Big News!

Start with … let’s pick KTXT

Ok – so the short version – I am so, so proud to announce that I am on board with 35,000 Watts – a documentary story and journey about radio, music, and the ethos of college radio. I am on board to lend my 30 years experience in Communications and 20 of that in digital marketing, to help share and promote the film.

The backstory:

If you know me, you know about my experience with college radio and KTXT-FM. It goes hand-in-hand with my other quirks – Swatch watches and Doc Martens. I was a DJ and Operations and Promotions Manager at KTXT-FM from 1993-1996. I was on-air talent, trained and scheduled new jocks, maintained FFC logs and worked with station staff to promote the station. I LOVED my time at KTXT more than anything else in my college days.

In my life story – I often note that I went from playing music on my clarinet to playing music on the radio. My experience at KTXT was full of fun, irreverence, and punk attitude – as is the experience at most college radio stations. We were “fightin’ the man” and doin’ it our own way. “The Man” was either a stiff administrative staff advisor who banned the announce of the band “Butthole Surfers” (yes, a real band, from Texas no less) and demanded the band to be referred to as “the B-Hole Surfers” (RIP Dr K – you really were way more cool than this example), or it was high-level administration not seeing or caring about the value that college radio serves students, the university, or the community, or … it was simply a pre-designated playlist that was reflective of someone else’s opinion of what was tasteful or popular music.

In college radio, we had the space and freedom to explore ourselves, our tribe, and our community – we were punks, being punk, and playing punk. We found our voice, we created ourselves, and we played the music that defined us, spoke to us, and to our tribes. Most college radio stations are non-commercial – so that also means we were not beholden to advertisers, but we were to the high-level administration. It was a fine balance of finding and exploring that voice but with the support and freedoms from that same “Man”.

In Fall 2021, I learned that a fellow KTXT alum from my era there is producing a documentary about the culture of college radio and the success stories and music that were launched from behind the mic at college radio stations all over the US. I immediately reached out to see what talents I could share with this project. So now that I have some time on my hands, I’m doin’ this. I don’t have an official title yet – but I guess in the words of fellow KTXT’r DJ Picadilly – you can say that “I’m Hypin’ it Up”.