Davy Jones - Seattle Radio

[equalinercard]

Maybe I missed it, but I heard about the death of Davy Jones Wednesday on Twitter.

So I punched around...KJR-FM; KCMQ; The Mountain(?!); a few others. Did not hear a single Monkees or Davy Jones song. Didn't hear a single jock mention of the death of Davy Jones.

Again, maybe it was there and I missed it. But this seemed like a replay of the death of Whitney Houston. Her death was on a weekend and Seattle radio seemed to totally ignore it.

We've come a long way from the day when John Lennon died late at night and even talk stations were playing Lennon's music that very night.

 

[multiplex]

When radio execs wonder why people don't find their stations relevant, they just have to look in the mirror. I was sharing the news and his songs on Internet radio shortly after the info cameout.
I'm only pointing that out because in today's world of voicetracked radio, listeners have no one to turn to when they want information or consolation.
Granted, Davey Jones wasn't John Lennon, but he did touch millions of lives. Listeners deserve better than what they get.
I worked for a PD who often said, "F--- the listeners." This was in the early 80s, and I worried that radio was doomed if that attitude became widespread. Radio isn't there for listeners. So why should listeners be there for radio? Increasingly, they aren't.

 

[JakeMott]

KMCQ played a long set of Monkee songs Wednesday evening in the 5:00 PM hour. A few obscure songs included. Only KMCQ would do that.

 

[SeattleObserver]

NPR had a tribute on "All Things Considered:" http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/02/29/147651486/davy-jones-singer-actor-and-monkee-has-died

 

[toonces2u]

KMCQ played a long set of Monkee songs Wednesday evening in the 5:00 PM hour. A few obscure songs included. Only KMCQ would do that.

Glad you mentioned that Jake. I heard that too. They ended the set with the poignant I Wanna Be Free sung by Davy. Like you said, only KMCQ would do that. KJR FM would never bump a Journey or Steve Miller record for a tribute like that.

 

[corporat]

I first heard the news about the death of Davy Jones from Ryan Castle on KISW. Later on, it was part of the inspiration for The Mens Room 'Question of the Day': "I may have been the last person in the world who knew who [blank] was."
Personal note: the first time I ever heard of Jimi Hendrix was when I read his obituary in the local paper.

 

[Wonderfulwino]

One of the reasons the story may have been pushed quickly to the back of the bus is that a big part of the Monkees legacy is they were one of THE first rock groups to be manufactured and staged by Hollywood and made for TV.
People still snicker and snort their fame even today..They didnt exactly all come from the streets. However, the music was top shelf in production and promotion. Written by some of the best of the day. Colgems was a one hit wonder label that made a buttload of money off the those Lil' darlins.. The group was a bit awkward to begin with because the actual musical talent at hand was somewhat limited. But Jones was clearly the showman and had the looks and charisma it took for Hollywood to launch the plan. Don't forget that this "Rock Band" was somewhat the beginning for the music video. Today, many many pop groups or individuals are created on a laptop and edited in Photoshop all in a few days..And we wonder why Radio continues to beat its brains out trying to find a music format that works..

 

[Lonely Summer]

I was watching the Making of the Monkees video the other night and reminded of what a pain Don Kirshner could be. He had access to top flight songwriters and producers, but he was so stubborn he wouldn't allow any of the Monkees to play on the sessions. Peter Tork says all they wanted was to be able to tell people "we played on this", alongside the session men, doing the material Kirshner selected, but he said "NO"...and lost his job because of it. Yeah, they were pre-fab and all of that, but each of the guys was talented in different ways. Micky Dolenz had the perfect voice for the type of mainstream pop/rock the Monkees did, Davy also had a good pop voice, Tork could play guitar, bass, keyboards, banjo, and very competently, I might add. And Mike Nesmith was ahead of almost everybody with the country rock sound, and wrote some of the best songs of the era. And they did have a chemistry on screen - that's something that can't be faked. RIP Davy

 

[searadiofreak]

Music logs are produced atleast a few days before they actually air, especially with oldies stations. However, immediate on-air editing can occur if someone cares. Most of the time, nobody does.

 

[Bongwater]

Music logs are produced atleast a few days before they actually air, especially with oldies stations. However, immediate on-air editing can occur if someone cares. Most of the time, nobody does.

...and then the radio industry wonders why there's no listener loyalty beyond the PPM subscribers :

 

[radiojjh]

Same thing when Whitney Houston passed away...oh sure you heard stuff on Monday, but nothing during the weekend since it was all voicetrakked and premium choiced ahead of time....very very sad statement on the way radio is today----BUT it doesn't have to be that way. I heard one show on Monday the day after the Superbowl and since they trakked ahead of time---no mentions of the Superbowl game, the commercials and that IS what everyone was talking about....pretty sad and VERY LAZY!

 

[toonces2u]

Same thing when Whitney Houston passed away...oh sure you heard stuff on Monday, but nothing during the weekend since it was all voicetrakked and premium choiced ahead of time....very very sad statement on the way radio is today----BUT it doesn't have to be that way. I heard one show on Monday the day after the Superbowl and since they trakked ahead of time---no mentions of the Superbowl game, the commercials and that IS what everyone was talking about....pretty sad and VERY LAZY!

I totally agree J.J. Some television talk shows are getting lazy too, pre-taping shows days in advance. I know Letterman pre-tapes his Friday show, and I am suspicious about Thursday. I tune in to hear topics of the day in the monologues. Of course, his monologues are filled with the same jokes and bits night after night so its really hard to tell. As for radio, back when I actually listened to KJR FM, it was obvious I was not hearing a live DJ. I really don't care for voice tracking. I mean, I would rather there be no DJ at all than to have the show tracked. No offense intended.

 

[scott salvatori]

you/we are radio nutz. we know what voice tracking is. the average city/suburban/urban listener(99%) dont know the difference, as they AQH there way down the road for 15 minutes(ya right). it is up to those radio stations that provide live talent to educate their loyal listeners that we is live, brand X aint, by poking fun and ridicule at them. when the majority of stations voice track, i guess you wont have brand Y doin' too much braggin' and edumicating. this is a great opportunity for the small station with live talent to verbally slay the centralized programmed voice tracked national corporate behemoth. dont be afraid to educate your listeners with clever on air ribbing of your competitor

Same thing when Whitney Houston passed away...oh sure you heard stuff on Monday, but nothing during the weekend since it was all voicetrakked and premium choiced ahead of time....very very sad statement on the way radio is today----BUT it doesn't have to be that way. I heard one show on Monday the day after the Superbowl and since they trakked ahead of time---no mentions of the Superbowl game, the commercials and that IS what everyone was talking about....pretty sad and VERY LAZY!

I totally agree J.J. Some television talk shows are getting lazy too, pre-taping shows days in advance. I know Letterman pre-tapes his Friday show, and I am suspicious about Thursday. I tune in to hear topics of the day in the monologues. Of course, his monologues are filled with the same jokes and bits night after night so its really hard to tell. As for radio, back when I actually listened to KJR FM, it was obvious I was not hearing a live DJ. I really don't care for voice tracking. I mean, I would rather there be no DJ at all than to have the show tracked. No offense intended.

ting.

 

[radiojjh]

excellent comment and I agree. IF and I repeat IF voicetrakking is done right it is truly an art form and can be compelling. That means re-recording your trakks when something important happens. I always did that when i was trakked, and NO ONE could tell I was ever trakked. That included doing the weather and I was right 99% of the time---including the temperature. IF you know what you're doing it can be pulled off and sound great....but most people don't have a heart and soul for it anymore and are of the who gives a rats behind department.....very very sad state of affairs...

 

[scott salvatori]

j.j. you raise a good point regarding voice trakking. i would rather listen to a several hour old voice trakk, with hand picked music sets, and intelligent patter, from meg griffin on XM/SR DEEP TRACKS, at night on the road, than a live card/motto/contest reader break filler with lame burnt musical offerings on KZOK.

 

[worc47]

Well, the Mighty KZOK played NUMEROUS Monkees tuneage the entire day! Paying respect to a great rock band that was the background to many a Friday Night Submarine Race park, with your favorite date!
Ah...just one reason we do it L I V E at CBS Seattle, no voice-tracking ;D

 

[bobdavcav]

I honestly don't mind voicetracking, that is if it's done right. From what little I've caught of Boy Toy Jessie on KBKS he sounds good. My suspicion is that he's actually live from is it Sacramento he's based out of? Anyway, I would suspect the producer just hits a switch that links to KBKS here, probably what happens in CC trafic here as well. Laurey is actually somewhat local on KJR-FM, even if she does do 37 stations. She voicetracks from her home studio in Aweburn. If she were in Denver or some other place, I don't think she would have given the snow a couple of weeks ago any mention because it was such a small amount. Here's another rule I have, don't put your main promotions voice on the air as a DJ, you're almost for sure telling the listeners you're voicetracked, but that's exactly what KISC and KJR-FM are doing. Because I am doing the recording for my senior project at CC Seattle, I know that Dan Roberts is one of the audio production people. JJ, I've been meaning to ask you, what do you think of your replacement? I honestly think he's very boring, especially replacing a guy like you. I wonder what Tommy McFly is up to these days? I do think he could do as good of a show as you, JJ, but those people are few and far between.

 

[toonces2u]

To you radio guys, JJ in particular, just out of curiosity, how long does it take you to voicetrak a single 4 hour show (or however long the show is)?

 

[searadiofreak]

To you radio guys, JJ in particular, just out of curiosity, how long does it take you to voicetrak a single 4 hour show (or however long the show is)?

JJ will I'm sure chime in, but in the meantime, good question, but a lot of variables play into it. How many breaks are there per hour? How much content does the station want? Normally, there are about three stop-downs per hour, and perhaps a couple of talkovers. If you have your prep lined up and ready to go, this process should take about 20 minutes. (And that includes listening back, which I always do when I track, frankly one small advantage to tracking, correcting stupid mistakes, which I make more than I care to admit ).

 

[radiojjh]

Hey---some good questions. As far as time involved in voicetrakking a show. I do spend time prepping for the show. There are lots of good sources of show prep that can make a radio show much easier to do. Premiere Prep is amazingly good. Well written and very topical--regardless of the format. I think for me when I did my 4 hour daily show in Spokane, I'd say probably an hour or so. I had regular features that I did. Usually there were two or 3 spot sets an hour and usually i would do my "bits" into the spot sets. And there was also patter between songs at various times through out each hour. IF i was in a hurry, I could get a 4 hour show done in 25 minutes or perhaps less, but I find when I am in a hurry then i make mistakes and have to do the break again anyway. So I am a bit of perfectionist and like to make sure it sounds just right. I am always my own worst critic.

Someone asked about my replacement---and it is a show trakked out of New York City and the show is the same identical show that the other stations Rich Kaminski trakks for. Something that would be like the Jones Satellite Network. There are pre-recorded liners with the call letters/station logo mentions. I'm sure Rich is a talented guy---he anchors the afternoon show at WLTW in NY City, and you can't have that position without having talent. It is smooth and polished and professional.

I would like to hear about Gonzaga, the Chiefs(hockey team) the fact that the Central Valley Boys & Girls were going for the state basketball championships this past weekend, and that Spokane was hosting the State B tournament. Upcoming concerts and events taking place in town--whichever town you are broadcasting in. Such as Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul visiting.

In my opinion---those things are what endears a personality to their audience--live or voicetrakked. That includes the weather, talking about a gorgeous sunset, etc. i was always taught that radio is an art form--my dad was a personality in Seattle and by the time I was 3--I knew I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps and I did. I am still "on the beach" as it is commonly referred to and I can't wait to get back on the air. I've chatted with various companies around the country and am waiting for the right offer to come along. I am keeping myself busy with my production company...but would like to be busier!!! But I do love my work and I have the luxury of having a home studio to do my work in. It IS cool to wake up in the morning, put on my robe and go to the lower level in my house and begin my workday. I can make a tank of gas last 3 weeks. That is an incredible blessing! I will keep everyone posted when I do land back on the precious airwaves once again....