Mom was going downtown to get her hair done back in 1977, I was in 7th grade, and wanted nothing to do with hanging out with a parent, but she insisted I go. It's a good thing I did too, because it was the day I decided to join the world of radio. No matter what happens to our industry with technology changing the game, I will never give up on radio. It was here before TV and frankly, it's more interesting in that we get to paint pictures into the mind of folks, and that is an art unto itself. Radio leaves much to the listener's own imagination which I think is the reason I do this for a living. Anyway, back to Momma Ethel Mae.
Even though her hairdresser was nowhere near 1440 N. Meridian Street in Indianapolis, she decided that we needed to walk by the window of 1310 WIFE and wave to the DJ! There my Mom and I were being teenagers together... jumping up and down waving every time he went live on the air. You could hear him in speakers outside too! One of my early radio hero's Steve "Super" Cooper was the guy on the air and so he invited us to come in. I was a wreck!! Mom was embarrassing me by telling him how I was in Jr. High School, and how I would be attending Ben Davis... and that they have radio classes and a real radio station, so she wanted to make sure I'd be signing up for classes once I got there! She told him how I would take over every microphone that was put in front of me. "she even turns the mop upside down and pretends she's talking into it!"
So ... By gosh it happened... He put me on the air LIVE. I was your typical defiant teenager... with very little to say once we were on the air... just answering the questions he asked and adding nothing more. But the magic of the whole experience was crazy cool.
I ended up meeting Coop about 4 years later once I was working at WNDE and Q95. Many in Indy may remember back in the Kick Ass R&R days of Q95 Carey and Coop were the hosts of the morning show. Carey Carlson and I were very good friends, so I ended up hanging around a lot with my hero... Steve Super Cooper! We became fast friends and I still owe my career to him for waving us in on that cold winter day in 1977! I found a Vuolo Video online of Coop doing his thing on the air at 1310 WIFE!
Here are a couple of shots of WIFE and what became the WZPL building later. From 1990-1995 I worked in the exact same building where my dream started in 7th grade. Eventually it was sold after Fox 59 called it home for a few years.
As I went looking for video of Steve Cooper I found some of ME on WZPL! Thank you Art Vuolo, Radio's Best Friend for recording and thank you Dan O'Day for posting!
Crystal on WZPL - Indy
Radio used to be filled with artists who liked to perform theater of the mind. Now it's filled with lots of people who just need to play it safe so they can simply pay their bills. They do not dare to be different anymore! I'm not knocking the fact that folks need work, believe me! There are very few jobs out there in radio. I thank God everyday that I'm employed in these times. What I'm saying though, is the Communications Act of 1996 really messed up this art medium. The radio industry became beige in color as far as talent, because after 1996 the Corporations were buying up their own competition! The Clear Channel's of the world were making offers to the Ma and Pa owned stations across the country that Ma and Pa frankly, couldn't refuse.
And that leads me to the reason I wrote this blog today... Just a big fat thank you to my Mom, who always pushed me to do this radio thing, even back when you didn't hear too many women on the air. Loving music the way I did growing up and loving the almighty microphone too, it was just meant to be. I'm quite aware of how lucky that makes me by the way. To know at such a young age what I wanted to do.
A few weeks ago, I told my 10 year old nephew, David, that he and I needed to sit down one day and talk about Elvis, the Beatles and real important stuff like that! He rolled his eyes .... as if to be bored with Auntie Crystal.... and that is because he didn't grow up with great radio!
Just as recent as 2008 Russ Oasis was doing it right at WKLU in Indianapolis. I had left Indy for a few years and when I returned to Indianapolis something exciting was happening with a little station out of Brownsburg, which was Russ' baby. 101.9 WKLU was an absolute genius radio station with attitude. It gave me hope that the good kind of radio was still possible! The following is what it sounded like before they messed up and changed the format to Oldies. We had attitude! We dared to be different. Keep in mind that all of the audio production was written by the man who owned the station.
Air Check on Crystal McKenzie on WKLU in Indy
So today we learn that Clear Channel will be handing out even more pink slips... and again I'm reminded how the art form of radio has been robbed from those of us who love it so much. Thanks to the Communications Act of 1996 and to those running the show in corporate radio today, hundreds, if not thousands of my cohorts in this business are going to be laid off by this time next week. Two of my friends were fired yesterday in Indy, and I know I will keep hearing about more. Prayers to anyone who has lost a job... not just in radio. I have been in that depressed state of mind a few times in my life as a result of losing a job... and it hurts when your livelyhood is affected. When it's the very food you eat, or a warm place to sleep, threatening to go away in some manner... you start appreciating the basics in life. On the other hand... as Steve Jobs said, Stay hungry. - Stay Foolish. For me, I'll stay both hungry and foolish because I will never give up on radio. Call me crazy, but I won't stop believing!
And that leads me to this...
Art Vuolo's tribute to Don Payne
At this awesome radio broadcaster's funeral last December, the GM of Radio One in Indianapolis got up and spoke about our sweet Don Payne. Don was a great man first but his 2nd best attribute was his radio engineering abilities. 3rd.... he was amazing on the air!! When the GM spoke at his funeral he talked about having to cut back in all departments at the beginning of the recession... and how he had asked Don to bring a list of the most important assets of the Engineering Department to a meeting one day. Don handed his GM an employee list. And all I can say is Amen to that.
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