klol ftw

Ken Hoffman on the Runaway hit KLOL doc that's finally ready to rock

Dayna Steele Rock 101 KLOL Houston Runaway Radio

Rock radio empress Dayna Steele stars in the new documentary.

Photo courtesy of Mike McGuff and Dayna Steele

Longtime media blogger Mike McGuff’s documentary about the rise, dominance, and demise of Houston’s hardest rocking radio station — KLOL-FM — finally has a release date.

Runaway Radio will be available to rent or purchase on most video streaming services including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and cable/satellite services starting Tuesday, February 27. There will also be a special screening at 6:30 pm and 9 pm Saturday, March 2 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Katy, followed by a Q&A with McGuff hosted by CultureMap contributor Craig Hlavaty.

I had first written about McGuff’s documentary back in 2019. Nice to see it ready to screen now.

runaway radio KLOL dusty hill McGuff spoke to dearly departed icons like ZZ Top's Dusty Hill.Photo courtesy of Mike McGuff

The KLOL Era

KLOL dominated the hard rock format in Houston during the 1980s and early 1990s. It was one of the highest-rated, album-oriented stations in the U.S.

The station’s disc jockeys became celebrities in Houston, led by wild and wooly morning “shock jocks” Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett, who were Hudson and Harrigan on a country station in a previous radio lifetime. Other on-air stars included Outlaw Dave Andrews, Brian “The Boner” Shannon, and the pioneering rock radio empress, Dayna Steele.

Disc jockeys were allowed to pick the songs they played — something absolutely unheard of in today’s ultra-pre-programmed radio lineups.

Risque, raunchy, always rockin'

The station became known for its outlandish and sexy promotions targeted to its mainly male audience inspired by marketing director Doug Harris. I once asked beloved Houston jeweler I.W. Marks why he devoted so much of the store’s advertising budget to KLOL. He said: “Most of that station’s listeners are young men. Young men buy engagement rings. I sell engagement rings.”

Part of KLOL’s success was based on the station’s personal relationship with music stars like Sammy Hagar, Lyle Lovett, Melissa Etheridge, Carmine Appice, and Dug Pinnick, who regularly appeared live with KLOL’s disc jockeys.

runaway radio KLOL sammy hagar Rock legends like Sammy Hagar were friends of the station. Photo courtesy of Mike McGuff

But, nothing in media lasts forever, and KLOL’s stronghold on Houston radio ratings faded by the late 1990s.In 2004, management swapped its rock playlist in favor of Mega 101 FM, a Latin pop music format.

A Runaway hit for true Houstonians

Here’s a conversation I recently had with the Runaway Radio director Mike McGuff.

CultureMap: What motivated you to do this project?

Mike McGuff: I always wanted to direct a documentary, and as a media blogger, I kept hearing Houston listeners talk about Rock 101 KLOL years after it went off the air. You take the wild disc jockeys, the major rock acts associated with the station — and its proclivity for stunning visuals — and you get a pretty compelling documentary that will excite Houstonians and anyone who grew up on rock radio across the country.

CM: When did you start and finish this documentary?

MM: I started at the end of 2010 and finished in 2022. It would have come out much sooner but the global pandemic delayed that.

CM: Who was your favorite KLOL personality and why?

MM: I liked most of the personalities, but one of my favorites was Dayna Steele. As a music fanatic, I appreciated how she always knew what was happening with the artists KLOL played. How did she know so much? Well, she actually knew many of the artists personally! As a result, Steele's section of the film got one of the biggest responses when we screened it for test audiences and film festivals.

CM: How did you react when KLOL was taken off the air and replaced by a Latin pop music format?

MM: I wasn't surprised, because the station fell on some hard times in the end, but I always thought it could recover. Ultimately, I was upset that it was gone. Just think, if Clear Channel had changed 93.7 The Arrow's format, I would have never made a documentary.

CM: What was the secret ingredient that made KLOL so successful? Why did it ultimately fail? Could a revamped KLOL work today?

MM: KLOL's secret ingredient was the personalities and the station's involvement in the community. Through the course of production, I realized that KLOL was the internet, before the internet. It kept you updated on the latest music and lifestyle trends of someone who was into that music.

Many KLOL staffers interviewed in the film blame the Telecommunications Act of 1996 for the station's ultimate demise. That act let companies own many radio stations in one market. KLOL suffered as a result. When I started the doc, I thought KLOL could come back, but I don't think so these days. The way people consume media has changed so much since then.

CM: What are you listening to on radio these days?

MM: I mostly listen to streaming with SiriusXM mixed in, but as far as Houston radio, I like 95.7 The Spot, KKHH, and Oldies 107.5 HD2 KGLK.

Now, let me tell you about an experience I had with KLOL morning hosts Mark Stevens and Jim Pruitt, both of who have passed away.

Years ago I wrote a book – pretty good for someone who barely has the patience to read one. The editor of the Houston Chronicle — my big boss, by the way — was instrumental is getting my book published. I made a few appearances on local radio stations to push the book.

They went okay, except for the day I went on the Stevens and Pruitt Show. First thing they asked me was, “That editor you work for, he’s a real a-hole, right?” They meant it as a joke because my editor and his wife happened to be buddies with Stevens and his wife.

But...the audience didn’t know that. Now I’m sputtering, “No, he’s a pretty good guy.” And I’m sounding like a butt smoocher.

My spot with the Stevens and Pruitt Show lasted about 10 minutes and centered around if any of my female co-workers were “hot” and similar topics. I couldn’t answer a question like that. The only thing hot that morning was the seat I was sitting on.

I’m not sure we ever got around to mentioning that I had a book out. Fun time.

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Runaway Radio will be available to rent or purchase on multiple platforms on Tuesday, February 27. The film will screen at 6:30 pm and 9 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (2707 Commercial Center Blvd., Suite K-100) in Katy. For Alamo Drafthouse screening tickets, visit the event site.

Do you have a favorite KLOL memory or DJ? Share them with Ken at ken@culturemap.com or on Twitter. Check out the Mike McGuff blog here.

bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.