'LONE STAR 92.5' DEBUTS IN BIG D Mike Boyle – Radio and Records Take a blend of country, sprinkle in some Southern rock with alternative country, forget about traditional commercials as you know them and you've just described Clear Channel Radio's new Lone Star 92.5, which debuted at the stroke of midnight Sunday night/Monday morning on former classic rocker KZPS/Dallas.
The brainchild of programmer Duane Doherty, Lone Star 92.5's music fare, which has been road-tested on KZPS's HD2 side channel for the past year, features Willie Nelson to ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan to the The Old 97's to Pat Green. Nelson will also serve as the voice of the station.
"All we had on the HD2 channel was the music, and the response was incredible," Doherty said. "In a sense, we're recapturing the early days of FM, when your jock was a trusted guide through what was new and important. Lone Star is the music we love in Dallas without the hype."
Speaking of jocks, the station's lineup will include current morning men Bo & Jim, former night guy Jon Dillon will now handle middays, coming out of retirement is longtime Dallas radio personality Redbeard for afternoons (his syndicated "In the Studio" show will continue to run on the station), and Cousin Deke, the station's imaging director, will handle nights.
With the format flip and restructuring, midday host Cindy Skull and afternoon driver Crash exit.
In a second major move, Lone Star 92.5 will not air traditional commercials. Instead, "sponsors" will get one to two minutes of integration in an hour and will be treated as part of the fabric of the experience, not as an interruption. Doherty tells R&R that even Bo & Jim's morning show will be "less show and more music."
"There's a credibility and an authenticity of partnering with sponsors who share our passion for this music," Clear Channel/Dallas director of sales Kelly Kibler said. "We'll only have one airline, one cellular carrier, one beer. This is about sharing an experience and a commitment to the incredible creativity of these artists. To do that honestly and well, you have to step up. Traditional commercials are fine for many radio formats, they just didn't work here."
"We got extraordinary support from corporate," added Dallas market manager J.D. Freeman. "They completely insulated us and told us to break all the rules. So we broke them in programming, we broke them in advertising, and we broke them on the Web. When you have that kind of freedom, great things happen."
Lone Star 92.5's early sponsors include Southwest Airlines, AT&T, Coors and Guitar Center.
Listen to a stream of the station at www.lonestar925.com.
Lone Star 92.5 Sample Hour:
ZZ Top - "Heard It On The X" Willie Nelson - "Ten With A Two" Allman Brothers - "Blue Sky" Lynyrd Skynyrd - "I Know A Little" Old 97's - "Barrier Reef" John Mellencamp - "Rain On The Scarecrow" Bob Dylan - "Someday Baby" Johnny Cash - "Folsom Prison Blues" Molly Hatchet - "Gator Country" Arc Angels - "Living In A Dream" Pat Green - "Take Me Out To A Dancehall" Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Pride And Joy" Jimmy Buffett - "Hello Texas" Drive-By Truckers - "Let There Be Rock" Ian Moore - "Nothing" Hank Williams Jr. - "Family Tradition" |