Some of 97 Rock’s 25 Years Worth of TC Backstage Meet and Greets

97 Rock started its quarter-plus century journey back in October of 1994. The call letters were KNSN and its format was a terrestrial nationwide satellite delivery system labeled "Kickin' Country."

Not Sirius XM mind you, that wasn't even yet a blip on the radar, this was a network of stations that picked up a satellite signal that then put in out over terrestrial towers. 5000 watts of nationwide yee-haw delivered to, and out of, Walla Walla, Washington.

Knowing a call letter change was desperately needed after a wholesale Rock injection into the joint, it had recently come to the attention of Deschutes River Broadcasting, the owners of 97 Rock and KORD-FM & AM at the time, that a very good rock station that was competing with the legendary KISW in Seattle was about to give up the Rock fight and go with a new staff and a new direction, "Young Country." The call letters of that Seattle rock station that were going to become available: KXRX-FM.

Truth be told, I was way apprehensive about snatching up those up call letters at first, that's a lot of pressure to follow in the steps of some truly great, legendary, Seattle radio talent. What about transplants from the west side to Tri-Cities? I feared failing listeners that weren't there. I quickly got over myself.

It didn't take long to realize how awesome the opportunity was, and that great call letters like the ones we've been sporting now for pushing 26 years don't become available but once in a broadcast career, so it was clearly the right move to make looking back in retrospect.

Enjoy below some backstage boogie shots, that may or may not, set your pants on fire. These are just a few. We've got plenty more to share, and we will, to help pass the pissing-me-off downtime as we all await concerts getting cranked up again.

Oh, and wear a mask, k?