KIFS (107.5 Kiss FM)

Our primary radio station back in Oregon was KIFS (107.5 Kiss FM), commonly referred to as "Kiss-FM". We listened to it from April 2005 all the way to May 2010, and while we were not obsessed with the station there were very few days in that period when we did not have it on for at least a few minutes.

Kiss-FM was not the first pop station we listened to: at the end of 2004, when we began listening to pop radio, the station we tuned in to was called Beat 93. However, at the end of March/beginning of April in 2005, the station was, without any sort of warning whatsoever, changed overnight to MIKE-FM, which if I remember correctly was part of the JACK-FM format. A couple of days later, there was an article in the Mail Tribune explaining the change, and it was after reading that article that my brother and I decided to look for a new pop station.

There were two choices: KLDR and Kiss-FM. KLDR sounded pretty good, but my radio could hardly pick it up, so we went with Kiss-FM instead. I was not pleased with the station at first, as I missed Beat 93's forty minutes of commercial-free music each hour and the hour and a half commercial-free music in the evening from 5:00-6:30. However, I soon grew to appreciate the station, as we were getting to listen to the current pop music and getting to hear new artists; and there were some surprises to come.

Sometime in late 2005, two radio programs that we were fans of on Beat 93 were then picked up by Kiss-FM: Hollywood Hamilton's Weekend Top 30 and Open House Party. We were very pleased by the return of the old chart show, even though we were now listening to one of the music countdowns already on the station, American Top 40 (AT40) with Ryan Seacrest (we listened to both from then on); and by Kiss-FM adopting the Open House Party for the weekend evenings, hosted by John Garabedian on Saturdays and Kane (then later Kannon) on Sundays. However, the show Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 did vanish from the station shortly after the others were picked up, but since we did not listen to that show very much, it was not really a loss.

In 2006, one of the presenters from Beat 93 was then picked up by Kiss-FM: DJ Gemineye. Although Gemineye was not one we had heard that often on Beat 93 (he had a morning show with someone else, but we listened in evenings and at night), we were glad to have him back. For a short time he did have a show called Friday New Music Fight Night (I think it was called that, I am not sure), but for some reason that was dropped. With DJ Gemineye and two ex-Beat 93 shows now adopted by Kiss-FM to complement the great music already in its regular airplay, as far as we were concerned the station was perfect.

If I recall correctly, a youth advice show titled Dawson McAllister Live appeared on Kiss-FM in late 2007, played on Sunday nights after the Open House Party, and was certainly an interesting program to listen to. Then, in the summer of August 2008, Romeo's Playhouse, a show somewhat similar to the Open House Party, began playing in the evenings every weekday; though not long after the show was picked up the presenter changed to Jackson Blue, and the program was subsequently renamed to the Party Playhouse. Despite the change, it was essentially the same show. Gemineye also started a small lunchtime show titled The Back in the Day Café, which played old and fun hits from the 80s, 90, and even the very early 2000s.

We felt extremely lucky now with the diversity of radio shows and modern music on Kiss-FM. The local presenters themselves, Michael Moon (though he must have left or moved to another station a year or two after we started listening), Kristina with a K, Troy Boy, and DJ Hope, were all as great and as memorable as all the ones on the national programs.

When my brother and I were told that we would be moving to the United Kingdom, Kiss-FM was definitely going to be something we would miss dearly. We are fortunate that we have found a station over here plays the modern music as Kiss-FM once did for us, though I do not listen to it as much, as we are now busier with other things in life.

This ended up being much longer than I thought it would ever be, as it is after all, just about a radio station and probably not something that is important in the long run. However, I owe nearly my entire music collection to KIFS (107.5 Kiss FM), and it deserves to be written about because of what it provided and the length of time we listened to it.