I love music. Honestly, can anyone say they do not? Sure, we can have genres we dislike, and some we will tolerate, but music as a whole? Show me someone who doesn’t like it. Music has always had a profound effect on my life, and I would even go so far to say it saved my life as I was growing up (buy me a beer sometime and you can get that story).
Needless to say it was a perfect fit when I discovered KWSS and started broadcasting during the middays, and of course hosting Dani’s Diner retro hour. I have about 1000 reasons I love being part of my KWSS family and have been with them for almost nine (update for 2016: 10!!) years, here are three:
- Variety. My 15-year-old has this awful habit of switching the station 300 times in a 5 mile trip. Annoying as it can be, it’s also research. 10 or 15 channels, all sounding basically the same, playing the same tunes. I kid you not we heard the same tune on three different stations. Plus, when she starts switching because commercials are on, EVERY station is running their commercials. Yep, at the exact same time. On KWSS that isn’t going to happen. We bring back the tunes you love and forgot were on the record, as well as giving love to the many amazing local bands in the valley and state.
- Completely independent. The reason you hear the same songs over and over with no variety on corporate radio is because all of the stations are ruled by one company. They are extremely inflexible, and in my opinion they operate with an outdated format. Radio isn’t dead, it just needs an update. KWSS is fully independent, locally-operated and a non-profit, which gives us way more flexibility to support local music and other programming. Things our listeners are actually interested in hearing, not the same tunes that will only become background noise. The listener also has a say- you can score tunes we play on the website, and automatically request songs to add throughout the day. Through donations and sponsorship we are also able to support other events and local businesses in the community. With a reach of 70,000-80,000 listeners a month, this is a big deal. We might be LPFM (low-power FM), but we are mighty!
- Community. I think the biggest reason I am a part of this is we are family. I’m not just speaking about my fellow show hosts. When I meet a band, I feel like I’ve known them for quite some time because I have gotten to know them through their music, and they feel the same because they listen to the station too. I have made countless friends from listeners because of the station, and I’m meeting new friends every day. We’re all together at shows, festivals, movies. It’s a strong community and it only grows stronger as more join us.
Volunteering (yes we volunteer, no one is paid at the station) at KWSS is something I’m going to continue to do as long as we’re on the airwaves. My heart is invested. However, since we are independent and non-profit, we need some help. We might be smaller, but we still have the same costs as other stations to keep us on the air and running smoothly. Help us reach our goal for our fundraising effort this year, and support local, independent radio. We have several incentives, but you can give as little or as much as you want. Click the link to help us out, and thank you so much for keeping us on the air. I love my KWSS family! Keep rocking local! http://bit.ly/PledgeDrive2016