What's The Formula For The Perfect Station?

[EZway2go]

I can't find it now, but someone on here recently posted something about WEZV in Myrtle Beach being obsessed with Rod Stewart (the new standards, of course). Actually, I left WEZV as my daily at-work listening station... not because of all the Rod Stewart, but because of their total abandonment of the great instrumentals they used to play. And Dial Global has gotten too contemporary for me. That's the direction they want to take, and that's fine, but it's not for me. Not all, but many of the songs on their playlist can be heard elsewhere on the dial. (They've lost their differentiation factor).

That Rod Stewart comment raises an interesting question. Is there a perfect station out there for you? What would it be? How would you program it?

My ideal station would consist mostly of those MOR hits from the mid '50s thru the mid '70s. Some country cross-overs (real country... the kind you don't even hear on so-called country stations anymore). Some instrumentals, say one in every music segment. Maybe one of those Rod Stewart types, say once every half hour. Contemporary songs that actually fit the format rather than try to make the station something it's not (check out Sissel or Blackmore's Night). News on the hour; a live DJ's voice announcing the songs after each segment; and a trip down memory lane such as the old Chickenman serials or those '60s jingles like on KZQX.

Anyone else have an ideal station?

 

[DG02816]

I'd also add remotes from businesses and sports.So many ways better than POTS these daysto get audio back to the studio.

 

[EZway2go]

I'd also add remotes from businesses and sports.So many ways better than POTS these daysto get audio back to the studio.

Yep, that seems to be a lost art, doesn't it? Actually, I think WEZV does go on location from time to time. I know I've heard live updates from some of the area malls. And the old WRDR outside Atlantic City had "out 'n abouts" at jewelers and car dealers. In fact, I myself once attended one of their sponsored health fairs at the old Settlers Inn in Medford sometime back in the '90s... always nice to meet the folks behind the mikes.

 

[Chuck]

I'd also add remotes from businesses and sports.So many ways better than POTS these daysto get audio back to the studio.

Just curious, what kind of remotes do you think are entertaining? Most station's idea of a remote is to send a guy with a card table, a banner and a cell phone to a car dealership where they hawk free hot dogs and interview the Sales Manager who drones on and on about his special deals. Things like that make me want to change the station as quickly as possible.

We've done remotes from community events rather successufuly - in fact we've outfitted a trailer for such affairs. They have resulted in very respectable crowds for the event, so they do work. We are trying to use it sparingly, so it is indeed something special when we do one.

We've also done local sports, but then get complaints that we aren't playing music. The other side of the coin is remotes and local sports represent significant income to many stations. So where do you deraw the line?

 

[flashback]

i remember remotes involving the set up of a real microphone and either on the spot turn tables(that shows how long ago it was) or ways the dj`s let someone in the station play the songs.these were compleate radio shows not brief segments on someone elses show.

it was fun to go and meet the anouncers you listened to and the programs were like real radio shows.not phoned in .

it can be done today with cds or computer song selection i am sure.

 

[EZway2go]

I see Chuck's point; in fact, I'd probably change the station, too. I think a good remote would be something like at a local church carnival or high school football game where you have someone from your station reporting in, say, every half hour for 3 minutes or so. I just get no sense of community presence anymore from any of the stations in my area.

One thing I thought was clever, though, was what the now-defunct WHAT in Philly did for its afternoon drive up until last month. Between 5 and 6 they supposedly broadcasted live from an area bar with a regular bartender and all (I believe the bartender, who called himself Marty, was actually DJ Tom Moran). They acted like they could be your best friends from Cheers. Now, I don't know if they really did broadcast from a bar or not, but the background noise sure made it sound like they were. I seem to recall either Joe Franklin or Joey Reynolds used to do this on their overnight shows on WOR in New York; that is, sounding like they were broadcasting from a restaurant. Maybe some people would find this annoying, but I don't. I think it gives a sense of homeiness to the broadcast... just one more thing to differentiate my radio from my mp3 player.

 

[Chuck]

We've actually built a remote trailer, just like the ones you used to see back in the 60's when a remote was a real community event. It even has a turntable and cart machines.

When I was a kid, a station near where I lived went around to various supermarket parking lots and did their morning show live. This was a big deal. It made me late to school more than once. Of course, back then there were only a handful of stations to listen to.

We've been trying to recreate that experience, but with so many choices, the public seems to tune out as soon as they detect anything that would interrupt their music. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive. Other stations around here do very lengthy remotes that are nothing more than infomercials. They are BAD RADIO, yet they seem to get away with it. In fact, several potential advertisers make doing a remote from their place of business a condition to buying a spot package. It is almost blackmail.

If you'd like to see the interior of "The Q-Mobile," visit www.kzqx.com and click on "Station Tour."

 

[vchimpanzee]

I was the one that commented on Rod Stewart. I too miss the WEZV instrumentals. Even Dial Global plays more instrumentals than they do.

Sometimes I think Dial Global has the perfect formula, if I happen to be listening when they don't have any of the recent additions. A ot of the good songs I don't know the names of because they seem to get played just during the commercial breaks when no DJ says what they are. And this is not a good sign since you want them to make money. They do sell quite a lot of commercial time when they're local or doing sports.

But then I turn on WAVO, which has no DJs and also has a morning talk show. Who wants to go back to Dial Global after that? The Carpenters and other AC-sounding material aren't the norm there, but special treats. Even Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman and those female vocalists from the Rosemary Clooney era. And that's got to be Ella Fitzgerald I keep hearing. Does anyone else do those nonsense lyrics?

 

[Chuck]

And that's got to be Ella Fitzgerald I keep hearing. Does anyone else do those nonsense lyrics?

I think you are referring to Scat Singing, which is jazz art form unto itself. It is much harder to do than it sounds. Ella is pretty well acknowledged as the best, but others did it too. In fact they still do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scat_singing

 

[EZway2go]

On the subject of having DJs or not, and if the only thing people want is their music, music, music, here's something I don't understand. It seems every station in the morning has some big name DJ surrounded by a supporting cast that laughs incessantly. I can't listen to those shows since I find all that laughing extremely annoying. But these are usually on all your top-rated stations. So my question is, if people want more music with little or no interruption (or so they say they do), what's with all these morning shows where it's the occasional song that's interrupting all the chatter? There seems to be a disconnect somewhere.

 

[Chuck]

I suppose the question of live DJ's hinges on how talented they are and how much they contribute to the programming. They have to be more compelling than the music to hold an audience. Not everyone can do that, and many PD's don't want them to be much more than liner readers. It s sort of a Catch 22 situation.

There is also the cost of having live talent. Most Standards stations are not exactly cash-cows. We run with a staff of four, including myself. All could do an air shift if need be, and we have the facilities to do it. Still, we seem to keep very busy without being on the air on a regular schedule. The budget just dosen't allow for more people. The question is if adding live talent would increase our income enough to pay for it. I don't think it would, but I might be wrong...

 

[vchimpanzee]

And that's got to be Ella Fitzgerald I keep hearing. Does anyone else do those nonsense lyrics?

I think you are referring to Scat Singing, which is jazz art form unto itself. It is much harder to do than it sounds. Ella is pretty well acknowledged as the best, but others did it too. In fact they still do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scat_singing

Yeah, I guess people here would know what scat is.

 

[KeyTimes950]

I can't find it now, but someone on here recently posted something about WEZV in Myrtle Beach being obsessed with Rod Stewart (the new standards, of course). Actually, I left WEZV as my daily at-work listening station... not because of all the Rod Stewart, but because of their total abandonment of the great instrumentals they used to play. And Dial Global has gotten too contemporary for me. That's the direction they want to take, and that's fine, but it's not for me. Not all, but many of the songs on their playlist can be heard elsewhere on the dial. (They've lost their differentiation factor).

That Rod Stewart comment raises an interesting question. Is there a perfect station out there for you? What would it be? How would you program it?

My ideal station would consist mostly of those MOR hits from the mid '50s thru the mid '70s. Some country cross-overs (real country... the kind you don't even hear on so-called country stations anymore). Some instrumentals, say one in every music segment. Maybe one of those Rod Stewart types, say once every half hour. Contemporary songs that actually fit the format rather than try to make the station something it's not (check out Sissel or Blackmore's Night). News on the hour; a live DJ's voice announcing the songs after each segment; and a trip down memory lane such as the old Chickenman serials or those '60s jingles like on KZQX.

Anyone else have an ideal station?

That works for me. Sounds like it could be an updated version of what Bonneville was doing when I was involved with an EZ-formatted FM in west-central Pennsylvania.

 

[Bongwater]

Contemporary songs that actually fit the format rather than try to make the station something it's not (check out Sissel or Blackmore's Night).

Not so sure about Blackmore's Night. If some of you need some catch up, Ritchie Blackmore was the founding guitarist for the hard rock groups Deep Purple and Rainbow who formed Blackmore's Night, which plays traditional Medieval music - about as far away from hard rock as you can get. My wife loves them.

I personally feel like I'm in a Renaissance Fair everytime I hear them......

I guess you can file them under "new age" ("OLD age"?)

KRWM Seattle trots out their rendition of "I Saw Three Ships" during their yearly holiday format. And yes, we have a copy of this CD.....I halfway expect to see gifts of a goat and chainmail under the tree.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5LROczmJHg