The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a look at a commercial station in Austin that recently gained it’s own metal HD2 channel.
Featured Station: KROX (Austin TX)
Station type:
Commercial alternative
Owned by:
Emmis
Frequency:
101.5 KROX and 107.1 HD2 KLZT
Wattage:
12,500 Watts and 50,000 Watts
Where’s the metal?
No Control is Friday nights 10p to 1a and the HD2 Channel is 24/7
What’s the format and goal of No Control?
I pick out the new music and listeners fill the gaps, not really formatted other than I play all the metal fit for the airwaves. You can hear your favorite classic next to brand new music, mixed with local and unsigned bands all jammed into three hours. I have a few benchmarks, 101 Seconds of Metal News, Essential Slayer, Jail Mail, Chuck Nugget and the ever popular Loooong Song.
How do you work to promote the station?
Outside of what may be deemed usual and customary promotional activities, we have been working on building our online presence via FB and through the www.nocontrolradio.com page for some time. I have done video online for special interviews and shows, commentary blips about metal videos and ton of other stuff. I also write a monthly column for The Edge Magazine and SideOneTrackOne.com as their metal correspondent. I am out on the town watching and promoting as much metal music as possible and trying to get our ‘community’ organized, motivating metalheads to check out what our fine city can offer, in the clubs, backyards and on the radio.
What are some obstacles you’ve faced, and what are you facing now?
Honestly there have not been that many obstacles. My operations manager believes that I have the best interests of the station and my show in whatever I do, and that is the truth. As a big commercial station in a top 40 market, ratings obviously matter, but in reality a show like No Control Radio can’t pay too much attention to ratings, it gets kind of bleak, then it comes back…overall this is the best radio gig a guy could ask for and I know it. I get autonomy over my playlist, and that is a rarity on the air these days.
How have people both inside the station and your listening audience responded to the show since it started?
Most people that work here know I do a show, but have never really listened, but then again that is why I’m the host and they are not! Actually most have been very encouraging, whether they like metal or not, many have kids who love metal, so they get exposed to it. Then they go to a show and see that there are thousands of people who love this stuff. The audience has been my favorite part of doing a show, if I didn’t have people at shows, on Facebook or on the phone giving me ideas and tips, this would have gone much differently the past 7 years on the air. The metal fan is a rabid beast that can be fickle, but I try my best to please them all.
Talk to me about the HD2 channel.
Ok, so there is this thing called HD radio, you might have heard a commercial for it once or twice. Basically it is a commercial free 24/7 metal station unto itself. I had a little 2 watt pirate test set in our shop and started running it a few years ago, and when we did a format flip on one of our stations it left open a side channel on the 107.1 frequency (KROX is not in HD yet). I made my pitch and the head programming gurus saw fit to let me have a go at it. It is a labor of love, growing bit by bit online, while giving an opportunity to bring back college radio shows like ‘Metal Enema,’ add a Christian metal show ‘Faster For the Master’ and do a fun talk show with my buddy ‘Godless’ ‘Visions From the Darkside.’ Those have all been desires of mine for a long time and now I can make it happen. We will be adding an album show, and hopefully a prog metal show among other things in the future too. It is really a playground and a kind of wild mixture of what I listen to and think people want to hear.
Sample Hour
Slayer “Raining Blood”
Mastodon “March of the Fire Ants”
Vision of Disorder “Loveless”
Testament “True American Hate”
All That Remains “And Death In My Arms”
As I Lay Dying “Cauterize”
Miss May I “Hey Mister”
Fates Warning “Anarchy Divine”
Kreator “Under The Guillotine”
Cannibal Corpse “Stripped, Raped and Strangled”
Bolt Thrower “No Guts No Glory”
Critical Assembly ” Feeding the Flesh”
Deadhorse “Rock Lobster”
