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Where to go for Active Rock on the dial?

A

arockaholic

Guest
Does CT have a good active rock station anywhere? Have they ever had one? I don't consider WCCC a true active rocker. Aside from a FEW currents it sounds really worn out musically with really crappy outdated imaging...When was the imaging last done in the 1970's!?!? I do respect the independent aspect of WCCC, just not the playlist. A really good active rock station should play more of the new rock and less of the old, and include bands like Sevendust, Faith No More, Megadeth, C.O.C, Slipknot, Pantera, Tool, Iron Maiden, Suicidal Tendencies, Primus, etc in regular rotation on the playlist. I have not heard a station around here that executes this like a KUPD, WJJO or KHTQ does. I moved out here from Phoenix and I guess I expected better. We had far more diversity on the dial out there, and our stations and the personalities on them sounded superior in all formats. I think one of these classic rock/hits stations should flip. How many stations that play the same worn out playlists do we really need here? Variety is always a good thing, but I have yet to hear that on the radio dial here.
 
WCCC used to be much better, but last year they started putting classic rock into their rotation for some reason and now they sound as stale as many of the other stations.
 
The problem is that active rock as a format is stale, it's a money loser. Look at the artists you pointed out that should be in the regular rotation. Some of those bands are almost 30 years old at this point.

I will say though, if 'CCC were straight ahead active rock it might be doing a little better, right now it's a train wreck. I really feel bad saying that, I know some great people in that building. I want them to be successful, I want to listen, but.... yikes.
 
Actually, Connecticut has more rock stations than you'd imagine. WCCC might not fit your specific criteria but it's still aiming at a young to middle aged rock audience. It can't JUST aim at young white men because there aren't enough to go around, especially since Connecticut also has an Alternative Rock station, WMRQ, competing for young white men, as well as college stations.

Very few markets have both an Active Rock and an Alternative Rock station. WCCC has no choice but to try to snag a few older listeners as well. Also, WPLR and WRKI play a mix of Contemporary and Classic Rock. Worcester's 107.3 WAAF, an Active Rock station, also gets into a big chunk of Connecticut, as well as Classic Rock WAQY Springfield. WHCN also plays a lot of Classic Rock Hits.

Again, no one gets EXACTLY the station he wants, but that's a lot of Rock stations in a small state.



Gregg
[email protected]
 
Gregg said:
Actually, Connecticut has more rock stations than you'd imagine. WCCC might not fit your specific criteria but it's still aiming at a young to middle aged rock audience. It can't JUST aim at young white men because there aren't enough to go around, especially since Connecticut also has an Alternative Rock station, WMRQ, competing for young white men, as well as college stations.

There are plenty of classic rock stations, just not enough active rock. Seems like there are plenty of younger, and older males that listen to the same bands I do and they often complain about the very same thing. WMRQ is not a great example of an alternative station. Great alternative would be X107.5 KXTE in Las Vegas. While WMRQ is an alternative station it plays it far too safe when it comes to music selection. They don't play the harder crossover artists that an active rock could. Not everyone wants to hear the same 20+ bands over and over and over again. Although I realize this need for mass appeal having spent over a decade in the industry, a bit more variety never hurt anyone. Listeners like whats familiar sure they do, but let's not insult their musical intelligence while were at it by dumbing them down with the same predictable artists and songs. When it gets to the point where I can guess what artist is coming on within the next 15 mins some playlist and artist restructuring on that playlist needs to take place A.S.A.P!

Very few markets have both an Active Rock and an Alternative Rock station.

Very few markets? How about Tulsa, OKC, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Denver, Kansas City, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Austin, District of Criminals, Philly, Raleigh-Durham, Tampa and Orlando just to name a few that have both. Not that I think every town should have both but if a population demands and supports any format, or music why not.

WCCC has no choice but to try to snag a few older listeners as well.

I understand them wanting to snag a few listeners, but I say leave those FEW listeners for the classic rock stations as there are plenty around that already play half WCCC's playlist. CCC sounds great after about 10:00p and this lasts until around 5:00a because they play what they should be playing all day! You're right WCCC doesn't fit my criteria most of the time, and many others as well. They need to make a decision...classic rock or active. Not both! The stations that try to do both usually sound terrible, and most end up dying a slow death. A few easy examples of this are hertitage rockers KLOL (Houston), KSJO (San Jose) and most recently KUFO (Portland, OR). With a simple adjustment they would soon be flying high again in the numbers.

Again, no one gets EXACTLY the station he wants, but that's a lot of Rock stations in a small state.

True. There are quite a few for such a small area. I just wish there were a few more formats. Oversaturation of any one format just because a few people seem to think they know what everyone wants, and that we need 10 stations playing it is just plain ridiculous. A bit more variety is a very good thing, and it might just be the shot in the arm needed for both listeners and station, a win-win.
Click to expand...
 
Not to be fussy, but Minneapolis and Phoenix have no Alternative station. In Washington, I'm not sure whether WWDC should be classified as Alternative or Active Rock but it's DC's only contemporary rock station. And until a few days ago, Chicago had no Alternative or Active Rock station. Both of Chicago's rock stations were Classic Rock, one hard-edged, WLUP, one pop-leaning, WDRV, although Merlin just put an Alternative format on what is basically the audio from analog Channel 6, 87.7 FM. NYC and Miami currently have neither an Alternative or Active Rock station.

Young white men are an increasingly difficult audience to please. The rock world is so fragmented. A few years ago, a rock station that played Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Elton John and Carly Simon could please everyone. Cat Stevens, Huey Lewis, Pat Benatar, James Taylor and Carole King were all considered as much part of the Rock format as AC/DC and The Who. Today virtually no female acts are heard on Rock stations anymore. Few songs cross over between the Rock format, AC and Top 40. It wasn't long ago that groups such as The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac could score hits on Rock, Top 40 and AC stations. Sometimes it was with the same song. That could never happen today.

You don't want WCCC to play acts that are too old. You say that WMRQ plays songs that are not hard-edged enough. I'm disappointed too by stations that severely limit their playlists to only a few hundred songs. But the odd thing is, in one breath you want more variety, in the next you're telling us you don't want to hear songs you don't like. I fear radio stations keep small playlists because there's no tolerance for any song that isn't one of the core group's favorites. Would you have listened to Heart or Paul Simon 20 years ago while you were waiting for The Stones or Pink Floyd to pop up on your favorite Rock station?

And now that FM Sports has arrived in Hartford at 97.9, I wonder if it will be harder still for WCCC and WMRQ to both find a large enough audience of young white men to be viable.


Gregg
[email protected]
 
Hartford need an edgy FM Talk station much like Clear Channel has done with WTKS (RealRadio) 104.1 and COX has done with WHPT (THE Bone) 102.5 in Tampa. Both stations are very high ranked in their target demos.

If any station in Hartford were to flip like this I think it would be WCCC, and I feel they have some personalities which could make the move to talk and be very comfortable in that role.
 
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