Bruce Kidder Returns - well - Pretty Soon

by Cindy Chaffin of Life Outside The Bubble

Just so's ya know. Everything reported here about Bruce Kidder's departure from KHYI 95.3 The Range back in March, as well as his upcoming Hard Country Radio Stream is based on Kidder's Yahoo Group, the unofficial KHYI Yahoo Group, and personal knowledge about the station and the folks in question.

You can start here to catchyerself up-to-date as to what we've discovered (or heard) thus far. I have made many many attempts to set up a face-to-face with Bruce Kidder, which at first was met with interest - then I never heard from the guy again. I hate that. A simple "yes" or "no" or "go to hell" email would satisify my need for polite manners...but oh well. There has been no response from Josh Jones (General Manager of KHYI and my former boss) either. Therefore, I get to speculate and spread rumors that have generated and thrived on the respective Yahoo Group boards.

Kidder announced a couple of weeks back (via said Yahoo Group) that he plans to launch a live streaming radio show on May 15th. Well, actually, he uses the term "we" when making announcements which could mean what? Investors? Wacky side-kick? His alter-ego? As of now, the man just ain't talkin'.

His latest announcement/post was about 14 hours ago...

"You folks are invited for an early sneek peek! Hard Country Radio streaming is now active! We won't take if fully live for a few more days, but you can kick the tires now..."

http://sc2.spacialnet.com:15172/listen.pls

Bruce is using Spacialnet as his provider for streaming, which is formerly AudioRealm - which is what I used when TexasGigs.com had 24/7 streaming and live streaming at venues. I'm curious as to how Bruce will generate revenue for this venture. The problem with live streaming is that the more listeners you get, the more it's going to cost him...or "them" as the case may be.

Meanwhile back at The Range, reports are pouring in that the station has turned a hard-left towards Trashville as far as the playlist. Toby Keith seems to be the biggest bone of contention. However, if you take a look here, you'll see that it's not as bad as the listeners are making it seem. I suppose, though, that if you add insult (Toby Keith) to injury (the management and staff at KHYI acting blatantly rude and disrespectful towards the listeners *gossip from the Yahoo group*) then things quickly become more problematic.

I'll keep ya posted as more hearsay overflows in my inbox...meantime pick and choose, or better yet, stick around here. If you don't hear something you like, drop us a line and we'll get it uploaded for ya!