San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Listeners mourn loss of ‘Acoustic Sunrise’
Howarth said she is open to a return. “I just need to take 10 minutes.”
Rosalie Howarth, whose “Acoustic Sunrise” Sunday show on KFOG was cancelled in May after 27 years, found a packed house of admirers at a “Fare Thee Well” event at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley the other Sunday morning.
Among the crowd of about 250 were fellow former KFOG staffers, including Kim Wonderley and John Evans ,as well as colleagues from other stations, among them Celeste Perry and KGO’s Heather Hamann.
All around the club, listeners heaped praise on Howarth and mourned the loss of her five-hour show, a musical oasis which she programmed herself and which featured her soothing voice commenting not only on the music but on the community and current affairs.
The tribute was produced by Roger McNamee, founder of Moonalice, with KFOG alumni Renee Richardson and Jude Heller.
McNamee, who does a monthly solo stint at the Sweetwater and turned this one over to a Howarth tribute, spoke about her backstage, before performing a short set. He called her “the embodiment of what is great about music in society. She brings people together, she exposes them to new and interesting ideas. She supports musicians — especially up and coming musicians. The end of ‘Acoustic Sunrise’ carries a symbolism … it’s almost a last hurrah of the music world we all grew up in. Somehow, she kept that spirit alive on commercial radio longer than anybody else, and longer than we would’ve thought, given the trends in radio.”
“It was my church,” said Dana Black, a San Francisco native who tuned in online after moving to Santa Rosa. “I miss it,” she said. “I don’t know what to do, and I feel lost.” She appreciated Howarth’s sense of community — “and always with a good heart, promoting the wellness of everybody.”
Jennifer Wallace, who works in San Francisco, noted, “The pace is so fast, and the weather — there are no clearly defined seasons. Her show was a touchstone for us; it showed us where we were in the week or the season. Every week we could collect and breathe and slow down.”
“She was a great influence on the Bay Area cultural and musical scene,” said Richard Raffel of Benicia. Mike Friedman of Sunnyvale credited Howarth with “a large part of my CD collection.” He no longer listens to KFOG. “I don’t like the direction, which is obviously to get younger people than myself. (Friedman is 67.) I’m struggling to find another station.”
“I feel like I’m lost in the desert,” said Wallace. “I lost two friends recently; this feels like the third death.”
Celeste Perry spoke about a friend, Katy Chapman, who, along with husband Bob, listened religiously. Bob passed away two years ago. Katy, who lives in Marin, oversees a farmers’ market in San Francisco on weekends. “When Katy drives to work and listens,” said Perry, “she feels that Bob is there with her. It’s been this connection. So she’s heartbroken.”
Howarth said she is open to a return.
“I just need to take 10 minutes,” she said.
She’s also looking forward to becoming a grandmother in September. “On Labor Day,” she said, to great laughter. McNamee opened his set with “Hallelujah,” and when the audience sang along, softly, on the chorus, he beamed. “Rosalie’s taught you well,” he said.
Ch-ch-ch-changes: Progressive talk radio, never a big winner in these parts, is back. iHeart Media has switched 910 AM (KKSF) from ESPN’s Spanish language sports format to “Real Talk 910.” It’s all syndicated, with Stephanie Miller mornings, followed by Thom Hartmann, consumer advocate Clark Howard, and Norman Goldman … Peter Finch, news anchor on KFOG and KGO in years past, has joined KCBS on the all-night shift, replacing Marty Lenz, who moved to a station in Denver.
Trust: The Great American Music Hall, an historic venue, was the perfect place for the memorial gathering for David Wiegand, the Chronicle’s Datebook editor and TV critic who died on April 30. He was a Renaissance appreciator of the arts, and he was celebrated by a wide array of speakers and performers, from the symphony and the opera to Bud E. Luv and Ronn Owens, whose KGO show Wiegand guested on many times. Owens entrusted Wiegand to break the news of his battle with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, after helping keep it a secret since his diagnosis in 2001. The article, Owens said, “was perfect. David captured the moment with facts, and even a bit of humor. He helped me break my silence, and in the process, helped others deal with their Parkinson’s diagnosis.”
“Trust,” said Owens. “When I think of his dozens of appearances on my show, both listeners and I knew we could trust his knowledge. It didn’t happen often, but David wasn’t afraid to say, ‘I don’t know.’ ”
The response from his listeners to the news of Wiegand’s death was “astounding,” Owens said. He quoted several, including Michelle Ress, who wrote, “Just listened to your replay of his last appearance. It just goes to show, all we have is today.”