West still rocks 91X after 24 years

By: RANDY DOTINGA - For the North County Times | Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:15 PM PDT ∞

Steve West might well be the busiest man in San Diego radio. And he's definitely one of the cheeriest.

Each weekday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this redheaded Brit holds court on alternative-rock station 91X. Every weekend he hosts the station's "Resurrection Sunday" show, featuring the best of 1980s music. On top of all that, he has his very own Internet radio station.

"I go in the studio every day and I'm happy. I'm happy being alive," said West, who describes his first thoughts each morning as something like this: "Hey, I'm alive another day. Cool."

Cool indeed. West suffered a major health scare in 2004 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine screening test turned up trouble. Doctors removed his prostate and he's doing well, although he just underwent a month of radiation treatments because of a worrisome test.

"I tend not to worry about the smaller things I might have been aggravated by before," West said.

One might forgive West for being a little aggravated on occasion. After all, he and his nifty British accent weren't always appreciated at 91X.

After falling under corporate management in 1996, the station let West go even though he had been a staple there since 1983. But the station has slowly realized his value: The bosses brought him back in 1998 to do "Resurrection Sunday," and last year the station ---- now under local management ---- gave him the midday shift.

Things have changed since the early '80s, when 91X was one of the first radio stations to embrace alternative rock.

The weekday music playlists are tightly controlled now, unlike the old days when disc jockeys could choose many of the songs they played. 91X, with heavy competition from rival FM 94/9, is struggling to remain hip and shed its reputation as a corporate tool of its former managers at Clear Channel. And, of course, there are threats from iPods, satellite radio and Internet radio.

"I'm on a much bigger playing field now," West said. "But I still think radio has the edge. It's the only one that has that personality content between the songs. We're the connection between the music and the real world."

West's own personality fits perfectly into 91X's universe. He's not the slightest bit obnoxious-sounding ---- no shock jock here ---- and his British accent gives him a classic alternative rock vibe. His craggy face and loopy grin, meanwhile, make him look like a genial Brit rocker.

In reality, the London native is indeed a bit of a rebel. He got his start in radio back in the U.K., where he worked as a disc jockey at offshore stations based on boats. After legal problems sank the stations, he ended up moving to San Clemente and then San Diego, where he became the symbol of "Old School X" at 91X.

Oddly enough, West ---- a divorced father of a grown daughter who works in real estate ---- is competing with himself these days. West is the driving force behind Radio Nigel (radionigel.com), which plays alternative-rock tunes from the 1980s. According to West, tens of thousands of people listen to the Internet station, which boasts a brilliant name (Nigel sounds so perfectly British) and an apostrophe-free motto ("We dont do THAT 80s.")

For now, West plans to continue warning men about prostate cancer and urging them to stop being macho. "It's about just making sure that guys go to the doctor, getting over that hump that says, 'I'm a guy, I'm tough, I feel all right.' We need to get beyond that."

And his new outlook is unlikely to disappear.

"It's a realization that, yeah, we are mortals and our time is limited. It's not a morbid thing. It's more of an appreciation for life."

Quickies

Remember Bree Walker? Around here, she's best known as a former TV anchorwoman and, going even further back, a sexy disc jockey at radio station KPRI during its first incarnation. She's also the ex-wife of sportscaster Jim Lampley and a spokeswoman for people with disabilities. These days, Walker is a radio talk-show host in Los Angeles, an occasional actress and a favorite (to her chagrin) of Web sites that diss victims of bad plastic surgery. Now she's in the news. According to an AP report, Walker is buying a plot of land outside President Bush's Texas ranch and will turn it into both a peace memorial and a center for protest. The land was formerly owned by war protester Cindy Sheehan. ... What's that sound? Oh, nothing. Just the horsemen of the apocalypse saddling up. Just read the first paragraph of a Reuters news story that came out the other day. It says Opie and Anthony, the shock jocks from XM Radio, return to the air Friday "following a one-month suspension after a guest described his rape fantasies on their daily show." In a word: Phooey.

Randy Dotinga wishes he could be as classy as XM Radio. E-mail him at NCTimesRadio@aol.com.