Broadcaster Profiles

Buzz Chernoff
Home on the Grange
Alternate Sundays, 6–7 pm

On this show, you will hear current news about Grange and other happenings on the Divide, discussions with guests on topics of relevance to rural living, and a regular update on legislative issues the California State Grange is pursuing at the state and national levels, all mixed with music and spoken word.

Professional Porch Sitters Local 4300
Alternate Sundays, 6–7 pm

Get unbusy with Buzz and cohost Cornelius O’Quinn at the Professional Porch Sitters Local 4300. Sit down with a glass of lemonade and join in on porch chatter about the weather, goings-on in the community, gardening, raising chickens, road repairs, gourmet recipes, fishing, or whatever else comes to mind, plus stories, music, and a whole lot of fun.

Buzz is a community and Grange advocate who has lived on the side of Mt. Murphy with his wife, Linda, and a bunch of critters since the 1980s. He is the lecturer for the California State Grange and is actively involved with the Marshall Grange in Garden Valley. He has been a KFOK broadcaster since 2009 and a supporter of the American River Folk Society since its beginning.

Marc Cuniberti
Money Matters
Wednesdays, 10–11 am, Fridays, 1–2 pm

This program is about your money, your country, your livelihood. In short, it’s about you.

Marc has been a regular contributor and broadcaster at both KFOK and KVMR. His past shows include KFOK’s Thumpin’ Thursdays and KVMR’s Good Morning Show and Center Stage interview specials. Money Matters is recorded live at KVMR and rebroadcast three times a week at KFOK.

John Daniels
Pride of the Mountains
Mondays, 10 am–noon

John, in rotation with several other hosts (he’s on the air the third Monday of each month), features songs from the American folk scene, including traditional folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and other acoustic music forms.

John is a membership coordinator for KFOK and a member of the Board of Directors of the American River Folk Society, the license holder for KFOK.

Ken Deibert
Georgetown City Limits
Saturdays, 6–8 pm

Welcome to Georgetown, where you never know what surprises you’ll hear until you get here. Join Ken, in rotation with other hosts (he’s on the air the first Saturday of each month), on an imaginary journey down Main Street in the “city” called Georgetown, where you may be surprised to hear early Americana, rock, R&B, folk, country, and lots more.

Allan Ferreira
Georgetown City Limits
Saturdays, 6–8 pm

Welcome to Georgetown, where you never know what surprises you’ll hear until you get here. Join Allan, in rotation with other hosts (he’s on the air the third Saturday of each month), on an imaginary journey down Main Street in the “city” called Georgetown, where you may be surprised to hear early Americana, rock, R&B, folk, country, and lots more.

Paul Firth
Jazz World
Tuesdays, 8–10 pm

Paul’s program features jazz music from the 1920s to the present, including jazz blues, fusion, jazz rock and occasional crossover selections—a wide variety of music by jazz legends and new rising stars.

Paul has been a jazz enthusiast for over 30 years. Originally from Los Angeles, Paul moved to the Divide in 1997. His other interests include fly fishing, surfing, gardening, and steam locomotives.

Paul is KFOK’s general manager and is secretary of the Board of Directors of the American River Folk Society, the license holder for KFOK.

Maureen Focht
Music and Insights for Mental Health
Second and fourth Wednesdays, noon–1 pm

Maureen offers a mix of mellow music, both old and new, and information on mental health issues facing all of us and our families to help increase awareness and understanding. She features local mental health professionals as program guests and takes calls from listeners at 333-4300.

Maureen Focht is an educator with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a senior peer counselor for El Dorado County, and the author of Silent Heroes: Courageous Families Living with Depression and Mental Illness.

Mignon Geli
Flutes & Drums
Thursdays, 3–5 pm

Mignon shares music featuring flutes, drums, and other Native American instruments from North and South America and Hawaii, plus announcements about Native American events and activities.

David Godley
TCM: Today’s Christian Music
Mondays, noon–2 pm

David loves to play the best of Christian music from today’s top artists. Tune in and listen to artists such as Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, and Audio Adrenaline. Get set to be uplifted by inspiring music, devotionals, Bible verses, and sermons as David takes you on a two-hour journey of music and faith. Grab a radio and tune in!

David Godley, a former sawmill security guard in Camino, lives in Placerville and plans to study to become an electroencephalography technician so he can work with people with neurological disorders. Active in his church, he enjoys contemporary Christian music as well as oldies. David volunteers for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the Epilepsy Foundation of America. His hobbies include working with model trains, listening to music, and playing guitar.

Ray Griffiths
Science & Environment News & Review
Wednesdays, 8–9 am

This show features news and opinion about various science subjects and the environment. Topics are separated by music selections from Americana, jazz, and pop.

Ray, an ecologist trained at California State University, Chico, and the University of California at Davis, is a horticulture instructor at Folsom Lake College’s El Dorado Center in Placerville. He serves on county committees and conservation-organization boards, has consulted on land use, forestry, and rare and endangered native plants and wetlands, and raises fruit and vegetables. Raised on a small ranch in the Central Valley, he has been a resident of Georgetown since 1978.

Ray is a membership coordinator for KFOK and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American River Folk Society, the license holder for KFOK.

Richard Grimes
Rockin’ Richard,
Fridays, 2–5 pm

Rockin’ Richard’s show is oldies, classic rock, and blues. He loves to play those songs that have been forgotten and are rarely heard or maybe not heard much but bring back great memories. So, tune in for Rockin’ Richard—he’s sure he’ll play something you like.

Richard, raised in Pinole, a small town across the bay from San Francisco, was a teenager during the ’60s and ’70s, so his musical experiences during that unique period were at various legendary venues like the Fillmore, Winterland, and the Avalon Ballroom, plus the Days on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum and free concerts in Golden Gate Park and Berkeley’s Provo Park, just to name a few. He was raised in a musical family: His mother played stand-up bass in the US Navy during the ’40s, and she instilled in him a deep appreciation for music.

Richard is a member of KFOK’s Program Committee, a studio technician, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American River Folk Society, the license holder for KFOK.

Ann Gualtieri
Tutti Frutti
First, third, and fifth Thursdays, 7–9 pm

Join Ann for an evocative ride through the past and present, with cutting-edge music from folk, rock, contemporary, pop, rap, country, classical, international, jazz, and reggae musicians.

Trapper (Jonny Herzog)
Unsigned Artists
Thursdays, noon–2 pm

This program gives unsigned artists the opportunity to get their original music on the radio and streaming on the Internet.

Trapper, who grew up in a small community of rock musicians in the Bay Area, moved to Georgetown in 2006.

Tenali Hrenak
Muddy Boots
Tuesdays, 4–6 pm (on hiatus)

Muddy Boots will wander where sneakers never will, moving on the back roads through the backwoods and to the forgotten cracks of our communities. Tune in to hear ’20s and ’30s jazz and blues, field recordings from the campfire, the random whimsical, and the rare and not so rare.

Tenali is KFOK’s webmaster.

Craig Kuehn
Healthy Families
Fridays, 7–8 am

Craig’s program shares the latest research on relationships and families and what that means for all of us, using stories of real people. (Call-ins are welcome.) There will be more talk about parents than about children, but children will not be forgotten, because when Mom and Dad are happy, everyone is happy. The best gift we can give to our children is being in a good relationship with our spouse.

Craig, an Episcopal priest at Placerville’s Church of Our Saviour, holds a certificate as a board-certified pastoral counselor. He is married to Suzanne, and they have two children, one surviving. Originally from Utah, Craig has lived in Placerville since 2000. Craig is also president and founder of the El Dorado Healthy Marriages Coalition, a founding member of the National Association of Relationship Educators.

Andy Lake
The Big Kahuna Zoo
Thursdays, 2–3 pm

A “Cowabunga!” E-ticket ride! Who knows which tropical beast may have escaped its cage this week at the Big Kahuna Zoo, but it’s gonna be fun. KFOK’s resident zookeeper unleashes a sonic roller coaster of music ranging from the ’50s to the ’90s, washed down with a wild tsunami of music from his years in a world-renowned surf band. So pack up your long board, your suntan lotion, and some cotton candy—oh, and don’t forget the earplugs! Catch a wave with Andy at the Big Kahuna Zoo.

The Big Kahuna After Hours
Second and fourth Thursdays, 5–7 pm

This extended program features the world’s greatest rock bands recorded live in concert. Drawing on commercially available recordings, on bootlegs, and on recordings from concerts the host was personally involved with, this is a program that showcases the live in-concert format at its finest.

Andy is a member of KFOK’s Program Committee.

Pat Leeds

Pat has a broad background in classical, popular, and rock and roll music, and he is a longtime gun aficionado. He covers all these subjects with his weekly shows. Listen to Pat every Wednesday, 1–5 pm—you’re sure to find something you like!

Afternoon Classics
Wednesdays, 1–2 pm

Expect anything from a Bach concerto to a Wagner opera, with a whole lot in between. Pat’s been interested in the classics since childhood.

The Rockin’ ’50s & ’60s Show
Wednesdays, 2–4 pm

This show is the cornerstone of Pat’s broadcasting with KFOK, starting in 2002, and the songs are from his music library covering the fabulous golden era of traditional rock and roll and pop. It’s fun and nostalgic music.

All About Guns
Wednesdays, 4–5 pm (rebroadcast Saturdays, 2–3 pm)

This show features discussions of gun ownership, maintenance, and safety, as well as owner responsibility and home and personal defense. Gun and shooting experts will join Pat in the studio and over the phone, and listeners are welcome to call before, during, or after the show.

Retired from a 36-year banking/finance career, Pat is a ham radio operator (KD6APA), a private pilot (he owns a Cessna 182), a member of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Air Squadron, and past president of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 1074, and Friends of the Georgetown Airport.

Pat is KFOK’s music librarian.

Alan Lubanes
Pride of the Mountains
Mondays, 10 am–noon

Al, in rotation with several other hosts (he’s on the air the first Monday of each month), features songs from the American folk scene, including traditional folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and other acoustic music forms.

Steve Meadows
Meadows Road
Wednesdays, 6–8 pm

Catch a tapestry of moving folk, blues, Americana, and old-time music on a show that’s been on the air since 1990! Join poet Steve Meadows every Wednesday night. Keep a dream in your heart and your feet on the road.

Meadows Road has been around for over 20 years, and during that time, Steve has interviewed scores of musicians from throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Steve earned an FCC license while working at KZSC, the radio station at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Rebecca Murphy
Reba’s Reggae Revue
First and third Mondays, 6–8 pm

Rebecca invites listeners to experience the uplifting and beautiful beat of Jamaica and the surrounding Caribbean islands. With a nod toward world music, she also throws in reggae from around the world, including Africa, Latin America, and the United States and often adds music in which reggae is rooted, including zydeco, blues, and Motown.

Rebecca, who graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in journalism, has been writing since 1982. She has worked for the Georgetown Gazette since 1988, and became its editor in 2008 after working as a reporter and photographer for the local paper for 20 years. She loves sharing reggae, which she began listening to in the early 1970s, when it was relatively new outside of the Caribbean.

Rebecca is KFOK’s underwriting coordinator.

Mark Nichol
The Flower Power Hour
Tuesdays, 6–7 pm

Slip on your happenin’ threads (if they still fit), let down your hair (OK, put on that gag-gift hippie wig), light up (incense, of course), and let your freak flag fly. Join your Groovy Guru and groove to psychedelic rock, folk rock, garage rock, and straight-ahead rock from the ’60s and early ’70s—mostly less well-known and even obscure tunes.

BeSides: The Rest of Rock
Tuesdays, 7–8 pm

Flick your Bic, man! It’s time to rock out to tunes from the ’70s and early ’80s—a hit song here and there, but mostly stuff you didn’t hear on the radio back in the day over and over again (or ever), and won’t hear on commercial classic-rock radio today: rock ’n’ roll, hard rock, progressive rock, Southern rock, blues rock, even some punk and new wave.

Mark is a writer and editor who relocated to the Divide from the Bay Area in 2010.

Mark is KFOK’s program director, the radio station’s publicity coordinator, and president of the Board of Directors of the American River Folk Society, the license holder for KFOK.

Cornelius O’Quinn
Professional Porch Sitters Local 4300
Alternate Sundays, 6–7 pm

Get unbusy with Cornelius and his cohost, Buzz, at the Professional Porch Sitters Local 4300. Sit down with a glass of lemonade and join in on porch chatter about the weather, goings-on in the community, gardening, raising chickens, road repairs, gourmet recipes, fishing, or whatever else comes to mind, plus stories, music, and a whole lot of fun.

Cornelius, who’s lived around the Divide since 2002, like his cohost, Buzz, is a local ham who loves to talk and tell stories. He and Buzz are regulars at the Marshall Grange Young at Heart Players Monthly Bistro and Coffeehouse. Cornelius has been a broadcaster at KFOK since the days when the studio was behind the barbershop.

Katherine Okey
Katherine’s Carousel of Musicals
Sundays, 9–10 am

Katherine invites you to experience the world of theater and movie musicals. Each Sunday, you’ll hear the brief history, the plot, and some enchanting tunes from either a stage production or a movie. Katherine features a different production each week, so, if you love musicals, or you want to be introduced to them, be sure to tune in!

Katherine, a university graduate who majored in literature, enjoys singing, writing, and, of course, experiencing the world of musicals.

Gary Oswald
FAT Head Radio
Fridays, 9 am–noon

Join Gary and his cohost, Cathy, every Friday as they venture back into the Land of Lard with the music of the legendary KFAT, from its glory days to what is FAT now. Help us in spreadin’ the weird of the lard. Tell your friends and neighbors that the FAT one has risen!

Gary is coordinator of the station’s Adopt-A-Highway Program.

Kathy Otermat
Amigos Para Siempre
Alternate Mondays, 6–8 pm

This program, encompassing many popular styles of Latin music, emphasizes songs with a beat to get your hips swaying as you prepare dinner, work in the garden, or clean your house. It features songs from countries such as Mexico, Cuba, and Brazil and well-known Latin artists like Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Los Lobos, and Sergio Mendes, as well as artists who are not necessarily mainstream.

Kathy Gamiño Otermat was born in Tracy, moved to the Bay Area to attend college, worked at Apple for nearly eighteen years, and has lived on the Divide since 1992. Raised dancing to Latin music, she later expanded her love of Latin music through travel to Mexico, Belize, and Brazil. Kathy has been a member of the Georgetown Divide Public Utilities District’s Board of Directors since December 2010, and her many interests include photography, embroidery, keeping in touch with a large extended family, and singing karaoke whenever she gets a chance.

Cathy Rohm
Red Dirt Roadhouse
Saturdays, 9 am–noon

Music guaranteed to rock your socks off on Saturday mornings! Red Dirt is anything from Asleep at the Wheel to the Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, with an emphasis on noncommercial music. Stuff you’ve heard; stuff you’ve never heard of! All good. Guaranteed, or your money back.

FAT Head Radio
Fridays, 9 am–noon

Join Cathy and her cohost, Gary, every Friday as they venture back into the Land of Lard with the music of the legendary KFAT, from its glory days to what is FAT now. Help us in spreadin’ the weird of the lard. Tell your friends and neighbors that the FAT one has risen!

Cathy has been a Divide resident since 2001, coming to the area from Sacramento to follow her interests in endurance riding. She’s been a broadcaster since KFOK’s formation, and she says her affiliation with the station has been, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding experiences of her life—right up there with winning the Haggin Cup and Tevis Cup!

Cathy is KFOK’s announcements coordinator.

Marian Smith
Aging with Success
Mondays, 9–10 am

If you wonder about the challenges and joys of growing old, Aging with Success might just be your kind of program. Marian keeps you informed on the process of aging and how to navigate wellness.

Pride of the Mountains
Mondays, 10 am–noon

Marian, in rotation with several other hosts (she’s on the air the fourth and fifth Monday of each month), features songs from the American folk scene, including traditional folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and other acoustic music forms.

Marian, who obtained a bachelor’s degree in gerontology in 2007, has hosted Aging with Success on KFOK since 2005. The idea for the program rose from her need for a senior project at Sacramento State University. Since that time, Marian has interviewed more than a hundred experts on aging for her program. She also enjoys showcasing her favorites in the bluegrass genre when she hosts Pride of the Mountains.

Phil Toschi
Phil’s Sports Show
Mondays, 2–3 pm

Phil covers local high school athletics, as well as college and professional sports, with scores and more.

Old-Time Radio
Fridays, 8–10 pm

Join Phil as he celebrates old-time radio with recordings of vintage mystery and comedy radio shows such as The Shadow and Fibber McGee and Molly.

Faith Wolfram
Sleepwalking Through Public Places
Third Sundays, noon–3 pm

Indie, electronic, reggae, hip-hop, and then some.

Faith lives in Sacramento and has worked around music forever—first working at Tower Records HQ and at an indie record label/distribution company, and then running a record label—and has always supported local independent music and radio stations such as KDVS and KVMR. She thanks buddy Al for introducing her to KFOK Community Radio!

Faith is KFOK’s music director.

Syndicated Programming

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour
Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 7–8 am; Tuesdays, 6–7 am

WoodSongs is a syndicated music program that explores the beautiful world of folk, bluegrass, songwriting, and literature.

Art of the Song
Sundays and Wednesdays, 11 am–noon

Art of the Song is a one-hour public radio program that explores universal truths common to all creative expression.

The opinions expressed on any program are those of the individual broadcaster and do not represent the opinion or views of the American River Folk Society, KFOK Community Radio, its management and staff, or its underwriters. If you have any comment on the content of a program, please write to the broadcaster of the show and/or share your thoughts with the program director. Read our disclaimer.