i got a phone call yesterday from the lead singer of the band long story short. lately i've been doing a few things to help them establish a base in birmingham (they are from oxford/anniston). one of the things i'm doing to help, is to get them some airplay on bham's rock station, wanz / z100. during the course of the conversation i realized that the station might be in trouble. i didn't really mention it at the time, but the discussion of the dj's and the programming made me take more notice of what has been happening.
i've been somehwhat closely aligned with the station for almost two years. my good friend amber, who i met at workplay when she did promotions, started at z100 soon after they launched in 2003. she became the staple of the midday and weekend slots. the other prominent dj, monk, has been very helpful - having played several songs by the ashes and jesse payne. the ashes were invited to play a few radio endorsed shows and monk even passed along praise to some a&r people on our behalf. we didn't even have to ask.
i also knew, though not as much, the morning talk personalities beaner and ken. in my opinion, they were/are the funniest guys on the radio. i ran into them at various events over the past year.
now they are gone. amber has already left the station and is heading to cali. beaner and ken have left the station. and even the maligned station programmer "hurricane shane" has come and gone. i think he lasted at the station about 5 months? now he's in programming hell... doing the midday broadcast over at the "80's and more..." station, 106.9. hall & oates et al.
so that leaves monk, and the amber replacement kelly chase. the station as is, could probably manage the programming, but without a stable midday personality (that remains to be seen with kelly), and a certifiably kick ass morning show, z100.5 will surely snap considering it's primary rival wrax "the x" has a larger base, plays much more corporate rock, and is so well established, bands like coldplay, switchfoot, john mayer and countless others have done in-the-studio "live in the x lounge" recordings.
with amber's spunk and indie rock knowledge, monk's enthusiasm for the local scene, and the best morning show in the south, z100 had a good chance at taking root. now... i dunno.
i guess i need to get some songs on the station while there's still a station? the thought of having only one rock station - 107.7 "the x" is frightening. their local show is constantly in gridlock, and their programming could not be more corporate rock. they are the epitamy of what is wrong with programming.
z100 was/is different. although they still play the creed / 3 doors down dog shit, they also play interpol, the smiths, buckley, old u2, pixies, and other decent alt rock. who knows, maybe everything will be fine? we'll see.
i've been somehwhat closely aligned with the station for almost two years. my good friend amber, who i met at workplay when she did promotions, started at z100 soon after they launched in 2003. she became the staple of the midday and weekend slots. the other prominent dj, monk, has been very helpful - having played several songs by the ashes and jesse payne. the ashes were invited to play a few radio endorsed shows and monk even passed along praise to some a&r people on our behalf. we didn't even have to ask.
i also knew, though not as much, the morning talk personalities beaner and ken. in my opinion, they were/are the funniest guys on the radio. i ran into them at various events over the past year.
now they are gone. amber has already left the station and is heading to cali. beaner and ken have left the station. and even the maligned station programmer "hurricane shane" has come and gone. i think he lasted at the station about 5 months? now he's in programming hell... doing the midday broadcast over at the "80's and more..." station, 106.9. hall & oates et al.
so that leaves monk, and the amber replacement kelly chase. the station as is, could probably manage the programming, but without a stable midday personality (that remains to be seen with kelly), and a certifiably kick ass morning show, z100.5 will surely snap considering it's primary rival wrax "the x" has a larger base, plays much more corporate rock, and is so well established, bands like coldplay, switchfoot, john mayer and countless others have done in-the-studio "live in the x lounge" recordings.
with amber's spunk and indie rock knowledge, monk's enthusiasm for the local scene, and the best morning show in the south, z100 had a good chance at taking root. now... i dunno.
i guess i need to get some songs on the station while there's still a station? the thought of having only one rock station - 107.7 "the x" is frightening. their local show is constantly in gridlock, and their programming could not be more corporate rock. they are the epitamy of what is wrong with programming.
z100 was/is different. although they still play the creed / 3 doors down dog shit, they also play interpol, the smiths, buckley, old u2, pixies, and other decent alt rock. who knows, maybe everything will be fine? we'll see.