I Am So Popular: Open Letter To Jody Denberg
The Last Waltz Done Live At Club Deville
Review: The Cherry Orchard at The Blue Theater
EAST Interview: Beth Hempton of The WonderCraft
EAST Interview: Nick Henning at Pump Project
This week I shall reflect on the concept of change. I will disguise my reflection as a defense of recent decisions at KUT, which brought about some change, which apparently has made some people angry. These people, in turn, have lassoed their anger into cranky emails, which they have then forwarded to their friends, who have forwarded them to me. So now, not only am I receiving unsolicited emails telling me I need to be pissed off over something I am not pissed off over, but also these sloppy forwards are filled with those annoying headers, loaded with the email addresses of others I don’t know. Which would—if this fucking triple digit heat wasn’t totally stifling me into full on slothfulness— piss me off. To the point I might have to start an email campaign of my own, whereby I tell people that their cranky emails are making me cranky and then I ask them to forward my email to a bunch of other people not because I think it will accomplish anything, but simply because, you know, misery does love company.
In short, KUT recently cut way back on the hours of Larry Monroe and Paul Ray. They still get to do Blue Monday and Twine Time. But much of the airtime previously dominated by these old dudes has been taken over by Matt Reilly, some young whippersnapper who—the fucking nerve of him—is playing both non-jazz AND (gasp!) stuff from the eighties and even—tres risqué!—the nineties and beyond! By which I mean, compared to what we had before, extremely modern and avant garde selections that, according to some are a threat to civilization as we know it.
One of the unsolicited forwarded emails I received was written by Cleve Hattersley, who identifies himself in his sign-off as “Part of this Community.” Cleve’s panties are in such a twist over the changes at KUT that he is talking about suing the station to reinstate the cancelled shows and, if that doesn’t work, calling for a boycott. Mind you, I’m not here to protest Cleve’s right to protest. God only knows I have spearheaded enough protests of my own, and in general I think it can be a good thing to air one’s grievances.
On the other hand, good lord I am so fucking sick of all these Armadillo Headquarters throwbacks who just won’t stop saying that Austin will never again be as good as it was back in the day. You know, if I wanted to be really annoying, I, too, could go on ad nauseum about how back in the early nineties, when the Electric Lounge was still hopping, and the poetry slam was new and fresh, things were so much more fucking fabulous than we could ever again hope for. And I could protest that ever since Fill-In-The-Blank club closed that the nightlife in this town has gone to hell.
I think the baby boomers resist change the most because, based on the sheer numbers of them, they have had things their way for so long they just can’t bear that some of us were born after them and we actually like the idea of having access to, say, music that was recorded post-1970s. And, furthermore, we actually don’t give a flying fuck about how many hits of acid they did at Woodstock. I read an article once saying that, relatively speaking, so few people were born in “my” generation (a blip of a period right between the boomers and the Gen Xers) that advertisers never even bothered targeting us. The boomers have dominated for so long they still think they’re the “it” generation.
Do I sound harsh? Uncaring? Check it—I am not unsympathetic to the dumping of Ray and Monroe. I, too, have been cut from my sundry media outlets in the past. I used to write for the Chronicle very regularly and then their features section was, for economic reasons, shaved way back. That was the end of Spike in the Chronicle. I had a wildly popular (because I am so popular) column in the Dallas Morning News. There, a combination of politics and money first saw my paycheck halved and then saw my writing eliminated entirely. Did it suck? Absolutely. Did I get over it? I had no choice.
Closer to the matter at hand, I, too, have suffered courtesy of KUT’s shrinking budget. I never had the platform that Monroe and Ray had. But I did do commentary and theatre reviews for the station from time to time. My most recent note to the station asking to do some more pieces was met with the news that they couldn’t afford me anymore. Which is really saying something since I got paid a whopping $50 per segment. Despite the fact that I bellyache about writers being asked to write for free, I wrote back and offered to do my commentary gratis during these hard economic times. Because I love KUT. They were nice enough about it, but no, they don’t want commentary they can’t pay for.
I think the people who are bitching the loudest about the Paul Ray/Larry Monroe thing and calling for protests are showing their age and their fear of change. I also think they are going about this protest in the wrong way. If they really, truly want to bring these guys back, instead of sinking money into a lawsuit or energy into a boycott, they need to rethink their strategies. A large part of the reason Monroe and Ray got cut is based on money. Hello? There’s a huge ass recession going on, people are consequently being less generous with their donations, and so cuts have to be made. As it happens, while there is little doubt that Monroe and Ray had loyal followings, their ratings were flat. Cutting back their airtime is not about vendetta, people, it’s economics.
Instead of giving money to lawyers, or convincing listeners to boycott (which will lead to still more local programming cuts), why not start a campaign to raise enough money to reinstate Monroe and Ray? (By which I do not mean take Reilly away—oh please don’t do that—but bring back the late night segments, which Cleve furiously notes were replaced by Undercurrents, which is taped in California.) Beyond that, here’s an unsolicited suggestion in response to the unsolicited emails: try listening to Reilly’s show. And remember how when you were young, back in the Dinosaur Age, and older folks scoffed at your wicked, new fangled rock ‘n roll and called it evil and you laughed at how close-minded and backwards they were.
If none of these suggestions convince Cleve and his boomer-ilk that change can actually be good, then I have another idea. You want to protest change at KUT? You want to make a stink and get them to bring back programming that really kicked ass? Great. Then hop with me into this time machine over here and let’s go back further still and raise some bloody hell that Teresa Ferguson’s Femme FM was unceremoniously cut years ago. Because I gotta say, the one really good thing that has come out of this current call for protest is that I hear an awful lot of people lamenting not the loss of Monroe and Ray, but disappearance of TF’s lovely voice, impeccable taste, and regular introduction of some truly great musical talent to which we no longer have such ready access.
Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s rally to bring me back to the airwaves, too.
Spike Gillespie knows the only constant is change-- do you? She blogs at KnitBuzz and www.spikeg.com. She's leading a writing workshop soon. You should sign up. Email spike@spikeg.com for details.
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I so agree, Larry Monroe was fun to listen too a couple of times, music my dad lived by...
I'm in a real quandry though about renewing my KUT membership, Texas music might matter, but heck its way too much the same all the time. Hard to tell the decade, let alone the artist and as good as Willie and Bob Dylan are, every time I hear them, I switch channels. So maybe this is one of those seminal moments for KUT, time for a new generation of members, whose music, and "light entertainment" tastes are not from the 60's and 70's, even if they were born then. Alternatively, bring back Monroe and Ray and hope that the old listeners come back and remember KUT in their wills.
and no, I don't want KUT to turn into some random prog rock or 70's/80's/90's replay station.
I'm glad for the change. KUT at night always struck me as "music to pass out to while drinking a glass of wine". If the station was on when I got into the car at night I immediately changed it (generally to KOOP/KVRX). Compared to the eclectic music they play during the day it was extremely one note.
Hrm. I come to comment on this one and find that I know the two people who already commented. I know Austin is small, but jeez.
I don't really have the right to complain since I'm one of those people who has donated in the past, but hasn't donated recently. I think KUT needed a kick and the pants and some change. That being said, I didn't want this much change. I really liked the jazz programming on Wednesday nights and will miss it. There's no jazz now. Put Matt on Tues. and Thurs. and give Paul Ray back his Wednesday. If they bring him back, I'll donate. Really, I promise.
If you don't talk to your children about John Aielli, who will?
When I lived in Dallas back in the early nineties, there was an AM radio station that played old people music. For an early-twenties-something, it was amazingly kitchy. For older folks, it was a terrific way for them to remember feeling young.
The station would play all these old big-band songs recorded live at some ball room or other and they'd play all the old-time radio announcers talking about how many people were dancing at the ball room, etc. On saturday mornings, you could wake up to marching band music interspersed with these two old guys talking about being in the war. The newest music they would play would be Girl From Ipanema or Tequila or stuff like that.
Then the station changed formats and went sports talk radio. I can empathize with the people complaining about the loss of the KUT shows, but Spike does make some good points between the expletives here. Perhaps KUT should consider some Sports Talk programming?
Seth
Hear, hear, Spike. I still miss Teresa every morning and every Saturday night.
Yes, yes, yes. You hit it right on the head, Spike.
Hi Spike,
I've had the pleasure of performing at some benefit gigs you've put together, and I genuinely admire your intentions to make the world a better-adjusted place than it was before your arrival in Austin.
I suspect what most folks are mourning isn't just the shows or DJs in particular (esp since both are keeping a portion of their slots as well as a portion of their paychecks).
We're mourning the loss of an era where radio connected us to a like-minded community. With the ascent of new, younger, cooler, and more radio-friendly DJs added to the evening line-up, KUT is devolving into "just another dead-end" on the commercial radio dial. I can find the same stuff that the new DJs are playing on a ton of other radio stations, terrestrial, Internet, Pandora, Spotify, etc.
But the personality seems totally vacant in this new ear of radio, and that is what I'm gonna miss...
I have to say I was sad to see the lineup change, but then the other day, while I was driving to work listening to some tunes and waiting for John Aielli to start rambling on about the weather, who's voice did I hear on my radio? Jeff McCord!!! In the morning! Fabulous.
The issue isn't simply that any change is unwelcome. The issue is that the change is so thoroughly mediocre and antithetical to the mission of public radio. One gets the sense that, as in the media season of The Wire, the suits aren't interested in the daily grind of producing quality programming, but are rather in search of broader recognition from the NPR community that comes from "growing" the listener base and getting awards from producing earnest, self-involved "original" programming.
Their mission should not be to "grow" the audience and even if they want to "update" the programming, surely there's a better way to do it than by being a slightly more edgy KGSR. The fact that they have a playlist at all is outrageous. That they are delivering such cold slaps in the face to the men who built that station is made even more insulting by replacing them with such empty, vapid, soulless programming (I noticed that the new guy started one of his early shows with Geggy Tah). Geggy Tah! Are you kidding me? I despair.
Finally (for now), I seriously doubt that the money justification is a legitimate issue. They seem to have plenty of money to bring in Dan Brown (so we can join him for his Magical Mystery Tour of discovery of "Texas Music") and pay for layers of management to make these asinine decisions.
So, for me, it's not just the fact of change, but the fact that the change itself is so thoroughly mediocre (I do think Jeff McCord does a good job). When you combine that with the poor way that they've treated their long time talent, it's a cold bowl of chili.
The music programming on KUT has greatly improved. It used to be almost unlistenable. Who wants to listen to a bunch of scratchy old records from the 50s? These "protestors" are a bunch of dead enders and will only bring the station down if they are successful. Stick to your guns KUT.
And for the record I am a 51 year old baby boomer who has lived here for 25 years. Viva la change!
It's not like Monroe & Ray were kicked to the curb. They still have their original weeknight slots. In the private sector, they would've just been told to clean out their desks and leave the building by noon. And they're not being replaced by Casey Kasem or something.
KUT needs an infusion of new talent. I hardly ever listen to it anymore. Now, maybe I'll give it another chance.
You go girl!
Thank you Spike! For all the professed love of music in this town, it boggles my mind how closed-minded so many of these Stevie Ray Fogies there are here. Hats off to the Electric Lounge as well - one of the most progressive music clubs that has ever existed in this town. Check out the Mohawk, Emos, The Parish, Stubbs, and a million other places that take chances with different types of styles and tastes. Try someplace besides Antones and The Saxon Pub (though I'm glad those places exist too), stop playing the same records since the 70s and I think you would be shocked as I am at the level of creativity that exists (and has always existed) today.
As one of my good friends declared when he found out that KUT was cutting back Larry Monroe's hours, "Our long regional nightmare is over!"
I'll miss jazz in Austin, but it was only two weeknights, and it was always compounded by Monroe's following the jazz shows with his aggressive mediocrity in terms of programming (the same twenty artists, the same genre, the predictable set of songs). Stevie Ray Fogy, indeed!
Some of their younger (read: under 50) disc jockeys are interesting and full of surprises. I'll take that any day over a miserable Monroe catering to a dozen of his peers/listeners while spoiling it for the rest of us.
And Spike, you have the best point of all: the country is in a recession. The station needs to make cutbacks and perhaps shake some things up. It's simply business, not an intentional slap in the face of the old hippie demographic, which is the way they're playing it.
Makes me want to send them to bed without their supper.
Spike, you do have a point about the cranky emails. But not everyone is a professional with curse words like you are.
A few things needing correction/clarification:
1) Larry & Paul did NOT get cut because of money!
KUT paid music DJs in 2000 when KUT only received 2 million each year. KUT now pulls in over 5 million in each year and spends less on DJs than before. KUT could afford DJs when they only had 2 million budgets and they can easily afford them now with a 5 million budget. A letter from KUT general manager stated the money from these cuts would not be saved, but be "redirected" to other parts of the business (meaning NPR news shows). Please don't further spread the misconception that budget issues have anything to do with this.
2) The SaveKUTAustin.com reaction is not against all change as your agist stereotyping suggests. The reaction is because KUT is moving all music shows to a single AAA format (with the same sound both day and night) and trashing local flavor in the process. The issue is not what Matt Reilly is playing, it's that KUT management is giving Matt a list of approved artists he has to play (same as daytime DJs). The casualties are not just Jazz or Phil Music, but also the Femme FM you love. You'll find a tribute to much missed Femme FM on saveKUTaustin.com. Another casuality is that the performing arts no longer fit into KUT AAA's format. Aeilli is asked to play most songs from a pre-approved list of artists. His spotlight on the arts Aeilli Unleashed has been canceled. This move to AAA is the reason you can't give away your arts reports for free - it doesn't fit in with KUTs new format.
3) You share common ground with the saveKUTaustin movement! We all want Femme FM back and more arts or theater reviews on air.
4) This is not about a simple job loss. With all due respect, your job loss from the Chronicle is not comparable to Paul Ray's and Larry Monroe's. I could be wrong, but I don't think you worked for the Chronicle for 30 years and personally made it the #1 paper for 20 years in a row. Paul and Larry built up the KUT audience to the #1 station beating a dozen competitors in the 90s. They retained this audience in the 2000s, keeping KUT #1 and never shrunk the audience. KUT is still the highest rated NPR station in the US! So a large part of the uproar is shabby treatment of long time employees who made the station as successful as it is. Can you imagine trying to live on a 4 hour paycheck with no benefits?
5) You give no mention to the big issue of DJ UnderCurrents replacing local DJs. Canned generic AAA music shows like UnderCurrents is a large part of KUT's new direction. The whole community looses with UnderCurrents because we don't have a DJ promoting local bands and shows. It’s okay to say change is bad when you have a solid reason like this. Come on board Spike! We share more than you knew!
Frijoles,
I called Stewart to fact check the forwarded email I received from Cleve. I left a message, which was returned by one of their information officers/communication people. I was told that a) budget cuts and b) flat ratings were the reasons Paul and Larry were cut. If that is not the truth, it is being presented as the truth. Since you don't identify yourself, I have no way of knowing if you have insider information you can actually present as proof. I disagree that it's "the same sound day and night." I listen to KUT many hours every week and hear a lot of different programming. I do think that Twine Time-- which for the record I listen to rather regularly and enjoy very much-- often plays the same songs, week after week and, in that sense, is "the same sound over and over." I don't want to play the apples and oranges games or have a pissing contest over whether or not Paul and Larry's work was more important to them than my Chronicle gig was to me. The Chron work loss was the tip of the iceberg. Now paying journalism gigs are totally disappearing, something I've written about, and something that has pushed me to have to take all kinds of odd jobs just to stay afloat. Job loss is almost always a bummer and, as noted, I feel for Paul and Larry. I did mention Undercurrents and I suggested -- based on the information KUT gave me that budget cuts were part of the problem (along with flat ratings)-- that rather than invest time and money suing the station or prompting a boycott, that folks who want Paul and Larry to have back those late night slots chip in and offer to pay their salary. Would KUT go for it? I have no idea. Has anyone asked them? For the record, I gave KUT $500 last year. So far this year I've only been able to donate $100, which I hope to do again in the next fund drive. (Years I couldn't afford cash I worked the phones at fund drives.) I talked to a friend recently-- a non-dinosaur if you will-- who made me understand, clearly, what a real loss it is to have lost those late night shows to Undercurrents. If y'all want to rally to find a way to bring those shows back, I'd be delighted to help out at a fundraiser. Make no mistake-- I would love for KUT to keep as much local programming as possible. And/but finally, for now, I remain really delighted with Matt's shows.
Phil Music is vacationing in his wife’s home town;
In lieu of Larry Monroe, I’m Gary Etie, standing in.
http://www.savekutaustin.com/?page_id=4
Holy crap, Spike, in writing of the cranky e-mails you're getting, you wrote a very cranky, cynical letter! The chopping off at the knees of Larry and Paul was just the proverbial last straw. It's also about, yes, Teresa, and Aielli, and the damn commercials they're running, and the triple A formatting (what, we don't get enough of that on KGSR?), and the fact they ADMIT they're trying to make the night time shows sound like the day time shows. (Since they're all working off the same playlist they've already "accomplished" that--lucky us.)
This is public radio, and there should be room for jazz AND world music AND folk music and if John Aielli wants to throw in some classical, he's the only one over there that KNOWS classical music.
Then there's the issue of them giving three nights of prime time to one guy... It doesn't make sense no matter how ya look at it. Matt Reilly's not terrible, but he isn't terrific either.
And it ain't about the money. They've created new management positions at high salaries. They brought in David Brown at a higher salary than the other DJs were making, and he makes me wanna stick a fork in my eye every time I hear his condescending voice.
KUT is not about POOR.
And speaking of wanting to stick forks into body parts, there's Stewart Vanderwilt's "PSA" announcements about how great KUT is.
So, aside from the fact that they've really treated Ray and Monroe (and Ferguson and Aielli) unfairly, they're making KUT sound like every other Triple A rock station. Austin doesn't need another Triple A station.
I won't be sending you any e-mails, although I suspect you like being in on the discussion.
Am I missing something? I thought Jay Trachtenberg played Jazz, and that Folkways played folk, and that Michael Crockett played world music? Did I miss some other changes? And like him or not, David Brown does play a lot of local musicians. I was psyched out of my head at all the time and consideration he gave to Lee Barber's CD, which is fucking outstanding. As for sounding "like every other rock station"-- unless you've lived in places like St. Louis and Philly (as I have) and had to endure some really bad "choices" I think it's wrong to say KUT sounds like other stations. Or KGSR for that matter. I actually think we are beyond spoiled in this town with the radio we have. And for the record, I wasn't cutting anyone off at the knees. I continue to both sympathize and empathize re: Ray and Monroe. And my offer stands-- if folks want to rally to get them back on the late night, I'm glad to participate in a positive rally but I will not boycott, I will not pitch in for a lawsuit. I will continue to make donations.
Spike:
Excerpt from triplearadio.com, 4/12/09:
"What impressed me so much this week was how most commercial radio continues to lose money, clients and, listeners. But commercial AAA is flush and non-commercial AAA, despite this lingering recession, has been doing great in fund-raising. Hey, we were all worried about it. Turns out AAA non-comms are, for the most part, doing remarkably well.
"Last week, KUT, the NPR/AAA non-comm in Austin, took in $825,000 in its Spring drive. KUT's good news is shared with other AAA non-comms like Minnesota Public Radio (The Current) and Louisville Public Media (WFPK). All set new records for amounts raised during a Winter or Spring fund drive.
"KUT also set a new high for money raised online, pulling in a record $230,000 online."
Spike
I didn't say YOU cut Larry and Paul off at the knees. I said KUT did that and it was the last straw. Jay Trachtenberg USED to do a jazz show but now does not. He plays a jazz piece now and then in between all the other stuff, including the list of what KUT mgmt refers to as "hand-picked" (but what is really chosen by committee) ... songs management insists all the DJs include in their respective sets. If management really had as much faith in their DJs as they SAY, they'd let them choose their own cuts.
They tried yanking the world music from the schedule a couple years back, and received such an outcry of complaints that they had to put it back on. They've been systematically trying to turn the whole station into Triple A for a long time.
Meanwhile, the support group has requested the financial records from KUT. The feeling is the mgmt is not being honest about how and why the money is spent over there. As usual, it's time to follow the money.
Make no mistake, this is not just a bunch of old hippies. Granted, there are some old hippies, but the group includes hundreds of folks from all sides of the "aisle." Sponsor businesses. Musicians of all stripes. Community leaders. Students.
People that want a voice in our public radio.
Sally
Sally,
I'm going to try to make this my last comment. I want to repeat that I did call KUT and was informed that money AND flat ratings led to their decision. If this is "mere spin" than I am guilty of the crime of believing what I was told by a station rep. I will say here what I emailed privately to someone who emailed me privately:
No matter who is "right" and who is "wrong" in this argument, I am really grateful for the dialogue. And I am also grateful to be reminded of how passionate austinites are-- about EVERYTHING.
Without trying to take any undue credit, I hope that in some small way my column has contributed to the dialogue. I also think it would be lovely to have Undercurrents replaced (re-replaced) by bringing back Larry and Paul late at night.
All that said, I continue to hold that Austin has some of the absolute best radio options in the country. I'm a huge fan of KUT and KGSR and, though I don't listen to KOOP enough, am so glad it exists. (On a personal note, my son benefited greatly from partaking in KOOP's YouthSpin program for years.)
I continue to remain sick of hippies, though admittedly I'm close friends with an awful lot of them. And I continue to support Matt's show.
To each his/her own.
Oh-kay
So, you're willing to take the word of the KUT spokesperson at face value...you're sick of hippies...and you're a huge fan of KGSR.
Got it. Thanks.
Spike,
Thanks for joining in the conversation. If you are against the idea of UnderCurrents then you are allright in my book.
The KUT budgets are public record. Go to the Austin Chronicle website and search for "KUT by the Numbers". It shows the 2000 KUT budget as 2.3 million and 2006 as 5.5 million. The kut.org/about site only has the 2007 numbers online now.
Here's how you can tell KUT is spinning for donation sympathy. KUT had the money to pay DJs back in 2000 with that little ole 2 million budget. KUT now has 3 million extra to spend (5 million total). So it's impossible to not have funds for DJs with their mountain of 5 million dollars when it was done before with just 2 million. Where does that 5 million go? A big chunk goes to newly created middle management positions like "Associate Director of Broadcast and Content". An ever increasing amount goes to buying NPR programs instead of music DJs.
KUT has hired a big time PR Firm that choose words carefully and come up with political flip flop talk like saying ratings were "flat". This lets KUT make an impression ratings were bad but also able to backtrack and say "we never said ratings were low" if they get called out on it. KUT will not publicly say that ratings were bad or shrunk, because they never did. Larry & Paul's ratings stayed the same high level (flat) they've always been. KUT is the highest rated NPR station in the country and the #1 Station for the above 25 demo in the Austin market.
Matt Reilly will probably keep his spot if he proves himself at pledge drive time. But hopefully we can get a real person back in the overnight spot.
Spike:
Let us not forget the "public" in public radio. Just about 35% of Austin is Hispanic, and another 10% African American, not to mention the "others." How many of their on-air personalities and/or shows reflect that demographic? Their ratings god, Arbitron, is about to be investigated by Congress for this slight "oversight." Arbitron already had to settle in New York and New Jersey, as well as being sued by Maryland and Florida. This is a lily-white house of cards you're inhabiting, mi amigo...
Spike -
Keep it up. You are so right on all of this. I like Matt's show too and am so glad I can listen to new and interesting music at night. I agree we are spoiled too as far as radio goes. I have lived in Philly, D.C. and Atlanta and KUT is a gem. I constantly am hearing new and old and interesting and different music. I did not hear that on Larry or Paul's shows, rather I heard lots of what I call old school AAA. They sounded more like KGSR than Matt ever does. That said - I enjoyed them too wish them well and love twine time.
Viva la change and thanks for the smart and funny posting.
Spike -
Keep it up. You are so right on all of this. I like Matt's show too and am so glad I can listen to new and interesting music at night. I agree we are spoiled too as far as radio goes. I have lived in Philly, D.C. and Atlanta and KUT is a gem. I constantly am hearing new and old and interesting and different music. I did not hear that on Larry or Paul's shows, rather I heard lots of what I call old school AAA. They sounded more like KGSR than Matt ever does. That said - I enjoyed them too wish them well and love twine time.
Viva la change and thanks for the smart and funny posting.
Julie - Spike is right in that she likes Matt Reilly. That's fair, people get to like what they like. You get to like Matt too.
But she's not right in "all of this" meaning that it's not right that lack of money at KUT was a reason for the changes.
And Paul's shows are old school AAA? An all jazz show is Adult Album Alternative? Or I guess you meant just "old school"...
Paul and Larry had been on the nights forever and I am glad somebody new has the nights. Maybe it was money, maybe it was ratings, maybe it was TIME FOR A CHANGE!!!!! Phil Music was so old school triple AAA - how much Americana can one listen too -as were the late nights. As Tim above said "KUT at night always struck me as "music to pass out to while drinking a glass of wine".
Yes they were good djs - Johnny Carson was good too. Now there is Conan. Most of the djs on KUT are good djs, but to my ears the station was sounding a little old (except for Jay's show.) Now there are new bands in the mix being played that I like to listen to and there are some djs on air that are younger than 65.
Why would KUT not change shows that were not getting good listenership? They would be idiots not to. I for one am glad they did.
Johnny Carson choose when he retired, he wasn't bent over after doing so much great work for his employer.
You do realize that Larry & Paul had 11pm-3am shifts where they played the exact same new music and mixed format as heard on Jay's show?
KUT could have respected their stars and given them an opportunity to change their early show formats to what they were playing late night.
You really think people in their 60s shouldn't work? Somebody tell Fred Cantu to get off KVUE for Julie! And Louis Black really needs to get outta the Chronicle business cause he's like soooo old to Julie.
"maybe it was money, maybe it was ratings"
Yeah, unless you have anything to back that up (you don't) all you got is maybes. If you wanna like Matt that's fine, but no need to spread misinformation. I mean Matt won the job already. No need to attack the losing team when the game's over.
Maybe next I will suggest creating death panels for all people over 65....yes I think that would be a fabulous idea! Throw my parents and my grandad in their too! They are of no value to me. Just paint a fine Hitler mustache on me and I am off.
In the real world - Management says the ratings were flat for those shows and that they needed to cut some salaries. So unless the management is full of it I assume that is why this happened. I also know that every regular dj on KUT is at least 50 or 60+ and I am glad somebody under 40 is on air more than once a week. Basically I think KUT needed some new blood and maybe they did too (would be nice too to hear some more women!)
As far as attacking the "losing" team, Paul and Larry have made a living spinning records on KUT for most of their lives. How is that losing? I mean how many people get to have a job that cool? I respect Larry and Paul and would never wish them harm. I just am not a big fan of their shows (again - except for Twine Time - love it!) This is not attacking them.
Also, they must be eligible for retirement(I know Larry is 67 from his website and I assume Paul is above 65) and therefore are eligible for texas state employee pensions for life. As I understand it they can get their pensions and still work less than 20 hours a week for KUT and get paid for that too. (Friends who work at the capital and at UT say that yes this is true.) Again, how is that losing?
On the other hand, I have friends all over who have been laid off and can't find jobs and have run out of unemployment benefits. Susan Castle was recently completely let go of at KGSR, had been there for many many years and helped build the station! I assume Clear Channel has no pension set up for her (hope she got severance) nor did anyone seem to care about her being treated badly or disrespected for her many years of work. Clearly, the economy is screwing some people over.
To me this situation is not about losing, it is about changing. Now as far as Louis Black......
One more thought frijoles - why do you use a psuedonym and why the heck do you care what I think?
If you feel Paul and Larry were mistreated then tell KUT -or talk to a friend -I can't do much about it here in the blogosphere. My guess is most of this anger is about your fear of how it would feel to be downsized or whatever at your own job. That fear is pretty real and scary for all of us these days. Lastly - do you (or does anyone) know for a fact that Paul and Larry are mad about this? Maybe they are glad to not be on until 3am in the morning - just thinking out loud here.
You are free to say you don’t like Paul & Larry and that you love Matt.
To take up for some good people, I will argue the misinformation that:
Paul & Larry were treated like a Johnny Carson
Paul & Larry had an old sound (their 11-3 show had new music like Matt or Jay)
Paul & Larry “were not getting good listenership” (KUT never said that)
Lack of money made this necessary (see details of how much $$$ KUT has above)
People know for a fact how Paul & Larry feel. Let’s leave it at that cause they still need to be on good terms with the boss.
Susan Castle was treated really well by KGSR. She had a corporate salary all these years and got a huge severance check.
I see it as dissing Paul & Larry when you say they had low ratings or act like age is a reason to get rid of someone. Tell Fred Cantu to quit now. Then say it’s good because for most of his life he “had a job that cool” and see if that makes him feel better. You don’t become a DJ for money. You do it for a passion, and whatever retirement pays doesn’t fill the hole of loosing your passion. It’s fine to not like their show, but let’s not make up how great this situation is for them. And quit saying they had low ratings. KUT never said this, so why would anyone else?
I have no anger, just taking up for some good folks getting stereotyped.
You have a lot of “My guess is” and “I assume” and maybe maybe maybe…
Maybes don’t hold up. Like maybe I picked the name frijoles because Julie was already taken. (Or maybe I didn’t.)
We may have some stuff in common. How do you feel about the 60 something old UnderCurrents DJ? Is he playing the new Austin bands you want to hear? Or any new music you want to hear? Spike is down with the get local DJ’s back idea. How about you? They could hire Matt Reilly’s twin sister Katt and get local bands airtime at night...
I am commenting on a blog - for all that is holy I can maybe and assume and postulate all I want. If Larry's show did not have an old sound than I am a monkey's uncle. I was in no way looking to diss these guys - again I wish them well and respect them. I simply think KUT needed some new blood. And for the record KUT said the ratings for their shows were flat - that means other shows kept getting more listeners while theirs did not. So in comparison to other KUT shows theirs had low ratings. I need to get back to my life now.
Best of luck senor frijoles and thanks to Spike - who I was talking to in the first place - for writing this!!
There is another word for assuming and postulating when it's wrong: slander
That's not true about low ratings. Others shows were growing, but doesn't mean they grew above the high level of Larry & Paul's ratings. When you are #1 at the top of the mountain, it's hard to go up any more.
I really am interested in how your dislike of old djs doesn't include UnderCurrents. And how you like new music and local bands on Matt Reilly, but don't seem to miss it on UnderCurrents. You sound strangely pro KUT no matter what their choice is. Hmmm....
Thanks for your piece, Spike, and all the provocative discussion it sparked. I share your enjoyment of Matt's programs and your belief that Austin is rich in radio offerings.