96 Rocks

agreements.

Chapter 1

Diane Crawford

Friday May 14, 2010 11:14 PM

WKRX is a rectangular pile of red bricks that is 3 stories high with windows that never grow dark. A chimney held a navy blue sign that said 96 Rocks; a blonde-haired man who was the security guard was stationed inside the door on the first floor.

Behind the lights on the third floor is where the DJ and the engineer were, rock and roll music from the 60’s and 70’s with hits of today being piped out to the fans that listened to the station on a daily basis.

All right, this is Diane Crawford at 96 Rocks and we’re back at 11:14pm. Outside it’s 78 degrees in Dallas Texas, and we’re going to start off another set of rock and roll music with Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb at 96 Rocks FM.

The music kicked in and the voice of Rodger Waters singing hello is there anybody out there came on as Diane leaned back in her blue swivel chair and stared at the white ceiling. I’m gonna take a break, Gina said through her headphones as Diane turned and watched her stand up, running her hand through her curly blond hair as she left the studio.

Diane took a deep breath, slipped the headphones off her ears. Her mind wandered back to the press release earlier today that Bob Wolfe would be the new morning drive person. Not like anyone cared to say anything to me, she thought to herself. After all, I’ve only been here for 7 years now and I’m still on the graveyard shift.

Yes, Wolfe finished out his non-compete after 3 years when he worked at WRSP in Denver,Colorado. That was also after finishing another rehab stint since he was an alcoholic. Of course, he had high ratings at the station in the morning drive before he was fired for being drunk on the air and making sexual jokes about Governor Theresa Palmer.

Wonder if Wolfe would have gotten away with that 20 years ago, Diane mused. My mother took pride in her work. She would never be drunk on the air.

The first time Diane saw her mother, Annie Crawford, on the air live was when she was 8 years old. February, 18, 1984. Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother been famous as a DJ and conducted interviews with many of the rock and roll greats such as Mick Jagger and David Bowie. She still remembered the first song she played by Huey Lewis and the News. It was I Want A New Drug. She saw her mother in front of two turntables as she pushed back stray wisps of brown hair into place with her fingertips, her other hand holding the record in place until the song ended. She spun the label back just enough so that the label was off to the right, ready to be released when she said "Here’s Huey Lewis and the News at WLNT FM.

Diane knew at that moment that that’s what she wanted to do. She had the voice, low, deep, sultry, just like her mother. She knew that she wanted to be in radio and would go to school for it and graduate with her communications degree from Suny Buffalo.

The red dot on the phone came on and Diane grabbed the receiver, put it to her ear. 96 Rocks.

Hey Diane. Great tunes tonight.

Diane smiled, recognizing the voice of Rick Holman from Albany, New York. Are you listening to me through your TV again?

Of course. You’re streaming through my playstation.

That is so crazy.

You don’t sound that great tonight.

Is it that obvious?

Yep.

Guess you heard the news.

Oh yeah. They talked about it on CNN Headline News. Bob Wolfe taking over the morning drive.

Yep.

I’m sure they didn’t give you a heads up.

She screwed her face into a grimace, crossed her legs. No, they didn’t.

Comfortably Numb would come to an end soon. She looked at her console, typed in Jackson Brown, saw the songs that came back. She chose The Pretender and that song went right under Comfortably Numb. Doesn’t get any easier than that.

That’s the way it is when you’re on a non-compete, Rick said. They don’t care how you feel. If you don’t like it, you can leave. Just remember - he coughed - that you can’t work in the industry for 2 years.

I know.

Of course in your case, it’s 3 years and you can’t work at another station within 200 miles. But since your station owns 15 other stations in different parts of the country, the only place you can work is in California.

We’ve talked about this before Rick.

So, let’s talk about it again. Diane, take it from me, the years pile up before you know it. I’m going into my 12th year on my non-compete. They laid off over 200 people in my company already. I could go at anytime and I still can’t work in the industry for 2 years.

I know.

I mean, I live in Albany and my company is headquartered in Ohio. So I had to go down to Ohio to talk to a lawyer.

I remember that you mentioned that.

My lawyer said that this should be illegal and it’s up to the state government to do something about it.

Mine said the same thing.

Look, I’m just trying to help you. You deserve a lot more than this. You can be free in California.

Diane leaned back in her chair, looked at her laptop computer that was off to her left. I know that but It’s just not that easy to pick up and leave.

Diane, I don’t have industry experience in other jobs. I’ve been looking for over 3 years for a new job. Not getting anywhere.

I know.

Don’t wait until they fire you. A lot of people in my company were looking and they still don’t have jobs.

Diane shook her head. And the government continues to pay them unemployment even though they can work but they can’t work in their industry.

It isn’t right Diane. Think about it. Don’t end up like the people in my company. Or me. Get out before it’s too late. You’ll be free in California.

I have to say that I’m thinking about it.

I hope you are.

I am. So, what do you want to hear?

Just play some Zappa, Dead, Riders of the Purple Sage, and Little Feat.

Tell you what. She went back to the console, typed in Frank Zappa, came back with results, chose Dirty Love. I’ll do that and I’ll throw in some Hot Tuna, Tull, and Commander Cody as well.

Sounds great. Thanks.

Take care, Rick. And good luck on your job.

Thanks. Same to you. He hung up.

Diane put the phone back on the receiver, heard the voice of Jackson Brown fade. "All right. Coming up we’ll have some Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Riders of the Purple Sage, Jethro Tull, Hot Tuna, and Commander Cody. But let’s get started with Frank Zappa and Dirty Love at 96 Rocks.

Diane leaned back in her chair, took in the music of Frank Zappa. She looked at her laptop computer, stared at the picture of her and her ex-boyfriend, John Carlton, on her facebook page. He was taller than her, his head shaved, his complexion was nearly the color of brass.

She pressed the space bar and the picture switched to Mary Spellman. Her blond hair fell over her shoulders, framing her blue eyes, aquiline nose, and round face.

Diane tried not to feel jealous standing next to Mary, knowing that Mary would still draw all the looks from men, including Tim Harrelson, the one who was responsible for getting her fired from the station.

Diane heard her cell phone vibrate by her brown pocketbook. She took it out, recognized her mother’s number.

Hi Mom, she said as she put the cell phone to her ear.

Hi. Just wanted to see how you’re doing.

Thanks.

He called, didn’t he?

She smiled, put her feet on the table as Gina came back into the room. How did you know?

I’m sure you don’t get a lot of requests for Frank Zappa.

I guess you got me.

And you better not be updating your facebook page.

I promised you I wouldn’t do that again.

I’m sure you have the computer with you.

She arched her eyebrows, drew her lips together. Just looking at some pictures, that’s all.

Okay, fine. Get a song cued up for the Dead. This is a short one for Frank Zappa.

Okay.

And please do not play Truckin or Casey Jones. Jerry Garcia did more songs than those and the other radio stations only play those two songs. You can do something different.

Fine. She typed in Grateful Dead into the computer and came back with a list of their songs. How about Hell in a Bucket?

Sounds good. You’re just looking at a bunch of titles anyway."

Done.

Did he choose Jethro Tull?

No, that was my idea.

You don’t mix Jethro Tull with any of those other bands. Neil Young. Bob Dylan. Eric Clapton. Creedence Clearwater Revival. Not Jethro Tull.

Sorry.

Play Skating Away. That will be close enough.

Diane went to her computer again, typed in Jethro Tull and Skating Away, then put that under Hell in a Bucket as that song came on.

Did he start in with you about that crazy talk about going to California?

She stared at the ceiling, smiled. Yes.

Are you still considering it?

I don’t know.

Fine. You said you’re playing Commander Cody.

Yes. She typed in that name and came up with a list of songs.

What are you choosing? Hot Rod Lincoln?

No. I like Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar.

You played that yesterday. How about Smoke. Smoke. Smoke.

She put Beat Me Daddy, Eight Under the Bar under Skating Away."

You didn’t choose Smoke Smoke Smoke.

Excuse me, she said, smiling. This is still my show.

Fine.

All right. I’ll let you choose a song from Hot Tuna.

Do Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning. That’s a long song.

Diane typed the song in with Hot Tuna, then put it under Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar. I don’t need a long song mother. I can put six songs together and sit back.

I forgot how easy you have it.

Yes, not like Dr. Johnny Fever of WKRP who took a nap when he played Dogs from Pink Floyd.

First of all, he was not asleep. That was a TV show. That doesn’t happen.

Fine.

That show didn’t even reach a third season. Wasn’t that funny.

I thought it was.

Look at the music you’re playing. I’ll bet Rick Holman is getting stoned right now.

Diane’s smile grew wider. Yes, you refer to it as drug music. You seem to know a lot about it though.

The DJ heard her mother take a deep breath. Nobody likes a smart aleck. You don’t seem to realize that I knew all these people when I was a DJ. I knew Jerry Garcia, George Frayne, Billy Farlow, Jorma Kaukonen Jr, Lowell George...

Wait, Diane said, laughing. I don’t even know those names after Jerry Garcia."

They’re members of Commander Cody, Hot Tuna, and Little Feat.

Oh.

Anyway, look, take what happened today as a setback.

I can’t. Mike Jones’s ratings were down for 2 years in the morning drive. They could have given me a try at any time.

I know.

But they didn’t. It’s like my lawyer said. Now that I’m on a non-compete, I just have a career of indentured servitude.

I understand, she said.

You know, they just fired Mike like it was nothing. It’s not like he’s getting a severance package. Now he’s out of radio for 3 years. That could be me one day.

Maybe you’re right. I think a lot has changed since I was a DJ. I had to work at 4 different stations before I made a name for myself.

It’s changed for the worse not only for me but for lots of other people. These non-competes are ruining lives.

I can see that.

And you know that I haven’t had a raise in 5 years. Actually, no one a the station has had a raise. Can’t live on $50,000 forever.

I know.

The truth is, Rick’s advice isn’t so crazy. Might be the best thing I could do at this point. I mean, at least I’ll be free in California.

You have my support, you know that.

I know. Look, I should go.

Okay. Look. Just play Thank the Day from Riders of the Purple Sage and Let it Roll from Little Feat.

Okay. Thanks. Love you.

Love you too.

Diane closed the phone, put it back on the table. She stood up angrily, walked over to the water cooler, took a plastic cup from the side. Her mind went to Tim Harrelson, her skin crawled. She recalled the many times that Tim put her hands on her shoulders, hugged her from behind, his breath always close to her ear.

Diane knew it wouldn’t have done any good to report him for sexual harassment. Herman Pearson always covered for him.

She remembered the incident on the booze cruise with Mary, pressing her lips together. Rick has a point. The years are piling on and I’m not getting any younger. The best part will be getting away from that asshole, Tim Harrelson. She filled the cup with water, took a sip, hoped that she’ll never meet anyone like him in the future.

Chapter 2

Tim Harrelson

Monday, May 17, 2010 2:15pm

Tim walked upstairs, wiping the perspiration from his forehead as he spotted Diane Crawford in the engineers room. She paced around the room, her cell phone to her ear. He looked her over from head to toe, stopping along the way to admire every part of her body: Her long curly brown hair the fell over her shoulders, framing her dark eyes and round