KHRO Hero Radio El Paso, Tx. Aircheck, segment #1
The much lamented
(by some, reviled by others) KHRO (Hero 94.7) a short lived
alternative rock station in El Paso, Tx. Not a big fan of the
station, but with rumors of a planned format change to Mexican
Regional music floating around, I tuned in from Deming, N.M., 100
miles from El Paso and set out to aircheck the death throes of a
"modern rock" station. KHRO was saddled with a lame as
hell format and "let's throw shit at the wall to see what
sticks" program direction. The smell of decay was in the air and
the buzzard (overt Buzz Adams reference) was circling overhead. I
eventually wound up with a half dozen 90 minute cassettes
documenting Hero radio's Thanksgiving Unplugged marathon, Nov. 2004.
~ Dirt City Chronicles ~
HERO began with a
"soft" transition from playing tunes like "Funky
Town," to playing the living hell out of crappy bands like
Smashmouth (another cover!) and Third Eye Blind (though I must admit
there’s a soft spot in my heart for "How’s It Gonna Be").
I sat through this "crap" knowing the direction we were
going in. Soon, we’d bust on the harder stuff like System of a Down
and Korn, and then to my delight, we’d move into bands like Modest
Mouse and Interpol. HERO blossomed into a full Modern Rock operation
before the year was over and we were all thrilled with our public’s
response.
My job consisted
of branding my station and making sure that we had a solid public
image. I also made sure that we were involved with lifestyle events
that concerned our listeners. One day we’d be pushing a metal show,
the next day it’d be a snotty indie rock happening, then it’d be
a monster show like the Warped Tour. El Pasoans that didn’t listen
to our station were thanking us for giving our town that big-city
vibe. People had shows to see, now more than ever, and it wasn’t
The Scorpions...again.
HERO made it
possible for bands like The Strokes, Morrissey, Deftones, Ministry,
311, Disturbed, Soulfly, and countless others to come play the Sun
City. Not only did they come play the Sun City, they SOLD OUT the Sun
City, something I knew we’d always been capable of.
Here’s a bit of
trivia-HERO’s first show was Tool at the El Paso County Coliseum,
where we barged in and claimed it as ours. HERO’s first official
show was Moby at the Pan Am Center, and our last show, was one that
we co-promoted directly with the band’s management-- Korn at the El
Paso County Coliseum (7,100 listeners in attendance). That last show
was the hardest for me to work, as I was already clued into the
change that was about to take our city by storm–HERO would be
flipping formats to Spanish Pop/Rock come December 1.
(Transitioning from HERO to Super Star, Marina Monsisvais)
HERO Radio:
Where's Your Wallet?
December 16, 2004
- Martín Paredes
It seems like El
Pasoans have this attitude, an attitude that everything wrong in
society is business and business owes them. Nothing exemplifies this
more than the demise of HERO radio. Letters to the editor, calls to
local radio stations and even the former promotions director of HERO
talking about what a great station HERO radio was. But was it really?
No, this isn’t
about whether the music was good, contemporary or other, it is about
the so-called fans supporting the station they so loved, or so they
say. It is about what drives business and what drives it away. It’s
about talking with your wallet rather than with your mouth. Sure it’s
wonderful to hear what a good job you are doing, especially in times
of dire-straights but talk can only feed one thing, your soul, it
does nothing for the stomach pains of hunger. It’s about supporting
that which appeals to you and ignoring that which doesn’t. It’s
about the basics of economics, something El Pasoans are loathe to
accept, something that keeps biting them back each and every time
change is made by corporate offices.
So you liked HERO
radio, huh? Let’s do a little soul searching; did you frequent the
businesses that advertised on it? Did you eat at the restaurants that
paid good money to promote the station? Better yet, did you buy
advertising or encourage your friends to advertise on it? No, then
why do you feel the need to complain about a business decision?
