Friday, February 1, 2008
Lone Star 92.5 fires legendary Dallas DJ Redbeard
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According to a post on UP, Lone Star Radio 92.5 made a rather shocking decision concerning its 2-7 p.m. time slot.
kzps.com
Redbeard interviewing Stevie Ray Vaughn in 1989.
After offering him a deal he wanted to refuse, but simply could not, Redbeard left his post at XM Satellite Radio to work as on-air personality and music director at Lone Star. Redbeard was a radio broadcaster, program director, and owner of a very red, long beard in Dallas from 1984 to 1998 before moving to XM in 2001. In 1992 he was named the Billboard Magazine Music Director of the Year and has a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Despite all these accolades and his legendary status in Dallas and national radio, Lone Star has decided to go in a "different direction." Clear Channel's Dallas market manager, J.D. Freeman, told UP that their decision was made in order to improve the station. Yes, steering away from established, beloved personalities is a smart business move. I hear they're in talks with Imus.
Posted by Erin
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Comments
Robert Kelly Verified
I swear, every time I hear something decent on this station, ie, Drams, Wilco- it is inevitably followed up by George Thurogood or Bob Seger. Program for people like me or program for Burleson, but quit trying to be both, it ain't gonna fly.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Chad Jones Staff
My God there is a small orangutan hanging from his ears.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
jtmbls Anonymous
I agree. That station is so all-over-the-place, I just avoid it entirely.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
Redbeard looks like a Billy Mumy/Dusty Hill cloning experiment gone terribly askew.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Miller Verified
rkisok,
Word!
Only Redbeard could have confused Bob Seger, Charlie Daniels and Molly Hatchet with "alt country." Every time he came over my speakers I was reminded of the time I saw him introduce REM at McFarlin Auditorium and he was literally booed off the stage. No doubt by people tired of calling his station at the time to futilely request they play some REM.
I gave it a fair shot but after a month or so went back to my CDs and Ipod.
I'm much happier now.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Andrew Laska Verified
When Island records released "The Sound of Deep Ellum" during Deep Ellum's second heyday (i.e. the 1980s), Redbeard played a track on his show and referred to Deep Ellum as that "little old place" or something to that effect with a cutesy description.
It came off as if he was describing the burgeoning music scene like it was a cute novelty that we can pat on the head and send it on its way.
Andrew
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Brad LaRock Staff
The whole concept of what Lonestar was to be before they went back to playing commercials was to be a guys (35+) Ipod. I think they they missed the boat and should have canned the boys from Balch Springs that they call a morning show. Also, the music was dramatically different when they signed on with Lonestar last spring. It should have worked. If Jack FM can go from The Scorpions to Belinda Carlisle and do what they do, it should have worked. Clear Channel lost millions in in advertising revenue because they thought they could sell the conceptof advertisers buying block programming. Hell, TV has been doing for it for years. Some people bought into it. It was alot of money. It was priced not to sell but priced to keep the corporate weenies convinced they did the right thing and if they could sell it that they could recoup all the money lost. Instead, they (Clear Channel) didn't hire the right reps to pull it off or the right jocks. John Dillon couldn't get through one of those live Southwest Airlines reads without falling all over himself. Bo and Jim are back to playing recorded parody commercials from some humor factory for non creative disc jockeys out of L.A. Mr. Freeman, hire me to program your station, hire and train your sales staff and I will show all of you where you went wrong. Tell the boys from Balch Springs their days are numbered and that we're going back to the Lonestar music we played the first 3 months of the launch.(Forget the job, I really dig mine). Either that or just go back to the way KZPS was and we'll just pretend this whole never happened. I applauded this change. It was gutsy, out of the box. That is what radio needs. Radio's biggest competitor is your IPOD but they think they know what you like better than you do. I could talk about this whole Lonestar thing for days. Bottom line...it should have worked. They changed it too soon. It should have worked.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Kevin Kunreuther Verified
Let's just say I saw this coming. Nothing lasts on radio in this market. The powers that be have to tinker with every format. Anything adventurous is squelched or made bland. I liked the idea of the ad blocks and the live reads of the ads - half the fun was hearing the talent either pull it off or stumble over themselves like some of the summer intern announcers on KNTU-FM. The alt-country and classic rock mash-up was jarring to say the least, at least it introduced to my ears some artists and tunes I've never heard before. The only thing really retro-weird about it was hiring the old Q102 crew - I suppose they were trying lure in the 42-65 age market - hearing the familiar but older voices made me feel my own age - outside I still pass as someone in their late twenties but inside I feel every bit a forty-five year old. As revered, respected and well-rounded, shall we say, as is the on air talent at 92.5, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'm listening to old fogey radio. The nuance behind every announcement was, "remember the good old days when this record was out" or "this artist here sounds like Pure Prairie League or Marshal Tucker, back in the day". On the other hand, replacing the talent with high pitched annoying helium voiced announcers with zip for personality ain't cutting it either. Clear Channel truly has killed what made radio, radio. No wonder people turning to satellite, iPods and the internet for audio entertainment.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Aaron Johnson Verified
This is why I just listen to 95.3FM the Range.
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
okme2 Anonymous
Clear Channel is eVil!
8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
People still listen to music on the radio?
NPR rules!
8 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Peter Stawicki Verified
Redbeard is beyond legend status. When it comes to Radio no one of this generation has done more, seen more, talked with more, and just been an all around amazing producer and on air personality. The fact that this station could even possibly think they could fill his shoes with the droning and stupidity of a 60+ year old man who truly has nothing to say and nothing to contribute to ANYONE is just amazing. What stupidity. Just beyond belief.
8 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
OpusthePoet Anonymous
I haven't listened to Clear Channel since their shock jocks thought it would be funny to compare notes with their audience on how to commit murder back in 2003 and again in 2004. Since I am a member of the group that they were telling people how to murder, and a survivor of an attempted murder that followed the template given on the shows (but which took place 3-4 years prior to the shows) I haven't listened to any Clear Channel station, nor patronized any of their advertisers.
Opus
8 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Robert Kelly Verified
is that group poets? Just curious.
8 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
ronster007 Anonymous
I had stopped listening to my Sirius radio, once I started listening to Lone Star (4 months ago). I love the mix they have (had) and the people on it. It was a group of "old friends" playing songs and artists I really like. Even the occasional country song was good. No where else can you hear Ray Wylie Price, Robert Earl Keen, George Thoroghgood, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bob Seger, Molly Hatchet all in the same hour and be turned on to "new" music at the same time...
While Jon Dylan was never a "favorite", he's a good personality, none the less. Bo and Jim have always been funny, but I miss the other characters from the show - Ninja, Prof. B Woogy, etc.
Hearing Redbeard back in Dallas was what locked it in for me. So many stories, so many connections, so much knowledge. I really missed him and do again!
Now, with the talent change and the programming changes going on, already, I'll be going back to Sirius. Maybe they'll come out with an "outlaw country"/"southern rock"/"texas songwriters" format.
7 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
adunwoody Anonymous
I think getting rid of Redbeard was a terrible decision. Redbeard was the best thing this station had going for it and he was the primary reason friends and I fell in love with Lone Star. John Dylan, Bo and Jim often sound like a bunch of adolescent boys with bad jokes - they rarely play anything. Who'll play good music now? I'm doubtful that ClearChannel will be able to replace Redbeard with someone who has the same great stories and original interviews. I guess fans will have to go to satellite to have the same caliber programming that Lone Star started with when the format changed.
7 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
mmaston1643 Anonymous
I used to listen to Lonestar when they started to play Americana music and I was so thrilled to finally listen to Eleven Hundred Springs, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver and others that I love so much since I could never get 95.3 the Range inside my house because of the towers in Cedar Hill, but now that Lonestar has changed their music again, I am back to listening to the only good radio station in Dallas - 95.3. The Range even if I can only listen to it in my car. You just lost another listener to Lonestar.
3 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
wrangler787 Anonymous
Man,what the hell! I start lidtening to the first decent radio station in metro area for years,then I leave town for a few months and come back to hear"sombodys idea of their version of the top 40 of classic rock music. These folks are playing the crap I see on info mercials that I see on low rated cable networks at 3 am. Oh well back to talk radio and mp3 players. these people fired red beard"idiots" the t-shirts are good for waxing my car. I gave my cap to a guy walking by Parkland hospital.
3 weeks, 4 days ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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