Homebrewed Interview with Power 105's Randy Norris
4/16/2002 - by Matthew Toledo
Athens musicians have a new means of reaching an audience thanks to Power 105. Arguably Athens' most popular commercial format FM radio station, Power 105 had been criticized in the past for playing too much "commercial" music. Now the station has set aside a peak listening timeslot to feature Athens area bands and their music--which consequently, is as un-commercial as you can get. No other FM radio station the region consitantly plays local music during "prime time." We are lucky they are brave enough to try it. The segment, named "Budwieser's Homebrewed Band of The Week", is sponsored by Budwieser and airs every weekday at 6:35 PM during the evening commute.
The show has been in place for over a month and has already managed to feature a diverse group of bands. The first ever band to be featured was Athens' own college rock band, The Cactus Pears. Other bands soon followed which combined, represented a vast array of different musical Genres. The blues influenced music of Direct Attention was given as much attention by the Power 105 staff as the dark folksy tunes of Sarah Guthrie and the rock music of Akimbo. There is seemingly no limit to the type of music they will play, as long as it is well recorded, and local.
Quick speaking Power 105 jock, Mark Justice, conducts an interview with the band of the week on a day of their choosing. On the interview day, bands have the option of performing live in the studio.
"I think it generates a little buzz.", Said Direct Attention guitarist Shannon G. Scott, "We've heard people say that they heard us on the radio and what not. Marc [Justice] said that they have tried to do things with local music before. I think the show is great for local bands."
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Power 105's programming directory and morning jock, Randy Norris, about the new "Budweiser Homebrewed Bands" Segment.
AMN: Who’s idea was it to start doing the Home Brewed segment on Power 105.
Randy: Well, I wanted to accomplish a couple of things...I wanted to get our local musicians some mass exposure... and I wanted to expose our audience to local music... the result was the Home-Brewed Music feature. Unless people are going to the bars and festivals in the area, they're not hearing the music. With Home-Brewed we deliver an audience of thousands... hand-delivering the artist a massive group of potential fans.
AMN: How has Power 105 helped out local bands before the new show.
Randy: To be honest, we didn't do much before. Four or five years ago, we played some local music...but we played it so randomly it never caught on. We also hosted some shows and invited local artists to play our annual events like our Chili Bowl Cook-off I want to do more of that... but one step at a time!
AMN: Any word on how Homebrewed music is doing rating wise?
Randy: I'm not really concerned with the ratings (we're in an un-rated market and only get a book once a year... so I wouldn't know even if I WERE concerned with the ratings) ...My focus is with listener interest... and so far the response has been great. We get a lot of calls with questions like "what was the name of the band that you had on last night?" It's questions like those that mean the feature is working for us. Hopefully, it's working for the bands, too!
AMN: How do bands get on the show? What sort of material do they needed to send you.
Randy: Just a CD and a bio. We also ask that they let us know which 5 tunes they'd prefer for us to play. The music they submit should be well-produced... we had a band put one mic on a stand in the front of their garage while they played and recorded to cassette... yuck! The quality needs to be good and the bands should remember that whatever we air will be heard by THOUSANDS of people and for many of our listeners, it will be the first impression of the band so it has to be a good one! Also, lyrical content is an issue. If an artist likes to drop the f-bomb in their tunes, they'll need to get us edited versions of the songs.
AMN: How does the segment work? Do bands come in to chat? Do they play in the studio?
Randy: We invite any band or solo artist to submit a CD (or two) and a bio. Then we assign a week when they'll be featured. Each band gets a whole week dedicated to their music and every night of that week at 6:35, we spin one of their studio cuts. We try to work it out so that during the week they're featured, they've got something to plug like a CD release party... or a big show... whatever. We also like to have the band in the studio at some point during their week to play an acoustic set in the studio. No direct boxes ...no miked drums... just one microphone and a couple members of the band. It's pretty cool.
AMN: The studio can get kinda cramped. How have the musicians you’ve featured adapted to the small quarters.
Randy: We just tell the artists that space is limited ahead of time so they're prepared. So far, the music performed in the studio has been great...usually just an acoustic guitar and a voice. It really helps to show the true talent of the musicians in this area.
AMN: Does every band you feature have to play live in the studio?
Randy: No, they're under no obligation....but it is to their benefit. By playing in the studio, they get more airtime, as well as the opportunity to talk on the air about their music...about upcoming shows...about a new CD in the works...about life...whatever.
AMN: Are there any limits to the types of music that you’ll feature on the air. Will you play my spoken word CD the armpit sonata that I recorded on my 4-track.
Randy: Limits? Not really. My feeling is that we should let the listeners decide if they like it or not. We radio folks do enough music choosing. Let's keep it real and let the audience decide for themselves what they like. We'll throw the format completely out the window....although if a band's hook is to fart their lyrics, we might think twice about that.
AMN: Recording quality wise, what is the minimum you’ll air?
Randy: Again, first impressions are important. If there's a lot of tape hiss or unintentional distortion, we'll ask for something better. It should be their best work.
AMN: What geographical area do you consider to be “homebrewed?†Pomeroy to Logan? Marietta to Chillicothe? And have you considered featuring regional bands that frequent our region, like bands from Columbus, Cincy, and Cleveland?
Randy: We don't have a set rule that defines "local music"...we just sort of go with the flow. Obviously, the focus is on LOCAL music so the majority of the artists featured with be acts that play here regularly. But we're not limiting it solely to local artists, either. We'll also feature musicians that started out here. For instance, Jason Allen Phelps started playing Athens when he was in school at O.U. and now his band, Pay The Girl, is in a Seattle studio with Nickleback's producer to cut their first album under their new label. We've got a band out of Columbus coming on in the near future called Myopia. I guess we're just more picky when it comes to the not-so-local bands. If you're a local musician, we'll put you on the air. If you're an out-of-town band looking for airplay, then they'll have to have a few in-town gigs lined up...or some other type of local connection (other than "my sister's best friend's cousin's roommate came down there once for Halloween.")
AMN: The AMN is the same way. You need to at least play in Athens before you can be considered part of the "Scene." It only makes sense.
