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Eclectic Outpost

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Today is the first day of the fall membership drive at the little radio station where I direct most of my time and energy these days.

KFAI Fresh Air Radio is in its 37th year and has, over the decades, been home to some of the most unusual, creative, soulful, earnest, nonsensical, transcendent and impractical radio programs ever made. There is a history buried under the worn-out carpet and hidden behind the dusty racks of obsolete technology, fondly recalled by old-timers when they sift through a program names graveyard that includes provocative titles like Little City in Space, Ideal Cafe Jukebox, Frogucci, Root of All Evil, Radio Rumpus Room, Musica Mundana, One Bubble Off Plumb and Indian Uprising. And lest you think those out-of-the-mainstream days are gone, consider some of the current programs like Strictly Butter, Fubar Omniverse, Rocket Ship Ska Trip, and Crap From The Past.

Experts say the radio business is personality-driven but there are only a few personality types permitted in commercial broadcasting, all fitting a certain vocal quality standard and each of them turning out to be a slightly different flavor of loudmouth. On KFAI you can hear shouters, sweet talkers, mumblers, whisperers and people who sit quietly in front of the microphone waiting for the sound of a needle to drop. Yes, there are still turntables. And people who walk in off the street can wind up with a show someday if they demonstrate persistence and creativity. Try that at KSTP and let me know how it works out. Twelve languages are heard on the station, and no, there are no translations. When there is an Oromo, Somali, Eritrean or Hmong program on the air you either already get it, or you sit back and enjoy the sound of the words as a form of music, which, of course, it is.

Every show host works for love and freedom of expression. Even staff members who do shows are “off the clock” when they’re on the air. The rest of the time staff supports the volunteers, who struggle mightily against the tendency of all things electronic to eventually short out, break down or freeze up. In this way the place continues to run in spite of all odds and completely against the accepted theories of what radio stations should do. Among programmers there is a passionate devotion to that oddball listener who can’t find what she wants anywhere else and doesn’t even know what that is until she hears it. And because there is very little money for traditional marketing, the audience recruitment strategy relies heavily on chance. We fill the bird feeder with seed and hope customers will wander past and have their heads turned by an exotic flavor.

As you might imagine, that approach requires a zen-like patience interspersed with moments of panic..

So I invite you to tune in, stream the audio at your desk or download the app for your smart phone and give us a chance. Fair warning, though – with most radio stations, you’ll be able to get the gist of what they’re trying to do in about ten minutes. Commercial formats are designed to transparent and easily digested. But if you really want to figure out what’s going on at KFAI, it would help to set aside a few years.

When has investing extra time in a project proven to be worth it?

50 thoughts on “Eclectic Outpost”

  1. Good morning. I am a big fan of KFAI. Before moving to Minneapolis, I was frequently home alone during the day and was able to listen to many KFAI radio shows. I still listen to KFAI from time to time and I plan to listen more in the future. It is certainly a very remarkable radio station as you described, Dale. I am very glad that you ended up working at KFAI, Dale. I hope KFAI can solve it’s current financial problems and I urge everyone to do what they can to help out KFAI by donating to the their fall membership drive.

    I thought that after we moved to Minneapolis, I might take time to do volunteer work at KFAI. So far I haven’t found time to do that. I do enjoy the time I put into seed saving and I have found the efforts I have put into supporting sustainable farming to be rewarding. I am currently having a good time doing volunteer work at MN350.org. I will be going on the People’s Climate March trip to New York city with MN350.org this weekend.

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    2. Have a great time on the bus, and at the climate march Jim. Look for Brenda Bell Brown, a KFAI host and volunteer who is also making the trip.

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  2. Morning all. I became a KFAI fan when a certain “radio personality” joined the ranks as News Director. I have reminders on my computer at work to tune in for a couple of my favorite shows. And I do exactly what Dale mentions when I occasionally tune into a show in a language I don’t understand… I just listen, although I never have a clue about what’s being discussed.

    As a crafter I am always at the crossroads of “I want this to turn out well” and “how can I get this done more efficiently”. But I usually end up spending more time than I anticipated to get the job done. And I suppose no one will recognize me if I don’t say something about the time put into being a parent – but every minute time well spent!

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      1. He was very pleasant and we chatted about Morning Blend as well. When he asked me how I came to KFAI, I told him the truth… “I followed Dale”!

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  4. I set my radio alarm clock to KFAI (back when TLGMS went to Internet streaming), so I get some *very* interesting wake-up songs before “Morning Blend” starts. I hope both KFAI and Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater (which is in serious financial trouble, please also donate to them if you can) make their financial goals and survive for another 30-plus years. We need community-based entertainment as much as we need community-based agriculture and all those other important localized services.

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    1. Since we’re on the topic of KFAI…Dale, if you happen to run into Dakota Dave, please let him know some of your Babooners really enjoy his show. I especially like his theme shows–he digs up some wonderfully obscure old tunes to fill out the playlist. I found The Dakota Dave Hull Show to be excellent therapy for dealing with the loss of TLGMS, but now I look forward to it for its own particular sound (and its distinctly personable host). Got your coffee? I got mine!

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      2. CG, if I don’t run into Dakota Dave he usually makes it a point to run into me. One nice benefit of a small studio / office space!

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  5. Thanks for more info on KFAI, Dale – I knew it was an unusual place,but I had no idea! I love the afternoon music mixes…

    The screen porch has proven to be one of the most worthwhile projects, but it wasn’t just MY project. Will think more on this.

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  6. So far the long-term Daughter project is turning out well. I imagine at some point it will require less of my time, but willing to give it now while it is gladly sucked up…er…taken.

    A shorter term project that I recently undertook was repainting the garage door. One of those big overhead numbers. Mine was peeling pretty badly – enough that I thought it would only take a few minutes to knock of the loose stuff and get to work. Nope. Scrape scrape scrape. Deep breath. Scrape. Took about more than twice as long as I thought. But the door looks great. Now, unfortunately, the other parts of the house that need paint look that much worse because the garage door looks better…sigh.

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      1. Just the side the public can see. The back side is really not worth the effort, given the state of the rest of the inside of the garage. And if I did paint the inside, then I’d have to also take care of the walls and the cracking cement floor and the messy rafters and…that way lies madness. And I’m all about “good enough for company” done. 😀

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  7. Forgot to answer the discussion question…The project of repainting the apartment before we moved in was definitely worthwhile. I will forever regret not taking photos of the place before we started throwing on the primer, but it was stunning, and not in a good way. The previous tenants had painted each room a different color in swirled layers: celery green, dark purple (the smallest room, naturally), bright orange, bright yellow, and then there was the room that had two walls of dark blue and two of baby-drek brown (I think it was supposed to be keyed to a spiritual system, some version of Gnosticism perhaps, but if so, I can’t but think their gods are colorblind).

    The process of putting together the anthology my poetry group produced was absurdly lengthy but in the end, also quite rewarding. Cleaning out my community garden plot was very hard work and is still an ongoing process, but it has been materially rewarding in the best way: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and one nice head of broccoli, with (weather willing) carrots and beets yet to come.

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  8. Having my little book business (one wall of books in a friend’s salon!) was an extremely satisfying project. I loved almost everything about it – the choosing what to order, the receiving and shelving, the special orders, the selling… the returns were not so much fun.

    I can also recall several sewing projects, but the most challenging was a wool “coat-dress” for my first winter of teaching. Had all kinds of complicated things – set-in collar and sleeves, bound buttonholes, some kind of placket… I was SO proud when I finished it.

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  9. l’ve begun a project that will continue the rest of my life: a journal to myself and only for myself. Virtually all of my prior writing has had some kind of “audience” in mind, be it email correspondence, opinion boards, family or a therapist.

    A year ago, the only therapist l’ve trusted retired. This left me with a hole l’d scurry to relieve a collection of negative feelings from multiple events. Although l only saw him 3-4 times a year, having a no-holes-barred relationship helped me keep my balance.

    Last winter, so many things of an emotional nature accumulated that one night, knowing l had to express all of this, it occurred to me just to write it all down with no intention of ever sharing it with anyone.

    A magical thing happened – words simply flowed from my heart to the keyboard like a torrential rain. The part of me who’s always shared a piece here, a piece there with a handful of humans suddenly was free to say it all with abandon! This journal has become the missing therapist for me. l guess that’s a journal’s purpose; to take what’s inside to the outside where we can appreciate the richness and folly of being alive.

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  10. There is one glaringly obvious answer to this question for me. When I decided to sell my home and move closer to my daughter and grandson, I faced a formidable task of preparing my home for the sale. We bought the home 48 years ago, and it was stuffed with stuff. My daughter and erstwife left many things when they moved away, and I had enough fishing and hunting gear to open a store.

    And the home itself needed work. We never had enough money to fix up the place, so there were cheap cabinets, outdated Formica counter tops and other issues that suddenly looked tawdry. The real estate salesman I chose told me that my home had obvious charms, but the market was not terrific. I was disheartened when she showed me photos of lovely and stylish homes in my neighborhood that were sitting on the market, not getting much interest from buyers. Selling my home would be the most important financial event in my life, and I was being told I wouldn’t do nearly as well with the sale as I had hoped to do. Worse, as an old guy with arthritis, I wasn’t up to the task of whipping my home into shape for the sale.

    Then the miracle of the baboons happened (as it had earlier, when a tree limb fell into my yard). Several baboon friends adopted my home as a cause, working on it day after day to clean and organize and simplify the house. I hired a construction crew to do projects to improve the house. For about half a year, a combination of friends and paid workers attacked the many issues that threatened to make it hard to sell my home.

    Most of you know the result. My home was sold after being on the market for one day, selling for more than the ambitious price I had listed it for. The “extra effort” and hard work and love of many people made it possible for me to move twelve minutes away from Molly and Liam. I hope I have been able to express my gratitude for those dear folks who made this possible.

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  11. Like Anna and Sherillee, I would be remiss if I did not mention the son and heir project, but I can only take so much credit for the fortitude involved in that project.

    The aforementioned has been surprised to find that merely by showing up for cross country practise each day, he is improving as a runner.

    I feel that way about motherhood. Just showing up and doing it improves me.

    My big project involves the “heir” part. About the time this blog started, I decided I would one day be a citizen of Madeline Island. It may well take the rest of my life to accomplish this, but I keep nibbling away at the necessary tasks to get myself there.

    A chunk of our State Fair involves intense scrutiny of the lastest offerings in the Eco Building of ways to live as gently, sustainably, and self-suffiently (and comfortably) as possible on that scrap of land in the inland sea.

    S&h knows full well this is one he might have to finish for me.

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  12. Hi gang. Heading back down to Luverne Friday. Hospice doesn’t think dad will make it past the weekend. It sure was worth the extra work having him live with us for five months this spring/summer. Son and DIL will be with him now until husband and I can get there. I have to make sure I don’t forget Hiliary’s photo. I will try to live stream KFAI tonight as I pick other photos for the slide show.

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    1. Oh, Renee. I am so sorry to hear about what is coming (refer to post yesterday about predicting the future!). I will be thinking about you. You did everything right with your dad from what I read here. Take Care.

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    2. Oh Renee, this seems too fast. But you have been doing all the right things to make your dad’s life as good as it could be in the last months. When you get back I will have news to share about Liam. Good luck, and thanks again for your kindness to our family.

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    7. So sorry to hear that you dad is declining so fast, but perhaps it’s better than lingering? Sounds like you and he are both ready. Wishing him a peaceful transition.

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    8. Renee – kudos to you for the hard work and harder decisions you’ve had to make the last few months. Cyber candle is lit for you and I’m sending comfort and energy your way.

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  13. I got my Gravatar back ! There is a project. I am way late today–it is our busy season and man, I am busy.

    This business has required much time and effort that has been worth it. But what an unexpected journey.

    Dale, it sounds like KFAI is a fit for you–that is great. It has not been a fit for me–I can’t get it on the car radio when and where I drive, and at home, streaming KFAI is not a habit. When I tried it a few years ago, I found the webiste hard to navigate. My short attention span came to an end, and that was that. Maybe when I retire….sigh. When I have tuned in it sounds like MPR 35 years ago when I first listened.

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  14. I love the artwork, Dale. And, BTW, I renewed my membership a week or so ago, so I’m current.

    I’m slow to complete projects in general, but usually feel the time is well spent. The sort of take-your-time-and-enjoy-the-journey approach I take has me perpetually out of step with the world we live in, but I’m too old to change.

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  15. Besides the obvious “project” of being a mom to three girls (and sometimes I’m sure that that’s been worth it and other times I really wonder if it was), I have had a project for a year and a half or so of getting rid of clutter, stuff I don’t need or want, and stuff I might want, but probably won’t use (such as a book I won’t read again, and if I want to, I can get it from the library). I’ve been dragging my feet a bit on the last two piles of small “stuff,” but am pretty sure that I will feel motivated to go through it once the weather cools off. Go through it and get it in some sort of order.

    OT – I have a job interview tomorrow morning and would really like to get the job.I would appreciate good thoughts sent my way.

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  17. I put extra time into projects both successful and failed as I believe if it’s worth doing its worth doing and so when I do it’s often is.

    My best stuff happens when I take the time to think it through and I hope the one I am launching in another couple of days will be one worthy of my last 4 years if prep

    My kids are not so sure my efforts are reasons to celebrate parenting in general but try to appreciate the end results.

    Dale get a slot for the wacky world of dales tales, stories of made up realities of the Connelly theme character words and music chosen by kfai’s own dale the spin doctor Connelly and his minions

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