In today’s competitive local airwave market, its refreshing to find a station, along with a team of passionate people, who want to conquer the ever growing gray area of what listening to the radio is. So much corporate BS has been slung at listeners in the last 10 years – shorter playlists, over-repetition of an artist on multiple stations, too many commercials, and just a “here is what everyone else is doing” mentality. How many times do we wish they would play “that song?” Not Kelly Clarkson or the Offspring, but something off the incredible playlists that really do exist in music fans I-pods and I-tunes libraries. No wonder more listeners say “F radio man, it’s the same stuff.”
That’s where 101.5FM have come to mess up the nicely groomed rules in the sandbox of “do what everyone else is doing and don’t mess with it” attitude. How invigorating is it to get in the car, start it up, press preset 1 and NOT be disappointed? Very energizing for this journalist! I heard Louis XIV, Kings of Leon, Public Image Limited, Rage Against the Machine, Depeche Mode, Astra Moveo, Janes Addiction and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in a matter of 35 minutes! Did that just really happen? I had to check to see if it was my I-pod on shuffle. Nope. F*&K yeah!
So who is the drive behind all of this? It’s the 101.5 family – and I do mean family. Start with Pete Kuhn, the keen Marketing Director who proudly stands up and fans the flame. Lynne Ryan, the humble, extraordinary, “music is my life” mid day (10-3) DJ who gets high on 101.5 fumes. Stefani – the youthful, bubbly, ambitious blonde who takes the helm from 3p-7p. And then there is the firestarter, the credulous face in front of it all and the Program Director who has a passion beyond belief for music – Whip.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Pete and Whip and do one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve ever done, and in the process, got to truly understand where the knowledge, enthusiasm, and excitement behind 101.5 exists.
How did 101.5 get its format off the ground?
Whip: “When they brought me on board, they said – do something with it…make it cool and screw ratings…” (Whip rubbing his hands together is a devilish fashion)
Pete: “My first week here, Blake, the GM at the time said ‘so you have been listening for a week, what’s wrong with 101.5?’ Well, we are playing Nickelback and Daughtry. We are going to lose our credibility as an Alternative/Indie. It just doesn’t make sense…. I think that moment was a key to our beginnings.”
Whip: “Out of crisis came great opportunity…it’s kind of what the genesis of this incarnation of the radio station is about.”
What the avid and disenchanted radio listener has witnessed over the last few years is the ‘gray area’ of really cool music that wasn’t getting airtime and you guys have taken it and colored that in.
Whip: “Yea, that’s what we are doing…it’s one of the areas we are really showing growth – you would think playing The Pixies or Pearl Jam would have made us an ‘old mans station’ but we found that the 18-24’s are digging it because we are playing stuff no one else would take a chance on…The other stations would research it to death. We don’t have those inhibitions about taking chances on stuff, and when we take chances on stuff it has always worked out well – take Eagles of Death Metal – songs like that have been huge for us…People say they used to listen to radio and now they do again because of 101.5 personalities and our format.”
Pete: “I just had a friend tell me that he stopped listening to radio 5 years ago and he kind of got bored of his I-pod and found us and hasn’t stopped listening since. Even I stopped listening to satellite because it got so overly saturated and it was like someone was pressing an automated button.”
What do you look for in a song? Why that one and not another?
Whip: “I do steal from satellite radio. I have to hear in on the radio first to see if it makes sense. Some songs don’t sound as good here at my desk, but then they do on the radio…You just can’t over analyze. It just has to sound good. Man, I will ask my peer group, my ten-year-old daughter, even Pete, whose taste in music sucks! (both laughing)”
Is there a certain criteria you look for in a local artist?
Whip: “Is it a good song? Does it sound right? There are certain bands…I saw the Swayback live last year and was like holy shit and they had a following. There’s no friendships or anything personal, it just has to be good...I got a ton of local stuff on my desk, actually too much and I am just sitting on it – I am so sorry guys!...we are working on a some type of defined local programming, just need to put some touches on it.”
The radio market is a very volatile one no?
Pete: “You have to be honest with yourself emotionally. It’s a roller coaster.”
Whip: “I don’t know how many other businesses you can really compare it to – you can get fired just cuz the wind starts blowing the other way. You can be really productive and still get fired.”
Different Radio Personalities
Whip: “There’s a diversity here…Lynne is like ‘can I say vagina?’ and then I am like, um, don’t make it literal, and she says ‘good cuz I said it’…what I was always taught was ask for forgiveness not permission, and I think that has gotten squeezed out of radio with all of the consolidation. I don’t have reigns on them – I would rather have them make a mistake out of passion and trying too hard than just not giving a shit.”
Pete: “There is the small group of us that really look out for each other…we will tip each other off that maybe there is something that shouldn’t be said or then we will cover for each other too. We got each others back…”
Whip on Lynne Ryan and Stefani
Whip: ‘Lynne has worked on a lot of radio stations. I know that this is Lynne’s favorite radio station and one that she is truly passionate about for the first time. She works really hard on her show and promotes the station every hour of everyday she is away…she is on Facebook and Twitter always spreading the passion.”
Whip: “I really appreciate Stefani. She does her own thing. She doesn’t follow along. Lynne and I are a little left of center and Stef doesn’t fall into that trap which is a really good. She stays true to herself and when you listen to her, she is real. When you hear her on air that’s who she is off the air and I really like that about her.”
Whip on Whip
Whip: “Man, there’s a load of stuff – got an hour?! I was actually in few small places first like
Recognition
Pete: “It’s always nice to be recognized. Westword gave us some great accolades in their Best of Issue this year. To get station of the year and Whip getting Program Director of the year really helps. We got a lot of response from that so as a marketing guy, it is really great to have accolades.”
Coming up
Whip: “There’s a great show coming up in late September that’s gonna Save the Planet…It’s a wonderful charity that will draw 20,000 people…we are gonna help book the bands and get behind it.”
Loving the Higher Level
Pete: “If I was a concert promoter, I am going to give the show to which ever station I think is gonna sell the most tickets and if I partner with a station that doesn’t play that artist, then I am probably not very good at doing my job. It needs to be what’s best for everybody, and a lot of times those relationships are built up over 15 years, and that they (the promoters) are so used to going to this one station, and in the meantime the station has changed their format or are not playing that artists music anymore and not supporting the band and all they (the promoters) remember is the last 5 years…101.5 have got behind shows that weren’t even presented by us just because it still made sense for us to support it, whether local or national.”
Parting shots
Whip: “Support our advertisers!! If they really care about what we are doing…we are a more community oriented radio station than any other I have worked at, so yea, go out and support the ones that support us!”
Pete: “Yea, we do have a group of loyal advertisers like
Whip: “We are just getting started. If you like what you hear, keep listening.” X
My 101.5FM “Inside Take”
by Groovey from the
Every Wed – Sat. on the hour, 3-8p
Over the last 6 months I have had the huge honor of recording the Music Buzz Minute for the mighty CMB on Indie 101.5. Now I have had opportunities in the past to visit other radio stations as an on air guest, and my experience was like a combination of the DMV at lunch hour and visiting your crazy uncle in county jail. Not my crazy uncle, YOUR crazy uncle. It’s not like that at Indie 101.5. Right from the start the whole 101.5 family have treated me like one of the Indie gang.
There’s a reason 101.5 is tearing up the airwaves of Colorado: Every single member of the 101.5 family cares about making a difference to you the listener and improving the way radio is done. If you doubt what I am saying listen to the station for just one hour and you will see what I mean. Groovey’s one hour 101.5 challenge: Take it! Now before the interview section starts with Whip and Pete (super cool! cats btw) I want to give special shout outs to
Groovey
