Tornado knocks KNON off the air, leaves station searching for a new home
Dallas’ best-known independent radio station, KNON-FM, suffered major damage during Sunday night’s storm and has gone off the air. The station, which operates 24-7, stopped broadcasting between 7 and 8 p.m. on Sunday. After its studio, housed within an office building on North Central Expressway, lost power, DJs fled the structure.
No one was hurt, but KNON general manager Dave Chaos says the building took a forceful hit. Its mangled rear entrance is perhaps the best evidence of this. Throughout the premises, windows are shattered, some ceilings have collapsed and all kinds of autographed musical memorabilia are scattered.
Founded in 1983, the station, which can be heard at 89.3 FM and online, broadcasts jazz, punk, metal, gospel, R&B, Latin, blues, country, Cajun, reggae, Native American music — all the stuff you’ll never hear on Top 40 radio. Its staff is made up of volunteers, and, as a non-commercial station, it’s funded mostly by listener donations and sponsorships from local businesses.
“We’re organizing crews that can move us out safely," says Chaos. “We really appreciate the response we are getting from our community. Right now, we don’t really want people showing up to help out with anything because the building is not safe.”
He estimates that moving the station to a new home will cost about $60,000.
On the bright side, KNON’s equipment appears to be in good shape, Chaos says. Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill about 20 miles southwest of the studio and remained intact during the storm. He hopes the station will be back on-air in some shape or form by the end of the week, albeit with a reduced signal. (Typically, the station’s signal reaches a 60-mile radius from the Cedar Hill transmitter.)
He hasn’t lost his sense of humor. “My advice to someone who is going to be an artist or a DJ and is picking their on-air name or stage name is be careful of the one you pick,” Chaos says, before walking into his office, which can only be described as a pile of rubble. “It can become you. This is pure chaos.”
“This is a great opportunity for the community to come together,” he adds. “And we are going to get KNON back on the air. That’s the most important thing. We are not losing KNON.”
Chaos says that the owner of the building, which remains without power, has asked KNON to relocate from it for safety reasons. The station now plans to hole up in a temporary location before finding a more permanent home, which Chaos suspects will not be its current one.
Dallas’ best-known independent radio station, KNON-FM, suffered major damage during Sunday night’s storm and has gone off the air. The station, which operates 24-7, stopped broadcasting between 7 and 8 p.m. on Sunday. After its studio, housed within an office building on North Central Expressway, lost power, DJs fled the structure.
No one was hurt, but KNON general manager Dave Chaos says the building took a forceful hit. Its mangled rear entrance is perhaps the best evidence of this. Throughout the premises, windows are shattered, some ceilings have collapsed and all kinds of autographed musical memorabilia are scattered.
Founded in 1983, the station, which can be heard at 89.3 FM and online, broadcasts jazz, punk, metal, gospel, R&B, Latin, blues, country, Cajun, reggae, Native American music — all the stuff you’ll never hear on Top 40 radio. Its staff is made up of volunteers, and, as a non-commercial station, it’s funded mostly by listener donations and sponsorships from local businesses.
“We’re organizing crews that can move us out safely," says Chaos. “We really appreciate the response we are getting from our community. Right now, we don’t really want people showing up to help out with anything because the building is not safe.”
He estimates that moving the station to a new home will cost about $60,000.
On the bright side, KNON’s equipment appears to be in good shape, Chaos says. Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill about 20 miles southwest of the studio and remained intact during the storm. He hopes the station will be back on-air in some shape or form by the end of the week, albeit with a reduced signal. (Typically, the station’s signal reaches a 60-mile radius from the Cedar Hill transmitter.)
He hasn’t lost his sense of humor. “My advice to someone who is going to be an artist or a DJ and is picking their on-air name or stage name is be careful of the one you pick,” Chaos says, before walking into his office, which can only be described as a pile of rubble. “It can become you. This is pure chaos.”
“This is a great opportunity for the community to come together,” he adds. “And we are going to get KNON back on the air. That’s the most important thing. We are not losing KNON.”
Chaos says that the owner of the building, which remains without power, has asked KNON to relocate from it for safety reasons. The station now plans to hole up in a temporary location before finding a more permanent home, which Chaos suspects will not be its current one.
