KBOO 90.7 Fm

More patchouli than Plantagenet. More aqua vitae than Aqua Velva. More Son House than Sun Tzu.
KBOO is the soul of Portland. They do not care about being featured on a hack tv show or if they are in with the cool kids.
If Dali and Brecht had a baby, it would be KBOO.
If you can’t give money, then at least give them your attention.

How incredibly cool that someone thought to Unilocal review the ever-​fledgling KBOO!
If you can envision Portland being even more lily-​white than it is now, you can imagine what it was like 30 years ago. When hip-​hop first hit the scene, the pop music stations (remember Q105, and KCNR, et al?) pretended hip hop didn’t even exist, except maybe for that one Blondie song where she tried to rap. Even MTV ignored hip-​hop & rap, until Run DMC and LL Cool J and the Beasties blew it up. Then it was as though the scales fell from stations’ managers and producers eyes, and everyone suddenly understood the marketing po$$ibilities…
I didn’t learn about Grand Master Flash or Sugar Hill Gang or Whodini or Kurtis Blow from any of the conventional methods… I learned about them from kids at school w/​their boom boxes, listening to their bootleg, swap-​meet tapes, and of course, listening to K-​BOO, non-​stop. The ratings of KBOO coincided pretty neatly with the small but ever robust black population in the area.
With all the different entertainment choices on the current landscape, it sure is nice to see a few old familiar stations… like KBOO, KGON, KWJJ. Does anyone out there remember when AM radio was where it was at, and 62 KGW not only played popular music (not much hip hop or R & B, it should go w/​o saying) but was at the top of the game? The good old days… Of course, KBOO dates back to the late 60s, and the programming has included a broad spectrum of interests and musical styles, of which hip-​hop was but one of several blossoming genres.

I love KBOO — community radio in Portland and on the web — streaming live for the world. It’s the best community radio station in the world. Saturdays are my favorite — full of bluegrass = Grateful Dead = Blues = Soul into just goodness goodness goodness. Give them a listen, and support them with your dollars as they are community funded!
!

Support community-​based radio!
KBOO is informative, fun and they care about what is going on in the community! You should stop by and see how you can help!
Their volunteer orientation and audio classes are very practical and the staff there is fun and friendly. Hey, maybe you’ll even get a show there one of these days!

Run almost entirely by volunteers, KBOO’s mission is expressly about giving voice to topics and opinions not heard anywhere else. Practically speaking, this means the programming on KBOO is not subject to the same puritanical economic fear-​induced pandering that we hear from corporate radio (including so-​called «public radio»). KBOO does not accept underwriting from nefarious organizations; nor do any of its underwriters have any influence over programming and editorials.
KBOO is among the last of its kind in the country. KBOO’s leadership meetings are public. Its processes are democratic and transparent. It is a truly independent broadcasting entity that takes its community service mission seriously, but with a bit of a sly smile on its face.
KBOO’s staff and volunteers are expansive and engaging and even somewhat solicitous. It’s a lovely, warm place to be of service. I highly recommend getting to know this radio station. 90.7 on Portland’s FM dial.
.

A mixed bag of programming, for sure, with moments of brilliance, and some unfortunate items, however, the energy of the team and the importance of a vibrant indy media makes this my media pick of the week!

KBOO is a community of 500 volunteers and 7000 members, all held together by a single radio signal. I have never before and never since experienced anything like the energy I felt around me when I volunteered at the station: A vibe created by hundreds of people treated like outcasts in much of their lives who have found a place where they are accepted for who they are and allowed to do what they will. There’s a joy to that.
But among the swirling excitement — the dance that twirls in a hundred directions — there is that one radio signal, that all have to share and that must be steadily fed with talk and music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That signal provides the balance between self-​expression and self-​discipline that has kept KBOO alive and thriving for 40 years.
KBOO serves those who are served by no one else. It broadcasts what no one else will say. It keeps Portland weird.

The morning talk shows are ok, the news hours (7am and 5pm) are fantastic, «Democracy Now» with Amy Goodman is on from 11-​noon, and some of the music shows are far out.
That said, KBOO needs to incorporate more youthful programming and hipper music shows, maybe some fresh political satire or something. The station has too much old baby boomer feel.