KNAC was a Los Angeles, California radio station that played mostly heavy metal and hard rock music. The station came on the air on January 8, 1986 after Fred Sands and general manager Gary Price discovered exactly what KNAC needed: a new sound! Program directors were Jimmy Christopher, Tom Marshall, Pam Edwards, Gregg Steele and Bryan Schock. Among the music directors at KNAC during that time fra
me were Ross Goza and Michael Davis. Davis' on-air moniker was "Jack The Ripper". Original on-air talent included Kat Snow as "Killer Kat," Lady Di, and Paul Lobster. Killer Kat would be replaced by Tawn Mastery. After nine years of playing incredible heavy metal and hard rock music, KNAC went off the air on February 15, 1995 right after they played Metallica's "Fade to Black". KNAC will be remembered for:
* Promoting heavy metal/hard rock bands and presenting their live shows.
* Playing music by heavy metal bands that you don't normally hear on the radio, such as Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Megadeth, Armored Saint, Testament, Exodus, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, Sepultura, etc.
* Discovering Guns N' Roses and being the first radio station to play their music.
* Knocking Pirate Radio (100.3) off the air.
* Their fifth anniversary at Long Beach Arena in 1991 with Ozzy Osbourne, L.A. Guns, Lynch Mob and Alice in Chains.
* Selling out the Long Beach Coliseum for Monsters of Rock 1988 with Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come.
* Their involvement with the 1989 Moscow Music Peace Festival with Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row and Mötley Crüe.
* Their interview with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica, which took place the same day KNAC went off the air.
This page is dedicated to the one and only true heavy metal radio station in Los Angeles, California. And that new sound was heavy metal!
