KZME-FM was a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A playlist and the call sign were broadcast from

KQAC KQAC (89.9 FM, "All Classical Radio") is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station in Portland, Oregon. KQAC is owned by All Classical Public Media, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It airs a classical music forma ...

's HD2 channel.

HD2 served as another signal for the station for some time prior to KZME going silent. Notable regular DJs and personnel were Dennise Kowalczyk, James Dineen, Aron Howell and audio engineer David Elkin-Bram.

History

KZME went on the air in the autumn of 2010 and gathered steadily increasing listenership due to its unique music programming. Most of the programming consisted of local Portland-based and

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

original music which found favor with local listeners seeking alternatives to the standard chain-radio fare of most other music-oriented radio stations in the greater Portland area. Occasional volunteer DJs played music live on the air, with daytime gaps and nights consisting of pre-programmed local music. Occasional guest DJs, like

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

(when he appears in Portland each winter), did live shows on the station also. The format of the station leaned toward pop and rock, which dominates daytime programming, but occasionally showcased alternative local music such as

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

, ambient, industrial,

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, ethnic, and experimental music on some evenings and weekends. The station was located in

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...

just east of Portland and its transmitter (translator) antenna was located in the west hills of Portland, reaching most of the Portland-area

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

and to most of greater

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

and

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

just across the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. Its former FM stereo broadcasting signal had 28 watts of power. KZME also streamed on the internet.

End of 91.1 & 107.1 FM

KZME went silent on its original 91.1 FM frequency on October 3, 2011, and the station's license expired on October 4, 2012 as a result of remaining dark for more than a year. On February 5, 2014, the KZME call sign was deleted from the FCC database. On August 28, 2014 the KZME programming ended on translator K296FT 107.1 FM. MetroEast Community Media, as owners of KZME's assets, penned an agreement with newly-formed radio station XRAY.FM to lease the 107.1 license. Programming from XRAY's originating channel

KXRY KXRY (91.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial class D radio station in Portland, Oregon, United States, operating under the name XRAY.fm. It is a mixed-format progressive, independent radio station which broadcasts progressive talk radi ...

91.1 FM would begin to be simulcast on 107.1 on September 22, 2014, greatly expanding their broadcast reach. Numerous KZME programmers would also migrate their programs to the fledgling station, including DJ Klyph'
Welcome to the Neighborhood
James Dineen'
Sessions from the Box
Dave Cantrell'
Songs from Under the Floorboard
JBJ'
Hello Cruel World
and Kristin Belz'
Music for NeighborsXRAY.FM
continues to operate both 91.1 and 107.1 FM to this day.

References

{{coord, 45.329, N, 121.711, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1989 establishments in Oregon HD Radio stations Radio stations established in 1989 ZME Defunct radio stations in the United States Defunct community radio stations in the United States 2014 disestablishments in Oregon Radio stations disestablished in 2014 ZME