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KCSN to air Latin Alternative

S

Skyboyrox

I mentioned that we were getting ready to add a new show that has me excited. Here is the official release. Really interested in your thoughts on this.

KCSN-FM Set to Premiere "The Latin Alternative"
in Los Angeles Starting September 1
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif. Aug. 23, 2011)—"The Latin Alternative," the country‟s first nationally syndicated public radio show specializing in Latin rock, funk and electronic music, is joining California State University, Northridge‟s KCSN-FM (88.5) line up next month as part of a series of changes taking place at Los Angeles‟ only Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) format station . The innovative one-hour program kicks off its third year of syndication with its long-awaited debut in Los Angeles—the no. 1 market in the country for the Latin Alternative music genre.

"The Latin Alternative" will debut on KCSN-FM and www.kcsn.org beginning on Thursday, Sept. 1 and will air Thursday evenings at 9 p.m. The program brings alternative Latin music to a wider English-speaking audience and has been the subject of coverage by Billboard and the New York Times.

"The Latin Alternative" is co-hosted by two of the genre‟s leading experts, Josh Norek, co-founder of the Latin Alternative Music Conference and frontman of Hip Hop Hoodíos, and Ernesto Lechner, contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times and author of "Rock en Español: The Latin Alternative Rock Explosion."

"„The Latin Alternative‟ is a perfect match for KCSN," said Sky Daniels, Program Director of KCSN/Los Angeles. "I met Josh years ago at the Latin Alternative Music Conference and knew this program belonged on the radio. As the new Program Director of 88.5 KCSN, I‟m delighted to finally have the opportunity to broadcast it. KCSN is proud to serve our community and offer truly unique programming. We have no doubt that all listeners will find this show to be stimulating and progressive. Josh and Ernesto are two of Los Angeles‟ most musically knowledgeable experts in this genre."

Before coming to Los Angeles, "The Latin Alternative" had expanded its reach in recent months, adding new affiliates in markets like Chicago, Albany and Rochester, New York, and even as far north as Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The program features a mix of high-profile artist interviews and the latest new music. Among the artists to recently appear on the show are such Grammy Award-winning acts as Ozomatli and Jaguares, as well as buzz-heavy newcomers like Diego Garcia, Ana Tijoux and The Pinker Tones.
 
Skyboyrox said:
I mentioned that we were getting ready to add a new show that has me excited. Here is the official release. Really interested in your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...

The Spanish language alternative scene is pretty small. "Rock en Español" overall (including alternative and all other genres) has not managed to be anything but a niche position anywhere in Latin America except Argentina in the last 20 years.

The big names in Spanish language rock (not the crossovers like Juanes and Shakira or the really-AC acts like Maná) in the past have not been able to fill a large venue and perhaps can pull 1500 people on a single night in LA. The idea that "we filled the Pangages" or whatever indicates that there ought to be a radio show or radio station has echoed for decades, but is a living, breathing chimera in Hollywood Technicolor.

Perhaps it's a good thing for late nights. I'd be more concerned about the real regular listeners who will be annoyed.
 
Can't hurt to have a show like this on a weekend night, but Thursdays at 9? You're going to alienate your P1s.

Also - ANOTHER syndicated radio show? Granted, one of the hosts is an L.A. Times writer, but the local element, which is crucial to a show like this, will be missing since it's airing in other markets too.
 
DavidEduardo said:
The Spanish language alternative scene is pretty small.
Click to expand...

Any "alternative" scene is going to be small, which is why it is described as, well, "alternative."

The "alternative" label has been tossed around too easily in recent years. On a recent posting on the Houston board, someone referred to "mainstream alternative." Huh??!!?? Oxymoron if I ever heard one. What was once "Alternative Rock" has in fact become mainstream, but the label (which really no longer applies) has somehow stuck. A label that should describe something different, off the beaten path, and not well known should not apply to any music genre that has widespread distribution and listenership.

Perhaps it's a good thing for late nights. I'd be more concerned about the real regular listeners who will be annoyed.
Click to expand...

Probably more tolerable on a non-comm, whose listening base is probably more open to new things. On a commercial station this is the sort of thing that might show up after 11pm Saturday/Sunday.
 
I should address Talentfilter's concern about ANOTHER syndicated show. Both Josh and Ernesto are FROM L.A. They are local. They also are as knowledgeable in the field as anyone. So the fact that is syndicated is irrelevant. THIS is their homebase.

Why do we have othe syndicated shows--simple. A. They are, imho, great shows. ETown is the best live concert programming in all of 'Triple A'. Rob Reinhart has created magic with Acoustic Cafe, and works closely with us on doing shows from here-where the local singer songwriter scene is flourishing. David Gans works within the Grateful Dead camp--so he has access to archives and interviews that no one here would have. David Dye has created an institution with World Cafe.

Believe me, I have been speaking to, and seeking, local hosts that have ORIGINAL show ideas with resonance. But, since they are volunteer positions, there is no abundance of offerings.
I plan on mentoring a CSUN student or two this year to do night-time on-air work. So my desire to be local is strong.
As for alienating p1's--that could be said of all of our weekend shows. We are developing P1s for the weekday format. We have appointment listeners who value the specialty programming idioms on the weekend. So I think this show has the opportunity to be the a strong 'appointment' cume-builder.
 
Count me as one of the P1s that will be turned off and will be tuning out.

This just serves to confuse the new listener base you are trying to build. A new listener must wonder: English and AAA/Classic hits mix or Spanish specialty programing? New stations trying to increase cume must stay in format on a consistent basis even more than others.
 
You guys are worried about KCSN losing P1's?

You cant go below zero.
Every move so far has been motivated by the need to get some press
and I'm sure this will get some.
Personally I think its good to acknowledge
Latin music in the mix.
 
As far as original show ideas, good music is good music. DJ's with good taste and community history trump
unknown DJ's talking between a playlist. Plenty of playlisted radio on commercial, i'd prefer to see less on KCSN.
KCRW doesn't have a playlist or a bunch of "shows". They just pick DJ's they can trust and trust them to do their thing.
Hopefully we'll see more of that at KCSN.
 
Also would like to see more local music on KCSN. Looking at the playlist I see 2 or three local songs in rotation and they come up once, maybe twice a day.
Personally I think there'd be a lot more interest in this station if there was some REAL attention paid to local music and maybe less John Hiatt and Jackson Brown.
 
why not put Lisa Finney on in a weeknight "appointment" spot? She knows the local Americana scene inside out as she has aptly demonstrated when subing for some some of the other weekend shows and I bet Bob wouldnt mind.
 
ChannelFlipper said:
Count me as one of the P1s that will be turned off and will be tuning out.

This just serves to confuse the new listener base you are trying to build. A new listener must wonder: English and AAA/Classic hits mix or Spanish specialty programing? New stations trying to increase cume must stay in format on a consistent basis even more than others.
Click to expand...

I hope this is not the beginning of the KCRWization of KCSN, which is what I have feared all along. Why must a Spanish language show be forced onto an English speaking audience? And in my opinion, it really is a form of talking down to the audience:

See our Rock is Smarter (Sky's term), Our Rock is more Worldly, Our Rock is more Cultural, Our rock is more Diverse. As usual the one thing I never hear from these stations is Our Rock is more FUN!
 
Did I really just see a banner for Red Hot Chili Peppers as "KCSN spotlight music" on the KCSN website?
Ouch.
Ooouch.
I'll check back in a couple months. Lord have mercy.

As far as I know Channel Flipper, KCRW doesn't have a Spanish language show. They have DJ's they trust to chose music within a
certain boundary. They do have a meager .9 but I'm guessing KCSN would kill for a third of that.
 
Buckethead said:
Did I really just see a banner for Red Hot Chili Peppers as "KCSN spotlight music" on the KCSN website?
Ouch.
Ooouch.
I'll check back in a couple months. Lord have mercy.

As far as I know Channel Flipper, KCRW doesn't have a Spanish language show. They have DJ's they trust to chose music within a
certain boundary. They do have a meager .9 but I'm guessing KCSN would kill for a third of that.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, they (KCRW) do not have a specific show in Espanol either, but I think they do have a guy who spins records with Latin beats.

Again, it is not the specific music I was alluding to (I in fact like some Latin music, particularly Latin Jazz), it is an attitude. The show is disruptive to the every day format and seems to serve no purpose other than to show how diverse the station can be. I see University Administration PC idiocy all over this move. The proper time slot for this show - on this station - is late at night on the weekend, if it belongs there at all. 9:00 pm on Thursday evening is simply ridiculous.
 
Channel Flipper,

My take on this is the music of Latin Alternative is essentially Alt/Indie rock with Spanish lyrics and a Latin influence.
I'd much rather hear fresh alt/indie rock with lyrics I can't understand than crunchy old Topanga Canyon folk music with lyrics that I can understand so I'm all for it.
Where you see an attitude, I would suggest it would be rather arrogant to play only English speaking white artists on a public/college station in the middle of San Fernando Valley.
 
Buckethead said:
My take on this is the music of Latin Alternative is essentially Alt/Indie rock with Spanish lyrics
Click to expand...

The problem with that is that most of the successful (meaning "did not break up after a year or two) Latin Alternative acts come from Argentina or Chile... and we are talking about the southernmost countries in Europe, not "Latin" influenced locations. Saying Argentine alternative is "Latin" is like saying Hungarian rock is Latin. So, you are left with things like Nortec Cooperetative, which is banda and accordeon Mexican regional music dragged screaming into a rock environment... and it's called "alternative" because it fits no more mainstream description.
 
Buckethead said:
As far as I know Channel Flipper, KCRW doesn't have a Spanish language show. They have DJ's they trust to chose music within a
certain boundary. They do have a meager .9 but I'm guessing KCSN would kill for a third of that.
Click to expand...

KCRW covers over 8 million in its 64 dbu signal, while KCSN is under 2 million.
 
I think a few of you might want to re-assess what the musical position of Latin Alternative is as hosted by Josh and Ernesto.

As for local music, 14 out of our 40 (or so) currents are from local acts.

I hope you give the show a listen. BTW it is not a Spanish speaking show.
 
I counted about 5 or 6 local plays yesterday.
Currents are not a big part of the play-list so the 40 don't get played even once a day.
I guess I'd prefer less gold and more currents.
Though it would be nice if the DJs had some flexibility.

I'm all for Rock en Espanol.
 
This board's just like a radio station. Two or three vocal, opinionated mooks with their frequent whining about the state of your format. They only represent themselves and bear little semblance to your P1s. Take them seriously at your own peril. Blinders, Sky...blinders.
 
Ok. Who are the P1s?
What are their socio-demographics? Then we can know if we fit into that category. If I don't I'll shut up.

Sky asked for input, otherwise I woundn't give it.

-And a public / college station with 40 currents is unusual.
 
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