91.7

(my Austin loves, KVRX & KOOP)

The other night, on the air on KBOO, I gave the legal ID, like you do, but I said this: "You're listening to K-B-O-O Portland, 91.7 fm."  I quickly corrected myself - we're on 90.7 fm - but it's a mistake I'm sure I've made before & will doubtless make again.  Because the 91.7 frequency is where I lived on the radio for more than a decade.

My first radio experiences were on KVRX, from 1994 to 1999.  I volunteered & did a show on KOOP (it's where Self Help Radio started!) from 2001 to 2008.  You might be thinking, hold on.  Were both of these stations in Austin?  How do they have the same frequency?  It's because they share the frequency.  You can read that story on KOOP's Wikipedia page.  I'm not going to tell it here.

This is about the number 9 & 1 & 7.  Because today is 9/17.  I don't have a record handy of radio shows I did at KVRX, & I can't be sure that my records of my time at KOOP are all that complete, but according to them, I only did one radio show from 2002 to 2008 on September 17, a Membership Drive show in 2003 about monkeys.

But I do remember, when I did my show on KVRX on Mondays from 9 to 11pm, I liked to make sure I was either talking by 9:17pm (so I could mention it) or I'd do my first airbreak at 9:17pm.  I'm not a numerologist, but I liked that I was on when the station's frequency was mentioned.

The last time I was in Austin, I actually did a radio show on KVRX, because at the time they very kindly allowed alumni to do shows in the interim between semesters.  I may even have been on from 9 to midnight but I don't really recall.  That was in late 2017 I think.  Austin had changed very much & I didn't think that I wanted to ever go back again.  I was happier in that town when it wasn't as crowded & had so many skyscrapers.

But should you visit Austin, do spend some time at that frequency, 91.7fm.  I know no one now at KVRX but still have a few friends who are excellent programmers at KOOP, but the different things that made both stations magical are still in evidence.  & maybe someone else there who has a 9 o'clock show - either at 9am or 9pm - kinda thrills to say "it's 9:17 & you're listening to 91.7fm."  If they don't, they should!

Or else they're simply not as big a geek as I am.