WARP FACTOR 1.... ENGAGE---On KLUV (Excellent)

[JRZFM100]

I thought I heard it right, a distinctive cut with sung and sono; JAM's Warp Factor jingle package on KLUV. Then I heard it again. I did hear it right, there is no mistaking the double-named jock shout.

John Summers (sung) ... John Summers (sonovox)

THAT'S SOOO GREAT! Now I'll listen for the jingles alone!

 

[mjb1124]

They're using some Flame Thrower and Skywave cuts as well. Nice to hear JAM back in their hometown - these cuts really liven up the station!

 

[JRZFM100]

Haven't heard that, but if they are it is the best of all worlds!! Go ahead, use all of the packages on the Z-World demo.

I have a particular attachment to Flame Thrower and Warp Factor as I worked at Z-100 (as a phone op, circa 1983-1985) when those packages were brand new. Don't like Red Hot so much, but I do like Turbo Z, the circa 1989 successor to the original Z-100 packages.

Y-95 Arlington, Ft Worth, Dallas used Turbo Z when it was new.

Seems like Lite FM also has new jingles as of Jan 2013... I like those too, although they are certainly not JAM i sure don't think.

 

[JRZFM100]

Okay, I heard a Flamethrower Cut, originally cut as 'Hot Rockin' Flame Throwin' Z-100' on KLUV. Flamethrower for sure. This was into Every Breath You Take. It's tough to use those cuts into slow starting songs. I remember being at Z-100 when Flamethrower was the only package, the jocks would bitch and moan about playing Flamethrower cuts into "Come Dancing" by the Kinks, as that song fades up and in and was a poor match to any jingle.

Very interesting how those 80's jingles sound into non-1980's music, particularly the '60's cuts. That takes some getting used to.

 

[bigtom101]

Nice to hear that JAM is getting some business - the 80's CHR packages sound great on classic hits stations (well...I wish more stations had 1985 Z100 like audio - anyone have some spare Texar Prisims lying around!?!).

I wonder if CBS-FM will get some Skywave, Flamethrower or Turbo Z cuts eventually - they've been content to stick with the 70's WABC packages for now.

Now I have the Turbo Z "Serving the universe...." jingle stuck in my head...

 

[MikeShannon914]

I think we're seeing a slightly different approach at KLUV now...music's a tiny bit edgier and is being more consistent with a classic hits/classic rock-ish approach, but it's more about what's NOT being played anymore. No 60s, very select 70s, and much more 80s. I think this is more of an 'in your face, Peter Z' nose-thumbing, but I'm liking the change. Not that it's better, it's just DIFFERENT. But they'll start encroaching on sister Jack's audience if they're not careful. But also on the receiving end of that nose-thumbing is the upper boundary of the 25-54s, who will detest the change and head to KEOM or XM....as the line is now clearly drawn that KLUV will not be "graying" with its audience.

 

[Robert Bass]

I think we're seeing a slightly different approach at KLUV now...music's a tiny bit edgier and is being more consistent with a classic hits/classic rock-ish approach, but it's more about what's NOT being played anymore. No 60s, very select 70s, and much more 80s. I think this is more of an 'in your face, Peter Z' nose-thumbing, but I'm liking the change.

Mike,

You are aware Peter Z is no longer at KLUV, right?

R

 

[pbf1]

I think this is more of an 'in your face, Peter Z' nose-thumbing, but I'm liking the change.

Mike,

You are aware Peter Z is no longer at KLUV, right?

R

Most likely he is; hence the Peter Z nose thumbing.

 

[mjb1124]

Okay, I heard a Flamethrower Cut, originally cut as 'Hot Rockin' Flame Throwin' Z-100' on KLUV. Flamethrower for sure. This was into Every Breath You Take. It's tough to use those cuts into slow starting songs. I remember being at Z-100 when Flamethrower was the only package, the jocks would bitch and moan about playing Flamethrower cuts into "Come Dancing" by the Kinks, as that song fades up and in and was a poor match to any jingle.

Cut 10 is a slower, mellower cut - and having just tried a mock segue into "Come Dancing" on my computer, I think it would have worked fine.

I wonder if CBS-FM will get some Skywave, Flamethrower or Turbo Z cuts eventually - they've been content to stick with the 70's WABC packages for now.

I could see it eventually - especially since they're using the voice talents of Earl Mann, who is also heard on KLUV and several other CBS stations that also use 80's JAM jingles. But for now the 70's cuts still work well and they're probably being careful not to change anything too quickly.

 

[JRZFM100]

I posted this by mistake in the other KLUV discussion-

How very cool -

The Jim Zippo / Warp Factor jock shout seems to have seconds of extra space added in between 'Jim Zippo' (sung) ...and... 'Jim Zippo' (Sono) specifically so the Zip dude can ramble in between the sung and the sono.

That is way very cool.

 

[JRZFM100]

Cut 10 is a slower, mellower cut - and having just tried a mock segue into "Come Dancing" on my computer, I think it would have worked fine.

From memory, there was only 1 slow jingle in all of Flamethrower... (I don't have the lyric sheet handy)

Separately, trivia, Z-100 never used the Flamethrower jingle ending in 'Hit after hit after hit...'

RE: Turbo Z, when it was on Y-95, they didn't produce the center, but rather let the jock talk over it live, which I thought was very cool.

I don't remember what the Y-95 sono said at the start of the jingle, but definitely remember Billy Burke taking in the donut using Turbo-Z top of the hour.

Unlike the original 'Serving The Universe' top 'o the hr from Warp Factor, Turbo Z top 'o hour ends with two (2) Z-100's: Z-100 (sung) / Z-100 (sono-under) and then
NEW YORK (EXCLAMATION POINT)!

I love how jingles have exclamation points embedded.

 

[MikeShannon914]

Yes, sadly, Peter Z is indeed gone from KLUV. I especially liked that he would come on here and be very frank with us about happenings at the station.

To KLUV's credit, they are still playing a few select 60s songs (unless that's a "Jody" thing,) and haven't abandoned the 70s...so I was partly wrong with my earlier comments. Still, you're more likely to hear a harder-edged Foreigner song now instead of Petula Clark. A 70s-era Journey song over Manilow, etc, etc, etc. Me, I think a station needs to have a baseline 'beat' that it doesn't dip below on a regular basis...keeps the energy level consistent and surely increases TSL when you don't have "Alone Again Naturally" wedged between "Walking on Sunshine" and "Get Down Tonight." I'm seeing more of that kind of consistency at KLUV lately.

 

[JRZFM100]

Hey, the automation systems really sucks at handling some of KLUV's jingles...

Several times I heard segues involving two songs and a jingle in between. And guess what, the ending song starts to fade, the jingle fires off, and then the next song starts while the original song is still quite audibly fading into the start of the new song....

In other words, the automation can't pull the pot down for the ending song when the jingle is fired as a human jock would do.

 

[billyg]

Hey, the automation systems really sucks at handling some of KLUV's jingles...

Several times I heard segues involving two songs and a jingle in between. And guess what, the ending song starts to fade, the jingle fires off, and then the next song starts while the original song is still quite audibly fading into the start of the new song....

In other words, the automation can't pull the pot down for the ending song when the jingle is fired as a human jock would do.

I've heard way too many automation systems fire off a cold song (like John Lennon's "Starting Over") too early in the middle of a jingle. And I just heard the KLUV jingle (at 5:54) chop off cold right into the start of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".. that sounded like a Mp3 player.

Some systems can set the timing to make that kind of auto-segue smoother, but I've never heard an automation system run as tight as a live DJ with carts or Denon CD players.

 

[Robert Bass]

I'm not 100% positive, but I think KLUV uses AudioVault. Does AV set the segue points automatically or does it require human intervention?

R

 

[johnsummers]

@BillyG...that was operator error (mine)...wasn't thinking and potted the jingle down before it should have been. FYI, since last February, KLUV has been 100% live from 4:30AM till 7PM. @Robert....yes, we use AudioVault. On balance, the automation works pretty well. Sometimes, a song with a long fade will overlap into the next song past the jingle because the tone is placed too soon. We're doing our best to correct these things, in our spare time (lol).

 

[Robert Bass]

That's cool John! keep up the great work!

R

 

[johnsummers]

Thanks, Robert.

 

[JRZFM100]

since last February, KLUV has been 100% live from 4:30AM till 7PM.

-Yes, but even when you are "live" don't you let the automation handle segues between songs and other elements when there is no talk?

Sometimes, a song with a long fade will overlap into the next song past the jingle because the tone is placed too soon.

- Tones! That reminds me of this Sonomag / SMG automation system I worked with back in 1988. We had a battle going on between us. His name was Eigore.


PS. John, you made me crack when you said something about "wearing hot pants and roller skates" the other day!

 

[johnsummers]

No, man. When I'm live, I'm running the board 90% of the time, except during stopsets.