PRISCILLA LEDER KZSM
Community radio celebrating the many voices of San Marcos did not begin with KZSM, and one of our newest shows draws upon local history. “Daze of Our Kind” (Saturdays 2-4 p.m.) continues the legacy of KIND radio, an unlicensed low-frequency station that operated from 1997-2000 out of founder Joe Ptak’s garage.
Host Brett Stahl named his KZSM show in honor of his own days at KIND radio. “Along with Joe Ptak, I hosted ‘Know Your Rights,’ which is very close in content to KZSM’s ‘We The People,’” he explains. KIND was an open, freewheeling medium unlimited by anything except the fertile imaginations of its creators. “It was an improv soap opera,” he recalls. “The intersections that occurred in Joe’s garage were infinite. The stories created there are endless.”
“Daze of Our Kind” features the same openness, within the FCC boundaries that come with LPFM licensed broadcasting. Stahl talks with a range of guests who exemplify San Marcos and/or KIND radio as much as possible. He also features music, preferably live, but conversation tends to dominate. “On my last show two guitar players were so into conversation that we never got to the axes,” he observes. So far, guests have been easy to find. “I have yet to host a guest-free show… if I am able to it will just be unpublished poems and musings.”
Returning to radio after a long absence presents some technical challenges, but Stahl meets them thanks to KZSM volunteer producer Joey Dunnigan, who appreciates the spirit of the broadcast. “The show gives people the chance to show their all sides of themselves without having to be limited to only their talking points,” he comments. “When those moments shine, I feel like I am sitting around a campfire going with the flow.”
Stahl looks forward to generating the free and open dialogue that characterized KIND radio when our live phone connection comes on line. “It was an essential component of KIND,” he explains.
“Daze of Our Kind” provides the chance to keep the memories and movements of San Marcos moving into the future,” he continues. “Spend and speak local,” Stahl reminds us. You can begin by going to KZSM.org and voting in the San Marcos Music Awards by the end of this week. And then join us for the gala awards ceremony on January 30 at the Price Center.
