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The Return of WZZQ

K

Kevtime

Guest
Hey all:

I used to work at 'ZZQ, 'TYX, Rock 102 and consulted Z-106 when it changed from chicken-shit rock to classic-rock in the late '80's. If anyone is interested, come join my Facebook group called "The Return of WZZQ." On it you'll find all kinds of crap ... most notably about four links to some Internet stations that I've set up that play "ZZQ and JDX-FM type of music. Join today!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37012083333

Kevin Vandenbroek
 
Kevin,
Glad to see you're still around. Ever come down this way to visit,or is there some silly "statute of limitations" legal thingy keeping you out of MS?
 
Hey Tim!

Naw, there's nothing keeping me away. I've just been up to my neck-pipe with other junk. So, tell me the news ...

What's going on down there?
 
Kevtime said:
Hey Tim!

Naw, there's nothing keeping me away. I've just been up to my neck-pipe with other junk. So, tell me the news ...

What's going on down there?
Click to expand...
Well,I hear in Laurel they've got these little maryjeewanna pills...sorry,Sweet Magnolia Blues reference. Same stuff as usual,except slower, business-wise. Some layoffs at some stations,in step with the national news. Hopefully the warmer weather will bring some attitude adjustments to some advertisers and see that the value of radio is enhanced in an economic slowdown. When's the last time you were here? Guess you heard ZZQ went country?
 
ZZQ went country..When!!! ;D Hey this ZZQ online sounds pretty good. CBS radio? You are corporate?
 
I listened to ZZQ the last night it was on the air and taped it. If I'm not mistaken weren't you the last voice heard on the air thanking the listeners right before the song "The End" by the doors was played?
The last voice heard on ZZQ was "This was WZZQ Jackson" spoken by "Trouper". Wasn't it?

The last time I heard you was when you were a spokesman for Gov. Ray Mabus. Did you ever go back to radio?
 
Kevtime said:
Hey all:

I used to work at 'ZZQ, 'TYX, Rock 102 and consulted Z-106 when it changed from chicken-shit rock to classic-rock in the late '80's. If anyone is interested, come join my Facebook group called "The Return of WZZQ." On it you'll find all kinds of crap ... most notably about four links to some Internet stations that I've set up that play "ZZQ and JDX-FM type of music. Join today!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37012083333

Kevin Vandenbroek
Click to expand...

I remember John Rockett (Gary Phillips) put the Classic Rock on the air and Dru LaBorde was PD afte Rockett.
They had Burkhart-Douglas consulting and fired them when John came and didn't have another consultant after that until they sold to Clear Channel
according to Dru.
You must mean you consulted TYX or ZZQ. Dru says you never consulted Z106 after it went Classic Rock.
Victor Hawkins, Bill Crews, and Perez were there before Rockett before the Classic Rock. Were you there with them? I think Phil Harrison was the manager.
 
Let's see if this helps: (to the best of my knowledge) Z106 w/ PD Rockett (Gary Phillips) started the "Guerilla Radio" format with new staff (replacing Crews, Perez, etc) on Monday January 15, 1990. ALOT happened in Jackson Radio shortly thereafter. WTYX ditched Top 40 for Oldies. WSLI-FM became Mix 96. Huge spring book for Z106; Rockett went crosstown to Hot 95 that summer I think? Dru LaBorde elevated to PD of Z106 summer of '90. Was owned by Lewis Broadcasting. Bob Rall was GM. Phil Harrison? Sales Manager perhaps?
 
Oh, as far as staff was concerned for what its worth in Spring '90 for WSTZ:

Rockett PD/Mornings
China (Deb Dockery) middays/AM Co-Host
Dru LaBorde AM Co-Host
Kevin Hayes (me) PM Drive
Pam (Yates) Rivers Nights/MD
Parnell overnites
Peter Christian weekends
David Adcock Tunes til 2 on Sunday
Terry Stencil Production Director

Forgive me if I got any of that wrong. That was a long, long time ago.

I do remember the main tower went back up shortly after the switch to Guerilla Radio. Signal had been limited due to ice storm damage
 
i think Facebook did an about face on that issue and went back to the original TOS.I guess too much egg on their face,huh?Maybe they can get the group back up.(so to speak)
 
Hopefully it will be back up somewhere other than Facebook, then I don't have to create an account to see it.
 
OldGM said:
Kevtime said:
Hey all:

I used to work at 'ZZQ, 'TYX, Rock 102 and consulted Z-106 when it changed from chicken-shit rock to classic-rock in the late '80's. If anyone is interested, come join my Facebook group called "The Return of WZZQ." On it you'll find all kinds of crap ... most notably about four links to some Internet stations that I've set up that play "ZZQ and JDX-FM type of music. Join today!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37012083333

Kevin Vandenbroek
Click to expand...

I remember John Rockett (Gary Phillips) put the Classic Rock on the air and Dru LaBorde was PD afte Rockett.
They had Burkhart-Douglas consulting and fired them when John came and didn't have another consultant after that until they sold to Clear Channel
according to Dru.
You must mean you consulted TYX or ZZQ. Dru says you never consulted Z106 after it went Classic Rock.
Victor Hawkins, Bill Crews, and Perez were there before Rockett before the Classic Rock. Were you there with them? I think Phil Harrison was the manager.
Click to expand...

I consulted Z-106 once Phil Harrison took over. I brought Hawkins and David Adcock over. This was in late 1987.
 
I consulted Z-106 once Phil Harrison took over. I brought Hawkins and David Adcock over. This was in late 1987.
While Phil had the station and Victor was PD, they did a free form format Victor developed . No classic rock. A lot of
new rock. Poor ratings. No billing. Brought in new GM changed to Classic Rock after fallen tower was replaced.
Victor left because he didn't want to do classic rock. Station moved into top 3 and stayed there. It's billing went from
low six figures to 2 million in a year and a half.
I knew these people and kept in touch during the time from Phil moving up to acting manager for a year or so and
the new GM taking over. The station was in awful shape until it went Classic Rock (Guerilla Radio).
 
Yes, I know. I brought Hawkins over from MS ETV. I thought he would help create an what would ultimately become the AAA Classic format.

He didn't and frankly screwed up all of the work which I had done to bring rock radio back to Jackson in the '80's (the asshole). I imagined a format which would mix Progressive with AOR and integrate Motown, Garage '60's and (at the time) current College Radio.

Hawkins had his own agenda, though. His weird, tin-eared agenda.

I was busy with another job, so I couldn't take a hands-on role and continue to consult.

So, one Sunday afternoon, when Phil was OTA, I dropped by the station and took back the 500 albums I had donated (Hawkins wasn't using them and they weren't ZZQ leftovers ... they were discs I had purchased over the years ... WTF, why not?).

Since then, I've tried to resolve my issues with Hawkins, but he has been an arrogant asshole to me since the early '90's.

While he could occasionally find a decent tune, he was such a managerial failure at Z-106 that he was forced out. It wasn't because he refused to do Classic Rock. Victor left because he was terrible in his role as a PD. Those who know or knew Hawkins may not agree with me, but my one-time friend became a self-centered butt-hole years before Z-106.

My problem is that I didn't realize it when I consulted the station and brought him aboard. For that, I'm sorry.

I agree with OldGM: The station was in awful shape until it went Classic Rock. And now, many years later, it's irrelevant, repetitious, tedious ... like all radio. It's mostly over.

Who knows, maybe someday, someone will get it right. Don't hold your breath, though. The only real radio nowadays exists on the Internet.
 
Yes, I know. I brought Hawkins over from MS ETV. I thought he would help create an what would ultimately become the AAA Classic format.

He didn't and frankly screwed up all of the work which I had done to bring rock radio back to Jackson in the '80's (the asshole). I imagined a format which would mix Progressive with AOR and integrate Motown, Garage '60's and (at the time) current College Radio.

Hawkins had his own agenda, though. His weird, tin-eared agenda.

I was busy with another job, so I couldn't take a hands-on role and continue to consult.

So, one Sunday afternoon, when Phil was OTA, I dropped by the station and took back the 500 albums I had donated (Hawkins wasn't using them and they weren't ZZQ leftovers ... they were discs I had purchased over the years ... WTF, why not?).

Since then, I've tried to resolve my issues with Hawkins, but he has been an arrogant asshole to me since the early '90's.

While he could occasionally find a decent tune, he was such a managerial failure at Z-106 that he was forced out. It wasn't because he refused to do Classic Rock. Victor left because he was terrible in his role as a PD. Those who know or knew Hawkins may not agree with me, but my one-time friend became a self-centered butt-hole years before Z-106.

My problem is that I didn't realize it when I consulted the station and brought him aboard. For that, I'm sorry.

I agree with OldGM: The station was in awful shape until it went Classic Rock. And now, many years later, it's irrelevant, repetitious, tedious ... like all radio. It's mostly over.

Who knows, maybe someday, someone will get it right. Don't hold your breath, though. The only real radio nowadays exists on the Internet.
 
Do I have this right? The buyers of WJDX-AM and WZZQ paid “X” millions of dollars for the two stations and immediately changed WZZQ to country. Is it possible that at the time WJDX was the real money maker, thus changing 102.9 to country wasn’t a giant financial risk? If ZZQ had never gone away, hard to imagine what the Jackson radio landscape would look like.

I might be wrong about this but no station ever successfully emulated ZZQ. . . . although 101.7 tried rock, as did 98 Rock. As I recall, the only reminiscence of ZZQ that worked was David Adcock’s weekend show. David had big numbers at 106.7, and then at 98 Rock (98 had no numbers except during David’s weekend show). David returned to 106.7 on Sunday and again pulled extraordinary ratings. So people obviously remembered ZZQ even years after they signed off.

As a side note, they tried David on weekday mornings, he pulled good numbers, but they weren’t the spectacular numbers (plus thirty shares) he had on the weekend. I think some former ZZQ jocks found their way onto a couple of stations, but nothing (except Adcock) ever really worked.
 
Victor left on his own. He was not asked to leave. He wasn't interested in Classic Rock.
I was told he was an excellent employee and did well with the program staff.
Fran: While ZZQ produced decent numbers and good revenue, JDX was the money maker.
It was a no brainer to fill the whole in the market with country. AOR, progressive, or whatever
pulled OK numbers...but no where near the comparable revenue. Remember, too, that
it was becomming obvious that music radio on AM was on the way out.
 
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