The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net
Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 1:11 am
Usually I'm pretty savvy with detective work when it comes to rediscovering past legends of my life. For instance, I searched ten years for a movie I faintly remembered on TV in the 80s; going off nothing but snippets I had great success in finding out the movie was "Northstar." But this one...truly, I have met my match.
If you YouTube various KMPH 26 idents--we're talking before FOX--a few will pop up, save for the one I remember most fondly. You had the four-note theme, usually plated very low-key on a flute, over a video file of some Central Valley landmark--the water tower, farmland in Kerman, Millerton. At last, you would hear the announcer proclaim those famous words: "We're your station, [city]. KMPH, 26." And sometimes--could have been a studio glitch--the video file would play on in absolute silence for an awkward number of seconds.
It may seem bizarre, but I used to get sleepy when it came to these idents, especially during the 5-7p block of sitcoms and game shows. I was between five and eight years old--perhaps it seems less bizarre since I mentioned that. Regardless, they are a pleasant piece of my mind I flutter back to now and then, but in trying to scout out a clip, my attempts have all but failed. I even sent out several emails to KMPH about the issue, and it turns out they had tossed out all the VHS copies that contained these. Very sad indeed.
I'm not giving up, however. Perhaps some of you may have access to what seems oh so inaccessible. Maybe you have a musty old unlabled VHS with that SP recording of Jaws or Futureworld that you timed your VCR for, since you were at Blackbeard's that day and hated missing the Saturday Afternoon Matinee. I don't know if it's possible that any of you may have it, but even discussing something as subtle and minor as this gives me great joy. It's one more reminder of how great and simple this city used to be.
I recently started a blog-zine, The Nostalgic, which discusses things of the past. I've been holding off doing a piece on the old KMPH idents until I found a clip of this particular one. Needless to say, the first person to bring this to me will receive both textual credit in the specific issue, and perhaps even receive (gasp) a cash reward. Hey, it won't be much, but I have to say "Thank God for you and thank you beyond all reason" somehow. The blog is located at thenostalgic.wordpress.com.
I'm glad this board is up and running. I plan of frequenting it for much of my free time, and look forward to discussing other relics of ancient Fresno, no matter how trivial they may seem ("say, do you remember how brown the soil was back in '92?")
Shay Clay
The Nostalgic
If you YouTube various KMPH 26 idents--we're talking before FOX--a few will pop up, save for the one I remember most fondly. You had the four-note theme, usually plated very low-key on a flute, over a video file of some Central Valley landmark--the water tower, farmland in Kerman, Millerton. At last, you would hear the announcer proclaim those famous words: "We're your station, [city]. KMPH, 26." And sometimes--could have been a studio glitch--the video file would play on in absolute silence for an awkward number of seconds.
It may seem bizarre, but I used to get sleepy when it came to these idents, especially during the 5-7p block of sitcoms and game shows. I was between five and eight years old--perhaps it seems less bizarre since I mentioned that. Regardless, they are a pleasant piece of my mind I flutter back to now and then, but in trying to scout out a clip, my attempts have all but failed. I even sent out several emails to KMPH about the issue, and it turns out they had tossed out all the VHS copies that contained these. Very sad indeed.
I'm not giving up, however. Perhaps some of you may have access to what seems oh so inaccessible. Maybe you have a musty old unlabled VHS with that SP recording of Jaws or Futureworld that you timed your VCR for, since you were at Blackbeard's that day and hated missing the Saturday Afternoon Matinee. I don't know if it's possible that any of you may have it, but even discussing something as subtle and minor as this gives me great joy. It's one more reminder of how great and simple this city used to be.
I recently started a blog-zine, The Nostalgic, which discusses things of the past. I've been holding off doing a piece on the old KMPH idents until I found a clip of this particular one. Needless to say, the first person to bring this to me will receive both textual credit in the specific issue, and perhaps even receive (gasp) a cash reward. Hey, it won't be much, but I have to say "Thank God for you and thank you beyond all reason" somehow. The blog is located at thenostalgic.wordpress.com.
I'm glad this board is up and running. I plan of frequenting it for much of my free time, and look forward to discussing other relics of ancient Fresno, no matter how trivial they may seem ("say, do you remember how brown the soil was back in '92?")
Shay Clay
The Nostalgic