Friday, October 3, 1997
Tuning in
RADIO: When radio listeners turn the dial to AM 1260, they’ll
get a new dose of classic
showtunes on KGIL
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
There are probably a few disappointed Beatles fans out there.
The West L.A.-based radio station KGIL (AM 1260), which played the
English foursome’s repertoire non-stop for seven months, now plays
all showtunes. All the time.
It was something of an accident, says Jim Roope, KGIL’s
operations manager and program director. After a couple of years as
an all-news station, they decided to switch to showtunes. "We
decided for a few weeks while we were putting the format together
to play Beatles – get 13 albums and rotate," Roope says. "And it
took off to the point where it became our format for seven
months."
But take heart, Beatle-philes. Broadway may not be so far from
Britain after all.
"’Till There Was You’ was from ‘The Music Man,’" Roope says.
"Everybody thought that was a Paul McCartney song. But it was
actually a showtune. Paul McCartney always considered himself a
Rodgers and Hammerstein kind of guy."
In other words, musical theater is more deeply ingrained in
mainstream music than many people realize. And KGIL, sister to the
FM classical station KKGO, honors the legacy of showtunes daily,
filling the airwaves with the compositions of Stephen Sondheim,
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kander and Ebb and more.
KGIL is in a somewhat unique position. They don’t have to adhere
to a top 40 list, like, say KIIS or KROQ. And, unlike KRTH 101, for
example, they’re not limited to a stagnant list of artists who are
retired or dead.
Still, "You could consider us an oldies station for the most
part because most of the things we play are musicals from the ’40s,
’50s, ’60s and ’70s," Roope says. "There are a few new ones out
there, but most of the new ones I can’t air because of the
language."
Roope cites lyrics in "Rent," "The Life" (a current Broadway hit
about prostitutes) and even "A Chorus Line" as unsuitable for
"family listening."
Ironically, research assistant and UCLA student Candice Zee
blames the lack of air time for such musicals on the opposite
audience. "A lot of songs have some type of cussing or profanity or
some type of language you can’t really air on the radio. Especially
when you’re playing to an audience who’s older, not as young as
us," Zee says.
KGIL hardly has to worry about dead air, though. The stations’
DJs – Gary Owens, Stephanie Edwards, Florence Henderson and Roope
himself – banter about various artists and frequently play entire
musicals at a stretch. This requires a certain level of listener
patience. Rather than the familiar bars of Paula Cole’s "Sunny Came
Home," KGIL listeners may flip on the radio and find themselves in
the middle of a complex storyline. The station also focuses on
themed slots, broadcasting a series of songs about a given
subject.
"You’ll hear a series of songs together and they’ll mean
something, whether they’re love songs or songs about coffee or
songs about marriage," Roope says. "But because musicals tell a
story, even if we play individual tracks, (we have to) tell a
story."
Recently, KGIL has played "Camelot," Kander and Ebb’s "Zorba"
and Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" from beginning to end. The
latter was the movie soundtrack rather than the stage
adaptation.
"There’s a lot of local musical theater in Los Angeles, but
because it’s Hollywood, we do a lot of film score stuff too," Roope
says.
Roope has worked at jazz, rock and oldies stations. And while
his booming voice, bushy mustache and UCLA game tickets in hand
give him the air of a good-old-boy sports fan, he can now add
musical theater to his area of expertise. And he certainly defends
the genre.
"In high schools, a lot of cultural arts programs are being cut
to make way for computers. Even the athletic programs are being cut
for dumb reasons," Roope says. "We have to keep the cultural arts
going. Musical theater being one of them, we have to get
involved."
But if intern Zee is any indication of young people’s interest
in the theater, things are going well. Zee heard about the station
and sent over her resume, impressing Roope with her vast background
knowledge.
"Until now, I wasn’t really interested in radio that much
because they didn’t really play musical theater on the radio. So
you’re always listening to CDs or tapes," says the second year
communications student.
Zee clutches the soundtrack to the movie version of "Evita."
It’s her job to list the songs on the CD and look up facts about
the recordings for the DJs to spout on the air.
"It’s a lot of research, looking through the booklets or looking
on the Internet," Zee says. "I’ve really lucked out because it’s
something I love."
Zee does lament the fact that Los Angeles is a little sparse in
its large-scale theatrical offerings, at least compared with New
York. This, coupled with excruciatingly high ticket prices, may
turn college students away from the musical theater experience.
Still, there may be hope for the youth market yet. Roope’s
children, ages 6 and 4, love visiting the station. "They got into
the Beatles," Roope says. "They’ll get into showtunes."
RADIO: KGIL AM 1260 will move to AM 1650 later this month.