> While much of what you say is likely true, the cancer ran
> much deeper than just the GM. Maybe you should have talked
> to your peers, (as if they would have told you the truth).
> It's been over a year now hasn't it? Let it go. Your
> feelings are known, and known again. No response is needed.
> It's over.
This is a chat board dude... That's what it's here for. That's how it works. Someone says something and then someone else responds. If I want to respond - on a chat board - that's certainly my prerogative.
Yes, I have expressed my "feelings" about the situation. Here's some other "feelings" and facts...
Just like everyone else, I have my faults. I think the opinion of the former OM and new OM there is that I'm unmanageable. They probably also think my attitude sucks, and during much of my employment there - it most certainly did.
Both of those things - my unmanageable nature and my poor attiude are directly attributable to one thing - I was being forced to do things that were industrial strength stupid.
This is probably the best example...
http://playahata.com/hatablog/?p=702
Scott Elkins is a former radio DJ and was a small-time, wannabee concert promoter that was operating out of Lubbock. If you read the article (or any of the dozens of similar articles you can find by Googling SCOTT ELKINS PROMOTER) you also know he's now a convicted felon.
So what was he convicted of? Promoting a concert that he never intended to deliver, collecting advance ticket proceeds and skipping town with them in Fargo, ND. He has charges pending for similar scams in a few other cities.
And now, the rest of the story...
Eleven years ago, I was working at KQIZ Amarillo. I was 19 - working at the station, going to school and living with my parents. The PD there decided to change the lineup a bit. I moved to mornings and we hired a new night guy from out of the market - Scott Elkins. My new shift required me to get up at 5AM every day, and I didn't want to disturb the rest of my family - so I decided to move out and get an apartment. My PD suggested getting a two bedroom and splitting the rent with the incoming night guy, and that's what we did.
If only I had some idea of what was coming...
The young and entrepreneureal Mr. Elkins had promoted a series of teen dances in his previous market and had enjoyed some success with them. At the time, I owned a fairly successful mobile DJ service on the side, and partnered with Elkins to produce one. Our deal was that he would front the money for advertising and promotion and do the street work to draw a crowd - I'd provide the gear and show.
Since I essentially just had a little time and the use of my gear invested, I agreed to do my part for $100 in advance and $1 per head over 100. The show was a huge hit (mostly due to Elkins greatly exaggerated promotional claims) and we packed a venue that held 2,500 to capacity.
At the end of the night, Elkins told me we only had 100 people there and basically cheated me out of $2,400 while pocketing over $10,000.
As you might imagine, our relationship as roommates soured pretty quickly. I wanted him out, and he wanted me out but neither wanted to pay the reletting fee. Over the next few weeks, every day he came to me and told me "hey...you know so and so got keyed in the next parking lot over last night" or "hey...I know this girl on the other side of the complex that got her tires slashed last night." This went on for about two weeks, then I went out to my brand new car to go to work and every body panel had been keyed - severely. Every piece of glass too. Over $4,000 in damage was done.
When the officer came to investigate, he asked me if I suspected anyone. I asked the officer if any other vandalism had taken place in the neighborhood recently. He radioed in, and found out that there wasn't any, so yes, I had a suspect for them.
That was pretty much the end of my relationship with Scott Elkins. Not too long after that, he was blown out at KQIZ and ended up at Z102 in Lubbock where he voicetracked a night show into Amarillo on KPRF, which he used to slander me and my mobile DJ business while promoting a new one of his own. I filed a complaint with the FCC for plugola, and that pretty much ended that.
Over the next several years, Mr. Elkins ended up out of radio, producing small shows around West Texas and New Mexico. Newspaper records I found online indicated he had a very bad reputation for promising performers that never showed up. Beyond that, several friends of mine in the staging and concert sound and lighting business were owed thousands upon thousands of dollars by Scott. A sound contractor friend of mine in Amarillo summed it up pretty well when he said "Scott Elkins is the Devil."
Fast forward 9 years. Scott is still doing his thing - over promoting, under delivering and screwing vendors he hired to help him all along the way and I'm the PD at KBTE. He then approaches the station about promoting some hip-hop shows in Lubbock.
I'm sure you can imagine what my reaction was.
If you've actually made it to this point, you're probably wondering why I spent so much time detailing all of this - my long personal history with Scott Elkins, the newpaper articles about his no-show artists, the vendors he owed money to, etc.
Because I detailed all of this to the GM and OM at KBTE - and they decided to do business with Scott Elkins anyway - all to get a $2,000 buy.
What happened next was predictable. Elkins promoted a show with Ice Cube, Lil' Kim, Amanda Perez and several other high-profile artists.
A few weeks into promotion, and after several encounters with Scott that literally made me ill, I was contacted by a record rep who told me Scott's headliners - Ice Cube & Lil' Kim - wouldn't be coming and were NEVER under contract for the show. A little more research with the record rep's help revealed that NONE of the headliners were coming except Amanda Perez.
At that point - given what they knew about Scott's history - and what they knew about the show, I think most GMs and OMs would have pulled the plug on the promotion and started acting in the best interests of their listeners who were clearly being scammed. (Actually, I'm inclined to think this would have never gotten to this point with most GMs and OMs because they would have taken their PD's suggestion and told Elkins to pound sand in the first place.)
Not the upper management at KBTE. Elkins $2,000 meant so much to them, they let it ride until the end - pretty much unhindered. After several days of letting Elkins stall them, they finally made him revise the spot to indicate it was just an Amanda Perez show.
The night of the concert, two virtually unknown local acts went on stage - then the concert ended abruptly. Elkins skipped out with the ticket money and refused to pay Amanda Perez, so naturally she refused to go on stage.
The outrage and backlash from listeners was pretty intense. Unfortunately, the City of Lubbock declined to press charges where the cities of Fargo and Terre Haute (among others) did.
The entire situation was predictable and totally avoidable. It cost me a great deal of time and caused me a lot of undue stress and grief (remember my personal history with Elkins.)
It cost the station its reputation and we did take a small dip in the ratings that book.
It was also my first serious clash with upper management there and pretty much the start of the downward spiral.
And yes, I was pretty "unmanageable" throughout the whole ordeal.
I guess a lot of PDs would have bitten their tongues and gone along with it since upper management dictated it would be so, but I fought back, and fought and fought.
Apparently, they were looking for a PD without any integrity or a conscience - a simple yes man - and I turned out to be a big disappointment for them.
