Podcasting Profiled on ATC

You know it's almost ready for prime time when NPR abandons Iraq and the Middle East to talk about it. And so it is with Podcasting. The January 31st edition of All Things Considered features a piece on the art of sharing broadcast content via MP3. The Keener13 podcast isn't mentioned, but several of our favorite shows are. Perhaps it's time for the local media to cover the growing number of interesting voices bubbling up via Podcast out of the Motor City. Look for our list of local podcasts coming soon to the Keener13 Podcast.

That Keener Reverb!

One of the trademarks of 60s top 40 radio was the rich reverb behind the DJ's voices. Like the 5 second beep sound that accompanied all on-air phone calls, reverb was a staple of the Keener sound through much of her prime.

Jim Jenkins, who worked at WIOD in Miami in the 60s wrote us recently, asking about Keener's unique reverb unit. Who made it and what happened to it?

For much of WKMH/WKNR's existence Jerry Martin was chief engineer. He was the guy who had to tweak Keener's multi-tower array to produce the strange coverage pattern the FCC required to protect nearby stations during day and nighttime. So when the reverb craze caught on, it was up to Jerry to implement the stations particular iteration.

The unit was a custom designed device utilizing the same spring technology Laurens Hammond plugged into his famous Hammond Organs. In fact, Hammond copped the concept from AT&T, who used a spring to simulate the delay then inherent in long-distance telephone calls.

Years after Keener's demise, Steve Schram, keener13.com's co-founder found himself working in the WKNR studios during the time when the Keener brand made a brief come-back as WWKR. He asked Jerry Martin whatever happened to the Keener reverb. Jerry showed Steve a box of random components. "This is it," he said. The unit had been cannibalized over the years and all that remained were a few random parts.

Some radio stations turned to off-the-shelf products to simulate the echo chamber feeling. Chief among these was the Fisher K-10 Spacexpander, a tube reverb unit that was sold as a plug-in for Fisher stereo systems in the 60s. Those with more meager budgets waited for a local rock band to break up and bought a Fender Twin Reverb amp, stealing the Accutronics Type 4 spring reverb tank that was screwed to the bottom of the amplifier case. The Type 4 used Hammond's design and was behind the rockin reverb heard on just about every surf guitar instrumental ever recorded. Listen to any Dick Dale record for a taste. A company called Sound Enhancements, still makes and sells a variety of Accutronics reverb units.

The digital audio work stations we use to create music these days come with a plethora of reverb plug-ins, some claiming to accurately re-create the spring loaded excitement of the Keener days. But our bet is that nothing can quite pass side-by-side muster to Jerry Martin's artistry.. part of what continues to propel WKNR to the front of our collective memory.

Obit: Traffic's Jim Capaldi

While a 51 degree day cleared most of the snow from our corner of the Mississippi, this weekend in Ann Arbor is still a blanket of white. The Ann Arbor News Spotlight tab features a cover photo of Dave Mason, one of the three key members of Traffic. Along with Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi, Traffic was a convocation of equals. Like Cream, the members all came to the table with reputations and the band's work would lead to a Rock Hall induction in 2004.

Capaldi was the heartbeat of Traffic, a first generation Briton born of Italian immigrant parents, he was a percussive rarity: a drummer who could write. Whereas Ringo was relegated to one or two vocals written by John and Paul, Jim's chops were strong enough to stand alone. His composer's credit stands out amid 11 Traffic albums. By the time the band broke up in '74, Capaldi was already on his own. He was working on his twelfth solo album when Winwood suggested putting the band back together. Traffic toured in '93 and '94 culminating in a Woodstock appearance along side the Grateful Dead. And Capaldi hit the road again the following year with Dave Mason.

Talk of another collaboration was in the works when Capaldi was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He died Friday at age 60 in London.

Russ Redux

Search for WKNR-FM and Russ Gibb in Google and among the keener13.com links you'll also find references to the station's part in amplifying the Paul McCartney death hoax. In the latest twist, a Dutch producer came to Detroit this week to interview Russ for a documentary on the story. Reports from the scene say he was in his usual rare form, hassling the Hollanders about their English and their seeming lack of knowledge about Dutch painters.

Keener Podcast - 1/29/05

On this week's Keener Podcast, our tribute to Johnny Carson, with some air-checks you may not have heard, Harry Shearer's dead-on Tonight Show parody and the tale of how a song sung by Annette became one of Television's most recognizable theme songs.

Where have all the oldies gone?

Christmas night in Jacksonville, Florida, was almost as cold as the weather we had left in Iowa. The days gift exchange was done and we were following the usual family ritual of re-heating the left-overs while listening to the last of the holiday music on the radio. Popping past the local oldies station, I was stopped in my tracks by a promo announcing a flip to "Classic Oldies" set for the next morning. Jacksonville never leads these popular culture shifts so I was soon at Joel Denver's All Access site. Six other oldies bastions were flipping that week.

As I began to talk with my friends who are still in the radio trenches, the trend soon became clear. Oldies weren't "Kool" anymore. There were many reasons given. The 60s boomers are now at the upper end of the desirable ad demographic and younger listeners were turned off by Louie Louie. The oldies format was well beyond it's prime.. not salable anymore. Other formats had a bigger revenue potential. One observer even said that the music and culture of the 60s had as much relevance today as the Roaring 20s had to the British Invasion; none.

At first, all of this made me feel every day of my soon-to-be 50 years. These young whipper snappers were taking over and we had better get out of the way. But after some more thought, I began to wonder if there wasn't more to this than met the eye.

Last summer Fred Jacobs heralded the entre of Neo Radio, a return to the deeper play lists, mellower presentation and more educated DJs found at the dawn of the album rock format. Then I read Sean Ross' column on Oldies Without Apologies. The essence of his piece is that a great oldies station is more than just a playlist spanning the Beatle years. It's a total connection with a generation.

When I passed Sean's article along to Bob Green, he shared this interesting bit of data from a USC seminar on the future of radio:

The study ranks formatic elements based on the listener's negative or positive perceptions. People like the music, have favorite DJs and are concerned about news and information when it's relevant to them. They hate most DJs, and can live without the commercials, promos and contests.

"In many ways," Bob says, "the comments about what the mostly college aged audience liked and didn’t like could have been made today, five , ten, twenty or even thirty years ago... From a group who claimed predictability as the most annoying thing about radio, their comments were most predictable."

Another data point of interest: The decline in time spent listening to radio. "Content was of prime importance," Bob continues, "and respondents said that they would definitely consider listening to AM if the content was right...Coming to the forefront when asked what radio can do to improve were the following: Variety, avoid repetitiveness, end contests, the DJs should be our own age, fewer commercials.

"Those of us in radio have heard those things for decades, and we often chose to ignore them. We KNEW better. And sometimes, WE DID know better. But we're at a time and place where the cry that predictability gets tiring has to be re-examined."

Sean Ross notes that the fall Arbitron shows oldies WMJI Cleveland is again leading the market. The numbers grew for oldies stations in Detroit, Pittsburg, Boston, New London, Manchester and Davenport. There is also the tale of WLNG, Eastern Long Island, N.Y. They feature a large playlist, classic PAMS jingles and always seem to be broadcasting on remote. It's a formula that they have followed religiously for years. When the first-ever Arbitron came out for the market, this one-owner station was suddenly Number 3 12+!

What makes these stations unique? Why isn't it working in Jacksonville? Bob Green would say that we've forgotten that radio is show business. We've distilled, homoginized and automated everything to the point where it's all science and no art. "Presentation can alter perception," he says.

What really made Keener a success was their connection to the audience. The WKNR brain trust had an understanding of the alchemy of elements that came together to build the WKNR sound. "Knowing" the listener was a key ingredient. Knowing the listener goes well beyond focus group music testing. It's the total presentation, what Bob called "stationality" that touches somebody's emotional core. When Keener was happening, the music, the voices, the events, even the audience participation provided a continuity, a comfort zone where we could work out our problems, celebrate our victories and perhaps just make it through the day. We still face those same issues today as adults. And if the WLNG phoenominon is to be believed, the same elements still work, no matter what your age. Perhaps there's a parallel to the body blow many of us felt when we heard Johnny Carson had died. He knew how to connect. he did it for 30 years across several generations, and even his successors admit they can't match his magic.

I think that same approach can work today and it doesn't necessarily have to be with an "oldies" station. Whatever the format, take the time to truly understand and connect with your listeners across all day parts and you have a winner. This flies in the face of the "cume machines" that some programmers built when the began to fear that the oldies thing was getting stale. When you go after cume, you too often sacrifice the deeper relationship. It's the same bean-counter, short term, make your quarterly growth mentality that's part and parcel of our Wall Street driven marketplace.

Infatuation doesn't last. It's a lot harder to build the longer term relationships we associate with love. But it's worth the effort.

Johnny Carson 1925-2005

Johnny Carson has been gone from our television screens since May 22nd, 1992, but hearing of his passing this weekend age 79 still feels like a death in the family. His nephew said it was from emphysema, probably connected with many years as a smoker. When Johnny took over for Jack Paar as the host of the Tonight Show in 1962 he had no idea that the format he would create with sidekicks Ed McMahon and Doc Severinsen would endure for three decades. In fact, he originally turned down NBC's offer. There will likely be much coverage and many tributes to the man who has been called the Jimmy Stewart of television and America's every-man. But the essence of his success was his ability to make his guests the center of attention. If you made it to the Tonight Show, you were sure to look good. He loved launching new talent, and even when something went wrong, like the night Ed Ames accidentally circumcised a cardboard cowboy with a tomahawk, Johnny could make it right. His monologues chronicled our times, and in the rare minutes when he took center stage as Carnac the Magnificent, movie host Art Fern or as a dead on impressionist of Karl Maldin, Ronald Reagan and other notables, he elevated the art from. NBC quickly realized that he was irreplaceable and when he retired, Jay and Dave didn't even try. Now that the man himself has left us we'll echo the words of his long time producer, Fred DeCordova: He was one of a kind.

MTV on Podcasting

Once upon a time, MTV was a pioneer in redefining the meaning of broadcasting. Now they are acknowledging the next wave in it's evolution. Mario Tama's article from the MTV.com Website provides an excellent overview of podcasting and gives homage to former MTV VJ Adam Curry.

Powell to leave the FCC in March

The Associated Press confirms All Access'earlier report that FCC Chairman Michael Powell plans to step down. Powell plans to end his four year tenure in March. He said during the holidays that he had "accomplished what he set out to do in advancing digital technologies in telecommunications," friend and adviser Jonathan Cody said.

Keener Podcast - 1/22/05

On this week's Keener Podcast, as Scott struggles with laryngitis, Brian Ibbott talks about his Coverville Podcast, a program dedicated to cover versions of rock hits. Former Detroit DJ Tom Shannon announced his retirement this week and we cross the river to hear a 1976 aircheck from his days at CKLW. Rick Dees is the guest. In honor of Coverville, we play a Keener Double Shot, a song that appeard on the WKNR music guide at two different times, by two different artists. Jim Heddle plays a Bunny Sigler Keener cover. And author/journalist Susan Whitall joins us to talk radio, 60s and motown music.

Call it WDTW

Word is that WXDX, Clear Channel's current calls for the Keener facility will change to WDTW when the station goes Progressive Talk tomorrow morning. The WXDX1310.com website has a picture of a donkey with the phrase "something new is coming" below. The flip is set for 6AM Eastern time. Rona Danzig, WXDX/WDTW program director says web streaming may be in the station's future. Those who keep track will remember that WDTW was the former ID for The Drive, another CC Motown FMer.

The Sun Sets on the Shannon Empire

Although he never worked at WKNR, Tom Shannon's impact on Detroit radio was far-reaching. He is best remembered for his work at CKLW and for TV hosting duties on WXYZ and WDIV. For the last decade, he's been an on-air staple in Buffalo. This weekend, he announced that he will hang up the headphones in March. When the editorial page of your paper lauds a jock's work, he's made an indelible mark. Listen to this coming weekend's Keener Podcast for some vintage Tom Shannon during his time at the Big 8.

Another VCS (Very Cool Site)

For 32 years, Jeff Smith has been my pop culture beacon. He always seems to find the coolest stuff on TV, on the radio, at the bookstores and on the web. Tonight he sent me this very cool site. Mark Evanier was born in 1952, just in time for the television explosion, and his site makes the most of it. His eclectic mix of content includes everthing from a gallery of TV show tickets to news about people like June Foray (the voice of Rocket J. Squirriel) to Detroit fave Soupy Sales. Check it out!

WXDX Flips

Keener's former home is going progressive. Progressive talk, that is. WXDX, the steward of the 1310 kHz frequency in Metro Detroit will be the Motown home for many of the Air America personalities including Al Frankin and Jerry Springer. Clear Channel is flipping an number of their AM properties to the Progressive Talk format in hopes of luring a younger audience to the blab format. By the way, a stop at www.wxdx.com brings up an FM station in Pittsburgh. Look for a new site for the Detroit calls next week.

The Keener Podcast - 1/15/05

On this week's Keener Podcast, the late, great Tom Rivers' memorial service is being held this weekend. Few know that the legendary 1050 CHUM jock worked at Keener. Jim Donahue tells the tale and we hear Tom on Keener (as Tom Neal) and on CHUM. We meet Todd Cochrane, the host of the Geek News Central podcast, Jim Heddle takes us into The Vault for a Rock-a-Billy rarity that topped the WKNR Music Guide in May of 1967. From the news desk: WXDX goes progressive, Thayrone is canned again, Analog reel-to-reel tape becomes an endangered species, obits for two 60s rockers and some James Bond trivia. Check out the link list at www.keenerpodcast.com

Bob Green on radio's future

If ever there was a man who articulated the Keener magic, it's Bob Green. As an announcer, producer and program director during much of WKNR's run, he lived and breathed the concepts of "Intelligenct Flexibility" and Stationality that Keener helped pioneer. In this Op Ed piece, Bob again strikes to the heart of the issues that confront broadcasters. - Curator

How much value should we put in trying to emulate the ideas and packaging of a successful medium from another millennium? Even striving to go beyond mere emulation and conjure up fresh new ways to communicate... there are obvious considerations we must address, the most important of which are iPods, XM, Sirius, Internet and a gazillion other technologies we have yet to put in place.

But that only speaks to the shakiness of terrestrial radio's position. Sure, there've been predictions of impending doom before...AM, FM, TV, stereo etc., so why not accept the current scare as yet another predicament we can overcome? Because the way we communicate has drastically changed.

De-regulation happened...spawning the great legion of "broadcasters" and "programmers" who completely forgot that radio was SHOW BUSINESS! Beyond the bean counter's inability to understand why top stations had garnered such big and loyal audiences, when they DID think about programming they strove for "perfection" without passion! The genius who came up with the clock that emulated European radio in the 50s (back then Radio Luxembourg ran ALL the commercials in a block between :45 and the top of the hour) made sure the sound was correctly perceived as "clutter" and the reality was that Joe's Jeweler ( 7th spot in that 8 spot stop set) found that somehow radio wasn't working for him. Good job genius, and all the other copy cat geniuses out there in Clear Channel country. Never fear, after intense study your fearless leaders have made the amazing discovery that fewer numbers of "better' commercials will be more in line with what the listeners want. Give Mr. Mays and his staff a pat on the back.

But back to the point at hand... "the way we communicate has drastically changed". Whether you think radio's miscues drove potential listeners to seek other forms of entertainment or that new venues have emerged all by themselves and people have taken to them.. it doesn't really matter! The fact is it's not 1965 anymore...or 19 anything. The in-person chats, the phone conversations you used to have with your friends are now e-mails. We are a society of ever increasing passive communication. There were universal truths that applied to communicating on the radio that ,perhaps ,for the first time since Jack Benny made way for the Make Believe Ballroom, MAY have lost their validity! YET (I'm "flip-flopping" here) in the way material is PRESENTED, I believe there still ARE survivors in the Universal Truth stable...things that our aforementioned geniuses either forgot or never knew.

Commercials. Do they REALLY play more commercials in an hour now than we did at WKNR in 1966? No! Playlists. Are the playlists on your favorite (or evidently least favorite ) oldies stations really more restrictive than the Keener music guide? I think not. The newly enlightened geniuses who now proclaim that playlists should be extended to infinity (no pun here) remind me of Democrats who now figure they must appear to be more... Republican. Hits have ALWAYS been important. It's not just WHAT you play, it's what the listener PERCEIVES you as playing. Since Keener 13's signal graced the array of towers on I-94, LISTENERS have made it clear that they think playing all kinds of new hits by local bands and obscure oldies no one else plays is a swell idea! Does it mean that we didn't give a damn WHAT the listener wanted in 1966 because we went on our merry way with 31 songs? That was the reality. But by doing things to promote local groups and features that allowed us to stray, ever so occasionally, from our restrictive hit list and then PROPERLY PROMOTING it... we painted the picture just the way we wanted it to be perceived.. The method of "proper promotion" is one of those universal truths our geniuses should have known and didn't. SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT! SAY YOU'RE DOING IT! SAY YOU DID IT! Duh! A long stop set will not only be more palatable if you announce "a NEW song by beloved local band Nino & the Nosejobs coming up in 90 seconds" but something that's a DEPARTURE from My Girl or "Good times & great oldies" ...even ONCE every 4 hours, will begin to alter the negative perception that the geniuses seem so intent on preserving. There's a place for predictability, as there is a place for unpredictability. A well planned surprise is rarely ho hum.

This is like a sales blurb for buying the concept of radio as your own personal show biz friend or companion...on terrestrial, Satellite, Internet or whatever your weapon of choice. Scott Westerman has shown how to do it right in these keener podcasts. The overall ingredient that made radio work was a feeling of personal CONNECTION. It's obvious by seeing the plethora of new electronics that people are literally "connected" but in the end...we have to ask the question... do people really need that companion anymore?

The Keener13.com Podcast 1/8/04

On this week's Keener13 Podcast, an interview with Chris McIntyre, creator of PodcastAlley.com, a website with a directory of over 600 podcasts and a Top 10 list of the most popular programs. Jim Heddle opens The Vault to present a Detroit Garage Band rarity. And we listen to a 1970 WKNR-FM aircheck from the early days of underground radio, featuring Mitch Ryder. There's also news about Bobby Darin, the Animals, WiFi/voip and more. Visit KeenerPodcast.com for the link list.

The Shadow Internet

In this fascinating article from Wired, the web of secrecy is lifted from the "Shadow Internet" and it's focus on distributing ripped Movies, Software and Music.