Publication Date: Friday, May 14, 2004
Playing it to The Bone
Playing it to The Bone
(May 14, 2004) Classic hard-rock station to broadcast from Antonio's Nut House; leaf-blower competition among day's events
by Terry Tang
T he sounds of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Rush -- and leaf blowers -- will soon be blasting from Antonio's Nut House.
If the combination sounds strange to the area's neighbors and merchants, they can take comfort in the fact that it will only last four hours.
The reason? A special radio broadcast that will take place May 21. The hard-rocking Bone, otherwise known on the dial as 107.7 FM, will broadcast live from Antonio's Nut House beginning at 10 a.m. Live music, a prize wheel and a leaf-blower competition are some of the events on the roster.
The broadcast marks the city's inaugural turn on the Bone "HomeTown" program. Palo Alto will be one of several Bay Area pit stops for the classic hard-rock station this spring and summer.
Tony Montooth, owner of Antonio's for the past 31 years, welcomes the publicity. He is cooperating on several promotions, such as selling pitchers of Heineken beer for $10.77, rather than the usual $15. Although Montooth will be on vacation the day of the broadcast, he is confident about leaving Antonio's in the hands of Boneheads.
"I think it's a good thing. It will help other businesses that are hanging on. It will get people to come out to the 'Avenue.' so it's a good thing -- as long as it's in the daytime," said Montooth, referring to a history of late-night noise complaints from neighboring residents.
In making the promotions community-oriented, the station looks to other resources, such as the local chamber of commerce or media to find businesses owned and operated by locals. Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels, Palo Alto Eye Works, Leaf and Petal and Delight Lighting are some of the area merchants contributing give-aways. Guests will also be able to win grab bags with baseball tickets, T-shirts and other goodies.
The scheduled leaf-blower contest is one example of how The Bone crew interweaves a local angle into each home town visit. A twist on Palo Alto City Council's past campaign against the noisy machines, the station will give a special prize to patrons with the most obnoxious leaf blower. Listeners, meanwhile, can enter to win a trip to their hometown. The winner will be picked at the end of the summer and the selected hometown can be anywhere in the world.
Local charities also benefit from the fun at each stop. The Bone promotions team hopes to get passersby at Antonio's to donate funds for the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.
The idea for The Bone to meet-and-greet avid listeners began last year, in an effort to recognize that their audience is not just centered in San Francisco (the fourth largest market in the radio industry), but in surrounding cities, as well.
"Our listeners don't live in San Francisco necessarily," said Janet Magleby, The Bone's marketing director. "They live in these communities that make up the Bay Area. Listeners would call us up and ask 'Why don't you come to my town?'"
For the first tour, The Bone crew hit all their on-air hosts' hometowns. Coincidently, they all grew up somewhere around the Bay Area. This time, however, the station let listeners do the talking. Through an online questionnaire, people could nominate their hometown to be center stage for a day. From the most rocking club to the best local park, residents had to back up their town pride by naming superlative places and notable personalities.
Surveys from Palo Altans frequently sang the praises of the Cardinal, the Peninsula Creamery and El Palo Alto, the city's beloved redwood tree. Antonio's Nut House popped up frequently and was even a known to some station employees.
Deejay Laura Heywood is especially excited about broadcasting in Palo Alto, as Stanford University and Stanford Hospital play a huge role in her lineage. For 100 consecutive years, someone in her family has had ties to Stanford.
"I come from a long line of Stanford people," she said. "My grandfather was a very prominent doctor at Stanford...both my parents went there, my sister went there and I was born at Stanford Hospital."
Heywood, The Bone's only female deejay, began hosting her own morning show two months ago. She also recently took on producer duties. Still, as someone who studied theater and acting in college, Heywood looks forward to leaving a controlled studio for the unpredictable, crowded venues.
"It was a transition for me to fit in a room by myself," Heywood said. "So, I love going out and performing, doing my show with a lot of people around. The energy is just totally contagious."
In April, Heywood hosted her first "HomeTown" show in Martinez. For her, the broadcast was overwhelmingly successful. At least 500 people showed up, many hoping to interact with her. Heywood was also inundated with gifts from local merchants, and was given a key to the city from the mayor.
"The (local) paper declared me queen for a day and that's why the mayor came down," Heywood said. "We, of course, would love to have the mayor of Palo Alto come over."
The Bone staff is primarily counting on residents eager to brag about their hometown. For listeners in and out of the area, the station wants to successfully portray a Palo Alto flavor, Magleby said.
"At any given time, we have 300,000 to 400,000 people who are listening," Magleby said. "We want it so people are interested in what we're talking about. If we get 300 or 400 people, that's fine. If we get 100 people, it's great. We just want to make sure we put a nice touch on Palo Alto, so people who live there who are listening think we really captured their town and people who don't live there think it sounds like a great place."
What: Classic hard-rock station 107.7 FM presents "The Bone HomeTown" tour, a live broadcast.
Where: Antonio's Nut House, 321 S. California Ave., Palo Alto
When: Friday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: Admission is free.
Info: Call (650) 321-2550
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