Demento’s Dilemma

You may have noticed that life in L.A. just hasn’t been as demented as usual--at least on the radio.

Dr. Demento, whose two-hour show of novelty recordings has been an L.A. radio institution for 27 years, has been off the air in the market since his most recent home, KSCA-FM (101.9), was sold and switched from its adult alternative format to “Mexican regional” music programming in February.

Without an L.A. station, he also is without a flagship outlet from which to do the show live, and for the time being is producing it out of his home for about 150 stations across the country.

And prospects for an L.A. return seem limited.

“I feel like a prophet without honor in my hometown,” says the good doctor--whose real name is Barry Hansen--with tongue somewhat in cheek.

Jeff Leve, president of Demento syndicator On the Air Broadcasting, says it’s not a matter of ratings, which remain strong nationally. While on KSCA, in fact, the show drew a 4.2 share of the Sunday evening audience among adults, the highest rating of any music station at that time and the top share-getter of all the station’s programming.

But changes across the L.A. dial in recent years have left only two stations as likely homes for Demento: KLOS-FM (95.5), which has roots in the ‘70s-’80s rock radio world from which Hansen launched the show into national prominence, and KLSX-FM (97.1), which actually had Demento in the early ‘90s, but jettisoned the program when the station shifted from classic rock to classless-talk three years ago.

Both those, though, are in states of flux themselves. KLOS has just hired a new programming director, John Duncan, and KLSX is in the middle of an ownership change, with CBS taking over soon and major programming decisions on hold for the interim.

Another potential hindrance is that the program operates in what is called the barter system--meaning that it comes with its own prepackaged advertising.

“To run my show, they have to commit to running the commercials within the show without charge,” Hansen explains.

Rita Wilde, KLOS music director, says that the prospect of picking up the show has not been discussed as of yet, but acknowledges that the barter element could be a problem.

“We have limited spots for ads and are pretty much sold out already,” she says. “And we have a certain amount of barter now with [parent company] ABC because they give us programming.”

Dead Air: Another KSCA orphan has just landed in a new home. “The Grateful Dead Hour,” a show featuring unreleased tapes of the legendary San Francisco band in concert, has been picked up by Cal State Northridge public station KCSN-FM (88.5) in a move by new General Manager (and longtime Deadhead) Rene Engel.

The show, hosted and produced by Dead historian David Gans, will air from 10-11 p.m. Sundays.

While KCSN’s weekday programming is dominated by classical music and news, “The Grateful Dead Hour” slots nicely into an eclectic roster of weekend rock, jazz, country and international music. Engel views it as a continuum from the Saturday 7-10 p.m. program “Tres Generations,” with Raechel Donahue presenting music spanning her radio career, which began in the ‘60s with her late husband, progressive FM radio icon Tom Donahue, and included lengthy stints at L.A.’s KMET-FM and KROQ-FM (106.7).

And to follow “The Grateful Dead Hour,” Engel has added “Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz,” a new series of beat-flavored half-hour shows by the veteran Chicago-based TV and radio voice known for his playful use of language and resonant elocution. Nordine is well known to Deadheads from albums and performances he did in the early ‘90s backed by members of that band, including the late Jerry Garcia.

Button-Pushing: Mike Morrison, former program director of KSCA, made a promising debut with his new “Weekend Becomes Eclectic” shift, noon to 2 p.m. on KCRW-FM (89.9), with sets ranging from jazz (Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) to classic-rock (Bob Dylan) to rising new acts (techno-pop group Sneaker Pimps). Funny, though, that while his inter-genre explorations were just what was lacking at KSCA, they sounded oddly conservative in the free-ranging KCRW mix. . . .

Here are the No. 1 songs this week from some of the L.A. area’s leading stations: Pop--KIIS-FM (102.7), Selena’s “Last Dance/The Hustle/On the Radio” medley; R&B--KKBT-FM; (92.3), Shaquille O’Neal’s “Strait Playin’ ”; alternative rock--KROQ-FM (106.7), Smashing Pumpkins’ “Eye”; adult rock--KYSR-FM (98.3), Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me”; country--KZLA-FM (93.9), George Strait’s “One Night at a Time”; and hip-hop--KPWR-FM (105.9), Puff Daddy’s “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down.”