Remember the "Dawn Patrol" on KRSP?
OK, how about "Jon and Dan" on KLZX?
By those two names, Jon Carter and Dan Bammes had Utah's longest-running morning radio team, from 1980-96. It was a No. 1 show for some of that time.
But where are these two radio personalities now?
Carter hosts the "Jon Carter Show" each weekday morning, 5:30-10, on KRSP ("The Arrow," FM-103.5), while Bammes does the morning news on three Citadel Broadcasting radio stations — KUBL ("K-Bull," FM-93.3), KBEE (B-98.7) and KBER (FM-101.1).
That's how they were and still are — Carter the music expert and Bammes the newsman.
Bammes works for Metro Traffic, a nationwide news/traffic reporting company that services most of the major Salt Lake radio stations. He is
also employed by an information design-services company, thus working almost two full-time jobs.
"People say, 'I miss you cause you're not on the radio,' " Bammes said of the queries he still gets from the public. Even though he's on three stations, some listeners still don't seem to know where he went.
Bammes also did some fill-in afternoon-drive work for KSL radio during the summer. "KSL isn't a competing format," he explained, which is why he could do guest work while Scott Seeger and Doug Wright were on vacation without damaging his relationship with the three FM stations he's on each morning.
Carter, meanwhile, says he has "the best job in America," playing classic rock.
"All other shows do is talk," Carter said. "People want to hear about the music." So Carter, a classic rock fan, accommodates them. He adds that classic rock is also the only thing that goes into his personal CD player after work. ("Jon and Dan" actually did country music on KLZX for about a year, and although that showcased their versatility, no one ever believed they really favored that music.)
Back in the days of "Jon and Dan," their comic persona became a bit risque, crossing into "blue" radio some of the time. But during the past four years, both have gone in a more family-oriented direction.
"We crossed the line," Carter said of those former days. "But today anything goes, and that's sad."
With two young children, Carter said he stays pretty much G-rated on the air and lets the music dominate, playing eight or nine songs each hour. He adds that when he returned to KRSP on April 23, 1997, he had to re-invent himself.
Both men agree they're not close friends. They worked well together professionally during those years, but that's all there was to their association.
Both said they still get together every month or so for lunch and talk about old times. "We don't hang together," Carter said. "He's a computer guy and I'm an outdoor guy."
The split-up of "Jon and Dan" in November 1996 ended Utah's longest-running morning radio team, and only the recent breakup of the "Fisher, Todd and Erin" show on KISN rivals their record in local radio.
Bammes has more than 25 years experience, having started in radio at age 18. He grew up in Provo and graduated from Brigham Young University. He has three children and a grandson. Bammes worked briefly at KSL before going to KRSP.
A 31-year radio veteran, Carter started deejaying in Idaho at age 13. He hails from Sun Valley, Idaho, and quit college to become a full-time DJ, working for radio stations in Idaho and Oregon before landing his first job at KRSP.
An avid fisherman, Carter loves the outdoors and made "Trout Talk," a parody of Doug Miller's KSL outdoors show, a fixture on his radio programs.
G. Craig Hanson, president of Simmons Media Group, who owns KRSP, describes Carter as a creative genius.
"He's one of the brightest and best," Hanson said.
Rod Arquette, vice president of news and programming for KSL, had similar praise for Bammes, calling him a quality radio personality who has been a great fill-in asset to the station.
With two more years left on his contract at KRSP, Carter could be around a long time.
And with his smooth-talking news talents, it wouldn't be surprising to see Bammes end up on KSL full-time.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com