When WKNR-FM moved from a Keener simulcast to become one of the early Underground radio stations, Frank Maruca's direction was that the FM format should be the opposite of Keener's high energy, personality driven presentation. The play list was longer, there were fewer commercials and the announcers were low key. The focus was on the music and the jocks knowledge of the tunes and the artists was encyclopedic. The sound was hip, the station connected with the community and the concept was soon synergized by WABX, WRIF and a host of others. 35 years later, everything old is new again.

On June 30, NPR brought "NEO Radio" above the radar, And once again there is a Detroit connection. Fred Jacobs, who broke album rock ground at WRIF and developed the Big Chill sound that is still the foundation of today's classic rock formats, believes that radio is at another fork in the road.

The President of Jacobs Media, one of the industry's most respected programming consulting groups, contends that the Satellite guys are making inroads precisely because their formats offer a freshness and variety that's absent from the tight, predictable play lists that permeate almost every radio brand today. NPR's listenership is soaring because people want "credible, balanced information" presented in a "calm, hype free environment that values the listener." And in certain corners of the commercial broadcast realm, a different philosophy is beginning to emerge. It's "depth-driven, somewhat anti-corporate and hosted by DJs who know and get the music. The air staff is empowered to make musical choices and that is communicated to listeners who appreciate this value."

Sound familiar? It's exactly the approach WKNR-FM and others used at the dawn of album oriented radio. It's not a true clone. You don't hear Dan Carlisle brain-wrestling with Iggy Pop, but my guess is that as it continues to evolve, it's hippness will attract artists to the microphones and the time spent listening will increase from the 20 minute drive to work, to an all day affair.

Fred Jacobs coins the phrase NEO Radio to describe this value-based listener relationship. It requires programmers and announcers who have brains, guts and vision and the courage to carry it out. Listen to KQMT in Denver and you'll hear automotive ads, but you won't hear the screaming and the sound effects. That doesn't jive with "The Mountain's" listener values. It's not what the listener wants.

What a concept.

When I talk to my friends who are still on the front lines of this business, they complain that we test the same song library over and over. Each year's brilliant new idea is to drop off the oldies at the bottom end of the target demographic and throw in some of the newer stuff to replace it. Some believe that hit radio play lists are in another creative drought. Even with the FCC crack-down, too many morning shows are still driven by sex and shock. And the stop sets are so long that you can punch through the entire dial, stop for gas and play a CD cut and still come back before the music starts. The advertisers know it and don't like it. And an entire generation of radio listeners looks to XM and MP3s as their primary road-bound entertainment.

But there are signs that NEO Radio's time may be coming. Steven VanZant's Undergound Garage plays untested music that works. It's attracting the same kind of cult following that was at the vanguard of the Underground radio revolution. Jim Atkinson's web radio station 3WK features a large play list and attracts an audience who is willing to pay $100.00 a year to support the brand.

Look a bit deeper and a precursor to NEO can be found on the scratchy, unprocessed pirate radio airwaves. One of my favorite radio books is Sue Carpenter's "40 Watts From Nowhere". Its the story of KBLT, an unlicensed station she ran out of her apartment in Los Angeles. Her vision was at the edge of the envelope, a free form approach that allowed the DJ's total control over everything that was played and said. The jocks were amateurs and the four letter words may have flowed a bit too freely, but they played a wide array of music, knew their subject and presented it without the hype. Sue had no money for promotion so the listeners had to find the station and so many did that the Feds finally took notice and clipped KBLT's wings.

Think of the things that have connected with your psyche. If you grew up in the Keener era they probably included Scott Regen's Testifiers, most Beatle records, the original Creem Magazine, a concert at the Grande, Johnny Ginger, The Ford Mustang, Vietnam, Bob-Lo and the '68 Tigers. These things bring back visceral memories. They influenced us then and they influence us still. There is WKNR music that we associate with each of these events (much of it absent from the airwaves today), and WKNR's programmers, air staff and sales force had a connection with them all.

NEO Radio won't change the world overnight and there will be a strong market segment that will still be satisfied with the tightly programmed approach that's today's norm. But those of us who loved Keener and WKNR-FM in their prime still believe that radio is a as much an art as a science, requiring talented programmers and announcers who are given the "intelligent flexibility" to entertain and inform an intelligent audience. NEO Radio gives us a glimmer of hope that the industry may again value these skills and encourage a better connection with the public interest.

After all, that's what it's all about.

LINK: The full text of Jacobs Media's memorandum on the NEO Radio Movement.

What is your indecency IQ? Detroit based Jacobs Media has an online test. Test yourself to see if you're guilty of an "Indecent utterance".

Oldies are no longer "Kool" in Ann Arbor. Station manager Bob Bolak tells the Ann Arbor News, "We found that the musical tastes of people who live in Ann Arbor are different than the musical tastes of the people that live in a market like, let's say, Detroit. The music on Ann Arbor's 107.1 ... will be music that will be more compatible with the musical tastes of the people who make the lifestyle choice to live in Ann Arbor." (Whatever that means..)

After Keener's 1972 demise, the WKNR call letters found their way to Cleveland. On July 13, 1990, they replaced WGAR on the legendary rocker's 1220AM frequency. WGAR had a Detroit connection, as part of the G.A. Richards "Goodwill Stations", which also included WJR and KMPC, Los Angeles. In 2001, WKNR moved down the Cleveland dial to 850AM. It was home to a sports-talk operation that did a respectable job, despite the absense of most major league sports play-by-play product. When Salem communications bought the WKNR operation, observers forecast the demise of sports-talk on 850AM in favor of Salem's conservative Christian focus. As John Gorman reports, those predictions have been realized and another chapter in the WKNR saga has come to a close.

On June 17th, another page in the WKNR legacy turned with the passing of Howard “Richard” Tepp, lead singer and creative inspiration for Richard and the Young Lions. RYL, enjoyed their brief prime in Detroit with the top five smash Open Up Your Door. It debuted on the WKNR Music Guide on August 22, 1966, peaking at number 3 four weeks later. RYL wrote their own slice of music history being one of the first bands to use a fuzz box to distort the lead guitar track. The Beatles made the most of the RYL innovation on Revolution and at the close of the decade fuzz was something that became a standard effect for groups like the Arrows, Status Quo, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin and many others. Although Richard and the Young Lions never equaled their one-hit-wonder, they continued to enjoy cult status for the next three decades. In his tribute on the RYL website, bandmember Fred Randall said, “Tepp was the official custodian of the RYL dream; you could see it burning in his eyes whenever he performed. And nowhere was Tepp more real than when he was on stage. He lived for those all too rare and fleeting moments. He was honest, naturally funny, sincere and loving. We were proud of him as ‘The Richard’ of the Young Lions.” Keener alum Pat St. John interviewed “Richard” as part of the 2003 Woodward Dream Cruise broadcast and the RYL front man fondly remembered Keener, Detroit, and the band’s enthusiastic Michigan fan base. As he leaves us, those same fans are popping their rare RYL 45s onto turntables, turning up the volume and singing “I wanna love you some more” at the top of their lungs… one more time.

Remember when 14 minutes of commercials per hour seemed like a lot of clutter? We noted that Chicago’s Nine-FM plans to run only 9 minutes per hour when their 9,999 song marathon concludes. That’s a rarity. Today almost 1/3 of every broadcast hour is advertising. And now there’s a new term that media analysts are using to describe the problem: ad inundation. According to Variety, the commercial glut is eroding spot value, especially since most consumers know when the long commercial breaks occur and tune out. Add the commercial free satellite radio alternative, and it’s not surprising that five major banks have lowered their investment recommendations on the radio sector. If you ran a radio station, how would you deal with the issue? Give us your opinion on the Keener Bulletin Board.

Remember when WWWW was a rocker? In the days when W4 was Detroit's first Quadrophonic radio station Sky Daniels spun the disks. He was also a contributor to the WLUP and KFOG legends, before becoming an executive at Radio and Records magazine in LA. But we all know that when the radio bug bites, it's a lifetime affliction, and Sky is back in the game in Chicago. His newest venture launched on June 15 as Nine FM, took to the air. WRZA, 99.9 calls itself the "antidote to corporate radio" and kicks off with a 9,999 song commercial free, jock free marathon. With Daniels at the programming helm, Nine FM claims to have the largest music library of any radio station anywhere, with a playlist that crosses all genres and a brand byte that asserts, "we play anything". Consultants include radio veterans Joel Folger, Larry Rosin and Sean Ross. When Nine FM settles into a groove, you'll only hear 9 minutes of commercials an hour. The station is part of the privately held Newsweb Corp., lead by Chicagoan Fred Eychaner.

It was everything we could have hoped for. The roar at the Palace was deafening and the fans were clearly a factor. It was a contest between a group of individuals and a team, a battle between high priced Hollywood glitz and blue collar boys who were more focused on rebounds and assists than on stardom. The better team won, and they won by concentrating on the fundamentals. Afterward, the talk was about the losing team breaking up and the winning team staying together. And as we drove away from Auburn Hills, you could tell that George Blaha, who's masterful play-by-play painted the picture for those who couldn't score a ticket, was as much a part of the team, the legend, and the glory as was anybody on the court. And downtown, there were tens of thousands more, black and white, suburban and inner-city who were jubilant, celebrating throughout the night without the fires and vandalism that used to be the trademark of a Detroit title. All in all, a story book ending that you could proudly tell to your grandchildren. I was proud to be there to witness history being written, proud to be a Piston fan and proud to be from Michigan. A new era begins.

Anyone who visits this website knows that we celebrate a time when radio was an art. Many believe that the art has nearly vanished from our beloved medium these days, but few articulate the issue as well as Dr. George Pollard. Here's an essay that says it all.

Ray Charles passing at the age of 73 marks the end of an era. Universally credited as one of the founding fathers of soul, his impact on R&B, Rock and Jazz can't be understated. He inspired everyone from the Temptations to the Beatles, and during the Keener years, he made 14 chart appearances on the WKNR Music Guide, not including the 50s smash What'd I Say, which provided the background for those incomparable Detroit Dragway commercials. In the coming days, much will be written about his courage, his artistry and his influence, but few will surpass Susan Whitall's outstanding piece in the Detroit News. During his final months, Charles was working on an album of duets with the likes of Nora Jones, Natalie Cole, Elton John, BEAU King and others. Like just about everything else in his eclectic career, the CD cuts across all genres. It's a fitting final tribute to an American Icon. For those who want a taste, Here's a cut he recorded with Van Morrison.

What's your take on low power radio? The NAB doesn't like it, fearing a further erosion of listenership for the existing cadre of stations. But others, including Senator John McCain and Senator Patrick Leahy say it will bring true localism back to broadcasting. Some aren't waiting for governmental approval, like Ferndale resident Greg Farnum. What do you think? Share your opinions on the Keener13.com Bulletin Board.

Usually, pirate radio stations appear under the radar, avoiding FCC scrutiny for as long as possible. Not so with this Ferndale operation. Greg Farnum and Tom Ness are protesting The FCC's "unfair policy" concerning low-power FM stations. Sources say the station could be on the air as soon as June 20, but our favorite Detroit radio observer, Art Vuolo says that the duo will be hard pressed to find a clear frequency for the project.