hmm .. wonder where the used cd stores are going to get their consistent supply of promo CD's now? And, I cant agree more re: the blues, I'm just glad I'm around to see the death of the inane white guy blues religion that pumped out of the basement of the humanities bldg for far to long. Long live MOONDANCE show.

i agree...unfortunately for all the good KUMD does for local music, it's the most UNcollege college radio station I've ever heard. Perhaps a programming shift will entice more non-mainstream music onto the airwaves coming from that frequency...and fewer repetitive coma-inducing Fat Rich White Guy Blues programs.

yawn.

Come on PDDers. What harshness! Where's the compassion? Where's the heart? Okay, so 3 hours a day of David Dye gets a little old (though this probably won't change) and the blues can wear a bit, and yes, there really is no source of good alternative collegy stuff here in the Twin Ports. But really, don't you think, as human beings, these guys deserve better? Shouldn't we all be writing in to UMD to make it known that their loyal fan base doesn't approve, and we might just stop listening for a while if the cuts go through? Solidarity, mates! Sheesh, this is why everybody needs a union.

I approve.

if only they provided that alternative collegey stuff...other college radio stations i've listened to around the country play music that the colleges' student body listens to...alt, alt-country, hip hop, r&b, indie, and good old rawk and/or roll...in order to listen to student body programming, you have to stay up way past your bedtime.

if they advertise themselves as a "college radio station" then they should program their content so reflect that, not what a bunch of middle aged white blues fanatics want to hear.

That is kind of what I'm getting at Red, I'm not really going to miss having John at the helm, but the style in which it was done was crappy. I'd have been more more at ease if they had let him go because the powers that be where just not happy with the job he was doing, but because he has the experience but not the education and not even letting him try to get the degree? That exemplifies the bad aspect of higher education, and I am very pro higher education.

It isn't right how the University is going about removing these guys. Yeah, it may be true, maybe they do suck and shouldn't be doing that job anymore. But don't weasle out the back door and use this "they are no longer qualified for the new requirements" b.s. UMD needs to man up and remove them the proper way. Build a case, then can them. Or how about this...since they have been doing this for 30 years, find another job for them to do that they are "qualified" for. Hmm....DNT had a quote: “I just worry that some directions UMD might be taking the station have not been fully thought out...” Wow, big business jumping into something without thinking it through, and I still wonder why higher education costs so much. Oh, remember those HP IPAQ's all the COMP SCI students had to buy.....

As a former KUMD dj, I have to say, it's about time! I don't care why or how they did it, the firing of John Ziegler was long overdue. KUMD could have been, and still could be one of the best radio stations, if not for John Ziegler. The guy put himself and his ego in front of the station always. Some of the thing he has done are unbelievable. Good riddance to a bad station manager.

Friends, before you point fingers and cast stones, please take the following into account.

First off, I agree: anyone losing their career in such a corporate-cornholing way after 30 years is just plain wrong. Moving on (and please pardon my abuse of ellipsis throughout...)... although I somewhat agree with most of the comments thus far, my fear is that without John, KUMD will suck even more. Perhaps the intentions of the powers-that-be are far worse. It's hard to tell. John, all misgivings aside, has done some surprisingly good things in the past. Just off the top of my head that I can remember: in-studio's with Low, Charlie Parr, Gartman (yes, Gartman), IDA, All The Pretty Horses, The Rivulets, A Whisper in the Noise, if thousands (which surprised the living shit outta me) and even, yes... I'm not pulling your leg - Bridget Riversmith (I have a copy of the in-studio and will burn it for anyone interested). I'll admit that I could vomit blood from the steady stream of white man blues farting from KUMD for years (whether it's John's fault or not... I don't know.... and none of us knows what pressure he was in ? from the higher ups while deciding programming). But come on people, the guy has actually done some good things for local, independent and/or otherwise unknown bands/musicians. My point is that without John, what skimpy-ass Duluth radio support there was for the "little guys".... Well, maybe without him we won't be talking skimpy-ass. Maybe we'll be talking none. Or maybe it will be better? Who knows? In my experiences concerning college radio, when this kind of crap happens, the former almost always ring true. Keep your fingers crossed. Tightly.

1. Yes, UMD is shitting all over the people at KUMD. The people who have worked there for more years than some (most?) of you (us?) have been alive.

2. I highly doubt that a radio station run by worthless communication majors/professors will be even .01% as interesting as KUMD is now.

3. The RPM DJs will still flake out on their shifts, even if they are paying for the privilege.

4. I hate "the blues" as much as the rest of you, and I've logged hundreds of hours having to play it...but at least they paid me...

5. None of you listen to the station anyway (I've worked dozens of pledge drives so don't even think of denying it), so why do you care now? (Well, OK, Gwanto seems to be listening.)

6. The thing is, it was bad, but it's only going to get worse. I'm sure that the only reason this is happening is somehow hinged around money. Talking about "the music" like it's some sort of holy grail is pointless. In this situation, the only people who REALLY care about "the music" are getting fired.

A couple comments:

zra: "other college radio stations i've listened to around the country play music that the colleges' student body listens to..."

Then you've been listening to shitty college radio stations. Real college stations play the music people should be listening to but aren't. There is no "college" genre. It's like punk. Punk can never truly exist. Punk isn't punk enough to be called punk, and never will be. If you understand this, I think I know of a local station looking for DJs.

Sherman: "As a former KUMD dj, I have to say, it's about time!...KUMD could have been, and still could be one of the best radio stations, if not for John Ziegler."

What the hell did you do about it? How hard did you work to get the word out about all the magical music you were playing? Why did you want to work for such a horrible place? How many years did you promote your show and the station? How many local musicians and touring bands did you bring to the station? How many calls did you make? How many charts did you report? How much actual work did you do aside from pressing "PLAY" in a CD player?

Look, I'm not trying to single anyone out here. All I'm saying is that if you care about the issue of local music, then do something about it. I've worked at KUMD for 12 years. For every happy listener I've heard from, I've heard 100 sloppy bitches blathering about how bad the scene is. Yes, things have been better. We are at a bit of a low point. But if you actually care and aren't just some passing parasite trying to suck the blood out of the oh-so-glamorous "local scene," then get to work making it better.

A little dramatic there Zac. I think people care because they want a good radio station. There has to be a balance between what people want to hear and what the "should" hear. Too much of the former and you get the Britney spears of the world taking over, too much of the later and you are stuck with endless Cecil Taylor. (and who exactly decides what people should hear? You? Me? Cause it's going to be very different from person to person)
I've been a member of KUMD in the past. The last couple of years I haven't, and have listened to it less and less because as even you have said "it was bad", yes, it was.
I don't think we can stand here and now and predict what the station will be like in the future, and calling all communication majors and professors "useless" just adds to the problem. Just because we have gotten use to dog food doesn't mean we shouldn't hope for strawberry shortcake because we're afraid that the dog food might be taken away. Change is scary.
I don't know what it is going to be like, I guess I missed out on the crystal balls when they where handed out. I hope it becomes more integrated into the community and the college, that the quality improves. It would kick ass if it broadcast live concerts (for example) from around the city. We will have to check back in a year or two and compare notes.

I must add, all in-studios that I mentioned were not the product of affluence (give me a break) nor nepotism. Each artist or band I mentioned got an in-studio by simply calling KUMD and speaking to John. It's just that simple. If he gave an in-studio to if thousands, he's more than willing to give an in-studio to anyone who's willing to simply... simply make the call. But that's too easy, isn't it?

I don't particularly care for the job John has done from what little time I've spent listening to KUMD but I can't say that there is anyone else out there that deserves the job more than him. As much as I'd like to have a good college radio station, I have to say I care a little more about people who have been promoting music for a few decades losing their jobs. Especially due to the assinine lengths UMD seems to have gone to in order to get rid of them while pretending there's a good reason for it. What concerns me about the direction the station is going is the fact that they're turning its direction over to jornalism instructors. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it make a bit more sense to turn the station over to music instructors and their students? Is KUMD going to start doing local news programming now instead of music?

Zac, though dramatic, is correct in stating that those who whine but haven't contributed to the cause are to blame for the poor quality. If KUMD were going to be closer to what most would consider a good college radio station, it would have much more student involvement and a lot less dead air when the RPM DJ's decide not to show up. I don't think that John ever stood in the way of students taking over a large share of the programing, there simply wasn't the commitment from student DJ's to take over the helm.

Frankly I can't see KUMD getting much worse but I also don't understand how this move will in any way make the station better or bring it closer to being something akin to a college radio station. In the meantime, while we're whining about listening to blues over and over, a couple decent guys are going to have to end up cueing satelite feeds and selling ads for 95.7 The Bridge. That's sad.

If we are going to require the manager of our local college radio station to have a Master's degree, I think that every musician featured on that station should have at least a Bachelor's. Educated ears demand educated music.

It seems that a lot of people are saying the same things in different ways. "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't." Everybody is so afraid of change. KUMD was bad, everybody seems to agree on that. So why not take a chance. I will admit that the whole, gotta have a masters, does sound a bit ominous, but let's wait and see how it pans out. Finally Zac, for not wanting to single people out, you sure did. I played and talked about local music. When I tried to branch out and bring people into the studio, I was told, by John Ziegler, that I was the only one who was allowed to be in the station. I also was not allowed to do phone interviews. Basically, I was only allowed to sit in the station and 'press play in a CD player.' As to why did I work there, I truly enjoyed playing music I thought needed to be heard on the radio. Then why didn't I fight the system from within? What could I have done? I had a three hour shift every week. Like Paul Schmitz was going to change things because I complained. He was the biggest protector of Jon Ziegler. Maybe I could have done more, true, but I was going to school full time and working full time to pay for it. I didn't have the talent or the connections in the local scene that you did Zac, but I tried to do what I could. I'm sorry that wasn't enough for you.

sweatpants is finally out?! this news gives me an enormous sense of optimism for the only potentially worthwhile radio station in Duluth - as long as they don't just hire another toolbox.

Well, you'll get a completely different opinion reading the comments at DNT from those of us who enjoy it now. I agree that KUMD has not been anything like a typical college radio station but it has been an important part of the bigger community. I hated Ziegler's interviews but thought the station by far the best in town, liked most of the music played, and especially the syndicated weekend shows and local programming such as Coffee Break. If those things go, it will be a big loss. I spent a lot of years listening to WERS from Emerson College in Boston, good station because it's an arts college. If KUMD is going to turn into dj practice for local college kids, that may be what it should be but it's going to get almost no support from the locals supporting it now so I hope UMD is planning on spending more money on it.

I'm thinking it'd be much to the contrary eco, there is a pretty good cross section of this community that doesn't listen to KUMD based on the current programming...if it were truly college run and centered on and run by the student body, we'd be able to listen to something worthwhile, instead of the commercial tripe we're stuck with up here.

Anyone who's listened to Radio K down in the cities knows what college radio could sound like...

one blues program after another broken up only infrequently by syndicated programming that mainly appeals to people older than I am is not the type of programming you'd expect to hear from a college radio station. (sorry, Zac...I like ya buddy, but I hafta disagree with ya.)

Maybe I'm just a stickler for semantics but "college radio" should be just that...if it's not, then it should be advertised as being Community Radio, like KFAI on the west bank...a "different radio station every hour." KUMD strikes me as trying to be that type of radio station under the guise of "college radio."

I'd be interested in knowing what percentage of the student body actually listens to KUMD...which is a demographic that I feel we're all starting to overlook...it is supposed to be "their" radio station, after all.

I'm not sure what you're saying would be to the contrary, zra. I agree with everything you said...all I'm saying is that the people who do listen and support (meaning cash) it now will not support it if it becomes music for teens and 20-somethings. And I don't think the college students will be sending extra donations. It will be a completely different audience...one loses, one gains.

Everyone who cares about KUMD should do whatever they can to make sure that what is worth keeping stays and what is not worth keeping doesn't stay. I agree with those who say it is time for John to go - it is - but feel bad that he was only 2 years away from pension - that seems harsh. I am also very sick of the blues. But some of the stuff The Current (just for e.g.) plays is dorkola. And Many RPM shows are unlistenable. There was a sign in the control room for many years that said "If you just wanna spin the tunes you like, then stay home and do it in your living room." You can't really win in radio. There's always somebody who's mad and dis-satisfied.
We (Chester Creek Cafe) have decided to underwrite the "Commie News" (Monday night programming) to make sure it stays. I hope they keep the edgier political stuff like This Way Out.
It will be nice to have a school of Broadcast Journalism. Write a letter to UMD and tell them what you want in the station.

"Real college stations play the music people should be listening to but aren't."

Give me a fucking break.

on the other hand, KUMD's programming does beat the hell out of the almost endless string of car ads separated by the same Van Halen song played over and over and over...

The FCC has now ok'd community radio (1000 watts or less). I know there's peeps a-talkin already...stay tuned for the return of random radio...literally. What ever KUMD was, wasn't, is, isn't, should have or aint been is no longer the point. Make your OWN radio!! I like SOMAFM (illstreet) but hey, that's the way I swing...I DO mean swing baby... I like John and Paul and have fond rpm/moondance show memories. I hope that I never hear a rich white guy playing blues ever again unless it's harry shearer.. my two cents

One of the things I like about KUMD is that students, as well as others in the community at large, if they desire, are able to come in and take training on the audio board and learn how the station runs in general so they may DJ for their own or a particular established show.

I DJ for the Women's Music Program on Sundays and love it. I love the fact that I was able to simply call up, take the on-air or broadcast training at the station and learn something I had been wanting to try for sometime. It has been a lot of fun so far.

I hope it continues. In addition to its staff having on-air shifts, KUMD also largely relies on volunteer announcers to coordinate or maintain shows. I think a lot of us do this, on our own time, because we love a particular kind of music and want to play good songs. I think it is a different sounding show, or even shift, with each announcer.

I hope the volunteer aspect of the station, meaning anyone interested who wants to come in and announce, remains in place.

I have had good communications with both John and Paul over the last 5 years of DJ'ing and was very sorry to read that John and Paul may be leaving after
so many years of working for, supporting and playing local, national and international music that you really don't hear anywhere else. Especially the huge amount of local music in our community that is given voice through KUMD.

baci, i wouldn't go downtown next weekend. blues fest, remember? the festy that almost wasn't.

for all the good it does, it's still more of an excuse for me to escape town than Grandma's. At least the marathon is over and done with the next day.

1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,1,4,5,

Ahhhhhhh. KUMD. Where to begin. I started at KUMD doing a talk show called U-Talk Radio and that led to my RPM show which I hosted for 5 almost 6 years. I hired both Sherman and Zac. I fought like crazy for more student programming at UMD, was the one who started reporting to charts and brought in most of if not nearly all of the alternative rock music. I logged up to 5-10 hours a week doing office hours for labels and bringing in new music. I worked blues shows, women's music-whatever they needed me to do and I never got paid. I was also one of the original DJ’s on Random Radio. And there was an unfortunate few weeks where I worked at the Bear because I was so damn broke but eventually lost my mind playing Third Eye Blind over and over and over again and quit/fired. Anyway. Does that give me enough credibility to post?

In all my years there I never really heard KUMD say it was only a college radio station. It was always sold as community college radio. That’s why it’s huge a 100,000 watts. Only a small portion of its funding came from the university and in the early 90’s I helped them rally to keep that little bit.
While I have not always been happy with how things were run I am not going to make negative comments about the people that gave me so many opportunities and fantastic experiences. I will say that I don't agree with how this is being done. For a university that teaches marketing and pr this is a pretty crappy way to start a new venture. But it is giving students a glimpse at the real business world. Higher ups make ignorant, rash, uninformed decisions all the time. The goals of your organization can change at any moment and you have to be ready to go with it. Unfortunately John and Paul are not being given that chance. Remember, even if they had been doing a kick ass job in everyone’s eyes they would still be fired because 30 years of experience does not equal a Masters Degree. And that’s what really bugs me.
I have a liberal arts degree from UMD but I would say that my professional success came more from my experiences at that station than it did from any of my teachers. I did learn from Paul Damberg. And John or Paul S. never held me back. I asked them for money to sign up for CMJ and got it-no complaints or hesitation. I asked them for more student programming and they expanded the RPM hours by three hours per night. I asked for more room to store all of the great music we were bringing in-they did it right away. That whole management team at KUMD took the time to know me as a person and encourage and support me. When I came back for the reunion this spring it had been ten years but John and Paul both knew who I was and were happy to see me. I doubt any of the numerous professors I had could do the same.

Other than the occasional once or twice a year visit to Duluth, I haven't listened to KUMD regularly for at least a decade. But as a former worshipper at Laurie's temple of the Freak Show, let me just thank her for the best 5 or 6 years of radio that have provided me with a lifetime of pleasantly distorted memories. You used to be able to set your clocks to "Cure Time"...I haven't worn a watch since.

I can say that John Ziegler was a huge source of the used cd's you'd find at Disc Go Round. He'd come in at least once a week with a box full of cut outs.
While in Duluth, I never really listened to KUMD except at night. I didn't really connect with a lot of the programming. Not to say it was bad or not, just not my cup of tea.
As for the masters degree thing, I can see the reason for this if they want to pursue radio journalism. Just look at KUWS which has an excellent program. The people in charge all have masters. They teach and run the station. In fact, the dean's list has always been a very good mix of "college" music. Of course, when I was a DJ for the dean's list I felt like no one ever listened. I'm not up there now, but I understand the Walt Dizzo show has been doing some great programming. Personally, I'd like to see KUMD make that final leap and become community radio ala KFAI and WORT (madison). Let the people make the programming. Lots of opportunity for college kids to produce shows as well as go out in the community to do interviews and location stories. Lots of great things going on around there that need to be reported on. The TV stations sure aren't talking about it.

If KUMD would become more like KAXE or WOJB I would be thrilled. I say yes to Community Radio. Give shows to people who are passionate about certain genres and let them have at it.

heh, those are the two stations I was thinking about mentioning starfire, funny. I love listening to a radio station and not knowing what the hell is going to be played next and there is large tracts on both those stations that that happens in.
When we where in NZ there was a small local station that broadcast out of the dockside bar, that was cool as well.

sometime back in the mid-to-late 90's, I was a part of the cast of characters on a little late late late LATE night/early sunday morning radio program on KFAI called Area 51...

...which was kind of a misnomer, because it had absolutely nothing to do with aliens, roswell OR UFOs...in reality it was a four hour Grateful Dead program hosted by the Godfather of the Overnight, Patrick Babcock...a half-crazed straightedge deadhead who had an insane notion that freakos coming home from the bars at 2 am would stay up and listen to his program as they wound down from whatever high they were on.

It was a kick in the pants to be a part of, and KFAI and their contemporaries are all the more reason to support such types of broadcasting...

with the new changes in FCC policy, I'm looking forward to more public piracy and plundering of the airwaves...

long live random radio.

Starfire, thanks for mentioning KAXE, and thanks to you and everyone else for mentioning community radio. I sense KUMD dying a slow death, and smart programming is the beginning and end of the answer. It doesn't have to be a different radio station every hour (like KFAI), and it doesn't have to be all college-ey or folksy all the time. Listening to KAXE's mix of programming has made weekends at the cabin more enjoyable for the last ten years or so. Except for that Green Cheese show. That show sucks.

i might as well throw my 2 cents in....it will be a shame to see damberg gone...he actually has done a great job for the station...he really has...the only problem is all the bad press ziegler has donr for the station....whether it be the porn reviewing,using his mom's handicapped sticker to park closer to the station,or selling umd supplies to small business's....duluth won't miss the ego known as john zeigler.....it will miss the ample leadership of damberg.....former kumd dj of 2 3/4 years...heiko

Does anyone have any additional information about the reasons Z & D are being fired besides the fact that they do not have Master's degrees?

Z's pension info was interesting. I understand Mike Dean, the short-time station manager left or was fired or... something. Any info on that?

Also, the University basically left the Schmitz / Ziegler / Damberg to run the station for years w/o any control; almost like a blind trust. Why? And why the change now?

The discussions here are interesting, but they feel like a Duluth time warp. For example....

* "Students want real college radio like [fill in the blank]."

* "John is arrogant, etc, etc."

* "No he's not, etc, etc."

* "I am an angry male ex-DJ or volunteer and I hate John because I could not sell my ideas to him."

I'm glad UMD is finally taking interest in the station and using to build a journalism program - long over due.

I wish the same arrangement could be made with WDSE TV, but that's not owned by the University. Heck the station will not even post a list of its leadership. That's weird.

WDSE is a whole different can of worms.
It's hard to speculate for certain if there is any other reason beyond the Masters degree requirement for the firings. It certainly seems suspicious that such a decision was made, and also disallowing the current holders of the job the opportunity to try and meet the requirements. Universities often will hire short to mid term teachers while other arrangements are being made, so why not now?

As to the various opinions, I was actually fairly pleased and interested in what people had to say, the fact that it wasn't all uniform "yeah he sucks" or "crap, he was great" is a perfectly valid outcome, the fact it attracted so many comments indicates people care about this issue, not sure what you mean by a "Duluth time warp".

Personally, I'm a little excited to see what happens, perhaps it naive.

My fave radio station of late is WELY, which I listen to regularly on the weekends, when I stream it over the net...

It's operated by the Pois Forte (sp?) band out of...you guessed it...Ely...and is a fine and fun station to listen to. You never really know what they're gonna play next...(Willie Nelson or Harry Nilsson?) And the community announcements usually make for great entertainment (Ollie Svenstaad needs to move his boad from this lake over to that lake, so if anyone could give him a hand with that, you can give him a call)...

It's so unfortunate that in the last 20 years radio has become so corporatized...(actually, it's been happening for far longer but you know what I'm saying...). I have two friends who used to be in the biz...one on the broadcast side and one on the administration side.

my brother Flagg who was fired from a station in Denver back in the 70's for using the phrase "Don't drink and drive, unless you have a car." and my buddy Chris (who used to be the ad manager at The Bear) say that the only reason radio exists is to make money.

Valid point, and painfully true...so why play music at all? It's like selling water in bottles...because they can.

uhh...that was BOIS Forte...guess I should spell check, eh?

You can argue that there are good reasons for John Z to go, as many folks have. I'd agree wholeheartedly. Paul D should not be cast out. But these decisions have nearly nothing to do with the radio station. Really.


The chancellor is taking over the station because she woke up to the fact that UMD is the biggest source of $$$ for the station, and by golly, she's decided to run the thing the way she wants to. Interestingly, no one in the journalism program at UMD knew this was happening until it came out in the News-Tribune. A small handful of administrators at UMD have decided to fold KUMD into the College of Liberal Arts and save some dough by forcing staffers at KUMD to have MAs and teach a few classes. That'll allow the salaries to be shuffled off to an academic department instead of the radio station.


The powers that be know nothing -- and care nothing -- about radio. This is all about internal university politics.


It'd be swell if Duluth had an honest-to-goodness student station, and, for that matter, a real McCoy community station. KUMD is not a community-licensed station like KAXE and KFAI. KUMD is licensed to the U of M, and that's a problem. The station belongs to the university; it's not an independent, non-profit like those other stations. For years some of the staffers at KUMD have tried to make KUMD a community station -- with mixed results. Now it looks as though the battle is lost. The UMD admin is taking over.


I'm guessing that a few months from now KUMD won't even be one of the presets on my car radio.

Why are any of you listening to radio anyways? You could be surfing the web, talking on the phone, and watching sh*tty cable while bending over and getting your pelvis widened by Charter!! Yaaaaaayyy!!! Now go dry up that damn lake so I can drive my Hummer across to Bayfield for some applesauce to go with my PORK.

Damn, reading this has been a blast. This thread runneth over with such deep feeling and comment! What more do you want from community blogging?

Anyway, I too find KUMD almost unlistenable. (in the interst of full disclosure: I fucking love Coffee Break)

As a professional mid-westerner (believe me motherfucker) my finely tuned embarassment meter often displayed readings totally off the charts during Ziegler interviews. Whoa. Not good. Just, not at all good.

As a music lover, well, yeah, no love there either.

And, as a proponnent of local music I really just kind of wanted to slap those dudes last May. Maybe you remember the KUMD 50th anniversary bash featuring Shawn Colvin celebrating the wonderful history of this local music beacon on the hill, somehow scheduled on the very same weekend as Homegrown.
Wow, what fucking incredible supporters of local music those KUMD guys are! Hey I know, lets get Pat Donanhue to come rock for us, he doesn't get his voice heard enough around here. Yeah!

In all seriousness, that was a pretty inescapable fuck you to local music. Dudeski, it's not what you say. It's what you do.

KUWS is laughing at you from across the bay. Superior has a better fucking college radio station than you do! Superior! And they play old radio dramas, like, half the time! Where's your 'The Network'? You know, hip-hop, currently the most potent cutural force on planet fucking earth (I challenge you to disprove this blanket assertion tossed off from the hip)? Who's your Walt Dizzo?

Oh, and the Drew Squared reign of terror STILL haunts the dark corners of my heart on quiet nights.

And I see some of you seem to think KUMD shit-talking is a right reserved only by those among us whose calloused crate-digging fingers actually helped raise this burning, boring-ass barn. Foul, I cry! Or, at least before you make such assertions, you should give my fucking tax money back.

It's 100,000 watts for christ sake! It's booming its boring-ass, baby boomer, "I'm a rock in the river" voice hundreds and hundreds of miles. These guys had that in their hands. Can you fucking imagine the potential power to change minds, moods, perspectives...? Instead, I, and pretty much everyone I know, just change the station.

Unless Coffee Break is on. I love you, Coffee Break.

Man, I hate Coffee Break. I want to hear the interviewee, not the interviewer. And I can't even begin to deal with the slurp. And why is it called Coffee Break if it's at 8-something in the morning? Who's taking a break then? I'm lucky if I've even gotten up by then.

What I want to know is, why does UMD need a 100,000 watt radio station, with a fulltime staff, to train students? Why not sell it to someone who will put something interesting on the air, and use the proceeds to say, lower tuition or pay professors? Put a station on the web to train students. KUMD is a money pit, for the tiny handful of students who get to spend a few hours cutting promos.

I too was a DJ once .. yeeaars ago for a few months in the summer. it was a blast.
I have nothing bad or good to say about KUMD now because I don't listen anymore. the gal down the row in a cubicle farm far away listens to it loudly enough for me. every now and then I hear jeff buckley and it reminds me of being in college when he died. sigh, all my favorite rock stars are dead. Lane, Elliott.. [oh where was I?]

anyhow I used to wait until we were off the air at 1 am for a moment or two... just when you think no one is listening .. and play the XFiles theme.

Crazy John if you're out there .. you taught me that one.

I still treasure my Cibo Matto CD I "borrowed" from the KUMD library 11 years ago. If ya want it back come and find me ... hee hee hee

I LOVE WELY!!!!

Yeah. Hey. Right here. Thanks.

knew you would be ... you know crazy is a term of endearment right .. [wink]

Menomena-whoever you are your comment made my year. Thanks!

"You used to be able to set your clocks to "Cure Time"...I haven't worn a watch since."
Sounds more like you could have set your swatch...

Hey rex, NO...FUCKING...SHIT, SHERLOCK. Now go home and get your fucking shine box.

Hey Rex, sorry about that last post. I was just a little punchy without my morning Coffee Break yet. You did a swell job in correlating relevant time period references to comments posted earlier. Kudos. But seriously, my apologies for the outburst.

To: Burly

About the time I left KUWS (2003 or so), The Network was in disarray. After key people left a couple years before, no one took control of The Network or wanted responsibility for it. The Deans List eventually followed suit.

So they re-structred the way things were done, and it was totally shitty (hense my leaving the station). At the time I was doing all local music and only local music. I was starting to get bands / artists to come in and play in-studio... and now I'm getting slapped upside the head with "you must play from a playlist".

It just comes down to, the DJs didn't care enough to keep The Network going... it became something for them to brag to their friends about, and an excuse to get drunk over the air. So it was axed.

Thankfully, people like Walt Dizzo show up every once in a while and keep the local music, hip hop, and whatever else... on the air. In fact, I feel kind of bad I raided the station before I left, thinking there will never be a DJ who will have a love of local music and will want to play it.

I kind of feel the same about KUMD... eventually someone will come along that will help bring back KUMD and make it a rockin station. I just pray to baby jeebus that it isn't Drew Squared.

i hate that fuckin women's music on sunday's. they won't play anything you call up and ask for like the keep aways or patti smith. it's all that shitty lezbo drivel that even i, a big dyke can't stand. phoebe did play fattypants though. late at night of course.

Most eloquently stated, C-Freak. As a former college DJ at two different universities in Michigan I have many thoughts on this topic but everyone seems to be covering them. I agree with Starfire et al, true community radio would be a great thing. And Maggie, I think that having both a student run college station and a community radio station would be absolutely ideal, but could Duluth support both? (I realize that the support comes from two different clusters of funding but another non-CC station in the Twin Ports? One can only dream...) Truth be told I think that as an aging indie-rocker, I would probably prefer alot of the music on the college run station but one usually doesn't get the passion that comes from a community radio station. KUMD branching into two stations? Maybe if enough people were to take action...

i think KUMD shld be
where the cars are.
blend into the cacophony
of radio drivel & piss off.
a good man sd to me the other day: looks like i have to get satellite radio now. soon there will be alternatives beyond our imagination.soon we won't need radio at all. there will be...

Singularity Radio? Sweeeet.

I'm on 1st shift for WMP this Sunday - I'll play some Keepaways - love their music recorded & live - plus the CD with the hand-sown sleeve!

Found the Patti Smith CD "trampin'" last time I was up there - great stuff too - gotta spin some of her

& The Runaways (Long Live & Rawk On Joan, Lita, et. al.) Guess I can take requests from blogging?!

That's all. . .

thanky liz. your on the right track.

liz, please say in a gruff redneck voice: "WHERE THE CARS ARE" a lot. so much for the old KUMD. righton.

You're all so terribly glib and philosophical....

I bet you won't be when it happens to you. And it probably will.

Laurie knows: "Higher ups make ignorant, rash, uninformed decisions all the time. The goals of your organization can change at any moment and you have to be ready to go with it."

It happened to me (in a different city) a month before it happened to John and Paul. And let me tell you that when you struggling to pay the bills and support your family and at the same time deal with the feelings of betrayal and devastation of being sh*t-canned by people you were loyal to for years...well, let's just say you're never ready to "go with it."

While you folks are casually discussing whether or not your favorite obscure bands are still going to be played, there are people left at the station that don't know if their turn is next. While you're excitedly suggesting that KUMD be turned into a community, volunteer station like KFAI (which is well-meaning but has a listenership of 12)there is a least one single parent on the KUMD staff wondering if she will be able to make ends meet if they dump her. I know her. She's a friend of mine.

My point is that this 21st Century philosophy of treating workers like software that needs to be discarded after a few years when the upgrade comes along should be the real issue. "Build a case" to fire someone? What sweet naiveté. They don't need a reason to dump people anymore. They "restructure" their organization, list some arcane qualification that you don't possess and then you're out the door. It happens in ALL industries and workers are being brainwashed into just "going with it" and accepting it and shrugging their shoulders and not really caring when it doesn't directly effect them or---in this case---their music-listening pleasure.

Yeah, I'm not very objective about this because of what happened to me. That's the point. Maybe we all need to be a bit angrier BEFORE it happens to us.