By Robyn Scarton & Robert Frohlich
Her corona of dark hair falls around a buttery tan face and striking eyes that open wide like umbrellas. She is surrounded by asterisks and exploding stars, but never attempts to be what's happening. Her excitement is infectious. It is pure "Radar Love." Pam Farris is gorgeous in the most outrageous way.
The mid-day disc jockey for KOZZ-FM, Reno-Tahoe's long standing classic rock station, Pam has been rocking the local airwaves for over 12 years. This is someone who knows what the Rolling Stones mean. On the air Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. her hip vitality, soothing pipes and overall cool battles the dread chorus of everyday life, filling our private air waves with the song and verse.
It might be radio but she is never faceless. Who cares about the staple of Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Supertramp, and Boston she spins? Hey man, it's the Siren Pam we tune in to hear. And she is a beauty and was recently selected as one of the "Most Attractive Females in Radio" in the entire country. She's also been inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
The Sacramento native began her radio career in 1977 as a receptionist at KWST in Los Angeles. Bored and burnt out by the Hollywood surroundings she returned to Northern California. She moved to Squaw Valley, supporting herself as a cocktail waitress in between making turns down its Olympic slopes. Continued efforts for a radio career paid off and she began winning applause after stints at various Sacramento stations and as an on-camera traffic reporter for KCRA-TV.
The mountains beckoned, however, and she soon moved back to the Tahoe area to raise her two sons, Elliot and Matt, both avid freestylers. She became an air personality at KOZZ in 1991, eventually becoming the station's creative services and music director. Today, she owns the market as Reno's top DJ in the mid-day time slot where baby-boomer lunch breakers swamp the switchboard with requests on her noontime "Theme Park." She has also found success with "Pam Farris Voiceovers" for such monster accounts as Disneyworld, the U.S. Army, Porsche, and the Peppermill and Eldorado casinos. She is even the slot machine voice for International Game Technologies. The talented and sought after radio personality recently found time to marry popular Squaw Valleyite Mike Pavel atop Granite Chief Peak in a ceremony that could only be described as beautiful as its surroundings. Never at drift, her sails full and making way, Pam Farris boogies to life's beat.
SVT: Let's get down to it. Is it the music that drives you as a DJ?
PAM: The music is a big par sure, but I like to think it's more about communication. Radio personalities need to be people persons. I love spreading the love.
SVT: In your mind is there any better profession?
PAM: Originally, I waned to be an actress. I was a drama major at Sac. State, but it would have to be huge for me to change my job. Everyday is different; everyday is a challenge. You meet some great people. I love my job!
SVT: Your voice is smooth and warming as fine bourbon and darn sexy. What's with that?
PAM: (Laughing) I like to think my voice is warm and friendly. Years ago, when I first started, I wished I could sound like a few other women, but it doesn't work. I have evolved into being myself. Truthfully, I'm not trying to be sexy or sound a certain way. I just feel warmth and I'm comfortable with that.
SVT: Your Theme Park is really popular. You've done themes such as trains, being on the road, on the water. What's been your most popular theme?
PAM: (Laughing) Sex! It got a great response from both men and women.
SVT: What's the weirdest request you've ever taken?
PAM: I wouldn't say it was taken. Recently, this guy somehow found my private voicemail phone number. He wanted me to meet him at his Motel Six room offering to share some vino or some such nonsense. Luckily, I get few creepy people. Most are really nice. I've even become friends with a few such as Fred-dog Mertl. Our sons played Little League together and he is now the Director of the North Tahoe United States of America Snowboard Association.
SVT: you play only classic rock. Does it get old?
PAM: No, not at all. The station allows us to mix it up and change the music. The Theme Park is all request. Anyway, I grew up with these bands. I love classic rock and love sharing the songs with the listeners.
SVT: Do you like any new artists?
PAM: I love Three Doors Down. My son Elliot turned me on to hip hop and the underground band PharCyde. I also like Matchbox 20. In fact, they're great in concert.
SVT: Who's your favorite rocker?
PAM: By far it's Sammy Hagar. I've met him and he's a guy who exemplifies a lifestyle I'd like to live. He loves Mexico.
SVT: Is there a vocalist who turns you on?
PAM: David Coverdale of Whitesnake. He lives in Incline. Although people think of him as a hard-line rocker he sings to me in lullabies.
SVT: Would you ever want to move from DJ to talk show host, be like an on-air sex therapist taking all sorts of sick calls?
PAM: Actually, I could see having a talk show. It would be a big challenge, but something to tickle the mind. I wish I could be a Howard Stern, but I'm just plain too nice. I don't like being mean, there's no reason for it. I like my midday show. It's my job to keep it fresh and motivating. I have the power to allow people to have a great day.
SVT: You have been in Squaw Valley for 25 years. You just got married atop its highest peak. What's with this Squaw Valley thingy?
PAM: It was 25 years ago that I was working in L.A. at RCA records in promotions. I met Steve Epstein who was the manager of the band WAR. Epstein was a friend and a mentor for me in the record business. I wasn't all that happy. When we would chat I would tell him about Squaw Valley, my favorite place in the world. I'd been coming to Squaw since I was 14 on school ski trips and cheerleading camp. He said to me, "you talk about Squaw Valley all the time, why don't you just move there?"
So I moved to Squaw Valley when I was 21. Rocky Rudolph hired me to cocktail Bar One. On the side I was recording taped music and announcing events at the resort played at Gold Coast and High Camp. Residing in Squaw Valley after all these years, being married to Mike, now that's living!