Coyote J
Encyclopedia
Coyote J is a radio disc-jockey known for his screamo, wild-child 7-12 midnight show in the 1970s at WERC, a Birmingham
TOP 40, and later at CHR Z-102 (WZBQ) in the 1980s. For 30 years he has been a popular personality in Birmingham, while making stops in Nashville (WKDA/KDF), San Diego (KPRI
), Denver (KBCO), New Orleans (WQUE
-Q93), and Mobile (WABB-FM
). Mr. Calhoun has been a night-time/morning drive personality at several Birmingham radio stations and later in his career became known for his syndicated dark wave show, The Edge. Battan/Calhoun was part of the original air staff hired by WKDF
, Nashville's Top rated progressive rock station, and WRAX
(The X) the highest rated Alternative Rock station in Birmingham and in all of radio in the late 1990s.
-FM went live in the evening hours and on weekends with a progressive rock format in late 1969 and Battan worked on air under his real name, sometimes spelled Jim Baton, while still in high school; this came after a short stint on WKDA-AM where he worked under a number of different names. After flipping to KDF-FM Battan gained a reputation for being one of the first DJ's to champion heavy metal music, a genre not heard before. At KDF he showcased bands such as Black Sabbath
, Uriah Heep
, Led Zeppelin
, Pink Floyd
, King Crimson
and other seminal progressive rock
acts of the day. Mr. Battan did weekends, but also did 7-12 midnight in summer/autumn of 1970.
AM in 1973 to do 7-12 midnight and experiment with a more in your face, brash, TOP 40 style that he became known for and would later bring to Birmingham, New Orleans and San Diego.
, employing the same format he had used at WKDF-FM Nashville; he was the first to air the classic LP, 'Brain Salad Surgery' by Emerson Lake And Palmer
, and well as Kraftwerk
's 'Autobahn'.
WERC AM — Coyote J (Calhoun) is Born
In 1975 Battan was hired by WERC to reinvent the wild child, night-time screamer genre in Birmingham. When WERC night time jock Chris Foxx (aka 'Superfoxx') abruptly quit over a contract dispute in late 1974, the company flipped Battan to WERC's AM from the FM and christened him Coyote J Calhoun (this time the name would stick) and set him loose on an unsuspecting public. WERC was a powerhouse, personality-driven, Top 40 and Coyote's wild on-air persona fit right in. From 1975 to 1979 Coyote J was enormously popular in Birmingham and scored the highest night numbers ever in his target demographic, a 46.6 in teens (ARB-1977). Coyote J also consistently won the 12 + audience during his reign. In one of his most controversial acts, Coyote J faked his own murder on-air, a stunt that led police and paramedics to storm the building expecting to find a knife wielding intruder inside. This led to a 5 day suspension, the first of many that would be handed down to the disc-jockey. In 1977 Coyote J incited a riot at a Pittman Junior High Pep Rally simply by showing up, unannounced, with DJ Russ Davis. Calhoun also wrestled a live black bear before a packed house at Boutwell Auditorium in 1976. The fight abruptly ended after Coyote hit the bear over the head with a folding chair, annoying its handlers. When asked why he did it, Coyote replied, 'he started it.' In 1979 near the end of WERC's dominance and with the demise of AM Top 40 radio in sight, staffers were at each other's throats and volatile arguments, fights and even gun play were not uncommon. 'We began as family; later we became The Manson Family', said Coyote.
, A Flock Of Seagulls
, Human League, Thomas Dolby
, Duran Duran
, U2
, Talk Talk
, The Cure
, Wall Of Voodoo
, Depeche Mode
, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
were a few of the seminal acts Coyote introduced on his new wave show.
In 1984 Coyote was transferred to WABB-FM Mobile, the sister station of I-95 (Dittman), where he did afternoons on the CHR and his new music show for PD Leslie Fram (99X Atlanta); That same year Calhoun won the 'Bobby Poe Air Personality of the Year' award.
, and industrial genres that were in their infancy as alternative began splintering into sub-groups. Coyote was the first DJ to air Ministry
, The Sisters of Mercy
, Clan of Xymox
, Skinny Puppy
, The Cult
, Coil (band)
, among others, on commercial radio. Q-93 flipped to urban in late 1986 and Coyote was cut loose.
(going up against the other Top 40 powerhouse in town, I-95, as well as WKXX, KICKS 106
). Calhoun reintroduced his Sunday night show as The Edge to Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and surrounding areas. While at Z-102 Coyote found himself in the middle of controversy once again, culminating with Calhoun getting sacked live on the air after he broke format and then took recorded calls from his program director and put them on the air to mock. Before it was over Coyote was being escorted out of the building by police officers who heard the ruckus on air and came to the station, sirens blaring. Coyote was reinstated after 'Save the Coyote' petitions got thousands of signatures, but finally he was let go for good in 1989 after insulting a client on the air. However, while at Z-102 Coyote introduced 'CJC SOUND COLLAGES' where the disc-jockey would take a 12 inch recording and remix it live on the air using unrelated samples, backbeats and distortion, many years before sampling became standard for modern music. Coyote later went on to use this method in the Birmingham Club scene throughout the 1990s where he became the foremost DJ of modern rock.
In 1989 Coyote J was hired by I-95, Z's cross town rival, who saw a big upside in exploiting his name if they could rein in all the on-air excesses. I-95 OM Randy Lane decided to make him part of their new morning team to replace the popular duo, Mark and Brian, who had left for KLOS
Los Angeles. The Morning Wake Up Service with Andy Spinosi, Trey Matthews and Coyote J racked up number one ratings at I-95 for the next two years. I-95 decided NOT to resign the trio in 1992; when Coyote left I-95 his speciality show THE EDGE went with him.
In 1992 The Edge went into syndication. From 1992 to 2002 The Edge aired on dozens of Alabama outlets: WVNA
-Muscle Shoals, WQEN
Gadsden, WTGZ
Auburn, WHHY
Montgomery, Z102 Tuscaloosa, I-95 and WRAX
Birmingham, among others. During the years 1992-1994 Coyote also co-founded and wrote comedy for JAB, a Birmingham satirical magazine, along with Andy Spinosi, Tim Spinosi and Frank Cummings (of 'Blondie' comic strip fame). JAB went to press eight times, sold out all issues, and then closed their doors in early 1995.
In January 2007 The Edge re-debut in Birmingham on ROCK 99.5
in its usual Sunday night time slot.
Coyote J's contract for The Edge with ROCK 99/WZRR expired January 2009, at which time Coyote J pulled The Edge plug for good and retired the show. Calhoun explained that the audience for new rock had gone to the Internet and there was no reason to continue such a show on radio. However, Coyote returned to ROCK 99 to do a classic rock show in February 2009 marking the very first time in his 40 year career that he had worked for a station with an 'oldies' format, although Coyote's show leaned more hard rock. Coyote J. signed off ROCK 99 February 14, 2010 after spending 15 years with the Citadel Broadcasting company: the last song he played was 'The End' by The Doors.
In 2010 Battan began collaborating with the German dark wave band, Feeding Fingers
and co-produced their third album, Detach Me From My Head
. Battan plans on continuing his work with Feeding Fingers
and songwriter Justin Curfman
on their fourth album.
and the WSGN-WERC radio war of the 1970s"
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
TOP 40, and later at CHR Z-102 (WZBQ) in the 1980s. For 30 years he has been a popular personality in Birmingham, while making stops in Nashville (WKDA/KDF), San Diego (KPRI
KPRI
KPRI is an AAA Station in San Diego, California, that plays blues, reggae, folk, pop, and rock music from the mid-1960s through the present....
), Denver (KBCO), New Orleans (WQUE
WQUE
WQUE-FM, aka, Q93, is a top-rated Mainstream Urban outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station, which is owned by Clear Channel Communications, operates at 93.3 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. Its current slogan is "#1 For Hip-Hop & R&B." Its transmitter is located in New Orleans...
-Q93), and Mobile (WABB-FM
WABB-FM
WABB-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format serving the Mobile, Alabama area, with coverage in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It first began broadcasting in 1973...
). Mr. Calhoun has been a night-time/morning drive personality at several Birmingham radio stations and later in his career became known for his syndicated dark wave show, The Edge. Battan/Calhoun was part of the original air staff hired by WKDF
WKDF
WKDF is a Country music radio station broadcasting on a frequency of 103.3 MHz from Nashville, Tennessee. WKDF is owned by Cumulus Media.-History:...
, Nashville's Top rated progressive rock station, and WRAX
WUHT
-External links:*...
(The X) the highest rated Alternative Rock station in Birmingham and in all of radio in the late 1990s.
The Switch from Automation to Live
WKDAWKDA
WKDA is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish format. Licensed to Lebanon, Tennessee, USA, the station serves the Nashville area. The station is currently owned by Wilson County Broadcasting, Inc.-History:...
-FM went live in the evening hours and on weekends with a progressive rock format in late 1969 and Battan worked on air under his real name, sometimes spelled Jim Baton, while still in high school; this came after a short stint on WKDA-AM where he worked under a number of different names. After flipping to KDF-FM Battan gained a reputation for being one of the first DJ's to champion heavy metal music, a genre not heard before. At KDF he showcased bands such as Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield.The character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own "'umbleness". His name has become synonymous with being a yes man...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and other seminal progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
acts of the day. Mr. Battan did weekends, but also did 7-12 midnight in summer/autumn of 1970.
Pensacola
Mr. Battan went to WBSRWBSR
WBSR is a United States radio station broadcasting a Sports Talk format. Licensed to Pensacola, Florida, USA, the station serves the Pensacola area. In the 1960s and 1970s, WBSR was Pensacola's main top 40 radio station. Prior to the September 2011 switch to sports, WBSR was a Soft Adult...
AM in 1973 to do 7-12 midnight and experiment with a more in your face, brash, TOP 40 style that he became known for and would later bring to Birmingham, New Orleans and San Diego.
Birmingham
Mr. Battan began his Birmingham stints in late 1973 when he joined ERC-FMWBPT
WBPT is a classic hits music-formatted radio station licensed to Homewood, Alabama, that serves the Birmingham and central Alabama area. The station was assigned the WBPT call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on October 17, 2001. Since October 2005, it has used the branding "106.9...
, employing the same format he had used at WKDF-FM Nashville; he was the first to air the classic LP, 'Brain Salad Surgery' by Emerson Lake And Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
, and well as Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
's 'Autobahn'.
WERC AM — Coyote J (Calhoun) is Born
In 1975 Battan was hired by WERC to reinvent the wild child, night-time screamer genre in Birmingham. When WERC night time jock Chris Foxx (aka 'Superfoxx') abruptly quit over a contract dispute in late 1974, the company flipped Battan to WERC's AM from the FM and christened him Coyote J Calhoun (this time the name would stick) and set him loose on an unsuspecting public. WERC was a powerhouse, personality-driven, Top 40 and Coyote's wild on-air persona fit right in. From 1975 to 1979 Coyote J was enormously popular in Birmingham and scored the highest night numbers ever in his target demographic, a 46.6 in teens (ARB-1977). Coyote J also consistently won the 12 + audience during his reign. In one of his most controversial acts, Coyote J faked his own murder on-air, a stunt that led police and paramedics to storm the building expecting to find a knife wielding intruder inside. This led to a 5 day suspension, the first of many that would be handed down to the disc-jockey. In 1977 Coyote J incited a riot at a Pittman Junior High Pep Rally simply by showing up, unannounced, with DJ Russ Davis. Calhoun also wrestled a live black bear before a packed house at Boutwell Auditorium in 1976. The fight abruptly ended after Coyote hit the bear over the head with a folding chair, annoying its handlers. When asked why he did it, Coyote replied, 'he started it.' In 1979 near the end of WERC's dominance and with the demise of AM Top 40 radio in sight, staffers were at each other's throats and volatile arguments, fights and even gun play were not uncommon. 'We began as family; later we became The Manson Family', said Coyote.
L.A. and San Diego: The 1980s and the Switch to New Wave and Punk
In 1980, Coyote J. fled to Los Angeles to do comedy (he worked with the improv group 'The L.A. Connection'), but moreso, to be part of the fledging new wave and punk scene. It was in Los Angeles that Coyote sharpened his alternative music chops in the L.A. club scene. In 1981 Coyote moved to KPRI to do 7 to midnight and officially became one of radio's foremost provocateurs of new wave. In San Diego he was known for his obnoxious and rude night show, a brief period that Calhoun worked as a bona fide shock jock.Back to 'Bama
In 1983, after a short stay in Denver, Coyote J left the West Coast to head back south with a bevy of new wave in tow and began playing this 'new music' throughout the southeast. Coyote took the specialty show gig at WAPI-FM Birmingham (95 Rock) and began spinning another generation's soundtrack: The PretendersThe Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
, A Flock Of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
, Human League, Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Wall Of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
were a few of the seminal acts Coyote introduced on his new wave show.
In 1984 Coyote was transferred to WABB-FM Mobile, the sister station of I-95 (Dittman), where he did afternoons on the CHR and his new music show for PD Leslie Fram (99X Atlanta); That same year Calhoun won the 'Bobby Poe Air Personality of the Year' award.
New Orleans
In 1985 Coyote J landed the 7-midnight gig at WQUE-FM New Orleans. Coyote introduced an expanded version of his new wave/post-punk show and began to use the name The Edge. It was in New Orleans that Calhoun began to explore the dark wave, gothicGothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, and industrial genres that were in their infancy as alternative began splintering into sub-groups. Coyote was the first DJ to air Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, Clan of Xymox
Clan of Xymox
The band Clan of Xymox, also known as Xymox, formed in the Netherlands in 1981. Clan Of Xymox featured a trio of songwriters - Pieter Nooten, Ronny Moorings and Anke [also Anka] Wolbert - and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on a prestigious independent UK label, a...
, Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
, The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, Coil (band)
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, among others, on commercial radio. Q-93 flipped to urban in late 1986 and Coyote was cut loose.
Back to Birmingham and 20 years of The Edge
Coyote J found himself back in Birmingham in the spring of 1987, once again employed as a night-time screamer for a new 'balls-to-the-wall' personality-driven CHR, WZBQ, Z-102WDXB
WDXB is a Clear Channel Communications-owned country music formatted radio station licensed to Pelham, Alabama, that serves Birmingham and north-central Alabama.-Programming:...
(going up against the other Top 40 powerhouse in town, I-95, as well as WKXX, KICKS 106
WBPT
WBPT is a classic hits music-formatted radio station licensed to Homewood, Alabama, that serves the Birmingham and central Alabama area. The station was assigned the WBPT call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on October 17, 2001. Since October 2005, it has used the branding "106.9...
). Calhoun reintroduced his Sunday night show as The Edge to Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and surrounding areas. While at Z-102 Coyote found himself in the middle of controversy once again, culminating with Calhoun getting sacked live on the air after he broke format and then took recorded calls from his program director and put them on the air to mock. Before it was over Coyote was being escorted out of the building by police officers who heard the ruckus on air and came to the station, sirens blaring. Coyote was reinstated after 'Save the Coyote' petitions got thousands of signatures, but finally he was let go for good in 1989 after insulting a client on the air. However, while at Z-102 Coyote introduced 'CJC SOUND COLLAGES' where the disc-jockey would take a 12 inch recording and remix it live on the air using unrelated samples, backbeats and distortion, many years before sampling became standard for modern music. Coyote later went on to use this method in the Birmingham Club scene throughout the 1990s where he became the foremost DJ of modern rock.
In 1989 Coyote J was hired by I-95, Z's cross town rival, who saw a big upside in exploiting his name if they could rein in all the on-air excesses. I-95 OM Randy Lane decided to make him part of their new morning team to replace the popular duo, Mark and Brian, who had left for KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
Los Angeles. The Morning Wake Up Service with Andy Spinosi, Trey Matthews and Coyote J racked up number one ratings at I-95 for the next two years. I-95 decided NOT to resign the trio in 1992; when Coyote left I-95 his speciality show THE EDGE went with him.
In 1992 The Edge went into syndication. From 1992 to 2002 The Edge aired on dozens of Alabama outlets: WVNA
WVNA-FM
WVNA-FM is a radio station licensed to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The format is Mainstream Rock. On air, the station refers to itself as Rock 105.5, The Big Dog. WVNA-FM serves the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area...
-Muscle Shoals, WQEN
WQEN
WQEN is a radio station licensed to serve Trussville, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications...
Gadsden, WTGZ
WTGZ
WTGZ is a commercial radio station in Union Springs, Alabama, broadcasting to the Auburn, Alabama, area. Until 2007 the station also broadcast to the Montgomery, Alabama, area on 104.9 FM. The Tiger is the area's only modern rock station and is popular with Auburn University...
Auburn, WHHY
WHHY
WHHY-FM is a radio station licensed to serve Montgomery, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media.It broadcasts a Top 40 music format and some voice-tracked airshifts. The WHHY-FM studios are located on the 3rd floor of The Colonial Financial Center in downtown Montgomery...
Montgomery, Z102 Tuscaloosa, I-95 and WRAX
WUHT
-External links:*...
Birmingham, among others. During the years 1992-1994 Coyote also co-founded and wrote comedy for JAB, a Birmingham satirical magazine, along with Andy Spinosi, Tim Spinosi and Frank Cummings (of 'Blondie' comic strip fame). JAB went to press eight times, sold out all issues, and then closed their doors in early 1995.
The X Years
In 1995, Coyote J was hired as one of the original air talents (along with Hurricane Shane) to help launch The X (WRAX-FM)in Birmingham, which in the latter 1990s became the most influential and highest rated alternative station in all of radio under the guidance of PD Dave Rossi. Coyote J stayed with The X until December 2006 when the station fell on hard times and flipped to Adult A/C.In January 2007 The Edge re-debut in Birmingham on ROCK 99.5
WZRR
WZRR is a classic rock FM radio station licensed to Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its on-air name is "Rock 99". The station is owned by Cumulus Media. Other stations in the market that Cumulus owns include WJOX-FM , WAPI-FM , WUHT-FM , WJOX-AM and WAPI-AM...
in its usual Sunday night time slot.
Coyote J's contract for The Edge with ROCK 99/WZRR expired January 2009, at which time Coyote J pulled The Edge plug for good and retired the show. Calhoun explained that the audience for new rock had gone to the Internet and there was no reason to continue such a show on radio. However, Coyote returned to ROCK 99 to do a classic rock show in February 2009 marking the very first time in his 40 year career that he had worked for a station with an 'oldies' format, although Coyote's show leaned more hard rock. Coyote J. signed off ROCK 99 February 14, 2010 after spending 15 years with the Citadel Broadcasting company: the last song he played was 'The End' by The Doors.
In 2010 Battan began collaborating with the German dark wave band, Feeding Fingers
Feeding Fingers
Feeding Fingers is a music trio founded by award-winning multimedia artist, musician, author, animator and artist, Justin Curfman. The band was founded in 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia, but has since relocated to Germany.-Formation :...
and co-produced their third album, Detach Me From My Head
Detach Me From My Head
Detach Me From My Head is the third studio album from dark wave/post-punk band Feeding Fingers. It was released on . This is the band's first album since their move to Germany. On June 2, 2010, Feeding Fingers officially released the cover art, tracklisting and a sampler of the album...
. Battan plans on continuing his work with Feeding Fingers
Feeding Fingers
Feeding Fingers is a music trio founded by award-winning multimedia artist, musician, author, animator and artist, Justin Curfman. The band was founded in 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia, but has since relocated to Germany.-Formation :...
and songwriter Justin Curfman
Justin Curfman
Justin Curfman is an award-winning animator/filmmaker, musician, author and artist who is, perhaps, best known for being the frontman for the band, Feeding Fingers. Curfman was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia...
on their fourth album.
External links
- http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2008/09/live_from_the_edge_dj_coyote_j.html, AL.com: "Coyote J Never Plays it Safe"
- http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2008-09-04-223707.113122_Hang_the_DJ.html, Black & White City Paper, Birmingham, AL: "Hang the DJ"
- http://www.bhamweekly.com/birmingham/article-353-going-over-the-edge-with-coyote-j-calhoun.html, "Going Over The Edge with COyote J." - Brimingham Weekly
- http://birminghamrewound.com/WSGN-WERC.htm, "COYOTE J. CALHOUN
and the WSGN-WERC radio war of the 1970s"
- http://www.myspace.com/104295722, MySpace
- http://www.laconnectioncomedy.com/history/timeline.html, LA Connection
- http://bhamwiki.com/w/Coyote_J._Calhoun, Birmingham Wiki
- http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2011-02-17-240081.113121-The-Golden-Age-of-Birmingham-Broadcasting.html, Black and White City Paper, Birmingham, AL - "The Golden Age of Birmingham"
- http://www.jatampabay.com/blog.html, Jon "Rock n' Roll" Anthony's Rockin' Blog - Classic Top 40