Who exactly is Greg Kihn?
Well, actually, it’s me and I got a hell of a story to tell. I started out as a musician, became a rock star, had a bunch of hits, became an author, wrote some books, got into radio, took over the morning show on KFOX radio in San Jose fourteen years ago, slugged it out one day at a time, got great ratings in a very competitive market, went national, became a grandfather, wrote some movie scripts, watched KFOX grow into the super station it is now- simulcasting on two signals- 102.1 in San Francisco and 98.5 in San Jose. Along the way a lot of stuff happened. That’s an understatement.
I was a baby boomer, learned a few chords on the guitar at the tender age of thirteen and started writing songs. In those days, I was a folkie- with a Bob Dylan harmonica and John Lennon cap. It was a cool way to appear intelligent and impress girls. Underneath, of course, I was a quivering mass of hormones and a complete slavering idiot, but no one noticed. So, I started playing gigs at local coffee houses and CYO’s.
Without my knowledge, my mother entered a tape of a song I had written in a talent contest on the local top-forty radio station in Baltimore (WCAO) and I won! From that point on, a life in music seemed predetermined. A few years later I moved to California and hooked up with fellow Baltimoreans Mathew Kaufman and Allan Mason. Along with Joel Turtle, Matt founded the legendary Beserkley Records in mid 70’s and we started making records. Radio liked the Greg Kihn Band and we got excellent airplay on FM rock stations all over the country. Seven albums later, in 1981, I had my first big hit with The Breakup Song, followed by my first number one international hit Jeopardy in 1983, which was parodied by Weird Al a year later (“I Lost on Jeopardy”). We had a slew of hits, drank a lot of champagne, and toured the world.
Those were heady days, let me tell you- opening for the Stones, going on Saturday Night Live, being an early staple on MTV just when videos were becoming all the rage. I won’t lie to you- it was sex, drugs and rock and roll for years. I wasn’t going to get cheated out of a good time. But, you know how those things usually work out- the hits dried up, than came divorces, rehab, IRS battles, lawyers, … yaddah yaddah. The important thing was I survived.
I had done so much radio during my years on the road with the band, that when Larry Sharp offered me a 7-midnight spot on a little mom and pop radio station in San Jose, it seemed like a natural. I was into radio from the start and had a ball. One thing lead to another, the station changed hands, and I was promoted to mornings a year later. I never thought I’d last fifteen days, much less fifteen years. But somehow it worked and here I am.
I didn’t have a shtick; I was just myself on the air. That must have resonated with bay area radio listeners because the show got consistently great ratings for over a decade. Then, early this year, Entercom purchased KFOX, and moved us to San Francisco, where we now simulcast on 102.1, as well as on our original signal of 98.5. So, the little mom and pop station goes big time and it must have been karmic, because here I am, on top of the world- literally. We occupy a penthouse studio right downtown with a view of AT&T Park. Oh, and my new boss at Entercom? Larry Sharp- the same guy who hired me way back in the beginning. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
Recently, Joel Turtle, who is still my manager after all these years, reminded me of all the great musicians who had passed through the Greg Kihn Band. It was a pretty impressive list. He suggested we take all the post-Beserkley music that we had accumulated over the years and put it all out. The result is KIHNPLETE; a digital 3-CD boxed set. Man, there’s some great music on this! World class musicians like Joe Satriani, Jimmy Lyon, Ozzie Ahlers, Steve Douglass, Greg Douglass, Tim Gorman, Dave Danza, and my own son- guitar phenom Ry Kihn, all ripping loose live and in the studio. Putting it together was truly a labor of love.
So, what next? The digital world beckons me. I am currently recording audio books of all my novels and short stories, which I will make available on my website. Then, I have 2 completely new, unseen novels that I will publish exclusively on line. Also, I just finished writing the pilot for a TV show called 45RPM, about the mafia in the music business in the 60’s. Where’s does it all lead? I don’t know, man. I don’t even know how we got here!
