Pandemic postcard #22: Spirit of the radio

This week's post comes a day early to mark National Radio Day. 

Tom Killorin was determined to help launch SPACE 101.1 if it was the last thing he did. And really, it was pretty much the last thing he did. 

I started falling in love with Tom over the radio after he'd invited me to listen in as he served as a substitute DJ for KSER in Everett. Between his eclectic, enlightened musical taste and his made-for-radio voice, I was intrigued. Tom had worked as a commercial radio DJ for many years before starting a career in music supervision for businesses and brands, but his heart was in non-commercial, community-based radio, so he always had at least one radio side project. One of our first dates was to go see a new radio tower KSER put up on Whidbey Island in the fall of 2013. 

After KSER, Tom helped Bellevue College station KBCS fine-tune its programming, especially its afternoon music mix. And after that, Tom and I were spending an idle Saturday in the art gallery at Seattle's Magnuson Park when we spied a flier announcing the formation of a community radio station. The gallery director, Julianna, explained to us how she hoped the Sand Point Arts & Cultural Exchange could land one of the last low-power radio licenses that would be available anywhere. Tom leaped at the chance to help build a station from scratch. Over the next few years, he donated hundreds of hours and recruited other radio veterans to help out with programming and engineering. When SPACE 101.1 launched in October 2017, I think it was among Tom's proudest moments. 

Tom believed in the power of radio to bring people together, to help artists of all kinds be heard, and to advance justice. He also believed in radio as the main instrument of music discovery. In the months after SPACE 101.1 went on the air, Tom would drive all over Seattle to see where he could pick up the station's 100-watt signal. Tom had loaded all the songs into the station's original playlist, but he had no control over when they'd play. So he'd be as surprised as anyone to hear what would come next, and this delighted him, nearly as much as he thrilled to a well-crafted set of tunes he'd deal up ("like cards," he always said) from behind a mixing board. 

That's the thing about radio: You never know what you're going to hear. And while I appreciate the nuances of Spotify's algorithms, there's nothing like the human element of great community radio: to blend music and ideas, empathy and education, heart and soul. "Algorithms don't get the blues," Tom would say, relishing the triple entendre in that phrase. (Is it any wonder I fell for this guy?) 

Tom suffered a recurrence of multiple myeloma in early 2018. By June, we knew he'd likely only have a short time to live--yet he was still working on SPACE. I especially remember one morning, sitting with Tom in the intensive care unit at Swedish Hospital, when he wanted to be sure that week's episode of "American Routes" got to the station for airing later that day. Tom downloaded the show onto a thumb drive and had me meet a volunteer outside the hospital to make the transfer. Two weeks later, Tom was gone, but he'd left a legacy. SPACE 101.1 has grown its programming over the past two years to become a pint-sized community radio powerhouse. Tom would be so happy.

Happy Radio Day 2020. In these pandemic times, radio is inherently socially distanced, yet--when powered by people--it fosters real emotional intimacy. Of course, this is why podcasts have become so popular, too. In our separation, we yearn to hear voices.

In honor of Tom--or whoever your favorite DJ may be--please donate to your local community, non-commercial radio station if you can. And remember: As wonderful as it is to have a great radio station float in over the airwaves, community radio is available to everyone, everywhere through the magic of the Internet--and unlike corporate streaming platforms, it's free. My Spotify subscription expired last week, and while I'll eventually renew it, for now I'm just going to let the radio play. 

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