By Dean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Ron Jacobs, left, and Donn Tyler.
Hawaii rock 'n' radio pioneer Ron Jacobs goes back on the air Monday morning, and it's about time, he thinks. Look who’s talking
"I love it. I was born here listening to radio, I grew up here on the radio, and I want to die here on the radio," enthused Jacobs.
His shift is 5 to 9 a.m. on KCCN, 1420 AM, the opening salvo of the former Hawaiian-music station's switch to an all-talk format. Jacobs' team will include sidekick Donn Tyler, an old radio and recording pro whose career has intertwined with Jacobs over the years.
"It's a complete change for KCCN, but it's typical in the radio business. Many stations are going to talk, because that's one of the things that radio does really well, better than any other medium," said Jacobs.
Jacobs goal for his show is to create a kind of on-air "Hawaiian-radio magazine," filled with discussion, news and, yes, music. "We can actually play music that makes sense, because we'll be picking it," said Jacobs. "I'll be the only person in Hawaii who can play music without being dictated to by a mainland play list."
His competition in the hotly contested time slot will be stiff: the Perry-and-Price good-buddy slot on KSSK, the Cliff-and-Erika show on KQMQ, Tom Moffatt's oldies show on 107.9 FM, Rory Wilde's show on I-94 and the Mark and Brian show, imported from Los Angeles, on KKLV.
Jacobs is also going to call in experts to discuss the news of the day.
"Another good thing about radio is that we can just as easily do this on the phone; they don't have to come down to the station. And we can get people all over the world. This is one area where the time-zone-difference is in our favor; early in the morning here is midday on the mainland, and it's easier to get people."
One of the original "Poi Boys" at the popular KPOI radio, Jacobs became a legendary disc jockey in the San Diego area and invented the "HomeGrown" album concept before returning to Hawaii as "Whodaguy" in the 1970s. He moved into radio-station ownership and management in the 1980s, which didn't work out.
He's eager to dive back into the pressure-cooker intensity and instant-gratification of being an on-air personality. "It's actually my first chance to do my thing, what I'm really good at, for the first time in 20 years," said Jacobs.
Burl Burlingame, Star-Bulletin
