WRVU Is Dead

You've probably heard by now but if you hadn't... WRVU is dead. Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) has ripped the station out from under the actual students. Whether they approached WPLN for the sale or they approached VSC we may never know but the students only became suspicious when the call letters changed Monday.the way he handled it is a disgrace to the University. VSC sold a student property built and run with students tuition money,  then sold it for one time cash, like a junky trying to scrape up the money for an 8-ball. The sale price was 3.6 million. I'm sure somebody got a nice fat bonus check. More here.

The disgrace is that VSC told the students nothing. They knew it would be unwelcome, that it was wrong and that there would be resistance. So they acted clandestinely. In the Fall of last year there were rumors that VSC was open to selling the 60-year-old 91.1 WRVU. There was no more news until Monday June 6th. The call sign change to WFCL popped up unexpectedly Monday morning in the FCC database. The DJs on air used the wrong station ID for most of the day because they were not informed.

Then Tuesday afternoon the DJ on air was told that there was "urgent equipment maintenance" and hurried out the door... which they then locked behind him. This is pure sleaze. Those kids pay $38,952 a year [source] to be treated like this? What gall.  Below is a clip of the last WRVU-FM disc jockey on the program Rock N' Roll Control making his last announcement on the way out the door forever.

WRVU:  June 7th 2011 - 2:56 PM

Nash-Vegas

I have a friend who calls it Nash-Vegas. But everybody calls it Nashville, or music city. The connection to Vegas is clear though. Both metros buy rhinestones by the metric tons. There are seventeen Nashville's in America but none so shiny as this.
Its an epic city for radio. My hotel was directly across the street from the Cumulus offices, i.e.a great view of a dumpster and their microwave dishes. But nothing beats being on music row, so you can watch the biz pass by.
Another odd Nashville factoid. Did you know that between their dailies and weeklies they have about a dozen local newspapers? Yeah. That's not even counting the Vanderbuilt U. paper. Each paper reports it's own separate list of book signings, plays, concerts, and cultural events. Its the same city so they do hit some of the same gigs, but it was nice to have a day off in a city with so much to see and do. Nashville is a city of many non-coms.

WFSK 88.1 plays smooth jazz and easy listening all day. You can guess my opinion about that.
WVCP 88.5 a very eclectic station at a community college, I know nada about them. They played a killer song Wednesday morning but they've ben running canned programming since the 16th so I will never know what it was.

WMOT 89.5 runs jazz
WPLN 90.1 /1430 NPR talk
WRVU 91.1 is a totally under-rated college variety station. But, they would be hard to over rate. I showcased their jump blues program earlier this year.
98.8 WRFN-LP ... seems cool but I could not receive the station hardly anywhere... but I guess that really was the point of LP. http://www.radiofreenashville.org/ love that logo.

While I'm on the topic...
100.1 WRLT has one of my favorite all time MDs. The world-famous Reverend Coes. Please send the traditional offering of Jack Daniels and skin mags to 401 Church street Nashville, TN 37219. Coes could MD any station any format. He's sly about his skills but ultimately I think he stays at RLT to stay in Nashville.

And the mighty 650 WSM-AM. Everyone should know the Grand Ole Opry. In the early days of radio WSM was a station you could hear on a clear night almost anywhere in America. The AM band is a tad more cluttered these days but when the ions in the troposphere line up just right you can get WSM as far north as Philadelphia. Only then can we Yankees hear the bold station that broke artists like Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. American Sabbatical.com has a great synopsis of an Opry visit. I put the link in the header. (scroll to the bottom of their article)

...and while we're in Nashville, make sure you visit The Hatch Print Show.