NC. They feature classic country and bluegrass. It's nice to hear something unique on terrestrial radio. They have a huge signal and use it wisely to give bigger markets something different. Knoxville,TN on a Sunday morning, not the greatest time to sample radio, so after a "band spin" of religion and syndication I opt for my iPod.

By mid afternoon. programming was better and I tune in the one of the nation's top country stations: WIVK 107.7 FM. They sound good, even on a Sunday with a live personality. Traffic and current weather conditions gave that away.

My original intention was to travel from Knoxville to Memphis, but for some reason Megabus dropped that very direct route, and I had to go through Atlanta and then up to Memphis. Chattanooga was one of the stops. Two classic hits stations, both sounding similar, but a translator at 106.9 FM branded with the phrase "HippieRadio". Thought I would hear Hendrix, Joplin or The Doors. Phil Collins, The Foundations and John Mellencamp were played. Not exactly the "hippie" image.

Chattanooga

A cool Sunday night in Atlanta waiting on my bus to Memphis. Usually, Megabus has their stops on street corners or outside transit centers.  Atlanta is outside the Metra Center with no place to sit inside. 

Spoken word formats dominate on FM. All news WYAY106.7 FM, Sports WZGC 92.9 FM and a simulcast on 95.5 FM of WSB 750 AM, and yet another simulcast of an AM sports station on FM. There is also an all comedy station on an FM translator at 92.3 FM. I did enjoy listening to the station. Quick comedy clips, back announced. If I'm not in the mood for music, which has a certain sameness after a while. And you’re caught up on news and find the talk station's offerings not to your liking at the moment, then All-Comedy format is fun to listen to. It keeps your attention, and the fact they were running quite a few Jonathan Winters cuts (he just passed) made listening to that station enjoyable.

Downtown Memphis

My bus arrives at 11PM after a seven hour ride to Memphis. Second overnight in a row on the bus, so I slept most of the way, only waking up in Birmingham, where every other station seems to be country through Tupelo, Elvis Presley's birthplace to Memphis, his home town. I would be going through Memphis on my return, two days later, but now I'm just waiting for my bus to Dallas where I will spend the night. I was in Memphis from 5 to 10AM Monday morning, and I sampled both AM and FM morning drive. Being a news and talk junkie, I had to listen to their news talker, Clear Channel's WREC 600 AM first, and then through the dial. 

Another CC station, WDIA 1070 AM, the oldest black owned station in the country is still on the air with soul oldies and talk. There is an FM talker, an FM sports station and a Classic Country station. A lot of good radio in Memphis. Drake & Zeke, the morning team on WXMX 98.1 FM were delving into topics you wouldn't normally hear on a music station.

Off to Dallas through Little Rock on Monday morning. Little Rock has an FM talker that has local hosts during the day. Usually, from Noon to 3 you could hear Rush on ninety different stations (or so it seems to be). At 3PM I tune in to Sean Hannity, a close second to numbers of stations to Rush. That's when I first hear about the news of the Boston bombings. Radio is at its best in times like this. I was glued to my radio the rest of my trip.

We arrive in Dallas and I am ready for a motel. When I take these bus trips, I check the address of the Megabus stop. Then, go on-line and check for inexpensive motels that are close to the stop within walking distance and check Map Quest for the location and directions.

I found a hotel in Grand Prairie, the suburban Dallas stop only a half mile from the Megabus stop..and a Church's Fried Chicken to boot. I listened to more coverage of the bombing until I drifted off.

No shortage of news and talk stations in Dallas. I like KLIF 570 AM and their morning news team. Their male anchor Dave Williams used to work in Sacramento, LA and at Merlin's ill fated FM news station in Chicago. As is the case in heritage AM stations, I was surprised to see it only got a 0.4 in the latest PPM's. What a signal (5Kw day/night) they have!

Country is king in the Metroplex. KFWR 95.9 The Ranch is a "Texas" style country station that also sounded good. I always love hearing stations that take advantage of their locale and do a home grown format.

There is also a standards station in Dallas. KAAM 770 AM that mixes in some talk. Wish more markets would play standards and older oldies...yeah..I know..demos, but it is refreshing.

KLUV 98.7 FM is the Classic Hits outlet in Dallas. It seems every classic hits station I listen to sounds like every other one..limited 60's..Beatles, Beach Boys. CCR, the Doors...a whole lot of 70's...not pop hits,  but rock-leaning pop hits and a lot of 80's. I don't know. It's purely subjective, but I can't get used to hearing Boston, Kansas, Foreigner, Eddie Money, Police, Springsteen, Men at Work, etc. on frequencies that used to be pure oldies, but that's the way of the world.  It's always interesting going through the dial and hearing morning programs. Some are good, some poor, but always entertaining. This particular morning, the topic was the bombings in Boston the day before.

I was scheduled to head back at 11pm that night from Dallas. I had a full day, so I took another bus to Texas' Capitol of Austin. The bus stop was right across from the University. It 85 degrees and a nice day for a walk through this very trendy city, especially after a good nights sleep.

San Antonio and Dallas AM stations still came in during the day in Austin, and I split my listening to KTSA 550 AM in San Antonio (live PM drive), KLIF Dallas and afternoon news block at 570 and  KLBJ 590 AM/99.7 FM ...also live PM.  

KOKE 99.3 FM is a progressive country station, and if any station sounds like its city, KOKE does. The state capitol building is larger than the US Capitol building.

After five relaxing hours back on the bus to Dallas. We pass through Waco. WACO 99.9 FM, a 100,000 watt blowtorch country station blasts for miles in each direction. Perfect calls. We went through a small town called West, north of Waco. I noticed quite a few factories. A little under 24 hours there would be that horrible explosion in that little town. We probably could not have gotten through if I was on that route on Wednesday.

WACO 99.9 FM 60dBU Coverage

Back in Dallas and enough time for a dinner before heading back to Memphis overnight. The bus was freezing. Our driver said he couldn't control the heat.  No other bus had that climate problem.

We arrive in Memphis around 7:30 Wednesday morning, two days after I originally passed through. This time I had a reservation at a downtown hotel. They let me check in at 9AM. I was grateful. I slept on-and-off for a few hours while listening to Geraldo Rivera's radio show. I enjoy his program. Lots of newsmakers and it is fast paced. Geraldo just started in talk radio with a local show originating on WABC in January of last year and went national last summer. He sounds good and covered the Boston bombings very well.

Beale Street in Memphis is unique. A five block stretch of bars and grills and nicer eating establishments, each featuring blues musicians. Happy Hour lasts all-day. A dinner of ribs and a 32 ounce draft put me in a mellow state of mind. All the bars serve their drinks in plastic mugs, and you can drink on the street. ‘Elvis’ is everywhere: mugs, tee-shirts, signs, pictures, street parks and murals. I wanted to see the Stax-Volt museum, but it was too far from downtown. Next visit. I went to sleep at 8PM, just when Beale Street was coming to life. If I was younger, I suppose the body would have been willing.

Thursday morning and back on the bus…this time a round-about route through Chicago and Detroit. It poured most of the way. The Mississippi was flooding in many locations and many stations I heard through Missouri and Illinois were talking about the weatherf/flooding conditions. We got to Chicago ten hours later. My next bus to Detroit was at Midnight, so I had four hours to kill at Union Station, one of the great train stations in the country.

Classic Hits and Classic rock dominate the Chicago radio dial, WLS 94.7 FM, WJMK 104.3FM K-Hits, WDRV 97.1 The Drive and WLUP 97.9 The Loop all offer some form of the format. I'm sure Springsteen can be heard on no less than nine stations in Chicago. Dick Biondi is still on WLS late night, playing music he is not associated with. I think he talked four times an-hour. Puzzling..why hire top talent and muzzle them? I guess Biondi just loves being on the air, so he'll put up with it. LS just fired Fred Winston. Hey..it's the format..not the talent.

I am back outside at 11PM waiting on my Midnight bus. All buses were late. Mine arrived at 2AM and the temperature dropped 35 degrees in three hours. I listened to The Voice of Chicago WGN 720 AM with live, local shows at night and overnight and I was following the developments in the Boston bombing situation, specifically, a shootout with an MIT guard, the death of suspect #1 (the older brother) a car jacking and a 7 11 robbery. If this wasn't actually happening, you would think you were listening to an incredible radio drama. Radio really was supplying a vital service. I was without access to the Internet or TV, so all I got was audio.

We got into Detroit four hours late, which cut my waiting time for my next bus from seven hours to three. All well-and-good. The wind chill was in the low 20's. I'm glad I found a seafood restaurant above the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit. Detroit has the usual radio fare…the heritage AM talker, WJR 760 AM which was doing a good local take on the Boston situation. The Big 8 CKLW 800 AM is still there, across the river in Windsor. These days it is a talker, concentrating on Canada. CKWW 580 AM plays oldies. There is a mix of Canadian and US stations that boom in during the day in Detroit.

I did have to go outside for a few minutes in the bitter cold to check the dial..aah..what a radio geek will do. WTAM 110 AM in Cleveland, WTVN 610 AM in Columbus and ZoomerRadio 740 in Toronto were all quite audible. Every market has a ‘Jack’ or a ‘Fred’ or a ‘Sam’ FM.."variety hits"...variations of rock and some dance songs from the 60's through the 90's. Detroit has "Doug” WDRQ 93.1 FM.

Leaving Detroit onto Pittsburgh through Toledo and Cleveland late Friday afternoon. I had talk stations on listening for updates on the remaining bomber. Later that evening more riveting live radio as the surviving terrorist was holed up on a boat in a suburb of Boston and finally captured. I listened to the coverage on WTAM in Cleveland. They were simulcasting Fox News Channel and aired Bill O’Reilly’s show.  I even picked up WBZ 1030 AM on the bus in Ohio to really get a true local angle on the story.

Cleveland Skyline

WTAM normally would have been running an Indians game, but they stayed with the coverage advising listeners to tune to WMMS 100.7 FM for the game. After the capture, WTAM picked up the ball game. WNWV 107.3 FM in Elyria near Cleveland is one of the few stations that still airs a traditional smooth jazz format. They dropped it three years ago and returned to it last year. The Cleveland dial is pretty standard. FM sports, WGAR 99.5 FM, the heritage country station and Magic WMJI105.7 FM, one of the highest rated Classic Hits stations in the country.

Pittsburgh Skyline

I dozed on-and-off from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, listening to talk shows discussing the events in Boston on WBZ, KDKA 1020 AM and WPHT 1210 AM in Philly which was booming in. WBZ at 1030 was stronger than KDKA at 1020 only thirty miles from Pittsburgh at 11 at night. After arriving in Pittsburgh, two hours later I was on a bus back to Washington DC.  In DC for a few hours early Saturday morning, a bus back to Baltimore and there was my car parked at the White Marsh Town Center at the Megabus stop, "Right Back Where We Started From "as Maxine Nightingale sang.

Then, hour drive back to home back Pennsylvania. After two overnights on a bus, I was a little weary, but an extra large coffee, a good breakfast and a few fresh air stops helped.

An 8-day trip like this is not for everybody. Most people I talk to think I'm a little nuts. Maybe so, but after being home for three days I'm ready for another one.

Bob Gale

05/07/2013

Bravo Cumulus You Did It Right!

01/22/2013

When Cumulus acquired the 94.7 frequency last October, I wrote here that country would be the most logical format. It’s been almost 17 years since the original WYNY 1035 FM signed-off and that was the last big signal country format that New York had. Four suburban stations all at 107.1 used the YNY calls surrounding NY in a "quad cast" in the late 90's and early 2000's, and that was the closest New York had to a full time country station.

Country music has changed. Artists like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, The Zac Brown Band and numerous others have given a youthful rock edge to country music and Country radio today sounds nothing like it did when the original WYNY signed off in 1996. Listen,  courtesy of airchexx.com. 

George Strait, Alan Jackson and a few others are still making hits giving the format its traditional sound, but it's a whole new ballgame today.

Nash FM 94-7 Control NYC

94.7, now Nash FM did everything right leading up to the switch.

The stunting was perfect and the actual switch to country would make any radio geek salivate!  Of course, Cumulus is planning a national network called Nash FM, and New York is the flagship. No live personalities yet…just the music and some great imaging between the songs.

One of their slogans is "America's Country Station", so you have to wonder at this point how much programming will be local and how much from the new network.

Regardless, it's nice to have Country back in New York. Rock or Alternative would also have been a good choice, considering the lack of the format in New York, but Cumulus obviously has plans for their new network and 94.7 is the starting point.

With New York having a Country format, only San Francisco and Honolulu are the only major markets without them.

Cox..You Did It Wrong!

Personally, I would love an older skewing oldies station playing 50's and 60's music or some sort of a standards/soft AC "Dove" station, but it is nice to have finally, an alternative to a very stale sounding radio landscape in New York, with a saturation of CHR, Hot AC and AC stations. The line is so blurry anymore. While WLTW and WHTZ are at the opposite ends of that particular sound, you can hear many of the same artists on both stations.

Speaking of "Dove" stations, that’s the moniker of the ultra light AC in Tampa Bay that still plays Barry Manilow , The Carpenters and Lionel Richie and plays many 60's songs. A translator in Jacksonville, Fl on 106.1 with a huge signal signed on with that particular format a couple of weeks ago and for the people who found the station, it was a welcomed addition. They even used liners saying that "we are playing your music again". Five days after the "new format" debuted it turned into a Hip-Hop station (Power 106.1).

That is NOT the way to stunt. The few people who actually embraced the station were obviously upset, considering the new format was 180 degrees different from what they were doing. What idiot executive was responsible for that move?  Totally dumb.

I love radio. I do an oldies show Saturday mornings and play Gold-based AC during the week on WHLM in Bloomsburg. I spent 35 years at WFYY, formerly WHLM in the same market. I love traveling, especially on the cheap, and I have written a travelogue on this site (see below) last October about a $19 round trip on Megabus from Philly to San Antonio.

Another one of those is coming up this spring, and as always my ever present radio will be my constant companion.

I still find most radio very predictable with the same formatics and presentation pretty much everywhere, but every once in a while a real gem pops up. That's what I look for. Problem is, as stations keep getting gobbled up by Clear Channel and other huge corporations, that elusive different sounding station will be harder and harder to find.

Bob Gale
On The Road With The Radio On

WLS-FM Missing An Opportunity...

10/16/12

When I'm not traveling listening to radio stations, I'm at home listening to my Internet radio. Wonderful device. You punch up a call letters and for the most part the station comes up. The morning after the Biden Ryan debate I was scrolling through the top 25 markets in morning drive listening to all kinds of commentary on the top talk stations.

Three of the biggest stories this month involve WLS, WFAN and WFME. 

WLS-FM 94.7 FM switched to a Classic Hits format (dopping oldies)  the first of the month with a stellar line up of air talent that ruled Chicago in the 60's and 70's. PD Jan Jeffries promised a station that would sound unique. Problem is, with their direction to a rock-leaning station they sound like several other stations in the market, and the legendary jocks don't get a chance to really shine. Furthermore the air talent really isn't associated with the music they are playing.

After listening for a couple of hours, I found the station tough to listen to. The jingles and the imaging all harken back to the heyday of WLS AM, but the music doesn't fit. I craved a good Supremes or Temptations song to break up that late 70's-early 80's Foreigner, Journey, Boston, Eddie Money sound.

Their closest competitor, WJMK- K-HITS 104.3 FM plays similar music but they do throw in non-rock, pop leaning stuff like Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire and similar artists, but listening for over an hour, still is pretty much rock based.

 In Chicago, where do you go for artists like the Temptations, Hermans Hermits, The Dave Clark Five and Wilson Pickett? 

I guess the 60's-on-6 on SiriusXM Satellite radio or any number of internet stations. Two of the most successful oldies/classic hits stations in the country WCBS-FM and KRTH still play some 60's Motown and other selected non-rock oriented hits along with their 70's 80's centered music. That is why I was puzzled by the WLS transition.

In New York City…WFAN 660 AM/The Fan is soon to be simulcast on WFAN-FM 101.9. A logical move, considering the migration of spoken word formats to FM. New York is one of the few markets with some incredible AM signals..WFAN, WCBS,WOR,WABC and WINS and they all do fairly well. San Francisco, probably because of their hilly terrain, also does well on the AM band.

WEPN 1050 AM is another strong, yet directional AM signal in New York. Since 2001, they have been the New York ESPN station, and all those years they were trying to find an FM signal to simulcast their programming. In a unique move last April,  98.7 became available, displacing a very popular Urban AC format. In September, 1050 switched to ESPN Deportes, the Spanish feed of ESPN. Problem is,

WEPN 98.7-FM as well as all the New York FM's do not have the incredible reach of the 50K AM stations and when 1050 AM went Spanish there were a lot of people north of the city, particularly Newburgh and Poughkeepsie who couldn't hear 1050 English sports anymore. Ideally, that would have been the ideal simulcast, but ESPN wanted an outlet for Deportes.

With WFAN going to 101.9 soon, that will displace an alternative music format that has been gaining traction, WRXP. Of course for a period of almost a year, Merlin ran their ill-fated all news format on that frequency which never garnered more than a .6 share 6+. I guess Randy Michaels thought just having the format on FM would be enough. Ideally, if the station had opted for a good live and local news talk format, it might have had a chance, considering WABC is 90 percent syndicated and WOR is not far behind, but that was not to be. WCBS and WINS have been very successful for decades, and there was not really a need for a third all-news station, and one that was inferior.

The latest news out of NYC this morning is the impending sale of WFME 94.7 FM to Cumulus.  It was a long time coming, and today's announcement made it official. On 94.7 they have an incredible signal and speculation has already begun on what programming will land on 94.7. 

A simulcast of WABC?  Not a bad idea, but it would be nice if a few local talk shows would happen, maybe leaving Imus and Rush (even though he will probably be headed to WOR once Clear Channel's programming kicks in) on the AM side.  94.7 tower is located in New Jersey...maybe a country format? Now might be the time. A lot of country music is very pop and youth oriented…think Taylor Swift.  Or maybe a new rock station to replace the soon to-be-gone WRXP at 101.9. What New York does not need is another variation of CHR, Hot AC or AC.  Now 92.3 is probably the lowest performing station in the CBS cluster and they are straight-ahead CHR.

I grew up in the 60's on Long Island listening to the greatest radio ever...WMCA,WABC and WINS. I've followed New York radio through the years and am always fascinated by format changes and the reasoning behind them.

When I'm not sitting in my recliner listening to streams off my Internet radio I'm traveling on a bus or train listening to over-the-air radio. I will be on a train from Orlando to Philly on November 1.  I’m look forward to waking up around 5AM somewhere in South Carolina , heading to the lounge car, purchasing a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and scanning all the frequencies on my ever present radio on my trip North.

Bob Gale

On The Road With The Radio On

10/01/12

My two favorite things to do are traveling and listening to radio stations around the country. I worked full time at a station that was usually a current based hit music station, on the Adult Contemporary side for 35 years. After parting company at the end of 2009, I joined a station for part time work playing my favorite music..60's and 70's hits and voice tracking during the week. Working anywhere from one to three days a week gives me the opportunity to do some traveling when the mood hits me. Far from wealthy, I am very cost conscious when it comes to travel. I've taken many cross country trips on Amtrak over the last twenty years,but as I get older, I've become more cost conscious, so I've found an alternative..Megabus.

Megabus began in The UK as an alternative to higher cost modes of transportation and was launched here in 2006. It has become quite popular the last year or so with one way fares starting at $1. To snag those dollar fares you have to book at least two months in advance and travel mid week. You can only book on the Internet and to keep costs low, their bus stops are generally at street corners or in vacant lots. These are quite impressive buses..double-deckers with AC outlets at each seat, and free WiFi..when it works. After taking several of these journeys and enjoying them, I decided to book a week's vacation using Megabus as far as I could go. By examining their schedules,fares and the time between buses, I planned a trip last week from Harrisburg,Pa to San Antonio,Tx and back. The cost..$19.50..thirteen total buses, two of them costing $4 or $5, the remainder $1 and the 50 cent booking fee. I did want to spend a day in New Orleans and another in San Antonio, so I over-nighted in those cities, paying around $50 for hotels close to the Megabus stop. So..by combining my wanderlust and equipped with a portable radio, I enjoyed my two favorite things..traveling and radio and here is what I experienced:

Harrisburg,Pa..my departure point. WHP 580  is the big AM station there..Clear Channel conservative talk. Leaving on a Saturday afternoon,as most talk stations do, they were running specialty shows. Quite a few country stations,as well. Next stop..Phiadelphia with a two hour layover. The Megabus stop is three blocks from Amtrak's 30th Street station and is a convenient place to wait. Philly has four sports stations..two on AM,two on FM,and are simulcast. Philly is one of the few markets with a very successful all news station,  KYW 1060 AM which was #1 in the latest ratings. Philly,unlike New York, loves their rock stations..every variation..classic rock,alternative and mainstream,all doing well. The CBS oldies station WOGL 98.1 FM  is one of most successful in the country and recently hit #1.

Onto Washington DC through Wilmington and Baltimore, where the stop is a shopping mall. Baltimore's highest rated stations are Country and Urban. A new oldies station is on 1370AM WQLL, doing what every FM outlet does. Sounds good,but the fact it is on AM will hinder it's success. Washington DC's Megabus stop is the upper level of Union Station. It''s only three blocks from the US Capital Building. Nice three hour layover sitting outside on the steps and "dialing" the DC Radio dial. Unusual market where the top or near top rated station is an all news station on FM WTOP. Very good sounding station. Urban radio dominates here and DC is one of the few markets without an oldies/classic hits station.

The next leg of the trip is overnight into Knoxville,Tn. Most overnight Megabus rides are full and quiet. This was full, but a youth group boarded and kept most of the passengers awake through the night. They stop off I-81 in Christianburg,Va where quite a few Va.Tech students board. Many college students use Megabus. They do very little advertising. Most is word of mouth. Into Knoxville on a Sunday morning where I have a six hour layover. It was a nice day,so I head into their pedestrian mall for breakfast and a chance to relax. WIVK 107.7 in Knoxville is usually one of the highest rated country stations in the US. They also have two FM talk stations and one FM sports station.

Next stop is Atlanta, via Chattanooga. It began raining as we entered Georgia and continued raining for the next twelve hours. The Megabus stop in Atlanta is by the MARTA station and thankfully, was undercover. Atlanta has been going through a series of changes on the radio dial. Long time talker WGST 640 AM just switched to ESPN Deportes...Spanish sports and there is a new CHR. Atlanta also does not have a classic hits/oldies station. WYAY 106.7 FM switched to all-news last May. With Atlanta, the all news format is in every Top ten market, even though KRLD and WBZ do news during the daytime only.

After five hours in Atlanta, the next overnight leg into New Orleans. An eight hour trip, a full bus and the temperature inside the bus felt like a meat locker. The driver said he could not control the temperature. Traveling overnight through Montgomery and Mobile, we arrived in New Orleans on a very cool October morning. After two overnights on the bus I was ready for a bed and a shower. New Orleans is a very walkable city.  Of course, I had to have a bowl of gumbo and a walk through the French Quarter. 

I always enjoy scanning the dial during morning drive and a nice mixture of local and syndicated AM drive shows. WWL 870 AM is now on 105.3 FM, as well and there is an FM talker and a sports FM'er. Even WWL,which is basically a news talker was heavily sports oriented.

After a good night's sleep at a small hotel not far from the French Quarter it was off to San Antonio via Houston on Tuesday morning. I start at 92.1 on my listening on the bus and go through the frequencies. I heard a few Cajun music and Classic Country stations through the bayous of Louisiana. It's nice change of pace to hear these stations, as most of what's on the air is pretty standard. A nice treat is discovering one of the live small AM stations.  They usually provide entertainment, and a real feel for the town they are licensed to. Houston has an FM classic country and all news station and is the largest market without an oldies station. Heading into San Antonio, a few Tejano stations were heard...stations that play Mexican music with billingual announcers and spots.

These Boots Were Not Made for Walking!

Luby's in San Antonio

Arriving in San Antonio and another motel room. Luby's Cafeteria was across the street. Best fried chicken I've had in years. San Antonio radio features some very good news talk stations like. KTSA 550 AM and WOAI 1200 AM. Like most cities, Salem operates their conservative talker with Mike Gallagher, Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Miller. The Riverwalk is an incredible part of San Antonio. I took a nice six mile walk on Wednesday morning. Every city should have an attraction like Riverwalk..scenic,clean and very charming.

From San Antonio..on through Austin..one of the trendiest cities in the country and home to a very good Americana station, that unique blend of folk, rock and country. Unfortynately, the call letters escape me. KLBJ has live and local talk all day, save for Rush. Interestingly, at 1PM at a rest stop between Houston and San Antonio,  I heard Rush on no less than sixteen stations on my very sensitive AM tuner!  The stop for Dallas-Fort Worth is midway between the cities in Grand Prarie... It was Wednesday night and I wanted to listen to the first Presidential debate. KLIF,KRLD,KSKY and WBAP are very good talk stations and each one carried the debate followed by local analysis. KLUV is a good sounding classic hits station and the three country stations in the Metroplex sound good and very similar to each other. KAAM is a standards station at 770..one of the few in a major market and is a nice alternative to the usual formats.

San Antonio Riverwalk

Another overnight bus ride..freezing cold and crowded from Dallas to Memphis via Little Rock. Arrival in Memphis on Thursday morning. 

The radio landscape features many urban stations and a good sounding news station WREC. I wanted to hear more political talk and news so I stayed with WREC 600 AM. Like most cities, the Megabus stop is at a local transit station with locals waiting for their next bus. Leaving Memphis to Knoxville with a stopover in Nashville.The reach of WSM 650 AM is amazing. I was picking up the station in the daytime 200 miles West. They still play classic country and sound good. Of course Country is King in Nashville and the three FM country stations all sounded great..all pretty similar to each other. Like most cities, there is an FM talker and an FM sports station.

It's Thursday afternoon and we're heading to Knoxville. The scenery turns quite hilly as we head into East Tennessee. After a few hours in Knoxville it's on to Washington DC on another overnight full bus and the last legs of my trip..DC to Philly and back to Harrisburg on Friday morning,

Seven days on the bus..four overnights and two nights visiting two unique cities..New Orleans and San Antonio. After two nights on a bus I was feeling tired and a bit dazed, but after a good nights sleep, I was back to normal. I'm home again, but ready for another adventure.

It's nice to be semi retired and even without a lot of money, really do what you want..and for me it's bus and train travel and listening to the radio. I have an Internet radio which is always on, but there is still that little thrill of going through the frequencies on a radio while traveling and finding those stations!

Bob Gale
On The Road With the Radio On

Bob Gale is a on-air radio vet with more than 35 years on-air experience. Bob likes to travel and he'll keep us posted on the radio he hears.