New General Manager
We haven't had a new blog posting in a while. Things have been kind of hectic around here. We haven't had a general manager since the end of June! But now things are looking up, our new general manager just stepped off the plane this morning! His name is Dave Patty, and I will let him tell who he is in his own words.
"Born and raised in Fairbanks. Parents were Olin and Mildred Patty, owners of Aurora Drilling, a water well drilling company pretty well known in the area.
Was introduced to rock n roll at around age 3 by my older sisters. Elton John was the first artist I remember by name. At age 6, my Aunt Millie dropped a box of old, beat up records in my lap that included my first Led Zeppelin album. That was pretty much the end of my normalcy.
In 1980, cable TV came to Fairbanks, and I got an Atari 2600 for Christmas. My destiny was sealed, I'm afraid. A rock n roll broadcasting nerd. It's been weird.
Not long after that, they started feeding me computers, so I actually developed a few useful skills to go with the video games and movie channels. I started my first pre-internet BBS system around 1984. I know... "What the hell is a BBS?"
I probably shouldn't share this detail, but it's important. In 1985, a friend and I got ourselves into some trouble with our computers, and found ourselves doing community service. They were so nice, I think because everyone was so entertained and amused by the concept of computer hacking at the time, especially by a couple of 14 year old kids. I got to serve my community service at KSUA-FM, the brand new college radio station on the UAF campus. This was with the original KSUA crew of Glenner Anderson, Jerry Evans and company. I was hooked.
A few years later, I found myself calling KSUA to talk to them about their Led Zeppelin show "Get the Led Out." I felt the show needed more, like me and my bootleg concert tapes. They agreed and I was on the air with Walter J. a week later. That was November of 1989. When school ended in the spring of 1990, most of the DJ's either graduated or left town for the summer. I found myself doing 6 days a week on the air.
From there, I went to work for Jay Lewis at 101.1 FM, which was KAKQ by then. When that station was sold, I started getting a better idea of how commercial stations exist and operate. It's basically a series of buyouts and payroll cuts, where some people benefit and others get canned or overloaded. Over the years, I've experienced both, working for several different owners in radio and TV. Fun stuff.
I've never been married or had kids. It just didn't seem as important to me as it did to everyone else. There were a few girlfriends in the nineties and 2000's who were not amused, but they didn't try to kill me or anything. Lately, I've kept a low profile in that department.
Also lately, I've been needing a change. I need new surroundings and a new environment, but moving to the city didn't sound good to me. When Ann Fears mentioned this opportunity at KSKO, it sounded like exactly what I need!"
Here is the link to his favorite song!
https://youtu.be/rvJWrtwajx0
KSKO is very happy to have a new general manager! Thank you Dave Patty for coming out to McGrath to work at our little radio station. We hope you enjoy it.
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