Weekly Rant: 5/3/2009 Jiggy Jag in KC!

This week, I spent a few days in Kansas City. I was there to see some family that I have not saw in years. Plus to spend some time checking out radio and other areas of interest. Let's face it folks, the radio environment here in Kansas sucks! After being the great show me state!...I found this to be more true than ever. However I was there to check out the band scene and also to see if this may be the next step in my career and journey through life. Keep in mind, I started out in McPherson Ks and did radio and ended up in Hutchinson to do radio, when I saw I was not gonna get my foot in the door at KNGL/KBBE. I as you all know, ended up going from Hutchinson Ks to McPherson Ks. I worked on the radio at KHUT and later at KGGG/KXKU/KSKU in Hutchinson for a great PD, Tom Norris. Ended up moving back to McPherson after a break up with The Chosen One. However, I have always stayed true to my words on things. I moved to Hutchinson to do radio and be with my main squeeze when I no longer worked in radio and had her, I ended up moving back home. Once I met my wife and had the burning desire to do radio in the city of Salina. I moved to Salina and did just that, now that radio has passed me by and I no longer work in the business I find myself at a cross roads...

However more on that later, I mentioned earlier that radio blows...Well yes, folks I did find a station called 98.9 The Rock. Now this is Kansas City's rock station, the thing that 92.7 The Zoo and T-95 should be. In all reality they never could come close to being what this station is, WOW! I knew of this station long before I went to the home of the Royals. I knew of their hero of morning drive, Johnny Dare. I did some homework on Dare and the 98.9 format. Found this thing to be THE ROCK STATION. This thing has a shock jock morning man that people worship in KC and the format is rock...of all kinds. We are talking everything from Seether...to Korn to Led Zep, they play it all. Nothing is too heavy or dog barking. They have a metal show in the evening where people can call in requests and they have contests, everything that ZOO used to be. They also are doing everything that T-95 wants to be. This station is hosting a huge 2 day concert event called Rock fest' soon. I usually have to have my XM or switch channels, constantly and I did not change the channel the entire time I was there for 2 solid days.

I ended up over at KCXL radio as well, I had heard a lot of about this place as well. I will talk about them next week. However, this KCXL was sort of a Community Access/Cable Access version of radio. You can pay to get on this station and they stream to the web. I drove 30 minutes one day to find this place and what I found, blew me away. I have been in radio stations that look impressive or saw them on TV. However this place is humble and is out in the middle of no where in Liberty,Mo. It's in a house...Literally could be someone's house. They have 1 and starting on a second studio. They have put offices. They have built their station with equipment they have found or built on their own. This was the coolest place. However, I met a guy there who reminded me of myself about 5 years ago. The name is Jason Little John. He has a program called Lives in the balance. It's a 1 hr political program which is interview style. He is basically doing what I was doing years ago. He is just now starting to work into syndication, he has the website and the interview background as well. The guy is basically doing what I was doing with Internet radio. He however is going the route that I would have loved to do, he started out on a local station and is moving into syndication. I did not have the route he is going, I chose to do Internet and move forward, he is going the other route but he is using this KCXL to get it done. If you wanna check him outhttp://www.theyarekillingus.com

Indy bands in KC, this is cool to see that bands are making it happen. I remember when I was living in Hutchinson and there were little tribes of bands that did not work with others. I am sure this is happening in KC but it seems that on the surface that this not happening. I found out something so refreshing, people work together....{Listen up local radio, Internet/cable shows,websites and promotions} THEY ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER! Holy crap what a concept. I found out that if your not on the bus and helping, your asked off the bus by security. From Internet radio to mainstream radio to others, they are all helping each other. I have talked several times on the radio program and in blog form about the fact, no one wants to work together. We all want it to ourselves. For instance when I tried to work my TV show into the River fest in Salina in 2007, I got a stern talking to by Sharon Benson of The Arts and Humanities commission about She did not want to let me have her BANDS work with me. Read that again, her bands. I keep finding this to be an issue with all the Wichita people coming into Salina. You have ICT underground on Fox Ks/Ks CW, they do not wanna work with me. Wait I should back up, Red/Rockit Girl from T 95 does not wanna work with me. You have people like Tracy from Uncensored promotions and Anne Shiver from Salina Ks{Freelance Photog} and people like that who all wanna work together with local venues,etc. Then Red does not wanna work with them, cause they are working with me. If she were to pull that in KC, she would be the one asked off the bus.

I see my life coming to a cross roads here, I see several things. Rocking M Radio has killed their empire here in Salina. I see SMG trying to hold on and brave the storm they are facing and I have several good friends over there, who I hope get threw it. Eagle is doing well, however they are having issues as well. You have really nothing here for me in Salina,{Radio wise}. Yeah we have the Internet radio station{kjagradio.com} and my syndicated radio talk show{jiggyjaguar.com} and my on line magazine {themic themic.info} and I have my cable access show{jiggyjagtv.com} and my show on zoo92.com {home grown ½ hr }. However most of that can travel with me, hell it has from McPherson in 1993, where I started The radio show. To Hutchinson where I got the streaming station and the online magazine,Internet talk show going. To now in Salina with my ½ hr band program Homegrown ½ hr and now the TV show going. I can move them with me. However I have established a foot hold here in Salina with all my great friends and working relationships with bars and bands and made some good contacts with Wichita and Salina and even some in other parts of KS such as Bad Boys of Wrestling out of Hoisington, Ks. Do I pack it up and try to go find my next step in KC? I love Salina and love all the great friends and all I have here. However I just do not wanna overstay my welcome?

Jiggy Jaguar
http://www.jiggyjaguar.com