>From the In-Review (Nashville) website: Dicked Over What Happened to WKDF, and Why is it Screwing Nashville? Like the culmination of a bizarre April Fools Day joke, long-time Nashville rock staple WKDF 103.3 has decided to trade in its electric guitar for a fiddle, leaving Music City in the lurch. Rumors have been flying for weeks. Everyone from musicians and industry insiders to clued-in loyal listeners spoke of the possible format change with surprised voices and incredulous faces. One can only speculate on why Dick Broadcasting, the company that owns WKDF, would quit rock. It seems suicidal for the station to pit itself against established and popular country institutions like WSIX 97.9 and WSM-FM 95.5. However, emboldened by the acquisition of Carl P. Mayfield, one of Nashville’s favorite radio personalities who says he prefers working at a country station, WKDF decided to plunge head-first into a pool of country homogeneity. The stereotype that has Nashvillians listening only to country music has just moved one step closer to becoming a reality. Possibly due to alternative rock stations flailing and failing nationwide and WKDF losing much of its 25-35 male demographic locally to traditional rock stations like The Rock 105.9, it appears that the station had to undergo a format change simply to survive. No Alternative Like a former prom queen at her high school reunion, WKDF seems to have realized how much it hurts to fall from coolness. Throughout it’s 30-year-old history, the station has typically stayed in the top three in Nashville’s radio rankings. Never accurately described as a trend-setter, the station nevertheless managed to muscle its way into a respectably sized audience and commanded impressive revenues in ad sales. And then a beast called alternative rock reared its ugly head. By limiting itself to an alternative format, the station greatly reduced the variety of music it could play. "Alternative" left no room for traditional rock or local rock, robbing WKDF of its ability to act as an arbiter of Nashville music. "KDF used to be ‘The Cutting Edge of Rock,’" says Barye Cassell, an agent with The Box Office management company. "Now they are on the cutting edge of what's not happening anymore." In the early 1990s, the alternative rock and grunge rock genres acted to effectively reinvigorate popular music. Tired pop tunes and transparent heavy metal acts were replaced with seemingly sincere bands who sang of real issues facing young people. Referred to by many as "complaint rock," bands like Nirvana struck a chord with underage Americans, filling the teen angst void that rock ‘n’ roll had left vacant after years of drowning in the aforementioned styles. Perhaps WKDF and other alternative stations got a hint of alternative’s waning popularity when Gary Gersh resigned from Capitol Records in June of 1998, citing wilting rock sales. Gersh, known to some as the "Godfather of Grunge," had spent the five prior years running Capitol and had initially established himself in the music world by being the A&R man who signed Nirvana, Sonic Youth and others. At Capitol, Gersh coddled acts like the Foo Fighters, Marcy Playground, Meredith Brooks and Everclear, and helped these artists achieve commendable success. With Gersh’s progeny comprising the bulk of WKDF’s playlist, and Gersh himself admitting that the genre was dead, it was time for WKDF to act. "Alternative was sold as the alternative to rock – it never was rock," says Cassell. "Now rock is cycling back, and though it is different, it is still basically the same as the rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s." Being on the down slope of a trend, change for WKDF was inevitable. Not embracing a different format would condemn the station to accepting a position as promoters of the next dinosaur in music. But country? Low Country According to data compiled by the M Street Music Guide, commercial country radio peaked in 1994. For anyone not keeping track, that was five years ago. In 1994, there were 2,642 stations nationwide playing commercial country. In 1998, the last year tabulated, 2,368 stations were spinning twang, a number lacking 80 stations from the 1989 number. So, it seems now WKDF unwisely wants to jump on the proverbial bandwagon 10 years after it rolled off a cliff. When alternative was ushered in, rock ‘n’ roll was thrown out, leaving us with hours of Natalie Merchant and what last year seemed like an endless loop of "Velveeeta [correct spelling, believe it or not] Lounge." In fact, WKDF's alternative format did not even meet the criteria set forth by M Street to be considered a "rock" station. According to M Street, alternative is not rock, and it seems all those listeners who now prefer 105.9 agree. Indisputably, WKDF wields some of the greatest radio power in town. Broadcasting at 100,000 watts, the highest wattage legally allowed, WKDF has the ability to reach substantial numbers of listeners, even those over an hour’s drive away. This power, some have complained, was wasted on WKDF’s format. Though the station has enacted some good by promoting local bands like The Evinrudes, The Honeyrods and Self, countless others, many supremely talented, went ignored. Most obvious among these oversights are local favorites Bare Jr. Receiving airplay on 175 stations nationwide, the band's debut single, "You Blew Me Off," charted nationally at No. 9 recently. In January, Rolling Stone magazine picked Bare Jr. as one of seven bands to watch in 1999. Three weeks ago, the group was featured on "The Conan O'Brien Show," and the single was the number one request on WRLT (Lightning 100) for several weeks in a row. Yet the single could not be found on WKDF. Why not? Reportedly, the station told the band that the single was "too much of a novelty." This from a station that had the Offspring, Cake and Barenaked Ladies on heavy rotation. "It breaks my heart that they'd rather follow trends than break out," says Bare Jr. guitarist Mike Grimes. "We [have been] profoundly disappointed that we can't get support in our hometown. We've done well, but we could have done exponentially better if they would have helped us out. We were not supported by a station that had the power to help us." The nearest thing to WKDF’s former format is WRLT Lightning 100, a station that actually does play many local acts. Scattered amidst national successes and random, eclectic tunes, Lightning 100 spins local artists with fervor. "We're 100 percent supportive of local music," says WRLT Programming Director Jane Crossman. "We want to support the community and present the record companies with recommendations. I can't speculate on how KDF makes their decisions, but 100 percent of the time we play [songs] first. Luckily, we have the luxury of playing a song just because we like it." Good intentions aside, WRLT does not have the power to affect change that WKDF did. Broadcasting within the limited range 3,000 watts, Lightning 100 is capable of reaching only a fraction of WKDF’s former audience. Couple that with the loss of WKDF’s influential "Nashville Tapes" local show, and Nashville musicians have suddenly found themselves with limited outlets for their music. A few years ago, the Murfreesboro-based band The Evinrudes learned firsthand of the power that WKDF could wield as a rock station. The band’s single "Drive Me Home" was first played on "The Nashville Tapes," and then moved into heavy rotation during regular broadcast hours. Subsequently nominated for a Nashville Music Award and signed to Mercury Records, many attribute The Evinrudes’ success to WKDF. "KDF was a huge part of our history as a band – a cornerstone of our career," says Evinrudes guitarist Brian Reed. "We went on ‘The Nashville Tapes’ and the DJ thought ‘Drive Me Home’ should be on the regular playlist. He suggested it to Kidd Redd. They got a great response, and kept playing it. It went up to No. 3 and stayed in heavy rotation for about a year." In addition, a few other local acts like Fleming and John, The Honeyrods and Self have received regular play on WKDF, and all three have subsequently been signed. Now, with Lightning 100 as the only station enthusiastically playing local music, the commercial future of local rock is sure to be affected. "Radio stations are in business to sell advertising," says Cassell. "Music is just a tool for selling. Radio sells demographics. [There were] two alternative rock stations, and alternative rock is on the way out." WKDF may have gotten wise by ditching a format that is on the way out, but by adopting another format that is just as much on its way out, the station’s wisdom seems to have been very short-lived. SuperCarl? Perhaps Dick Broadcasting knows what it’s doing. Maybe Nashville is ready and hungry for more country, and maybe the new Music City 103.3 is just what we need. The acquisition of Carl P. Mayfield will certainly not hurt the station’s viability. Mayfield brings a wealth of experience and popularity to Music City 103.3, and his on-air shtick will aid the station in attracting the coveted morning radio audience. But is it too little, too late? Mayfield says he plans to incorporate country classics into the contemporary playlist, but also claims that his show will be mostly talk, even joking, "More bits, less hits," in an interview with The Tennessean. Commenting on Mayfield’s newest morning show venture, Mayfield’s producer Lonnie Napier (who also produced Wolfman Jack) says, "Carl P. has been a giant in this market for over 25 years." Dick Broadcasting is apparently counting on Mayfield and Napier to catapult the station to its former glory. During Mayfield’s previous two decades at WKDF, the radio personality won Billboard Magazine’s "AOR Air Personality of the Year – All Markets," award. Even so, the move leaves Nashville high and dry. What other city in the country turns its back on rock ‘n’ roll – the greatest thing ever to have hit the business of broadcasting? And for that matter, what kind of radio station makes that format – rock, alternative, call it what you will – fail? Even leaving aside the fact that Nashville has a burgeoning, although largely ignored, local rock scene that is overripe to explode or even to exploit, WKDF’s ill-planned and, for rock fans, traitorous retreat has left Music City in the laughable position of being out of touch with music. WRLT’s excellent but eccentric format cannot (or, better put, refuses to) fill the gaping hole left in this city’s listening choices. So who will? With WKDF’s 100,000 watts of power, rock ‘n’ roll could truly have never died. But instead, by turning a sleepy horse into so much country-music glue, WKDF has killed an easily fixable – and very much needed – beast. Rock, for now, is dead.
