The 'Seven Days' weekly paper has done a feature on 'farm fresh radio', aka: WCLX in Bridport.
http://www.7dvt.com/2010rural-rock
http://www.7dvt.com/2010rural-rock
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Article: WCLX-FM / "Farm fresh radio"
- Thread starter CrankyYankee
- Start date
Strange radio station, IMHO.
In theory, it sounds great. In practice, I find it *too* quirky. I never hear *anything* I recognize, and my musical tastes match *on paper* what this station says it plays. They make Russ Kinsley sound mainstream.
In theory, it sounds great. In practice, I find it *too* quirky. I never hear *anything* I recognize, and my musical tastes match *on paper* what this station says it plays. They make Russ Kinsley sound mainstream.
It will be interesting to see how WCLX will do. Chip and I have spoken in the past and he's a great guy. He seemed to do quite well with WMUD, the Low Power FM.
Chip was involved with The Phoenix in Nashville, for example. While the station was never designed to be a big ratings success, they managed to develop a loyal core audience that was responsive despite the partial market coverage. Had Salem not put in an exceptional offer to buy the station, I'm sure it would still be around.
Chip is following a different path, a pioneer, if you will. He is thinking outside the box, looking at things we frequently never consider in programming. It is not unlike KFAN in Fredericksburg where Jayson Fritz has an eclectic format that has become legendary in the Lone Star State. Listeners love "Texas Rebel Radio", I believe, because there is a direct link with listeners through the local and regional artists that play at venues in the listener's neighborhoods. Yes, that good ol' emotional bond with listeners radio is missing.
I expect WCLX will never be #1 but willl develop a loyal responsive audience that will go to extraordinary lengths to keep the station going.
Chip was involved with The Phoenix in Nashville, for example. While the station was never designed to be a big ratings success, they managed to develop a loyal core audience that was responsive despite the partial market coverage. Had Salem not put in an exceptional offer to buy the station, I'm sure it would still be around.
Chip is following a different path, a pioneer, if you will. He is thinking outside the box, looking at things we frequently never consider in programming. It is not unlike KFAN in Fredericksburg where Jayson Fritz has an eclectic format that has become legendary in the Lone Star State. Listeners love "Texas Rebel Radio", I believe, because there is a direct link with listeners through the local and regional artists that play at venues in the listener's neighborhoods. Yes, that good ol' emotional bond with listeners radio is missing.
I expect WCLX will never be #1 but willl develop a loyal responsive audience that will go to extraordinary lengths to keep the station going.
One has to ask the question: If WMUD was such a wonderful format, why didn't Mr. Morgan just flip it over to 102.9?
What is Mr. E. Morgan doing that is so different from what Russ and I did for a decade? (Well, I guess he IS playing some really strange music by unknown artists. But he definitely had or has some sort of access to our playlist, which he has definitely been "cherry picking".)
Mr. Morgan isn't so much following a different path, as pretty much meandering down the path that Russ and I bushwhacked way back in 1999. Back then we had a rather mediocre signal (102.5) and struggled with a lot of interference.....very little money for any promotion. Correction. No money for promotion. I held down several jobs to keep us afloat for the first 5 years, while the Album Station became recognized. It was by word of mouth essentially.
Morgan was trying to "sell" ads on his non-com and finding out around the community that an awful lot of people were listening to us. Even his "sales" person was a fan of The Album Station. I know. Because I met her and talked with her.
As far as local music and artists go, The Album Station has always played the most of any radio station in this market. And that's all that I will say about that.
We already had (and still have) our loyal responsive audience. And, I am sure that a lot of that audience kept 102.9 on their radio pre-sets long after "Peter Tripp" pulled the plug. There was static for 2 months. And, then there was music. We got the phone calls from listeners...."You're back!" But a number of them also said, "There's something OFF about it." We replied, "Nope. It's not us. We would never call ourselves "Farm Fresh". (Kind of corny.)
Mr. Morgan must have a LOT of extra cash laying around. I know what the expenses are for that particular frequency. Believe me. I know. (For nearly a decade, we managed to pay them .) And I know Mr. Tripp aka Dennis Jackson. No way could you keep that station going without a strong advertiser list. He would never stand for it. Because that is the way he is. Bottom line: There are really no ads on FF now. So, the money to pay the expenses, which includes a fairly generous amount for Jackson every month have to be paid somehow.
If you're airing announcements that say "we promise not to run any more ads than we need to pay the bills" you must have another source of money to live on and have a few extras. And, if that's the case, the radio thing is only a hobby.
It just irritates me to see someone like Morgan being lauded for being some sort of "pioneer". BTW, the "pioneer" (is that why he calls himself "Buffalo"?) called Russ a few days before he put the FF format on 102.9 and told us that we should turn over our advertisers to them. He said they would pay us commission. Sorry. No can do. Mr. Morgan is lucky that I wasn't the one on the phone with him when he came up with THAT brilliant "pioneering" idea.
Morgan might very well be a "great" guy, but why did he invite Russ and I to have dinner with him not too long before he slid into our already established radio station? (At this point he had already been talking with Jackson.) The least he could have done was pick up the tab.
What is Mr. E. Morgan doing that is so different from what Russ and I did for a decade? (Well, I guess he IS playing some really strange music by unknown artists. But he definitely had or has some sort of access to our playlist, which he has definitely been "cherry picking".)
Mr. Morgan isn't so much following a different path, as pretty much meandering down the path that Russ and I bushwhacked way back in 1999. Back then we had a rather mediocre signal (102.5) and struggled with a lot of interference.....very little money for any promotion. Correction. No money for promotion. I held down several jobs to keep us afloat for the first 5 years, while the Album Station became recognized. It was by word of mouth essentially.
Morgan was trying to "sell" ads on his non-com and finding out around the community that an awful lot of people were listening to us. Even his "sales" person was a fan of The Album Station. I know. Because I met her and talked with her.
As far as local music and artists go, The Album Station has always played the most of any radio station in this market. And that's all that I will say about that.
We already had (and still have) our loyal responsive audience. And, I am sure that a lot of that audience kept 102.9 on their radio pre-sets long after "Peter Tripp" pulled the plug. There was static for 2 months. And, then there was music. We got the phone calls from listeners...."You're back!" But a number of them also said, "There's something OFF about it." We replied, "Nope. It's not us. We would never call ourselves "Farm Fresh". (Kind of corny.)
Mr. Morgan must have a LOT of extra cash laying around. I know what the expenses are for that particular frequency. Believe me. I know. (For nearly a decade, we managed to pay them .) And I know Mr. Tripp aka Dennis Jackson. No way could you keep that station going without a strong advertiser list. He would never stand for it. Because that is the way he is. Bottom line: There are really no ads on FF now. So, the money to pay the expenses, which includes a fairly generous amount for Jackson every month have to be paid somehow.
If you're airing announcements that say "we promise not to run any more ads than we need to pay the bills" you must have another source of money to live on and have a few extras. And, if that's the case, the radio thing is only a hobby.
It just irritates me to see someone like Morgan being lauded for being some sort of "pioneer". BTW, the "pioneer" (is that why he calls himself "Buffalo"?) called Russ a few days before he put the FF format on 102.9 and told us that we should turn over our advertisers to them. He said they would pay us commission. Sorry. No can do. Mr. Morgan is lucky that I wasn't the one on the phone with him when he came up with THAT brilliant "pioneering" idea.
Morgan might very well be a "great" guy, but why did he invite Russ and I to have dinner with him not too long before he slid into our already established radio station? (At this point he had already been talking with Jackson.) The least he could have done was pick up the tab.
Thank you for the original post and the link.
"Farm Fresh" huh?
I have mused about a comparable station. One of the liners would be: "If we were a restaurant, the sign out front would proclaim Home Cooking".
"Farm Fresh" huh?
I have mused about a comparable station. One of the liners would be: "If we were a restaurant, the sign out front would proclaim Home Cooking".
Hi Diane -
To heck with WCLX, that's old news now. Let it rest. Best of luck to their Chip and his brand of freeform radio. The more cool music on the tired old FM airwaves the better. But what's going on with WZXP 97.9? Is it on the air? And when will The Album Station streaming resume for us hungry out-of-market fans?
To heck with WCLX, that's old news now. Let it rest. Best of luck to their Chip and his brand of freeform radio. The more cool music on the tired old FM airwaves the better. But what's going on with WZXP 97.9? Is it on the air? And when will The Album Station streaming resume for us hungry out-of-market fans?
Actually, we ARE looking to the future in a very positive way.......WZXP 97.9 FM hit the airwaves yesterday, July 23. We're very pleased with the coverage. Russ has some fine tuning to do. Waiting for permits, etc. took a bit longer than we had hoped. And Tom Petty is right. "The Waiting is the Hardest Part." Streaming will be returning in the near future. Keep checking our website.
The Album Station is Back!
www.musicheads.us
The Album Station is Back!
www.musicheads.us
I'm looking forward to hearing their stream.
The concept I think we're talking here is a mix of blues, Americana, alternative, progressive country, etc. The idea is to appeal to smart musically-conscious non-conformists with eclectic tastes.
The best example is KPIG out of Freedom, CA. They stream.
I've always felt that type of station would work in the north country and it would attract like-minded advertisers.
The concept I think we're talking here is a mix of blues, Americana, alternative, progressive country, etc. The idea is to appeal to smart musically-conscious non-conformists with eclectic tastes.
The best example is KPIG out of Freedom, CA. They stream.
I've always felt that type of station would work in the north country and it would attract like-minded advertisers.
Who are you talking about?
Diane, in my post I said "I think we are talking about..." but I gather from your response Farm Fresh is nothing like KPIG.
I would however like to hear the station.
I would however like to hear the station.
I fancy myself to be a music head but I can't listen to Farm Fresh. The music selection doesn't do it for me. I still wish them the best of luck. I will admit that I listened to 102.9 when Russ and Diane ran it only because the music was much more in line with my taste. Welcome back Russ and Diane.
Hi There....
Do you listen in the morning? Russ is on live from 6 - 10 am. (Rock & Roll Birthdays at 8:30). I'm on in the afternoon and evening at various times....Fridays, definitely from 5PM - 7PM. Sunday mornings 8AM - 10 AM. We are here.....as we've been 4 11 years.
Do you listen in the morning? Russ is on live from 6 - 10 am. (Rock & Roll Birthdays at 8:30). I'm on in the afternoon and evening at various times....Fridays, definitely from 5PM - 7PM. Sunday mornings 8AM - 10 AM. We are here.....as we've been 4 11 years.
Diane Desmond said:
If you are asking what station’s stream I am complaining about, it’s WNCS The Point. All treble, no bass. I’ve complained here and to the station several times, it still hasn’t been fixed.
I kinda like that there are two versions of Farm Fresh Radio out there, to me WMUD is a softer sounding station than WCLX. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.
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