[click on images to read more] The 31 year-old KTHX-FM  dropped off the air this week in a public execution announced by it’s owners of 5 whole years, the L.A.-based Lotus Communications, owners of umpteen other commercial stations around the west. Many Jive listeners have long reported the hallowed Reno station had been an anorexic ghost of itself for most of the last half of it’s life, but it remains that Reno lost it’s only commercial station that played any kind of Roots or local music.  Reno News & Review writers have contacted Jive staff for a followup on the ‘alt-radio’ scene in the Northern Nevada area. Stay tuned here for more of that Jive.

And in other news, our little but mighty 10-watt KDAN over in the Tomales (CA) Bay got a little ink in the mighty San Francisco Chronicle recently:

This blurry but worthy slice of music of history is of The Blues Brothers Band (Closing of Winterland NYE ’78-’79), from house right seats. This was the original ensemble [from top center down: Paul Shaffer, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, Steve Cropper, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy, Jake Blues (Elwood bending over downstage of Paul), the Tom Scott Horns (Tom Scott, Alan Rubin, Lou Marini, ?unknown?), drummer believed to be Steve Jordan.] which was disbanded not many gigs after this one.

Confetti covers the early morning stage of 1979 with the Grateful Dead fully in control. [From left to right: Lee Oskar, Jerry Garcia, Greg Errico, Phil Lesh & John Cipollina (both back to). Keith & Donna Godchaux, Mickey Hart out of frame.]

See Winterland history roster: HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED.

~Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers @ Winterland Arena-San Francisco, CA December 30, 1978~