My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--February 2016

February 1st 1978 was a Saturday, the beginning of decades of a different way to listen to rock and roll on the radio in North Iowa. It was the day KZEV-FM went on air for the first time. For two days nobody spoke a word, no advertising was run, nothing but rock, not just the top 40, in fact a lot of it was music nobody had heard before. It was new and exciting, fun and a group of announcers and personalities that had been hand picked by the owner/salesman/morning man, the Mad Hatter aka Darryl Hensley. Along with the Hatter in the mornings was Kent Fletcher, Brad Johnson, the late great Jackson F.Wilcox and the Hatter's invisible on air friends. Bob Ellefsen, Denny DeWard, the "disco duck", and myself. We signed off at midnight, or around then, depending on how much fun I was having.

It was a textbook case of let's see what we can get away with...one of the things most people remember is (if the FCC regulations haven't expired, I will deny this), he loved to put someone on the air on the phone without them knowing, he had particular fun with overseas operators (kids ask your folks about operators and the phone company). For a long time he tried to contact Idi Amin an Ugandan dictator who was in the news a lot at the time, but because of the time difference there was never anyone there, so he would chat with the operator.

One of my favorites was when he put through a call to the State Department after having read an article on the US government was auctioning off some old battleships. In the conversation with the woman at the office he said he'd like to submit a bid, she asked him what did he want with it the Hatter told her he wanted to put it in Clear Lake to bring the level up. She wondered how he would get it to North Iowa and he told her he would cut it up, ship it and put it back together again.

Before the station went on the air the Hatter had been meeting with local merchants and business people and started putting into motion what would become the Winter Dance Party at the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, a venue that was, twenty years after that winter night still in operation and having groups play there on a regular basis. Much more on this coming up.

January of 1981, at the same moment Ronald Reagan was being sworn into office I was getting my first pink slip from the Z. The Program Director told me has listened the previous night and didn't hear a song he recognized...

A couple of years later the Hatter called and asked if I would consider coming back to the station and I said sounds good and that was the beginning of the Night Train which would run into 1987, but by then there was a new owner. I still say it was the most fun I ever got paid to have, and my life would not be anything like it is today if it wasn't for him.

One year into it's existence KZEV announced a concert at the legendary Surf Ballroom to remember the "day the music died" by showing that rock and roll not only didn't die it thrived. The first Buddy Holly tribute as it was originally known was a one night only event, and nobody knew what was going to happen, had no idea how many tickets would sell and how far away anybody would travel to the city in February for the show. Arrangements had been made at the hotel, trailers had been rented for dressing rooms for the artists and Wolfman Jack. The show was sponsored by a number of local businesses, promotion was done and the Surf was thrown back to the era with classic rock and roll from Jimmy Clanton, the Drifters, original Hollie Niki Sullivan, Del Shannon, a great rock band from Mpls. The White Sidewalls and a Mason City Band, Corn Fed. Even though Wolfman Jack was the emcee of record the Hatter was everywhere that night. By the second year it was sold out and continues to be year after year. The station and the event got national and global attention and it became a yearly party to have the artists come by the radio station for a media day. As many reporters as could fit into the building gathered together for interviews and photo ops. The early shows were actually recorded and broadcast live which led to some colorful moments. The second tribute was headlined by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band and was a very long night, nobody had really set any kind of time limits for the early bands and so by the time Rick Nelson came out it was long after midnight, he rocked the house down.

All these years later the weekend draws people from around the world most notably the English Buddy Holly Memorial Society. It has evolved into not just a three night fun fest but a week of special events related to the weekend. As long as people come to be a part of the history it will continue.

My special memories include getting to meet the Wolfman and Del Shannon, singing along with Randy Chesterman to all the Drifters songs, and what truly nice people the artists were. Over the years since then there have been a lot of highlights. One to remember was 1800 plus people singing along with Don Mclean on American Pie as he stood on that same stage.

Over the past 38 years I have had the pleasure of emceeing a number of shows and it still puts me in awe to be in that dressing room and stepping up onto that stage.