Posted by madcityradio.com on January 28, 2009 at 11:05:48:
JAMZ session to mark hip-hop station's second birthday
Katjusa Cisar | January 21, 2009 | 77 Square
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The way the economy's going, it's not often you hear a story of an expanding business. But that's exactly what happened in October with local hip-hop station JAMZ (WJQM/FM) when it upgraded to a stronger signal at 93.1 FM.
Before that, it barely reached the west side of Madison with its feeble 2,500-watt signal from a radio tower near Barneveld, broadcast at 106.7 FM.
"We couldn't get our own station in our own parking lot," said Cody Wilson, aka MC Starr, who hosts the Planet Jamz mix on Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with DJ Pain 1. Now, he hears people playing JAMZ at parties across Madison. The new signal covers all of Dane County and even bleeds into the surrounding counties.
"It's a night-and-day difference," agreed Shay Newman, aka DJ Fusion, who hosts a late-night show on Fridays. "I lived a mile from the station and couldn't get it."
JAMZ has another reason to celebrate: its two-year anniversary, a birthday bash at the Wisconsin Union Theater this Friday, Jan. 23, featuring performances from Bobby Valentino, Keri Hilson, MIMS, and Slim of 112.
Though it's too soon to estimate how many listeners the station has gained, program director JD Garfield said all anecdotal evidence indicates that it's been pretty significant.
"If I just base this on telephone calls, and only 2 percent of your listeners call, it's been astronomical," he said. "There's a thirst for (hip-hop). It's the hottest format in the nation."
Not all Madisonians have been as thrilled about losing The Lake, the classic rock station that JAMZ bumped off the air. MC Starr made the mistake of giving his cell phone number out one time during a Planet Jamz show and after the switch he received nasty text messages from strangers, mad about the loss of The Lake.
No jobs were lost when The Lake went off-air. The station's personalities "stayed in the building," said Garfield, switching to other stations within Midwest Family Broadcasting. Sue Peterson and Sara Freeman went to Magic 98, Sly retained his longtime slot on WTDY/AM 1670 "The Pulse," and Greg Bair and Kurt Baron went to WJJO/FM 94.1 (Baron already was on the air at WJJO as well as The Lake).
"I do come across the very angry 93.1 The Lake fan. I'll give 'em that: They love their radio station," said Starr.
So do JAMZ fans.
The Planet Jamz hosts hear increasingly from listeners every week who request song mash-ups and juke remakes for DJ Pain 1 to create. They're also starting to make local music a regular part of the Saturday night show. Right now, they feature one local song per show. In a couple of weeks, management is allowing two local songs. Other than that, they have to draw songs from approved playlists.
In past weeks, MC Starr and DJ Pain 1 have featured local talent DLO, God-des & She, and Foundation. DLO recently reached the No. 2 spot on the rap charts at Broadjam.com, a locally owned company that connects musicians and fans with free downloads.
"We'd like to give local artists more shine," said Starr. He and DJ Pain 1 don't have as much leeway in this as they'd like, he added, but he says it's improving. "They could always play a bigger variety."
Hip-hop artists in Madison have struggled to find a support base in the local scene, despite "a huge bed of talent," said Starr, who also co-hosts a hip-hop and spoken word show on Madison's community station, WORT/FM 89.9.
DJ Pain 1 said it's a matter of "having that one artist who's a forerunner and gains notoriety. The second that happens, you're going to see a widespread surge of support for local hip-hop." And that's where he and Starr can wield some influence: by getting local artists on the air.
When Jamz first started broadcasting at 106.7, it didn't even have on-air personalities. Now, says DJ Fusion, the station is starting to interact with the community.
That kind of interaction means a lot to him. When he was growing up in the Reedsburg and Baraboo area, the only station on which he and his friends could hear some hip-hop was Z104 or "Masterbeatz Theater" on WMAD, both broadcast out of Dane County.
"It was that or MTV," said Fusion. Now, living in Madison, he's happy to have a hometown hip-hop station. After years of DJing for radio elsewhere, he said, "it's nice to be on the local market."
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JAMZ Birthday Bash
When: Friday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
Where: Wisconsin Union Theater
Tickets: $20; visit uniontheater.wisc.edu to purchase
JAMZ Birthday Bash Pre-Party
Who: Featuring the Fall Guys, 9 Delegates, L.O.S.T. S.O.U.L.S., Lucha Libre and Profound
Where: The Annex, 1206 Regent St.
When: Thursday, Jan. 22 at 10 p.m.
Tickets: $5 at the door