Stephen
Page
Bob Simmons Story #1
There was this time that Tim Buckley visited the station
when it was on the Alameda. I was doing mornings at the
time and Bob, who was on from 10a - noon was set to interview
Tim who's new album, "Greetings From L.A." had
just been released.
For
those that were there you'll remember that at KOME's Alameda
location the studio was in what was probably the master
bedroom of this (at one time) grand old house and right
next to the control board was this big old transmitter monitor
that looked kind of like the obelisk from the movie 2001.
It was green and VERY, VERY dusty. I'm talking dust balls
in this thing the size of a baby's fist.
Anyway
Bob was right in the middle of his interview with Tim Buckley
when the chief engineer at the time, John Higdon, walks
into the studio and decides to clean (or do something to)
the monitor. This process involved him blowing quite forcefully
into the back of the obelisk which in turn had the effect
of causing all those dust bunnies and a huge amount of dust
that had been living there to be blown out of the other
side...and right on top of Tim Buckley.
Now
I don't remember the exact exchange that took place but
I do remember that time seemed to stand still as the dust
was coating Mr. Buckley who stopped in mid-sentence answering
a question that Bob had just asked to look around wondering
why it had just started to snow...indoors.
Bob,
who had this look of extreme horror on his face as everything
was settling on his guest...live, on the air...was first
to react, yelling out John's name in kind of a sickened
and pained way. By this time Tim had realized what had happened
and was in the process of getting out of his seat mumbling
something about his foot and John's ass making some sort
of cosmic connection.
Higdon,
oblivious to what was taking place on the other side of the
monitor, finished his dusting, turned around and walked out
as if nothing had happened. This had the effect of causing
both Bob and Tim to stop in mid-action, look at each other,
sit down and finish the interview. Tim was dusty and Bob was
probably wishing he was working in San Francisco.
John Higdon's Reply to Story Above
The
whole reason I was there (and I was NEVER oblivious) was
because some air-person couldn't figure out how to work
something. I tried to explain it on the phone, but whoever
it was refused to work with me on the phone and demanded
that I come down to the station (on a Sunday, as I recall)
and hold his hand.
John (I-still-get-called-on-Sundays) Higdon
KOME
was a radio station in San Jose, California, heard at 98.5
FM from 1971 thru 1998.
Found
at the Ted
Copulos website
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