KDON
Encyclopedia
KDON-FM is a Rhythmic Top 40 (CHR)
station licensed to Salinas, California
. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
.
In its early years, 102.5 was KSBW
, playing middle of the road and beautiful music
. It became a mainstream Top 40 station as KDON-FM in the early 1980s with no disk jockeys, in stark contrast to other Top 40 stations at the time. This may have been a gimmick at the time as the fledgling station fought to gain a foothold in the market. As the years progressed, on-air personalities were added.
The format evolved into Rhythmic Top 40 by 1988 and since then has remained one of the highest rated stations in the Monterey
/Santa Cruz
radio market.
In the early nineties, Mancow Muller
hosted a local morning show on KDON. Other talent that has come out of KDON include MTV's "Lucious Liz" and many others who have gone on to bigger radio markets working the early part of their careers at KDON.
KDON currently plays mainly Hip Hop
and R&B, with some Pop
, and Old School influence. Its signature yearly concert "The Freestyle Explosion" is one of the biggest events in Salinas each year. The station is known for its heritage, and strong signal which has been heard from King City
to as far north as Santa Rosa
and as far east as Santa Nella, California
. It is the strongest signal in the Monterey Market with full signal into the San Jose
market, and covering many other parts of the Bay Area
. (The latter can sometimes cause interference with Sacramento station KSFM
, which has the same format—and the same frequency, as their signals collide midway in the Bay Area).
In the past few years KDON has evolved into a very successful station consistently as most of the staff who previously worked at sister station KYLD/San Francisco have brought a major market "feel" to the medium Monterey market. KDON is widely recognized by its "Phone Jack at the 50" in the morning where jocks prank call people in different character voices. They are also known for having a very active Promotions team, and Mixshow roster which consists of DJs that are at all the local clubs. Each year KDON is involved in many community events from Food Drives, Raising Money for the Relay For Life foundation, and Christmas Tree deliveries.
The current DJ lineup includes:
The Morning Madhouse with Sam Diggedy & Showbiz 6-10am
Carolyn Monroe 10am-2pm
Eric the Funky 1 2pm-6pm
Visa on the Radio 6pm-10pm
9 O'Clock Jump Off 9-10pm
Night Moves 10pm-1am (Mon-Thu)
Project Hip Hop 11pm-1am (Sunday) underground hip hop
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
station licensed to Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
The KDON calls have a Top 40 heritage in the Monterey-Salinas market going back to at least the mid-1960s, when they were on 1460 AMKION (AM)
KION is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Salinas, California, USA, the station serves the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz area...
.
In its early years, 102.5 was KSBW
KSBW
KSBW is a television station in the United States and is the primary NBC affiliate for the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz, California market. The station is owned by Hearst Television. KSBW has its studios on John Street in downtown Salinas, which is mentioned occasionally during commercial breaks...
, playing middle of the road and beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
. It became a mainstream Top 40 station as KDON-FM in the early 1980s with no disk jockeys, in stark contrast to other Top 40 stations at the time. This may have been a gimmick at the time as the fledgling station fought to gain a foothold in the market. As the years progressed, on-air personalities were added.
The format evolved into Rhythmic Top 40 by 1988 and since then has remained one of the highest rated stations in the Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
/Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
radio market.
In the early nineties, Mancow Muller
Mancow Muller
Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller is an American radio and television personality. He is best known for Mancow's Morning Madhouse, formerly on Rock 103.5 and WKQX-FM , both Chicago-based radio shows that have been nationally syndicated mostly in small markets by Talk Radio Network...
hosted a local morning show on KDON. Other talent that has come out of KDON include MTV's "Lucious Liz" and many others who have gone on to bigger radio markets working the early part of their careers at KDON.
KDON currently plays mainly Hip Hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and R&B, with some Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and Old School influence. Its signature yearly concert "The Freestyle Explosion" is one of the biggest events in Salinas each year. The station is known for its heritage, and strong signal which has been heard from King City
King City, California
King City is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. King City is located on the Salinas River southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 335 feet . It lies along U.S. Route 101 in the Salinas Valley of the Central Coast of California. King City is a member of the Association of...
to as far north as Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
and as far east as Santa Nella, California
Santa Nella, California
Santa Nella is a census-designated place in Merced County, California, USA. It is located east-northeast of Pacheco Pass, at an elevation of 154 feet . At the 2010 census, Santa Nella had a population of 1,380 people and has one elementary school.The town is located by Interstate 5, at the...
. It is the strongest signal in the Monterey Market with full signal into the San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
market, and covering many other parts of the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. (The latter can sometimes cause interference with Sacramento station KSFM
KSFM
KSFM is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hits formatted radio station serving the Sacramento, California, USA, area. Its city of license and transmitter are located in Woodland but their studios are based in Sacramento...
, which has the same format—and the same frequency, as their signals collide midway in the Bay Area).
In the past few years KDON has evolved into a very successful station consistently as most of the staff who previously worked at sister station KYLD/San Francisco have brought a major market "feel" to the medium Monterey market. KDON is widely recognized by its "Phone Jack at the 50" in the morning where jocks prank call people in different character voices. They are also known for having a very active Promotions team, and Mixshow roster which consists of DJs that are at all the local clubs. Each year KDON is involved in many community events from Food Drives, Raising Money for the Relay For Life foundation, and Christmas Tree deliveries.
The current DJ lineup includes:
The Morning Madhouse with Sam Diggedy & Showbiz 6-10am
Carolyn Monroe 10am-2pm
Eric the Funky 1 2pm-6pm
Visa on the Radio 6pm-10pm
9 O'Clock Jump Off 9-10pm
Night Moves 10pm-1am (Mon-Thu)
Project Hip Hop 11pm-1am (Sunday) underground hip hop
Notable current radio personalities
- Sam Diggedy
- Showbiz
- Eric The Funky 1
- Visa On The Radio
- Carolyn Monroe
- Ricky Danny
Notable past DJ's
- Mancow MullerMancow MullerMatthew Erich "Mancow" Muller is an American radio and television personality. He is best known for Mancow's Morning Madhouse, formerly on Rock 103.5 and WKQX-FM , both Chicago-based radio shows that have been nationally syndicated mostly in small markets by Talk Radio Network...
(Syndication) - Luscious Liz (Power 106/MTV)
- Renee Taylor
- Lisa St. Regis
- Joe Breezy
- Steve Wall a/k/a "Monterey Jack"
- Rick ChaseRick ChaseRick Chase was a disc jockey known primarily for his 13 years on San Francisco radio station KMEL 106.1 FM.-Career:...
- Bruce "Dr.Maimes" Maiman
- Mark "MG" Garcia
- Taylor Morgan
- Tom White
- Picazzo
- Scooter B
- John Young
- Dean Knox
- Eric Bishop
- AJ In the Morning
- Boy Toy Bobby
- Letty B.
- Alexia
- Alex The Boywonder
- Rambro
- Nancy Nevarez
- J Styles