WGVX
Encyclopedia
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast
serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota
to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media
, along with sister station
s KQRS-FM and KXXR
.
On May 8, 2007
, the three stations flipped to a Soft AC/oldies
hybrid format as Love 105, featuring mellow cuts by artists including Chicago
, Neil Diamond
, Barbra Streisand
, Sade
, Bread
, and many others. The playlist also includes occasional adult standards
, from the likes of Frank Sinatra
and Bobby Darin
, along with some more traditional oldies. Prior to this, it was Drive 105, playing adult-leaning alternative rock
.
In its most notable incarnation, the 105 signals broadcast under the moniker REV105, which was a critically acclaimed alternative rock
station with a widely diverse playlist. After being purchased by ABC Radio in 1997
, the station went through a few transformations.
Citadel Broadcasting
has recently moved WGVZ from Eden Prairie to the IDS tower
in downtown Minneapolis. This significantly improved reception of the station in Minneapolis and western Saint Paul
despite the drop in effective radiated power
from 5,800 Watts to 950 Watts.
Today's WGVX was first licensed as KZPZ on November 15, 1990. It was officially signed on the air in late 1992
as WTCX by J. Tom Lijewski, who had previously worked at other Twin Cities stations. The station aired a Hot AC format targeting the south metro area of the Twin Cities. This was the initial FM station later purchased by Cargill Communications in 1993 to form REV105 a year later, when the call letters were changed to KREV.
WGVY is the oldest of the three stations, having signed on the air June 21, 1973 on 105.5 as KABG, with an MOR format. The call letters were changed to KXLV in 1983
, and in 1991
the station increased its power, which necessitated a move to 105.3, and on December 13, 1991 became the latest of the many frequencies to use the WLOL call letters, after WLOL
-FM was purchased by Minnesota Public Radio
and the KSJN call letters were moved from 91.1 to 99.5. This longtime AC
station became the northern signal of REV105, with the call letters changed to WREV in 1994.
WGVZ was first licensed as KOUO on March 26, 1992 to Jack Moore (creator/owner of the former Twin Cities stations WAYL 93.7 FM and KTWN 107.9 FM), and signed on as KCFE (Cafe 105.7) on March 11, 1993, airing a light jazz
/adult album alternative
format (which resembled the original format of Cities 97
from the 1980s, which was modeled largely on Moore's KTWN circa late '70s-early '80s). The station carried Don Imus
's syndicated morning show for a short time. In October 1996, KCFE was sold to Cargill and briefly become REV105's third transmitter, prior to all three stations being sold to ABC Radio the following March.
company fortune) and broadcast under the call signs KREV, WREV, and later KCFE on three different frequencies (105.1, 105.3 and 105.7). REV105 played a fairly wide variety of music, mostly alternative rock
, and put a lot of time into promoting music from local performers. Minnesota has a very active music community, and a number of very diverse artists have received national attention (see music in Minnesota). Area highschoolers
also contributed to some of the programming put on the air.
The station's genesis came out of another station. From 1990 to 1992, KJJO
(KJ104) was an adventurous modern rock
station, and gained a devoted (if small) listening audience. The station switched to country music
in 1992, and many held out hope that KJ104's format would resurface soon. Two former KJ104 staffers, Brian Turner and Kevin Cole, actively sought out stations to pick up the format (on several occasions, they were turned down by the owners of both WTCX and KCFE).
Finally, with financial backing from the Cargills, Turner and Cole found that the owner of WTCX was ready to sell. In November 1993
, the Cargills purchased WTCX for $2.6 million, along with big band music-formatted KLBB for $1 million and small suburban country music
outlet KBCW for $400,000.http://web.archive.org/web/20000111022448/http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/tcr1993.txt The plan was to turn the one FM and two AMs into a modern rock radio network, eventually simulcasting programming around the country. Plans changed eventually and they decided to go with a more local approach (though REV105 did syndicate a show, Spin Radio
for a short time). Soon, the Cargills were able to purchase WLOL (located next to WTCX on the dial but broadcasting from a location far to the north). Turner, Cole, and the Cargills were reluctant to change the big band music on KLBB, since it did have a small, if dedicated following, and decided not only to keep the format, but to simulcast it on their other AM signal, 1470 (105.3's legendary call letters, WLOL, were shifted to 1470). The only other changes made to KLBB was to give it a "hipper" sound, incorporating more lounge music
and fresher advertising and imaging. Hence, the foundation of Rev 105 was set, with KREV and WREV soon to come.
The group's intended programming plans were public knowledge at the time and highly publicized. ABC Radio felt the time was right to lay its own claim to the rapidly rising alternative rock
format. On February 6, 1994, ABC agreed to purchase KQRS' main rival, KRXX
(the first "93X") from Entercom, and KQRS management immediately took control of the station. Within two days, the former 93X became the Twin Cities' newest modern rock station, "93.7 The Edge". In effect, ABC killed two birds with one stone by striking down a bitter rival, and warding off a potential new one. This did not change Turner's and Cole's plans at all, as they felt their station would be unique enough to compete in the market. Pending Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) approval of Cargill's own station deals, WTCX officially went off the air February 7, 1994 (coincidentally, the first full day of The Edge's new format). WLOL followed on April 24. On May 1, REV105's eclectic new alternative rock
format took to the air, with the first official song being "Crazy" by Patsy Cline
.
REV105 was a unique station. It would not be an ordinary, consultant-programmed modern rock station like The Edge. Rather, it took many elements from typical modern rock stations, added a heavy amount of new, obscure and local artists, and mixed in other musical styles such as industrial
, punk
, classic rock
, hip-hop
, world
, dance
and techno. According to Cole, when REV started, it would play the newly popular Green Day next to old Who songs, comparing and contrasting two different instances of similar music.http://www.beatworld.com/press/mndaily2.html In addition, there were a large number of specialty shows, featuring other musical styles like "old school" funk, imports, club mixes and ambient music
. REV105 was instrumental in introducing newer artists to the airwaves, such as Ani DiFranco
and Soul Coughing
. As music critic Jim DeRogatis
said, "The brilliance of REV105 was that I would hear a set that would go Bob Marley
to Nine Inch Nails
to Black Sabbath
. And that's how real people listen to music."
The new "Revolution Radio" was a mild success, even with the high-powered competition from The Edge. In the first full ratings book, it earned a 1.5 overall Arbitron
rating, and did even better in the 18-34 age breakdown. Ratings were hampered throughout the station's history by signal reception issues, the eclectic nature of its format, and its limited budget. Signal issues were perhaps its biggest issue, as Rev's ratings were similar or higher than any of its successor stations. The limited transmitter reach of 105.1 and 105.3 were helped when Cargill purchased another neighboring signal, KCFE (Cafe 105.7) in October 1996, which improved its reach in the southwest suburbs and particularly in Minneapolis, where a large number of its listening audience resided.
, which already owned two powerful 100 kilowatt stations in the Twin Cities, KQRS-FM and KEGE
(93.7 FM "The Edge"). By 1:15, most of the airstaff was fired, and the station was reborn with a hard rock
format as "X105", with the three stations receiving the call letters KXXR, KXXU and KXXP.
This situation became a focal point for critics of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
. Fans of REV105 banded together to protest the loss of REV105, and out of this, the group Americans for Radio Diversity was formed. The purchase received fairly widespread news coverage, with articles appearing in Billboard magazine and Rolling Stone
, where Soul Coughing
frontman Mike Doughty
stated, "Having officially walked through every radio station in North America, I can honestly say REV was the only one that had a cause that was righteous." Of course, Doughty had a somewhat personal stake in the station, as it is partially credited for making him very popular in the state (some have said that one in eight Soul Coughing albums were sold in Minnesota).
Many feel that the motivation to purchase REV105 was to eliminate the competition (as ABC obtained the rights to all intellectual property
of REV105, including its logos and website, and Cargill reportedly signed a non-compete agreement). The purchase was seen in some ways as a defensive maneuver against other growing radio conglomerates such as Chancellor Broadcasting which then owned seven radio stations in the Twin Cities (eventually purchased by radio giant Clear Channel Communications
in 1999). Of course, the basic fact remains that Cargill could not compete as a stand-alone owner in this environment and saw this as a perfect opportunity to sell the station. According to Cargill, "As we saw all this consolidation in the market, we just didn't feel we were going to be able to survive." http://www.beatworld.com/press/mndaily2.html
REV105 was in many ways a successor to the Twin Cities area's original "alternative" station, KJJO 104.1 FM (now KZJK
), which changed its format in 1992. Kevin Cole, the former program director at REV105, and a veteran of the old KJ104, later resurfaced at KEXP
in Seattle, Washington
. General Manager Brian Turner eventually went back to KTCZ
, where he worked in the 1980s and hosts its morning show. In 2005, a few former REV hosts reunited at Minnesota Public Radio
for the launch of KCMP
. "89.3 The Current", as the station is called, has some similarities to REV105's old format. The Current scores in the 1.5-2 range (ages 6+, Mon-Sun 6am-12am) in the Arbitron ratings.
Soon after the birth of X105, a new hard rock station arrived in the Twin Cites when WBOB
dropped country music
and switched to a hard rock format with Howard Stern
's morning show. ABC has long done everything in its power to fight off any potential competitors to its main highly rated station, KQRS-FM. The two stations swapped formats on September 18 when KEGE, the station with the stronger signal, became 93X once again and X105 became Zone 105, with an adult alternative format a week later. After a few months, 93X took the KXXR
callsign from the former X105, and the three Zone 105 stations became KZNR, KZNT and KZNZ.
After the station became Zone 105, a few of the old REV hosts were brought back. Brian Oake
, who had gone over to The Edge, and Mary Lucia
hosted the morning show, and Lucia hosted a weekly local music program named Popular Creeps from the local Bryant-Lake Bowl
. Creeps won multiple awards for programming quality.
Over time, Zone 105 went in more of a classic alternative direction but toward the end of its run leaned more towards alternative rock. None of the post-REV 105 incarnations of these frequencies were true alternative rock, as the frequency had to keep a safe distance between itself and sister station 93X. For this reason, any song with a rock "edge" was discarded by the 105s during this time.
On March 8, 2001, after so-so ratings as an alternative rock station, the three Zone 105 stations became V105, an automated rhythmic oldies
outlet.http://citypages.com/databank/22/1058/article9435.asp Call letters were changed to the current WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ. V105 lasted less than a year before reverting back to a revised version of the old Zone 105's format as "Drive 105" on January 17, 2002.
format. For the better part of the last several years, the station frequently promoted "This station is not owned or operated by Clear Channel Communications
," though the station was actually part of another huge media conglomerate—Disney
.
Drive 105, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR
(93X), were often referred to as Disney's "Wall Of Rock". Both 93X and the 105's are programmed with formats designed to fight competition off of Disney's flagship in the market, top-rated KQRS. When WRQC
became a KQRS-fighting rock station in 1997, the current KXXR switched to a similar format despite a profitable alternative format already on that frequency. It is widely known in the local market that Disney will go to great lengths to protect its "cash cow
".
In fact Drive 105 was in large part created to ward off competition from KTCZ
, Cities 97. After the fall of Zone 105 and in the months before Drive 105 was created, Cities 97 made significant gains in the 25-54 age group. Disney saw this as a threat to KQRS and created Drive 105 originally to jab at Cities 97's ratings. To keep a distance from sister 93X, the station targeted an older age group than most alternative stations, hence the unique adult alternative format not heard in any other market in the United States. Like predecessor Zone 105, Drive would avoid any song that featured a significant amount of guitar distortion. When the station first aired in January 2002 it aired spots such as, "Remember when Cities 97 and KS95 sounded different? We do, that's why we're true to the music." This was a stab at Cities 97's old slogan, "true to the music" and a criticism of its recent tweak in the direction of pop sounding KS95
. During its first two years on the air Drive 105 frequently made cracks at Cities 97. However, this came to end after criticism from the public and as the station began to take on an identity of its own.
Ratings-wise, Drive 105, like all of the previous formats, were hampered by the limited signal reach in the Twin Cities area and experienced only moderate success, usually reaching a 1% or 2% overall ratings share. Just before 3:00 PM on Monday May 7, 2007, the plug was pulled on the three signals' longest-running incarnation. Drive 105 played its last song, "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer
, prior to temporarily switching over to a simulcast of sister station KXXR, in anticipation of a format flip. The flip to the current Love 105 happened at 5:30 AM the next morning, with Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe
" as the new format's debut song.
Shortly after the relaunch as Love 105, the station, along with ABC's other non-Radio Disney
and ESPN Radio
stations, were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media
on September 16, 2011.
Trimulcast
The term "trimulcast" was first used in May 1981 by Multimedia Broadcasting's outlets in Little Rock, Arkansas, KAAY-AM and KLPQ-FM when they teamed-up with Cox Cable locally...
serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, along with sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
s KQRS-FM and KXXR
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
.
On May 8, 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
, the three stations flipped to a Soft AC/oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
hybrid format as Love 105, featuring mellow cuts by artists including Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Bread
Bread (band)
Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock....
, and many others. The playlist also includes occasional adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
, from the likes of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, along with some more traditional oldies. Prior to this, it was Drive 105, playing adult-leaning alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
.
In its most notable incarnation, the 105 signals broadcast under the moniker REV105, which was a critically acclaimed alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station with a widely diverse playlist. After being purchased by ABC Radio in 1997
1997 in radio
The year 1997 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*February 15 - After 5 years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips into Rhythmic AC as Philly 103.9, the station, began to play Pearl Jam's Alive while crowding the live stage....
, the station went through a few transformations.
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
has recently moved WGVZ from Eden Prairie to the IDS tower
IDS Center
The IDS Center is the tallest building in the state of Minnesota at 792 feet . Opened in 1974 as the IDS Centre, it stood 775 feet 6 inches , though a 16-foot garage for window washing equipment was added at a later date...
in downtown Minneapolis. This significantly improved reception of the station in Minneapolis and western Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
despite the drop in effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
from 5,800 Watts to 950 Watts.
Three signals
Prior to their unification as REV105, the three transmitters were known by other names.Today's WGVX was first licensed as KZPZ on November 15, 1990. It was officially signed on the air in late 1992
1992 in radio
The year 1992 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* January 22 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.* February 12 - Washington, D.C...
as WTCX by J. Tom Lijewski, who had previously worked at other Twin Cities stations. The station aired a Hot AC format targeting the south metro area of the Twin Cities. This was the initial FM station later purchased by Cargill Communications in 1993 to form REV105 a year later, when the call letters were changed to KREV.
WGVY is the oldest of the three stations, having signed on the air June 21, 1973 on 105.5 as KABG, with an MOR format. The call letters were changed to KXLV in 1983
1983 in radio
The year 1983 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*August 2 - WHTZ in New York City debuts, soon becoming one of the most influential CHR stations in the US...
, and in 1991
1991 in radio
The year 1991 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* January 18 - Brian Beirne became one of the few celebrities from radio to get a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
the station increased its power, which necessitated a move to 105.3, and on December 13, 1991 became the latest of the many frequencies to use the WLOL call letters, after WLOL
KSJN
KSJN is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. Prior to 1991, 99.5 was known as WLOL, best known as a top-rated CHR station during the 1980s.-KSJN intellectual unit:...
-FM was purchased by Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
and the KSJN call letters were moved from 91.1 to 99.5. This longtime AC
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
station became the northern signal of REV105, with the call letters changed to WREV in 1994.
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
/adult album alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
format (which resembled the original format of Cities 97
KTCZ
KTCZ-FM is a AAA radio station broadcasting to the Twin Cities market of Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin.Cities 97 is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota.-History:...
from the 1980s, which was modeled largely on Moore's KTWN circa late '70s-early '80s). The station carried Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
's syndicated morning show for a short time. In October 1996, KCFE was sold to Cargill and briefly become REV105's third transmitter, prior to all three stations being sold to ABC Radio the following March.
REV105
REV105, "Revolution Radio," was owned by Cargill Communications (headed by Jim and Susan Cargill, heirs to the massive CargillCargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
company fortune) and broadcast under the call signs KREV, WREV, and later KCFE on three different frequencies (105.1, 105.3 and 105.7). REV105 played a fairly wide variety of music, mostly alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, and put a lot of time into promoting music from local performers. Minnesota has a very active music community, and a number of very diverse artists have received national attention (see music in Minnesota). Area highschoolers
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
also contributed to some of the programming put on the air.
KZJK
KZJK is a radio station broadcasting the adult hits "Jack FM" format in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota. The current format took to the air on the morning of April 21, 2005, following more than four years of a 1980s-centered playlist...
(KJ104) was an adventurous modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
station, and gained a devoted (if small) listening audience. The station switched to country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in 1992, and many held out hope that KJ104's format would resurface soon. Two former KJ104 staffers, Brian Turner and Kevin Cole, actively sought out stations to pick up the format (on several occasions, they were turned down by the owners of both WTCX and KCFE).
Finally, with financial backing from the Cargills, Turner and Cole found that the owner of WTCX was ready to sell. In November 1993
1993 in radio
The year 1993 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*WIBF debuts it's modern rock in Jenkintown/Philadelphia*March 13 - Eagle 106 WEGX becomes WJJZ Smooth Jazz 106.1 and featured Smooth Jazz format. the final song played for Eagle 106 was I Will Remember You by Amy Grant...
, the Cargills purchased WTCX for $2.6 million, along with big band music-formatted KLBB for $1 million and small suburban country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
outlet KBCW for $400,000.http://web.archive.org/web/20000111022448/http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/tcr1993.txt The plan was to turn the one FM and two AMs into a modern rock radio network, eventually simulcasting programming around the country. Plans changed eventually and they decided to go with a more local approach (though REV105 did syndicate a show, Spin Radio
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
for a short time). Soon, the Cargills were able to purchase WLOL (located next to WTCX on the dial but broadcasting from a location far to the north). Turner, Cole, and the Cargills were reluctant to change the big band music on KLBB, since it did have a small, if dedicated following, and decided not only to keep the format, but to simulcast it on their other AM signal, 1470 (105.3's legendary call letters, WLOL, were shifted to 1470). The only other changes made to KLBB was to give it a "hipper" sound, incorporating more lounge music
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
and fresher advertising and imaging. Hence, the foundation of Rev 105 was set, with KREV and WREV soon to come.
The group's intended programming plans were public knowledge at the time and highly publicized. ABC Radio felt the time was right to lay its own claim to the rapidly rising alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
format. On February 6, 1994, ABC agreed to purchase KQRS' main rival, KRXX
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
(the first "93X") from Entercom, and KQRS management immediately took control of the station. Within two days, the former 93X became the Twin Cities' newest modern rock station, "93.7 The Edge". In effect, ABC killed two birds with one stone by striking down a bitter rival, and warding off a potential new one. This did not change Turner's and Cole's plans at all, as they felt their station would be unique enough to compete in the market. Pending Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) approval of Cargill's own station deals, WTCX officially went off the air February 7, 1994 (coincidentally, the first full day of The Edge's new format). WLOL followed on April 24. On May 1, REV105's eclectic new alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
format took to the air, with the first official song being "Crazy" by Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
.
REV105 was a unique station. It would not be an ordinary, consultant-programmed modern rock station like The Edge. Rather, it took many elements from typical modern rock stations, added a heavy amount of new, obscure and local artists, and mixed in other musical styles such as industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
, hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, world
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and techno. According to Cole, when REV started, it would play the newly popular Green Day next to old Who songs, comparing and contrasting two different instances of similar music.http://www.beatworld.com/press/mndaily2.html In addition, there were a large number of specialty shows, featuring other musical styles like "old school" funk, imports, club mixes and ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
. REV105 was instrumental in introducing newer artists to the airwaves, such as Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
and Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing was a popular New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 1990s. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult...
. As music critic Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
said, "The brilliance of REV105 was that I would hear a set that would go Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
to Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
to Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. And that's how real people listen to music."
The new "Revolution Radio" was a mild success, even with the high-powered competition from The Edge. In the first full ratings book, it earned a 1.5 overall Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
rating, and did even better in the 18-34 age breakdown. Ratings were hampered throughout the station's history by signal reception issues, the eclectic nature of its format, and its limited budget. Signal issues were perhaps its biggest issue, as Rev's ratings were similar or higher than any of its successor stations. The limited transmitter reach of 105.1 and 105.3 were helped when Cargill purchased another neighboring signal, KCFE (Cafe 105.7) in October 1996, which improved its reach in the southwest suburbs and particularly in Minneapolis, where a large number of its listening audience resided.
| Name (call signs) | Format |
|---|---|
| REV 105 (KREV/WREV/KCFE) | Alternative Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... (1994–1997) (KCFE added 10/96) |
| X105 (KXXP/KXXU/KXXR) | Active rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... (1997) |
| Zone 105 (KZNR/KZNT/KZNZ) | AAA Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... (1997–1999) Classic alternative Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... (1999–2000) Alternative Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... (2000–2001) |
| V105 (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) | Rhythmic oldies Rhythmic oldies Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s... (2001–2002) |
| Drive 105 (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) | AAA Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... (2002–2004) Alternative Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... (2004–2007) |
| Love 105 (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) | Soft AC/Oldies Oldies Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day.... (2007–present) |
REV105 becomes X105
REV105 enjoyed an almost three year run. But the end came at noon on March 11, 1997. That was when the station was purchased by competitor Disney/Capitol Cities/ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, which already owned two powerful 100 kilowatt stations in the Twin Cities, KQRS-FM and KEGE
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
(93.7 FM "The Edge"). By 1:15, most of the airstaff was fired, and the station was reborn with a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
format as "X105", with the three stations receiving the call letters KXXR, KXXU and KXXP.
This situation became a focal point for critics of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
. Fans of REV105 banded together to protest the loss of REV105, and out of this, the group Americans for Radio Diversity was formed. The purchase received fairly widespread news coverage, with articles appearing in Billboard magazine and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, where Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing was a popular New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 1990s. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult...
frontman Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
stated, "Having officially walked through every radio station in North America, I can honestly say REV was the only one that had a cause that was righteous." Of course, Doughty had a somewhat personal stake in the station, as it is partially credited for making him very popular in the state (some have said that one in eight Soul Coughing albums were sold in Minnesota).
Many feel that the motivation to purchase REV105 was to eliminate the competition (as ABC obtained the rights to all intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
of REV105, including its logos and website, and Cargill reportedly signed a non-compete agreement). The purchase was seen in some ways as a defensive maneuver against other growing radio conglomerates such as Chancellor Broadcasting which then owned seven radio stations in the Twin Cities (eventually purchased by radio giant Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
in 1999). Of course, the basic fact remains that Cargill could not compete as a stand-alone owner in this environment and saw this as a perfect opportunity to sell the station. According to Cargill, "As we saw all this consolidation in the market, we just didn't feel we were going to be able to survive." http://www.beatworld.com/press/mndaily2.html
REV105 was in many ways a successor to the Twin Cities area's original "alternative" station, KJJO 104.1 FM (now KZJK
KZJK
KZJK is a radio station broadcasting the adult hits "Jack FM" format in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota. The current format took to the air on the morning of April 21, 2005, following more than four years of a 1980s-centered playlist...
), which changed its format in 1992. Kevin Cole, the former program director at REV105, and a veteran of the old KJ104, later resurfaced at KEXP
KEXP
KEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. General Manager Brian Turner eventually went back to KTCZ
KTCZ
KTCZ-FM is a AAA radio station broadcasting to the Twin Cities market of Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin.Cities 97 is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota.-History:...
, where he worked in the 1980s and hosts its morning show. In 2005, a few former REV hosts reunited at Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
for the launch of KCMP
KCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
. "89.3 The Current", as the station is called, has some similarities to REV105's old format. The Current scores in the 1.5-2 range (ages 6+, Mon-Sun 6am-12am) in the Arbitron ratings.
Zone 105
KTLK-FM
KFXN-FM 100.3 —branded 100.3 FM KFAN: The Fan—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb of Shoreview on...
dropped country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and switched to a hard rock format with Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's morning show. ABC has long done everything in its power to fight off any potential competitors to its main highly rated station, KQRS-FM. The two stations swapped formats on September 18 when KEGE, the station with the stronger signal, became 93X once again and X105 became Zone 105, with an adult alternative format a week later. After a few months, 93X took the KXXR
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
callsign from the former X105, and the three Zone 105 stations became KZNR, KZNT and KZNZ.
After the station became Zone 105, a few of the old REV hosts were brought back. Brian Oake
Brian Oake
Brian Oake is a radio broadcast personality in the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio market. Oake currently is a host on KTCZ-FM , in the afternoons, and also hosts a special weekend program on that station called Freedom Rock....
, who had gone over to The Edge, and Mary Lucia
Mary Lucia
Mary Lucia is an on-air radio personality who currently hosts a weekday drive time music show for Minnesota Public Radio station 89.3 The Current in St...
hosted the morning show, and Lucia hosted a weekly local music program named Popular Creeps from the local Bryant-Lake Bowl
Bryant-Lake Bowl
Bryant-Lake Bowl, locally nicknamed BLB, is a bowling alley, restaurant, bar, and 85-seat theatre in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The theatre is a venue for cabaret and wide variety of other stage productions...
. Creeps won multiple awards for programming quality.
Over time, Zone 105 went in more of a classic alternative direction but toward the end of its run leaned more towards alternative rock. None of the post-REV 105 incarnations of these frequencies were true alternative rock, as the frequency had to keep a safe distance between itself and sister station 93X. For this reason, any song with a rock "edge" was discarded by the 105s during this time.
V105
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
outlet.http://citypages.com/databank/22/1058/article9435.asp Call letters were changed to the current WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ. V105 lasted less than a year before reverting back to a revised version of the old Zone 105's format as "Drive 105" on January 17, 2002.
Drive 105
Drive 105's format was an adult-oriented version of a typical alternative rock station, and similar in many ways to the previous Zone 105. However the fact that it was forced to distance themselves from sister station 93X by avoiding harder-edged rock meant that it played a lot of music that has more in common with the AAAAdult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
format. For the better part of the last several years, the station frequently promoted "This station is not owned or operated by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
," though the station was actually part of another huge media conglomerate—Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
(93X), were often referred to as Disney's "Wall Of Rock". Both 93X and the 105's are programmed with formats designed to fight competition off of Disney's flagship in the market, top-rated KQRS. When WRQC
KTLK-FM
KFXN-FM 100.3 —branded 100.3 FM KFAN: The Fan—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb of Shoreview on...
became a KQRS-fighting rock station in 1997, the current KXXR switched to a similar format despite a profitable alternative format already on that frequency. It is widely known in the local market that Disney will go to great lengths to protect its "cash cow
Cash cow
In business, a cash cow is a product or a business unit that generates unusually high profit margins: so high that it is responsible for a large amount of a company's operating profit...
".
In fact Drive 105 was in large part created to ward off competition from KTCZ
KTCZ
KTCZ-FM is a AAA radio station broadcasting to the Twin Cities market of Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin.Cities 97 is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota.-History:...
, Cities 97. After the fall of Zone 105 and in the months before Drive 105 was created, Cities 97 made significant gains in the 25-54 age group. Disney saw this as a threat to KQRS and created Drive 105 originally to jab at Cities 97's ratings. To keep a distance from sister 93X, the station targeted an older age group than most alternative stations, hence the unique adult alternative format not heard in any other market in the United States. Like predecessor Zone 105, Drive would avoid any song that featured a significant amount of guitar distortion. When the station first aired in January 2002 it aired spots such as, "Remember when Cities 97 and KS95 sounded different? We do, that's why we're true to the music." This was a stab at Cities 97's old slogan, "true to the music" and a criticism of its recent tweak in the direction of pop sounding KS95
KSTP-FM
KSTP-FM is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. It is one of the flagship stations of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other TV and radio stations across the United States, along with other properties...
. During its first two years on the air Drive 105 frequently made cracks at Cities 97. However, this came to end after criticism from the public and as the station began to take on an identity of its own.
Love 105
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, prior to temporarily switching over to a simulcast of sister station KXXR, in anticipation of a format flip. The flip to the current Love 105 happened at 5:30 AM the next morning, with Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe
I Got You Babe
"I Got You Babe" is a 1965 #1 single by American pop music duo Sonny & Cher.-Background and composition:Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the lyrics to and composed the music of the song for himself and his then-wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Session...
" as the new format's debut song.
Shortly after the relaunch as Love 105, the station, along with ABC's other non-Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
stations, were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
on September 16, 2011.
External links
- Love 105
- Americans for Radio Diversity
- 89.3 KCMP "The Current" (to hear former Rev105 DJs Mary Lucia, and Steve Nelson)
- A tribute and memorial to REV 105
- A collection of REV105 airchecks, including first and last moments, as well as some promos that poke fun of The Edge.
- REV105 website by Doc Ozone & Gonzo that was ready to go one week before it went off the air
- Kevin Cole's page on KEXP
- radiotapes.com Featuring Minneapolis/St. Paul radio airchecks including Zone 105.