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The Ride

M

Moonshine

Guest
So how long can The Ride continue to cruise in the Charlotte market? Music continues to flounder and there is no localism on the station. Could it be that Dave is satisified being a minor player in the 25th largest radio market? Such a waste of a great signal.
 
The station's been paid for, the only debt is from operations. Dave has nobody to answer to and plays what he wants, when he wants. Sound like he's livin' the dream. Why would he change?
 
outtaradio said:
The station's been paid for, the only debt is from operations. Dave has nobody to answer to and plays what he wants, when he wants. Sound like he's livin' the dream. Why would he change?
Click to expand...

Amen. I'd do pretty much the same.
 
I'm not a big fan of the music on "The Ride" I do like some of it though. Lots of my friends like the music they play.

As for local content, I don't know that listeners really care about that anymore. Most people complain about too much talk on music stations.

The great thing is Dave is staying the course and not flipping formats all over the place. Nothing says "My station is a turkey" like frequent format flips. You don't always have to make tons on money or be the #1 billing station. Make enough to pay the bills and live comfortably is not such a bad idea.

The other choice would be sell out to a big conglomerate and watch them mess up the station in an effort to squeeze every cent out of it.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
The great thing is Dave is staying the course and not flipping formats all over the place. Nothing says "My station is a turkey" like frequent format flips. You don't always have to make tons on money or be the #1 billing station. Make enough to pay the bills and live comfortably is not such a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Prior to "The Ride" I thought Dave was format-flipping -- or shall we say tweaking, name-changing. Since the late 80s, the music has never strayed very far from Rock/Classic Rock. I believe the station names were something like this...

"The Rock"
"The Panther" -- naming-rights controversy with the Carolina Panthers evolved here.
"95-7 XRC"
"Deep Cuts 95.7"
Satellite-Delivered Classic Rock format
"The Ride"

Did I miss any or mess up the order? Back to the original WIRC-WXRC days, I would guess WXRC was WIRC-FM at some point; in the 60s until the mid 70s it was country "Channel X - WXRC"; then until the mid 80s it was Top 40/CHR with the names "X-Rock 96" and later "X-Rock 95.7, WXRC".

One thing has been very consistent; 95.7 must be one of the very few stations in our area to keep the same "WXRC" callsign for about 40 years.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
The great thing is Dave is staying the course and not flipping formats all over the place. Nothing says "My station is a turkey" like frequent format flips. You don't always have to make tons on money or be the #1 billing station. Make enough to pay the bills and live comfortably is not such a bad idea.

The other choice would be sell out to a big conglomerate and watch them mess up the station in an effort to squeeze every cent out of it.
Click to expand...

Amen, Brother!
 
The Ride is a different sounding radio station. Some days is sounds better than others but over all it continues to sound just OK. If WTHZ ever gets their tower built and puts a city grade signal over the Charlotte metro I feel The Ride (and other metro stations) will suffer, some dramatically. The mass Ride audience is waiting for somebody to give them music they can relate to all day and every day. Small in number, the P1's, will be very vocal if Dave should make a move in either presentation or content.
 
I don't like every song "The Ride" plays but am impressed when I hear a song like "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot as I did the other day. How many FMs are playing THAT song these days? It should still be played on Lite 102.9, but "Lite" has gone "less soft" and more modern the last few years, so songs like "Sundown" are no longer "Lite" fare. The name "Lite" is misleading, IMHO. I'm not saying I don't like "Lite"; but they need a name more representative of the music they play. It's more like "Halogen 102.9" or "Metal Halide 102.9" for those of you familiar with various intensities of illumination.
 
I agree about lite. They sound more like a Hot AC station. Will they ever change there call letters?

94.1 w-htz still sounds way better than 95.7. I realize 94.1 is not a true oldies station, but they are pretty close to what majic 96.1 used to be. Any word on if they are still building that transmitter near mooreville,nc?
 
Last report that I heard was that WTHZ is moving forward with their attempt to build a tall tower in Rowan County. If that happens they will be a city grade signal in Charlotte. They have applied for a new city of license to Faith,NC. What's up with that change? If they build the tower and move into Charlotte with the current format they will certainly give The Ride and other metro stations some much needed competition. This tower deal has been in the works for years.
 
Moonshine said:
They have applied for a new city of license to Faith,NC. What's up with that change?
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Makes as much sense as Clemmons I guess. :)
 
vchimpanzee,

I agree. I think 102.9 should be mix 102.9. Mix is no used on any stations in charlotte. If they are tending towards Hot AC, then change the name.
 
hschutte said:
vchimpanzee,

I agree. I think 102.9 should be mix 102.9. Mix is no used on any stations in charlotte. If they are tending towards Hot AC, then change the name.
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I totally agree! Mix, Star or just plain old 102.9 WLYT.
 
I'm sick of any of the predictable names... Magic... Star... Mix... but I was raised in a day when the call letters were the big deal, so I'm in the minority with my opinion...
Atleast "The Ride" is a bit original... we could probably come up with some politically incorrect names...102.9 The Jew...or something...
 
Kent Dorsey said:
I'm sick of any of the predictable names... Magic... Star... Mix... but I was raised in a day when the call letters were the big deal, so I'm in the minority with my opinion...
Atleast "The Ride" is a bit original... we could probably come up with some politically incorrect names...102.9 The Jew...or something...
Click to expand...

I was there for the transition from EZ-102.9 to Lite 102.9. What's interesting is for awhile it was called "Lite Rock". I moved away in '94 and noticed when I came back the word "rock" was out of the slogan. It's been "Lite" since 1993 so I don't think there will be a change unless the ratings tank.

The music has changed quite a bit I will admit and they try to go after the younger demos. There is a lot of soft A/C hits that we played back in '93 that aren't being played anymore. However they continue to burnout the same old '70's hits.
 
hschutte said:
vchimpanzee,

I agree. I think 102.9 should be mix 102.9. Mix is no used on any stations in charlotte. If they are tending towards Hot AC, then change the name.
Click to expand...
And the WNMX letters are available, as far as I know.

I thought back in 1997 they should have traded letters, because Mix 106 had become "Lite". That was during their chimpanzee period. Yes, that's where I got the name, although I'm the one that accused them of having a chimp do their playlist.
 
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