Swing, R&B & Ballroom at an Asian Wedding for 600!

Asian brides and grooms are often afraid that the guests at their weddings won’t dance, but that never happens to our bands!

Why? Because we set tempos people can dance to. The guests realize immediately that they can trust us, and before long they are gliding around the floor like pros. And some of the guests at a recent Asian wedding for 600 we performed for actually were pros.

They especially enjoyed ballroom dancing: rhumbas, cha cha’s, waltzes, foxtrots and lindys. Some were really accomplished swing dancers.

Right before the DJ was to take over, the crowd decided our little jazz quartet to play “The Chicken Dance” instead of waiting for the DJ to play it.

Huh?

So of course the band played it. For twenty minutes. BIG hit!

There isn’t a recording in the world that can keep “The Chicken Dance” going for twenty minutes — or speed it up as fast as we did at the end. We do the same thing with the hora…more about that another time….

After that, there was no going back to standards, jazz, ballroom or even swing.

They wanted “YMCA.” The DJ didn’t have it. So the band played that, too. For about a half hour – or at least it seemed like a half hour.

I’ve added “The Chicken Dance” to our song list.

And I think we are now qualified to perform “YMCA “better than The Village People.

Hey, we’re real musicians! We can do things CD’s can’t.

And no, we don’t have a video of it.

Because you’re supposed to get rid of something when you add something, I decided to remove “Brick House” and “Celebration” from our list. So cheesy.

I did leave “I Will Survive” and “Copacabana” on the list. I love those tunes!

Just, please….don’t ask us to play “The Macarena.”

We don’t know the words!

Bandleader Judy Chamberlain once played “YMCA” three times in the same night for revelers at a New Year’s Eve party who claimed the song was their ‘club anthem.’

Old Hollywood Wedding Music

“Live and Judy are always better in my book!”

My Champagne flute runneth over….

Here are excerpts from my mailbox:

Message:
I am looking for a great variety of music. As i looked over the list of sounds and musical eras you have managed to expertly and gracefully cover, this is something I have dreamed of at my wedding reception. If you can email with the necessary information, availability and the cost of your services it would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Alexis

And another…..

Message:
Judy, I hope that you remember us; Alina and I were privileged enough to
have you and your band perform at our wedding and reception in Long Beach
in May of last year. Since then (as you knew) I deployed to Iraq, and have returned with a little
less hearing in my right ear, but otherwise unscathed.

We have pictures! And I would love to send you a series of pictures for
your office, and also any e-pictures that you would like for your website.
Please send me an address, so I can send you a set of thank you pictures
for you. You were the best!

Very respectfully,

Rob Peters

And another……

Hi Judy,

Bill & I finally decided on ceremony music. I am including some youtube links to the music as we liked it–tempo-wise. Of course, we are interested in your version of the songs beyond the clips we are sending!!

Beyond these three songs, if you would like to sprinkle era/stylistically supportive tunes leading up to the ceremony, that would be wonderful…

I will compile a big list of songs we are thinking of burning to cd so we can see if you were planning to play some of them instead. Live and Judy is always better in my book!

🙂
So excited,
Heather

And an interesting phone conversation:

BRIDE: Hi Judy. I’m calling to talk about our first dance. You know the song we’re doing.
ME: I sure do.
BRIDE: We just aren’t dancers. Can you make the song shorter, maybe find a way to keep it at around a minute?
ME: Of course. We’re a live band. We can do anything.
BRIDE: The dance instructor said to tell you she thinks the right tempo is about 36 measures a minute. Can we stop after a minute or so? Can you find a way to end the song after a minute?
ME: OK, let’s work on that. How about if I sing the song right now for you at a few different tempos and we time the different versions with a stop watch?
BRIDE: Great!
ME: I get 30 measures per minute if we slow it down a bit and about 34 at the tempo of the original recording. And one time through — using just one chorus of the song — brings you to about a minute and a half. We can stop there if you like. Not do a cheesy DJ ‘fade out,’ but a nice ending. Are you learning a ‘routine’ or ballroom ‘moves.’
BRIDE: We thought it would be better to learn some steps, so that’s what we’re doing.
ME: Good.
BRIDE: I keep thinking I am going to fall or something.
ME: I hear this all the time, you know. Everyone is scared, especially during the first chorus. And after that most people stop grimacing and looking tense and whispering instructions to each other, and really start dancing. Because they have figured out that the ‘worst’ is over and by then they’re actually having fun!
BRIDE: After the first chorus, you mean?
ME: Exactly. But if you’re not enjoying yourself and you don’t want to go on, we’ll end the song after one chorus.
BRIDE: I can just throw you a look, right?
ME: Absolutely. I’ll be watching your every move. We can slow down in the middle of the song, speed up in the middle of the song, or just end the thing. But best case scenario, you’ll end up having a blast and the photgrapher will get some wonderful pictures.
BRIDE: I really like that.
ME: Do you feel better now? Not so scared?
BRIDE: I do.
ME: You should have a big ending, too. Maybe a dip.
BRIDE: I think we can do that!
ME: Have fun with the rest of your lessons, and please let me know how you’re doing.
BRIDE: I will. And I really do feel better. I think it will be a lot of fun, actually.

I love helping people plan special things.
Welcome home, Rob. I can’t wait to see the pictures.

A California Beach Wedding with Live Music!

A recent wedding celebration at a distinctive California beach venue made good use of live music. Vintage, Old Hollywood swing and jazz, some Motown and a hefty side order of anything that was ever played in an Audrey Hepburn movie were the order of the day and evening.

I LOVED this wedding! Lots of humor and wit, a bride and groom with delightful taste in music and all-around superb communication despite time constraints….it was a great collaboration!

“No Macarena,” the bride had told me.

“Sinatra. And lots of swing music. And some Elvis, Beatles…and ‘Sweet Caroline’ as a surprise for my fiance, who is a Boston Red Sox fan.”

They would do their first dance after dinner. They wanted a gracious pace, but most of all they wanted their guests to have a lot of fun.

Both from traditional Asian families, they would be making two costume changes during dinner, and visiting with each table in the large ballroom. The music would be vintage, but also upbeat and entertaining.

With an Alice In Wonderland theme, a Mad Hatter Tea Party candy station and a lovely California beach setting, we could have gone in a lot of directions with the music.

Which is exactly what the band did!

The bride thought the guests would be dancers – and they were!

Sometimes, a vital part of our job as musicians is to “provide cover.” If the costume changes take longer than expected — or the ceremony is an hour late in starting, for instance, which has happened — nobody knows the difference because we’re there playing this great live music…..

But this wedding was smooth and flawless, from beginning to end.

The ceremony was especially gorgeous, and made wonderful use of the couple’s mutual love of old movies.

Because I knew that the bride loved Audrey Hepburn, I had suggested that they might like the theme from a movie Hepburn made in the late 1960’s with Albert Finney, “Two For The Road.”

They liked it so well that they decided to use the words from the song for their wedding vows!

More Audrey Hepburn: the bride came down the aisle to “Funny Face.”

It was fabulous!

“I was watching the whole thing,” one of the florists told me.

“It was amazing,” she said “The bride and groom and the band seemed to be working as one.”

I liked that, because it so captured the essence of what we do.

Since everything we play is completely live, we can “time” a walk down the aisle for maximum drama.

For their first dance, the copule waltzed to another Audrey Hepburn movie tune, “Moon River.”

And then “Besame Mucho” — and a bunch of swing and rock and even some old “doo-wop” like “Since I Don’t Have You.”

There was a lot of dancing, and the costume changes were a big hit.

“Sweet Caroline” was an interactive hit, just as the bride had planned it – and a big surprise to the groom. also as planned.

The band reprised “Two For The Road” for the last dance.

I can’t wait to see the pictures.

Some things are priceless.

Al Viola: Guitarist Hitched His Wagon to a Star Named Sinatra. Can we be Frank?

When my great good friend and musical colleague Al Viola — who played guitar on every album Frank Sinatra recorded from 1956 to 1980 — passed away last year, the jazz world lost one of its greatest musicians

At 87, his nimble fingers were as fast as ever. His “chops” were so strong that you could hardly see his hands move.

I worked with him several weeks before he died, and he never missed a note. He played as well that night as he had when he’d been at the top of his career, a Los Angeles studio musician in a small league that barely exists anymore — when music was real, and real musicians played it.

Al took good care of himself, drank a lot of red wine and never developed arthritis. His fabulous late wife Glenna took good care of him, too. And he took good care of us, the lucky ones who got to work closely with him.

He cared so much, and he gave so much of himself.

Bobby Troup, the pianist and composer best known for writing “Route 66,” used to say that if Al was your friend you really didn’t need any others.

Al mostly played rhythm guitar in the Sinatra band, because that was the sound that Sinatra liked. But he could play anything. Melodies, bossa novas, his own version of flamenco; he was a chameleon. He could sound like anyone or anything the job called for. Years after playing many of the tracks on the Sinatra/Jobim albums that were credited to Antonio Carlos Jobim, Al was given formal credit for his work.

He played on Sinatra’s Acadamy Award-winining song, “All The Way. And he also played the mandolin on “The Godfather” theme for that movie’s soundtrack, which won an Academy Award.

The mandolin is in a museum in Reseda. I was fond of joking onstage that while the museum might have had the mandolin, I still had Al.

It was always a thrill to hear him “comping” behind me, setting up the intros and outros, holding down the time, playing big fat passing chords and making music at such a high level that it could take your breath away.

We did concerts and shows and so many wonderful things together, and for the last ten years of his life he was a big part of mine. What Bobby Troup had said about his loyalty as a friend went for Al the musician, too. If Al was in your band, you didn’t need anybody else.

He could bail you out of any jam.

Sinatra turned to him one night at Royal Albert Hall in Paris and, with no other warning than saying a few words to the audience about a Cole Porter tune he was about to sing — and giving Al a “look” — indicated that he wanted guitar accompaniment instead of the usual piano backup on the song. It was as subtle as that. Al had never played the song alone with Sinatra before, had never rehearsed it with him and was racking his brain trying to come up with the right key to start setting it up in. Only a split second passed before he remembered hearing Sinatra do the song, “Night and Day” with Sinatra at Jilly’s in New York a few weeks earler.

Before Sinatra had finished his sentence, Al was well into the introduction — in the right key.

It was a very famous moment in the concert litany of Francis Albert Sinatra.

The Los Angeles Times writer who worked on Al’s obituary knew about the duet and asked me why, on that night in Paris in 1962, Sinatra had turned to Al instead of having Bill Miller play “Night and Day.”

The reason was simple. Sinatra had noticed during the set that the piano at Royal Albert Hall was out of tune.

Al, however, was playing a very IN tune guitar, an exquisite handmade gut string instrument that Sinatra had just commissioned in Spain and presented to him on the tour.

Of course, Sinatra knew that Al would have no trouble “faking” an introduction and accompaniment to that song — or any song. He knew literally thousands of them, in all sorts of genres including rock and roll, which he played with me often.

“Don’t tell nobody,” he would say.

“Learn tunes,” Al would tell anyone who asked him for the “best advice” he could give aspiring musicians.

Like me, he was the ultimate “tune geek.” He loved being out on a limb with me, loved the vast repertoire, and the suspense of not knowing what I was going to do next. If he’d ever heard something, he could play it. He had perfect pitch, perfect “time” — and he knew the history and the words to everything. It was impossible to “stump” him.

He could stay up all night, moving over to play the piano on an empty stage after everyone was gone and the “younger” members of the band had long deserted us. “Hey, Cookie.” he’d say. “Remember this one? Just one more….”

The consummate studio musician, Al turned up on everybody’s records. The notoriously difficult-to-record Julie London was putty in his accompanistic hands. Wierd Al Yankovich used Al on his albums, and Paul Simon had him sweeten guitar licks on “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” That’s Al on the “West Side Story” soundtrack. And “Blazing Saddles,” and so many more.

One night, yawning thru the umpteenth time I’d seen “Kiss Me Kate,” I sat bolt upright, realizing that one of the oddly-dressed musicians in the scene where Ann Miller sings and dances to “Too Darned Hot” was Al.

“I thought I knew about everything you’ve ever done, but I saw you in a movie I hadn’t known about last night,” I teased him the next day. “So you’ve been holding out on me.”

“Oh yeah?,” he shot back. “How did you know it was me?”

“You think I wouldn’t recognize you even with black hair, and in a matador suit?” I chided him.

“Don’t tell nobody,” he said.

People used to ask Al why he hadn’t more aggressively pursued a careed as a virtuoso guitarist, seeking fame and fortune for himself. He easily had the talent to have done so.

“I hitched my wagon to a star named Sinatra,” he would tell them.

“It took me all over the world, and I had a great career.”

Al never complained, never let on that he was losing his battle with cancer, even when the end was very near. He was a purist in all things, from love of the music and the homage and respect he paid to the composer and the melody to his loyalty and integrity …and his desire to make things easier for those around him, not harder.

The first thing he ever said to me, on the first gig we did together was: “Where do you want me to sit, Cookie?”

I can’t believe you’re gone, Al. I thought you’d be here forever.

Talk soon, ok?

Al Viola has left the building.

Don’t tell nobody.

Vintge, Retro Old Hollywood Glam: A Malibu Wedding

Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. A romantic, old-fashioned wedding. Fabulous!

The setting: A private estate at Trancas Beach, north of Malibu, Zuma Beach and Point Dume. WAY out there, on that rugged part of the California Coast that’s as gorgeous as it gets.

The event: An absolutely spectacular, old-fashioned, formal wedding! Vintage, retro Old Hollywood, Old Malibu glamour to the max! Pure perfection.

The wedding coordinator: Avesta Carrera of Malibu Events – the consummate, elegant party planner.

The music: US, of course! One of my small but mighty Los Angeles wedding bands extraordinaire, The Judy Chamberlain Quintet – playing the music of Rogers and Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.

It’s all swing to us and — as Frank Sinatra once said — “it’s the best music ever written.”

The festivities began with a 90 minute “seating music” concert by our classical duo in the courtyard of the estate, playing the bride’s choices of unusual, intense and intricate symphonic music. No Pachelbel or Lohengrin for this lady, though! Big fun, and the selections truly delighted and surprised the guests.

The continuity of a smooth transition from one style of music to another is a beautiful thing. It’s one of our specialties.

During cocktails, the guests enjoyed jazz and bossa nova live guitar music while the classical duo moved over to the beautifully decorated garden and became the core of the evening’s jazz and swing band.

Tables for ten and twelve had been set up to capture the ocean views and the starlight that was beginning to surround the guests in the romantic mist.

Launching into the bride’s grandparents’ favorites like “There’s A Small Hotel,” “The Blue Room,” “Tea For Two,” “Tangerine” and “Night and Day,” we discovered tha the younger guests were enthralled with the music, too.

Ballroom dancing to the standards of the Great American Songbook is hip again. Of course, to us, it never went out of style!

I was delighted to see the grandparents, who are in their nineties, out on the dance floor.

And some really younger guests, little ones with their shoes off, enjoyed trotting around the dance floor.

A beautiful bride, a handsome groom….and memories that will last forever.

The song may be ended for now, but the melody lingers on…..

Live Music for an Asian Wedding: “Your Band MADE My Wedding!”

Sometimes the families and guests at Asian weddings are shy about dancing in public. Here is a letter I especially treasure from a recent Asian bride who was afraid her father would not dance:

Hey Judy,

The whole band was great. They were so talented! Sam and I loved the band because we could tell that they love what they do. As you know it makes a difference when one puts a soul into music makes that much differnce. That is the difference between the band that you provided vs other bands out there. Not only did they put their best effort into singing but they put their souls into singing. We as musicians, Sam and I loved it.

Sam kept saying how beautiful the wedding turned out to be thanks to the band. He didn’t like the quartet that we had hired thru someone else for the ceremony very much because they were there to get their hours clocked in and out. On the other hand, your band gave us so much, even after the wedding was over and the guests had left because Sam and I wanted to have a dance to ourselves. Sam and I danced to “It Had To Be You” and “La Vie En Rose” all to ourselves. Everyone was gone but ONLY Sam and I had that dance. It felt so special to have a dance floor to ourselves and no one else. It felt like I was part of the movie. Sam kept prasing about what a difference the band made for us. Most of people who had a wedding told me they wished they would have saved money somewhere but we said we will exactly spent the money the same way and have it no other way Because it was just perfect.

Judy, all my girl friends cried when i was dancing with my dad. I was crying and my Dad was crying and when he was crying he said “I am so proud of you, for just being you. I can’t ask for a better daughter.” I still get tearful thinking about my dad. I know that moment will always stay with me in my heart. I told my dad “I love you very much and thank you for raising me and thank you.” We danced to “What A Wonderful World” from the beginnig to end. My friend whose dad just passed away, she told me “It was so beautiuful but heartbreaking at the same time and I was just thinking about my dad” and my other friend who had such a hard time with her own dad because of their differences, she said “helen, you dancing with your father really hit me home, I wish one day I can be like you and your dad” And Sam said “When you were dancing with your dad, i was so tearful. I was trying my best not to cry but it was really hard watching you and dad crying it is so heartbreaking” It was really touching.

I think your band made my wedding day so special that no one else ever could have done it. Judy. They were everything you said they would be, and more. I am so thankful to you and your band for making my wedding day so memorable. I heard so many compliments from my relatives and friends.

I saved a couple of mugs for you from our wedding favors. My brother made them. They are so clever. You and I have good sense of humor i thought you might enjoy them too. Hopefully you have received them.

Please send me some of your cards. Now that I am in the real estate business people will be asking for a lot of referrals. I have several friends who are not married. AND THEY LOVED your band. So I want to hold onto your business cards and refer you.

Love you dearly,
Helen Park

A McCharles House Wedding: Vintage Nostalgia

Retro and romantic music is one of my specialties, so I was thrilled when Audrey and Vivian Heredia phoned to tell me that their fabulous McCharles House was reopening as a wedding and events venue and invited me to be their exclusive music provider.

I’ve known Audrey and Vivian, who are mother and daughter, for 23 years. They encouraged and applauded my career as a restaurant critic, Op Ed, features and society columnist for The Orange Coast Daily Pilot, The L.A. Times and The Daily Breeze, sent handmade wreaths to my house at holiday time and calmed my nerves with homemade chocolate cake when I was learning how not to look like an idiot on-camera for the “Savoire Fare” restaurant segments The Orange County News Channel recruited me to write, produce and appear in for many years.

I have always been one of Audrey and Vivian’s their biggest fans, and welcomed opportunities to feature them often in my signature ocnow.com “Best of Orange County” lists. Many a lovely afternoon was spent at McCharles House in the company of colleagues and friends at book-signing events and soirees. …and our family dined often at McCharles House after church on Sundays. My husband, an avid gardener, loves McCharles House’s abundant “curb appeal.”

McCharles House has a heart. In exchange for asking guests to respect the buildings and grounds of this gorgeous private setting, the venue offers reasonably-priced rental and catering fees along with an experience that is all about style, luxury, glamour and romance.

Anchored by an 1885 Queen Anne Victorian house that has been featured in dozens of publications like Victoria, Cottages and Bungalows, Bon Apetit and Romantic Homes, the internationally-acclaimed McCharles House now features two additional wedding settings, the Craftsman Era Spequoia Lodge and an outdoor Summerhouse. All are surrounded by formal, yet wild and natural organic gardens. Ralph Lauren would be right at home shooting his ads here.

The vintage, nostalgic music I’ve researched for many years and especially enjoy performing is perfect for the look and “feel” of this venue! In an old fashioned garden….

In this garden – and everywhere on the McCharles property, artistic and culinary skills, sensible simplicity, gracious hospitality and uncompromising standards are alive and well.

It’s all too, too delightful, delicious and de-lovely. Call Vivian!

The McCharles House and Gardens, 335 South C Street Tustin, California 92780
Telephone: 714.731.4063

Judy Chamberlain Quartet at Spazio, Saturday July 26

The Judy Chamberlain Quartet performs at Spazio Jazz Supper Club in Sherman Oaks Saturday July 26. Join us at the delightful Spazio, consistently voted one of the top 100 jazz clubs in America. The food is wonderful! Chef Eli has just introduced a new menu. His cuisine is always chock full of fresh ingredients: lobster, seasonal vegetables, fruits, nuts – all the things I adore. Alan Broadbent, Anthony Wilson, Jeff Hamilton and Mose Allison are among the many legendary artists who have entertained here. If you’re making a reservation, ask to be seated near the band!

Saturday, July 26
The Judy Chamberlain Quartet
Featuring the inimitable drummer Gerry Gibbs (son of famed vibraphonist Terry Gibbs)
Spazio Jazz Supper Club
14755 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, Ca 91403
818 728-8400

Judy Chamberlain’s Radio Daze

I lifted this very cool article from Paul Sakrison’s website! It’s from the archives of another lifetime, reminding me of my hilariously checkered past as on-air talent at KIK-FM as well as other Southland radio and TV stations – including K-OCEAN 103.1 FM and the Orange County News Channel (or OCN University, as we called it)….to see the graphics, Click here: Sakrison.com – KIK-FM/KMXN-FM

KIK-FM
(now KMXN)
94.3 MHz
Garden Grove (Anaheim), CA

I Was There:
1981-1998

Station Information:
Freq: 94.3 MHz
Power: 3,000 Watts ERP
Height/DA: 249′ HAAT, 370′ AMSL
Class: A
City Of License: Garden Grove, CA
TX Site: Former Bank of America Building at The City (now called “The Block of Orange”)
Format: Country while I was there, recently switched to Hot AC then Alternative Rock

Owner: Orange Broadcasting Corp. div. of Astor Broadcast Group (N. Arthur Astor, Pres.)
GM/Stn Mgrs: Art Astor, Michael Means, Richard MacIntosh, Richard Lyons,
CEs: Paul Sakrison
PDs: Steve Thomas, John Dzima, Chris Adams (Adam Smith), Bob Harvey, Don Jeffrey, Jon Prell , Greg Edwards, Craig Powers, Frank Santangelo,
SMs: Jim Votaw, Michael Means, Bill Martinez, Mitch Seigal, Grace Madrigal, Peri Corso, Jeanette Medrano,
Engineers: Greg Ogonowski before I started, Richard _ Asst. (for about 6 month), Rick Hunt after I left
Talent: Judy Able, Chris Adams (“Cadillac Cowboy” /”Cad” /”Cheese”), Don Allen, Tom Anthony (Winston “Joe” Burnette), Dave Anthony (Steve Coyne), Jack Attack (Jack Scalfani), Mike Bennett (Mike Carlucci) , Sue Binswanger (News), Frank Cisco (Frank Santangelo), Kim Cooper, Brian “Bubba” Cowan, Dave Dame, Terry Driscoll (news), Carrie Dunne, John Dzima, Mike “Bike” Edwards (Mike Mesmer), Jack Elloitt (news), Brenda Franklin, Randy Jim Hamilton (Randy Trom), Bob Harvey, Dave Hull, Linda Jean, “Don Jeffrey” Smith, Billy The Kid (Bill Schust), Lyle Kilgore (news), Keith (“with no teeth”) Lewis (news), Christine Martindale, Ford Michaels (Clifford Mullins), Bill Nesbitt, Ken O’Connor, Manny Pacheco, Sean Parr, Liz Pennington, Ed Perry, Craig Powers, Jon Prell, Gene Price, Byron Ray, Razz (Steve Brazill), Dick Riley (Richard Renkus), Mark Robinson, Eva Ross, Mark The Shark (Mark McKay), Taz (Mark Allen Graves), Steve Thomas (Randy Anderson), Marshall Thomas, Charlie Tuna, Rich Walcoff, Scott West (Scott Lockwood/Fred Krebs), Marina Wilson, Peter ??? (Leonidas Jonasson), Lawyer Lloyd (Lloyd Charton), Kent Smith, Bill Thomas, Judy Chamberlain, Wally George, Sharon Kathon (News), Dominick Garcia (“Donnie Lee”), Ricci Filliar, John Hall (Sports), Steve Kelley, Mark McKay, Ed Mann, Rich Watson, Bob Allen, Billy “The Kid” Schust, Russ Bollinger (Raiders Sports Talk), Bryan Emerson, Scott Hayden, Terry Snead, Bruce Ward, Pam King,
Sales: Michael Means, Grace Madrigal, Sherrie Orr, Garth Stern, Tom Jabinowski, Dave Shaffer, Randall DeSalvo, Peri Corso, Stu Levy, Cherie Mills, Bill Martinez, Jim Herz, Maureen “Mo” Mackie, Virginia Sibley, Rick Herrick, Patricia Munster, Marcie Shubert, Mary Stanley, Carolyn Smit, Gary Dulkowski, Bob Ranaldi, Linda Warren Dzima, Joe Cochrane, Peggy Valenzuela, Jennifer Bennett, Laura Luthe, Eric Stranger(?), Garth Stern, Kathleen Roberts, Stephanie Mallon, Tony Renfro, David Winters, John Davis, Bill Gudelman, Rick Herrick, Annamarie Joyce, Patricia Lusin, Cindy Cooley, Jennifer Rivard, Jamie Trivison,
Office/Others: Susan Burke (Exec. VP), Joann Lais (Office Mgr), Laura Astor Dame (Promotions), Johanna Flores (Traffic), Nancy Miles (Traffic), Susan Bradley (Office Mgr.), Sonia Williams (Controller), Fred “Bud” Freeman (Transportation Mgr.), Louise Fox (Office Mgr.), Michelle Osborne (Receptionist), Maria _ (Sales Secy), Greg Sipple (Car Guy), John _ (Car Guy), Steve Knoll (Traffic), _ Bustamonte (Traffic), _ _ (Traffic who married Wally George), Jeri Burrows, Trish _ (Office Mgr), Rosemary _ (Office Mgr), Kaz Neavill (Receptionist), Jill _ (Receptionist), Michelle Osborne (Reception),
Vehicles: KIK Wagon (’72 Ford station wagon, KIK Van (’84 Dodge Van), KIK Country Cruiser (’96 motor home with studio)
Call Letter History: KGGK, KTBT, KORJ, KIKF, KMXN

KIK-FM (actual call letters KIKF) was a Class-A, 3,000-watt FM station licensed to Garden Grove, CA. Its transmitter is still located atop the 20-story office building near the 22 freeway at The Block of Orange. When I started there in mid-1981, the studios were on the 14th floor and the transmitter was in the Generator Room on the roof.
KIK-FM New Studio in Anaheim
This is the current Control Room I built in 1997. The original console was and Autogram RTV-20 that came from KTID in San Rafael, CA when we sold it. It was replaced with a Wheatstone and the RTV-20 moved (again) to the Remote Studio at The Block, an upscale outdoor shopping mall in Orange at the base of the building the tranmitting tower is on. More current pictures here.

KIK-FM 1982-1997 Studio Entrance
Control Room on right, Coference Room/Public Affairs Studio on left. This was the location of KIK-FM from 1982-1997.

KIK-FM 1982-1997 Control Room
Scott West (Scott Lockwood)

KIK-FM 1982-1997 Control Room
From Central Hallway

KIK-FM 1982-1997 Control Room Console
Hank Landsberg made this console in his garage. It is Serial Number 3. There once was one of these at KIQQ, as well. One of the later Gregg Labs version of this mixer is in storage at KWIZ-FM.

KIK-FM 31′ Mobile Studio
The KIK Country Cruiser had a studio in the rear former bedroom, 2 analog cellphones, Telex wireless microphone system could broadcast from anywhere with Cellular service, including driving on the freeway.

KIK-FM Van

KIK-FM Conference/Public Affairs Room
served double duty holding Sales meetings and talk show talent. Just to the right is the Production Studio.

KIK-FM Music Library
Lots of LPs were dubbed to the dreaded MusiCarts.

More KIK-FM Pictures – Click Here The station had switched to Country about six months before I was hired. The music was being played from reels on an IGM 500 automation system that included two 48-tray Instacarts. There was a 25-Hz encoder and a Teac tape deck hooked up to the stereo in Program Director Steve Thomas’ office that was used to record the tapes. After I started, KIK started buying carts to record the music onto. Eventually, all of the music was played from carts and the IGM 500 was shipped off to Barrett Associates in Oceanside for consignment sale. We bought a huge 1280-cart rack to put the carts in to.

The next project was to plan for and move the offices and studios downstairs to the adjacent 2-story Financial Center, Suite 183. The photos on this page show this compact but very functional suite. Michael Means was Sales Manager and Station Manager for many years there and the station had its greatest success in the little Suite 183. I think it had about 1,850 square feet. In the early ’90s, another 900 square feet was added next door, but we never cut through between the spaces.

For about a year and a half in 1994-1996, KIK simulcast with the 94.3 in San Fernando, which was owned by Jack Siegal’s Chagal Communications and LMA’ed to us. The synchronization system designed to lock the two signals together was not effective enough to eliminate the co-channel interference between them. The call letters during the LMA were KYKF and the offices were at the old KGIL Studios/AM transmitter site in North Hills, which was owned by Saul Levine. KYKF is now owned by the Libermans and broadcasts in Spanish with the call letters KBUA.

Also during this time KIK’s morning man was the legendary Charlie Tuna. He was a pleasure to work with, is the consummate professional and is very kind. For almost a year he broadcast his morning show from a tiny DJ booth at Universal Citywalk whose equipment was less than reliable. Then he did his show from the old KGIL Production studio that was part of the office space we were renting for KYKF.

1995 brought the addition of the KIK Country Cruiser, a 31-foot motor home whose rear bedroom I tore out and refit as a mobile studio. I worked on it mostly at home and my wife still tells everyone about having the mobile studio in our driveway for a month.

In 1997, KIK-FM had to move to new digs because The City Shopping Center was shut down and the whole complex, except for the office building where the transmitter is, was being torn down to be replaced by The Block of Orange. After a lot of looking and space planning we found an 18,000 square foot space at 1045 S. East Street in Anaheim. This was large enough to accomodate about 2/3 of Art’s cars (he had about 100 at the time), an antique radio museum and enough office space to cover any forseeable growth. The Control Room and Production Room were huge and look east out floor-to-ceiling glass. The station is still there today. It is a real showcase.

KIK had some interesting and notable talent over the years in addition to Charlie Tuna. Gene Price spent several years in the morning slot. Lyle Kilgore did morning news in the early 80s. With his voice and delivery, he could skip a line of copy and you would think it was you. KIK first PD, Steve Thomas, had a lot of talent, but had less luck in his personal life. One night at the original Crazy Horse Saloon, he asked his wife to stand up and then introduced her as his “future ex-wife”. When we were building out Suite 183, he ran an audio line from Art’s office to his office. The line was never hooked up and Steve’s end wound up inside a wall after the wall’s location had to be changed

Los Angeles Times Jazz Critic’s “Pick” Of The Week

Los Angeles Times

February 10, 2008

Judy Chamberlain

Spazio
14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

CRITIC’S CHOICE
Thank you, Don Heckman! The esteemed LA TImes Jazz Critic gave us the ONLY “Jazz Pick Of The Week” in Los Angeles for Valentine’s 2008! He wrote:

“What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than hearing a singer who is almost guaranteed to know your favorite love song, no matter how obscure it may be. Add to that Chamberlain’s convincing authenticity with styles reaching from torch songs and rock to jazz and bossa nova. Toss in the lusty tenor saxophone sound of Azar Lawrence, add a Valentine-slanted five course dinner, and you’ve got a romantic evening to remember.” (D.H.)

Thursday, February 14: 8 p.m.

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