The KLOL documentary

Of interest to me, and other middle-aged guys like me.

This past week Houston filmmaker and blogger Mike McGuff released a trailer for his upcoming film about the late, great radio station, Rock 101 KLOL-FM, and it’s getting Houstonians of a certain vintage very excited for the finished product.

The story of the raunchy Houston radio phenomenon will be told in McGuff’s first documentary, with appearances from the likes of Outlaw Dave (one of the Texican’s creative mentors), Lanny Griffith, Colonel St. James, Pat Fant, David Sadof and even the late Jim Pruett of morning duo Stevens and Pruett in footage shot before he passed away in 2016.

To help with this long-gestating rock doc, McGuff, a former newsman, has turned to crowdsourcing platform IndieGoGo to bankroll some final nips and tucks for the promotional side of things. He’s hoping for a wide release in 2020, just in time for the station’s 50th anniversary. KLOL, formerly KTRH-FM, was born in 1970 as a progressive-rock station, evolved into a more structured album-oriented-rock and then classic-rock station before owner Clear Channel flipped it to Spanish-language in 2004.

As McGuff says, it has been a long journey to get this film in the can. When it comes to labors of love, sometimes time is the best ingredient.

“This project was only supposed to take a couple of years, at least that is what I told my very patient wife back in 2010,” McGuff says. “The years kept piling on as I kept chasing people for interviews, conducted a bunch of research, and waited for people’s photos and video to be found.”

As their onetime promo went, I admit it, I listened to Stevens and Pruett back in the day, and not just them. My enthusiasm for Dayna Steele’s Congressional campaign came very honestly, I assure you. I was right in the sweet spot of their demographic. Anyway, you can see a trailer for this here, and if you want to contribute to the Indiegogo campaign, you can do that here. You know you want to.

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7 Responses to The KLOL documentary

  1. Bill Daniels says:

    I was the demographic for KLOL, too. Loved Stevens and Pruitt, Dayna Steele. I was also the demographic for 97 Rock, although I detested Moby in the Morning. I suspect most of the posters here are in that same category, and here’s the ironic thing for those of you who miss the good old days……they aren’t here anymore because of policies y’all support. Open borders and unfettered immigration from the 3rd World, especially since 1965? You folks killed your own radio station, and KLOL isn’t alone…..the Loop in Chicago, and other legendary rock stations? Kaput. Gone, and it’s because y’all gave away your country because muh diversity is our strength.

    Dayna Steele running for Congress? I never knew about her political leanings when she was a DJ, but apparently, she voted herself out of a job, and doesn’t see the irony in that.

    I would say that Manny was laughing at all of us, but I don’t think Mega101 was his kind of music either. I picture Manny enjoying ranchera, norteno, and probably some cumbia, but not the regaeton Latin hip hop that replaced the venerated runaway radio.

  2. Bill Daniels says:

    Helpful graph to explain things more clearly:

    https://magaimg.net/img/9ut3.jpg

  3. brad says:

    I agree with Bill. We need some “good” FM radio stations.

    Maybe a little 24 hours a day Richard Wagner station on the dial.

    Maybe some stations with something for a good march or a good book burning.

  4. Bill Daniels says:

    Agree with Brad. Am glad I’m not the only one that misses KUHF playing classical, and Brad, our tastes in classical appear similar. Wagner, Holst, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss? Bach organ music? Heck yeah, crank it up! The real roots of heavy metal can be found in the classics!

    And you know WHY we like classical music? Because we were exposed to it as kids, even in our cartoons. Kids today don’t get that, unless parents expose them to it. “Kill da wabbit,” remember that one? This is part of our culture that is dying in the name of diversity.

  5. Greg Wythe says:

    Eagerly awaiting Bill’s take on the death of disco and the trajectory of Kenny Rogers’ career. Not sure which party to blame for either.

  6. C.L. says:

    I think Bill may be ‘ignorant’ on the existence of 94.35 The Buzz, 104.1 KRBE, 107.5 The Eagle, 89.7 KACC (read the news on air for a while), 106.9 The Point, etc., none of which appear to be presently threatened by the changing demographics of Houston. KLOL didn’t die from anything other than it’s sale to Evergreen Media to Clear Channel to CBS to… blah blah blah. Didn’t help that Stevens and Pruett were two old codgers whose schtick had gotten extremely tired.

  7. Jules says:

    All of Bill’s problems, real or imaginary, are caused by immigrants.

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