DON'T SMOKE DOPE, FRY YOUR HAIR!

I saw a letter in the L.A. Times sports section from comedian Franklyn Ajaye, who wrote in to commend Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy for the way he managed his players. They won without grandstanding, without chicken dances in the end zone, without doo-rags and taunting. It's interesting that his viewpoint was fairly conservative, as I remember Ajaye as a potty-mouthed comic who was bleeped to death when he was played on KCSN's "Dementia 88" show when I was a kid. The truth was that Ajaye's shtick was essentially warmed-over Richard Pryor -- lots of drug and sex humor, some light dissing of Asians (and how they "fuck up the curve"), but I was a white 12-year-old from the Valley and I thought he was a genius. I bought his 1977 album Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair and reveled in hearing his routines without the annoying bleeps.

As I said, my intro to Ajaye was KCSN's answer to Dr. Demento, but with a bit more edge. While the good doctor played his fair share of cheesy novelty ditties, "Demntia's" host -- I want to say his name is James Austin, but I could be wrong -- played edgier stuff. It's where I first heard Steve Martin's "Let's Get Small," Albert Brooks, the Credibility Gap. Lots of great stuff. The Cal State Northridge radio station was also home to an amazing show called "Play It Again, Glen," deejayed by a blind college kid named Glen Gordon. There were so few listeners that I could make requests that got played within minutes. I could win contests -- such as, how many times do the Zombies say "no" in the track "Tell Her No." I established a bit of a friendship with Gordon, who always made time for me, a kid who was obsessed with radio. Later, after I got my driver's license, he had a Friday night gig spinning discs on Urban Cowboy night at Flipper's Roller Disco on La CIenega. I offered to drive him to work. Problem was, I was with my stoner buddies from Monroe High, and we were drinking tequila out of the bottle in my '68 Camaro on the drive down. It was pretty obvious we were shitfaced, and I feel terrible to this day that Gordon was subjected to what I'm sure was, to him, Deathride 2000. Needless to say, he got a ride home from someone else.