improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . january 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . january 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message knac fm city long beach california broadcast area greater los angeles branding 105.5 knac slogan pure rock frequency 105.5 first air date january 8 1986 format heavy metal hard rock alternative rock callsign meaning k n a c webcast listen website knac.com knac fm branded as pure rock 105.5 knac was a los angeles heavy metal fm radio station licensed to long beach originally owned by fred sands broadcasting at 105.5 mhz from january 8 1986 1 to february 15 1995 ; about two weeks after the sign off it was replaced by the spanish language radio station known as kbue que buena . 2 in february 1998 however knac was revived as an internet based radio station . prior to 1986 knac had existed in several different formats including freeform and rock n rhythm which was a new wave alternative rock station . contents 1 history 1.1 knac at 105.5 fm 1.2 freeform era 1.3 alternative music era 1.4 heavy metal era 1.4.1 decline in popularity 1.4.2 return via world wide web 1.4.3 reunions 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit knac at 105.5 fm edit the original knac was based in long beach california and served los angeles and orange counties on the fm band at a center frequency of 105.5 mhz . knac fm had a variety of different formats . with a relatively weak radio signal and a small geographical area knac never appeared in the arbitron radio ratings . outside the los angeles area the station gained a huge following from heavy metal fans across the united states via marketing and selling of t shirts stickers compact discs etc. with ads in heavy metal fan magazines . before knac became popular under the heavy metal format knac was branded as the knack . knac was inducted into the rock radio hall of fame in the legends of rock radio stations category in 2014 . freeform era edit in the late 1960s through the late 1970s the rock format knac ran was referred to as freeform . a freeform radio format gives the on air talent almost total control over what music to play regardless of commercial concerns . popular performers of the time such as avant garde experimental music artist frank zappa and comical theatre troupe the firesign theatre would stop by the stations studios to perform live or act as guest djs . during the early part of this era the station s on air personalities would often perform their shifts while smoking marijuana or after having consumed other illicit drugs and alcoholic beverages usually provided by the mainstream record promoters in an effort to get their albums noticed as many of so called underground stations of the era were also known to do across the country . during the early days of knac some of l.a. s diamonds in the rough were found . most notably ron mccoy 6 a.m. to noon was not only the program director but also a seasoned musician with the hard rock recording group msg who released little suzie looker hooker and other regional hits . jim ladd 12 noon to 6 p.m. who later moved to klos would become one of the first nationally syndicated jocks with the inner view along with his partner jerry longdon 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. who went on to become the announcer on don kirshner s abc tv show in concert ladd has a star on the hollywood walk of fame . frank jolley 7 p.m to midnight was the first at knac to appear in the l.a. arbitron with a very respectable showing . that performance brought him to the attention of southern pacific s kkdj who hired him . jolley would later become a motion picture producer and mentor chairman of the producers guild of america . while at knac jolley produced the first ever feature film for the infant cable tv industry winning him the 1972 national cable television association award for his production of zebra 9 . 3 as a freeform radio station knac featured typical rock artists of the day such as the beatles the who rolling stones the kinks grateful dead led zeppelin jimi hendrix emerson lake & palmer yes pink floyd genesis among others . with its liberal on air format however knac also played album tracks or songs by the more popular rock music artists that other radio stations would generally not play . in addition knac broadcast artists that received less airplay on more commercial rock stations . these artists could include anyone from san francisco bay area psychedelic music act it s a beautiful day blues rock group electric flag to progressive rock acts such as the moody blues . some rhythm and blues soul and funk artists including sly and the family stone b.b. king chambers brothers and funkadelic were also heard on knac . the station s owners during that period were jim and claudia harden . by the middle of the 1970s the underground and counterculture movements of the 1960s were giving way to newer subcultures . in response knac started to play more punk rock and new wave music . by the late 1970s knac had begun to evolve into an eclectic alternative music station . alternative music era edit during the first half of the 1980s knac ran an alternative music format . knac was known in the early 1980s as rock n rhythm 105.5 knac developed by program director and afternoon drive dj jimmy the saint christopher . knac had a reputation as a cutting edge station that played music that would later be added to stations like kroq fm . bands like the jam lone justice the blasters elvis costello and dave edmunds frequently visited the station s long beach studio . the station was considered influential in bringing about a thriving alternative music scene in orange county and long beach . members of sublime and no doubt would listen religiously every sunday night to roberto angotti s reggae revolution from 1982 to 1986 . angotti was responsible for launching the careers of ub40 steel pulse pato banton tippa irie macka b mad professor and many other british based artists . he would venture to jamaica to document the roots of reggae and recorded peter tosh s final interview before his untimely death . reggae revolution was the only radio show that survived the pure rock format change as angotti took the 1 arbitron rated program to kroq in pasadena burbank where he would remain until his move to 91x in san diego in the early 1990s . announcers norm mcbride sylvia amerito mary hogins kat snow rick stuart soup sullivan roland west doug adams and manny pacheco were a few of the popular djs of this time . heavy metal era edit in 1984 fred sands purchased the radio station at a bankruptcy auction . sands advertised in trade publications indicating his desire to hire a general manager with major market experience . gary price an industry veteran took the job and worked with sands who was intimately involved for the first year . the antenna was moved from signal hill to dominguez hills increasing the coverage area . in addition sands and price ordered and installed state of the art equipment for the new studio location and hired a new engineer . with all the new improvements sands and price recognized that knac needed a new sound as well . they selected a heavy metal format targeting younger demographics . the birth of the pure rock format was in response to iron maiden selling out four shows at the long beach arena on the powerslave tour despite having received no significant radio airplay . 4 for the first time knac appeared in the arbitron ratings and once established the station took in revenues of at least a million dollars per year . during the nine year hard rock era the knac program directors were jimmy the armored saint christopher tom marshall pam edwards gregg steele and bryan schock . among the music directors at knac during that time frame were kevin stephens ross goza and michael davis whose on air moniker was jack the ripper . original on air talent included kat snow as killer kat lady di and paul lobster scorchin scotty and tawn mastery took over killer kat s shift in 1986 . bands in knac s playlist ranged from hard rock traditional heavy metal and nwobhm such as black sabbath led zeppelin deep purple iron maiden def leppard saxon judas priest ac dc van halen aerosmith alice cooper kiss scorpions rush mot rhead accept ozzy osbourne dio and armored saint progressive power metal such as queensr che savatage lizzy borden helloween dream theater and fates warning glam metal such as m tley cr e bon jovi skid row poison whitesnake europe cinderella guns n roses and tesla thrash crossover groove metal such as metallica megadeth slayer anthrax suicidal tendencies testament sepultura pantera metal church exodus overkill and machine head and alternative metal or grunge such as faith no more alice in chains soundgarden nirvana pearl jam stone temple pilots tool and biohazard . 2 5 6 knac was also responsible for helping launch the careers of previously low key metal and hard rock bands and is often credited for being the first radio station to promote new bands before their large scale success including metallica guns n roses bon jovi megadeth skid row metal church pantera alice in chains soundgarden stone temple pilots and poison . 4 7 sands and price had worked together for about ten years . sands sold the radio station in 1994 for five times what he paid for it in 1984 . decline in popularity edit by early 1992 heavy metal was losing ground to the growing popularity of various alternative subcultures . in trying to keep up with the times knac began adding more music acts popular in the alternative music genre to its playlist rotation . the majority of these were the more guitar based grunge acts like pearl jam and nirvana as well as punk acts like the offspring . 8 while fans of the more adventurous and alternative earlier knac incarnation heralded a possible return to the previous format many metal fans disliked knac s new sound and the station already in ratings trouble saw further declines in audience shares . in 1994 management announced that knac was being sold and was switching to a spanish language music format . heavy metal fans began tuning in again to find that knac had returned to its metal format for the few last months . once again headbangers could hear the classic metal they had not heard in a while like megadeth or saxon . finally the last day february 15 1995 arrived . james hetfield and lars ulrich of metallica appeared as guests to show their support . the last song to be played on knac was metallica s fade to black which was played during the first hour of the metal format 9 years earlier . at 1 59 p.m. knac went off the air with a short farewell message from general manager gary price this is knac long beach los angeles .