TOM RIVERS ON X-100

After far too many beers at the local CHUM drinking establishment. (The Red Rooster) Several of us decided to make the ultimate top 40 air check. As I recall, it was myself, the late Chris Coyle, Dave Taylor (now at QR77, Calgary) and John Belmont (ABC News) There were several others and I believe Mark is right that Bob Humenick, my op at the time was also there.

After closing time, we all staggered into the smallest production studio and started to build our station. Jingles first. We took several CHUM jingles and cut out the call letters and as a group, sang our own. At this point in radio, everybody had the same jingles anyway, so why not our new station.

We called it X-100. A take off of K-100 L.A. and any other station like B-100, R-99, etc. Also with an X in the call letters, you wouldn't know where it was from. Next we needed a city. Taylor came up with 'the big Smoke'. Again, impossible to trace. For even more confusion we added more geographics in the weather. "At the beaches it's 79, the Valley 83, in the Mountains 67 and the Desert a cookin' 94." Again, where is it?

As the jock, I took the name 'Rocketman' a very hip reference to the Elton John song. for the music we had everything from cranked up rock and roll to the Carpenters. And as Rocketman I introed each one with the same force...FULL TILT BOOGIE.

Someone said that we needed a contest so with Dailey's help we came up with a game of 'Hi-LO' with guns. 'Guess the calibre and cop the cash.' read one promo and 'Guess the gun and you've won.' We used operator Ken Portious as the unlucky contestant wo guessed 'A .357 magnum' and was too low.

The reason for the tape, was to make copies and send them to all the want-ads in Radio and Records, along with a resume written in crayon on a crumpled piece of yellow lined paper. In the resume' Rocketman would explain how he loved to broadcast to kids....little kids....little GIRL kids. And that his parole officer knew he was applying for a job out of state. There was no phone number or address to add to the mystery.

Some weeks later at a jock meeting J Robert Wood announced that he'd hired a new weekend announcer and proceeded to play X-100. We all just about shit to think that Woody had a sense of humour. But he did.
Over the years I've had hundreds of people ask me about the tape and I remember it fondly, but the ironic part is, I don't even have a copy!

Sad but true.