LAKE COUNTY ? Membership nearly doubled Saturday for Lake County”s community radio station, 88.1 KPFZ-FM, during the station”s one-year anniversary of going on the air as a full-power station.
Programmers pitched “making a sound investment” all day between 7 a.m. and midnight, urging callers to keep the radio station going by making a one-time donation and purchasing a yearlong membership. Station Manager Andy Weiss said the station”s goal was to get 100 new members, with memberships ranging between $20 and $200.
“We made our goal at five minutes after midnight early Sunday morning. It was really exciting for us, because we really pushed it those last four or five hours,” Weiss said.
The non-profit board of directors that oversees the station is Lake County Community Radio. Board President Susan Krones said she”s been with the station since it started in 1991 as a low-power station that didn”t reach all of Lake County. Now, she said the station has come a long way, but still has far to go.
“It”s a forum for people to talk about local issues, and that”s really important. People need an outlet to talk about what”s going on in Lake County. Also, you can”t hear what I play on any other radio station; you certainly can”t hear it on commercial radio,” Krones said.
Krones plays Celtic music between noon and 2 p.m. Sundays on her show, “Celtic Collage.”
The station also features talk shows on topics ranging from politics to cooking to auto mechanics. Jim Brown of the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks hosts “Tribal Voices.”
Upper Lake resident Conrad Kiczenski hosts “Guerilla Radio,” where he uses music and talk to voice his political views about “individual sovereignty,” which he said is about challenging the political authority of centralized government.
“Bobby G.” Garcia reads poetry, essays, letters and newspaper articles in Spanish and English, as well as conducting live interviews during his radio show, “Salsa Pa Ti.” He said the name means “salsa for you” in English.
“Sometimes it”s sweet, sometimes it”s in the middle, sometimes it”s hot, sometimes it”s sour,” Garcia said.
Sandra Wade, Lake County Poet Laureate from 2006-08, focuses on literature during her program, “Accent on Words,” on Mondays at 2 p.m.
Krones said the station is always looking for new programmers, and has more fundraisers and community events planned for the year. For more information, call the station”s office at 263-3640.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
