BOB was born in Yakima, a child of the 60's. As the first and only child of Bob Sr. and his wife Roberta, Bob grew up without siblings and learned to play and entertain himself at an early age. Bob was home schooled by his hippie parents. In fact Bob’s first word wasn’t “Mama” or “Dada”, It was “Cool.” Bob didn’t mind not going to school with 1500 other kids though, because even as a youngster, Bob was a man of mystery.
After High School, Bob left for college at WSU, where he managed to wrangle a 4 year scholarship In Musicology. Bob managed to convince the Dean of Students that Musicology was “The study of using Music to treat people with psychological problems.” Since the Dean had no idea what musicology was, that explanation sounded pretty good. And in a way, Bob wasn’t lying. He spent his 4 years in Pullman bringing his extensive record collection to entertain at keggers!
Bob’s most memorable trait was his love of music, not as a player, but as a listener. Bob would spend every waking hour glued to his favorite radio stations, hiding under the covers at night to listen to the Old Rock Station KMWX. Bob even tuned into KXDD once in a while to see what was happening with the whole Urban Cowboy scene. Along the way, Bob amassed a HUGE record collection. Yes, Bob is still a vinyl holdout, only going to the compact disc format when his favorite tunes we're not offered on the big black 12-inch symbols of his passion.
Anyway…as Bob matured, he felt more comfortable with his passion of music diversity. Friends and co-workers would gather round to ask if Bob could burn this CD or that CD. Being very proud of his collection of over 10,000 recordings, Bob would always gratefully oblige. But as word spread, so did the demand on Bob's time. On weekends, friends would gather uninvited at Bob’s house and mingle in his basement, thumbing through the stacks of recordings, not leaving until they heard their favorite songs.
Then one day Bob had an epiphany…. why not share this treasure with the world? Take this huge record collection that he held so dear to his heart, and share it; not just with his friends, but with all people and let them rejoice in its purity, its simpleness, and its vast landscape of musical pleasure. Bob had a plan…
One weekend, Bob made a trip to The Firing Center, to hunt jack rabbits. While on the base, Bob noticed a fenced in area of parts, scrap metal, and crates. One of the crates was marked "radio transmitter". Bob slammed on the brakes of his El Camino, pulled over, and before anyone noticed, whisked away his electronic means of salvation.
Bob took the transmitter to a secret location; known only by a few close friends and associates. Little by little, in the shroud of darkness, Bob would spend more and more time building a special place, where he could eat, sleep, drink, and transmit his beloved music. No more crowds demanding his time and energy, no more strangers asking for little known one hit wonders…it was now all BOB all the time.
So when people ask, "What is this BOB thing we're hearing about?” you'll know that it's a part of all us; a slice of Yakima, Washington; a piece of radio heaven that can only be described in one palindrome…BOB.