STRAIGHT OUT OF THE OREGONIAN...
The popular Portland hip-hop group Lifesavas debuted their album "Gutterfly" last year. But the only way Portland listeners could hear it on air during normal waking hours wasn't on the radio. Instead, they had to watch TV commercials for GMC Sierra Denali trucks as they leaped roofs and scaled skyscrapers. Local commercial radio ignored the band.
"It's a tough situation when it's your own hometown," says Lifesavas member Vursatyl, "but there's no platform to celebrate local musicians."
Until now. Celebration of local music on local radio may happen faster than you can say "91.1 FM."
Early this month, the Federal Communications Commission awarded a rare permit for a new, full-power, noncommercial FM radio station that would cover most of the Portland area's east side.
The applicant, nonprofit MetroEast Community Media, has three years to build a transmitter in Brightwood, on the west flank of Mount Hood. MetroEast's chief executive officer, Rob Brading, says the community coalition behind the station expects to move faster, raising about $250,000 for construction and going on the air as early as next year. MetroEast also has an agreement in principle to buy equipment to boost the signal to fill in Portland's inner east side and most of the west side.
As cities become more crowded, available space on the FM dial has largely been taken. The new station will be among the nation's first noncommercial educational stations in more than 15 years. The FCC opened a weeklong window in October for applicants to make their cases for stations that would serve their communities without interfering with signals from existing stations.
"Radio frequencies are increasingly rare," Brading says. "The chance to acquire one is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that may turn into a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
When 91.1 FM goes live, you can expect to hear Portland-area artists whose star power isn't powerful enough to get them airtime on commercial stations. Those artists might include both the obscure, whose following is limited largely to local clubs, and name bands sometimes better known in the rest of the country and Europe than in their hometown.
"While a format hasn't been formally adopted," Brading says, "the board has indicated that they want a format focused on local music."
Local musicians such as Vursatyl are thrilled by that prospect.
"That would be awesome," he says. "The whole city could use it. It would do a lot for the music community."
Local radio exposure would build audiences for local music venues. Chris Monlux of Monqui Presents, for example, says "organically grown" bands need radio exposure to fill small venues such as the Wonder Ballroom and, eventually, large venues such as McMenamins Edgefield Manor and regional theaters.
Monlux praises KPSU, Portland State University's student AM station, and KBOO, an FM community public-affairs station, for playing local music. But he laments that corporate radio stations, even local ones, offer narrow programming and heavy commercialization, "leaving the small bands off the rotations, and playing fewer and fewer new acts.
"At the club level," Monlux says, "bands need all the support they can get to record, tour and just stay alive. With more radio creating more excitement, it means more successful shows and leads to Portland becoming an even more vibrant market."
The idea for a new station surfaced two years ago. After analyzing engineering studies, the Common Frequency Radio Project in Davis, Calif., discovered room on the FM dial for a new channel on Mount Hood. Common Frequency, which encourages nonprofits and educational institutions to apply for new stations, spread the word.
Todd Urick, Common Frequency's technical director, says most large urban areas have one or two full-power FM college stations that play cutting-edge music. Portland has none.
"College stations," Urick says, "tend to cater to the developing music scene because their formats are open and experimental, which is permissible when you operate with a low overhead."
The project took off when Common Frequency joined forces with Jeff Simmons, chief technology officer for the Portland Radio Authority, a Web-based radio station dedicated to indie music. Simmons and Common Frequency began to build a community coalition when they brought together Brading of MetroEast, a 23-year-old organization formerly known as Multnomah Cable Access; Bruce Fife, president of Musicians Union Local 99; and Mike Brown, a professional radio engineer who did their preliminary engineering studies.
"The various partners came at this project from different directions but worked together to create a collaborative effort," Brading says. "We want to carry on that collaborative sense in building the station to ensure that it serves the community."
Next comes fundraising through grants, business sponsorships and, eventually, on-air solicitations. The station's boosters have no doubt that Portland will embrace the station.
"I just firmly believe," Simmons says, "that if people had good radio, they'd listen."
Steve Woodward: 503-294-5134; stevewoodward@ news.oregonian.com
The popular Portland hip-hop group Lifesavas debuted their album "Gutterfly" last year. But the only way Portland listeners could hear it on air during normal waking hours wasn't on the radio. Instead, they had to watch TV commercials for GMC Sierra Denali trucks as they leaped roofs and scaled skyscrapers. Local commercial radio ignored the band.
"It's a tough situation when it's your own hometown," says Lifesavas member Vursatyl, "but there's no platform to celebrate local musicians."
Until now. Celebration of local music on local radio may happen faster than you can say "91.1 FM."
Early this month, the Federal Communications Commission awarded a rare permit for a new, full-power, noncommercial FM radio station that would cover most of the Portland area's east side.
The applicant, nonprofit MetroEast Community Media, has three years to build a transmitter in Brightwood, on the west flank of Mount Hood. MetroEast's chief executive officer, Rob Brading, says the community coalition behind the station expects to move faster, raising about $250,000 for construction and going on the air as early as next year. MetroEast also has an agreement in principle to buy equipment to boost the signal to fill in Portland's inner east side and most of the west side.
As cities become more crowded, available space on the FM dial has largely been taken. The new station will be among the nation's first noncommercial educational stations in more than 15 years. The FCC opened a weeklong window in October for applicants to make their cases for stations that would serve their communities without interfering with signals from existing stations.
"Radio frequencies are increasingly rare," Brading says. "The chance to acquire one is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that may turn into a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
When 91.1 FM goes live, you can expect to hear Portland-area artists whose star power isn't powerful enough to get them airtime on commercial stations. Those artists might include both the obscure, whose following is limited largely to local clubs, and name bands sometimes better known in the rest of the country and Europe than in their hometown.
"While a format hasn't been formally adopted," Brading says, "the board has indicated that they want a format focused on local music."
Local musicians such as Vursatyl are thrilled by that prospect.
"That would be awesome," he says. "The whole city could use it. It would do a lot for the music community."
Local radio exposure would build audiences for local music venues. Chris Monlux of Monqui Presents, for example, says "organically grown" bands need radio exposure to fill small venues such as the Wonder Ballroom and, eventually, large venues such as McMenamins Edgefield Manor and regional theaters.
Monlux praises KPSU, Portland State University's student AM station, and KBOO, an FM community public-affairs station, for playing local music. But he laments that corporate radio stations, even local ones, offer narrow programming and heavy commercialization, "leaving the small bands off the rotations, and playing fewer and fewer new acts.
"At the club level," Monlux says, "bands need all the support they can get to record, tour and just stay alive. With more radio creating more excitement, it means more successful shows and leads to Portland becoming an even more vibrant market."
The idea for a new station surfaced two years ago. After analyzing engineering studies, the Common Frequency Radio Project in Davis, Calif., discovered room on the FM dial for a new channel on Mount Hood. Common Frequency, which encourages nonprofits and educational institutions to apply for new stations, spread the word.
Todd Urick, Common Frequency's technical director, says most large urban areas have one or two full-power FM college stations that play cutting-edge music. Portland has none.
"College stations," Urick says, "tend to cater to the developing music scene because their formats are open and experimental, which is permissible when you operate with a low overhead."
The project took off when Common Frequency joined forces with Jeff Simmons, chief technology officer for the Portland Radio Authority, a Web-based radio station dedicated to indie music. Simmons and Common Frequency began to build a community coalition when they brought together Brading of MetroEast, a 23-year-old organization formerly known as Multnomah Cable Access; Bruce Fife, president of Musicians Union Local 99; and Mike Brown, a professional radio engineer who did their preliminary engineering studies.
"The various partners came at this project from different directions but worked together to create a collaborative effort," Brading says. "We want to carry on that collaborative sense in building the station to ensure that it serves the community."
Next comes fundraising through grants, business sponsorships and, eventually, on-air solicitations. The station's boosters have no doubt that Portland will embrace the station.
"I just firmly believe," Simmons says, "that if people had good radio, they'd listen."
Steve Woodward: 503-294-5134; stevewoodward@ news.oregonian.com
