Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Perils of Capitalism

The debate over what public radio should be rages once again, this time over Spindale's WNCW, an Americana station that is rebroadcast in Knoxville at 96.7 FM.

Critics say the station's mission has been compromised by program underwriting from sponsors, most notably Knoxville's A.C. Entertainment.

Bill Bost, a station volunteer and critic, has complained to the station's board of trustees that listeners were misled about the Mountain Oasis Festival, according to Mountain Xpress, Asheville's alternative paper. WNCW—a tax-free entity—gave listeners the impression the three-day music festival was a station fund-raiser, when in fact it was a profit-making venture for AC Entertainment, Bost says. WNCW promoted the event through its station mailing, a free 80-second recorded announcement, and a free listing on the station's on-air calendar (which bands and even nonprofits must pay for), Bost told Mountain Xpress.

Although the station denies any wrongdoing, some volunteers say they do feel uneasy and confused about WNCW's role.

Capps says that a lot of misleading information has been spread during the controversy by a small group of people who have their own agenda (including Bost, who is himself a concert promoter).

After A.C. Entertainment—which underwrote WNCW to the tune of $16,000 in 1999—had decided to produce Mountain Oasis, it invited the radio station to get involved, however it felt appropriate, Capps wrote in a letter responding to the accusations.

"There was nothing secretive, nothing clandestine, no backroom deals—just a desire to create a great music festival," Capps wrote. "After several meetings, WNCW's management came to us with a proposal—rather than have the standard underwriting arrangements, they wanted to do something special...[something that would] raise the station's profile in the region while engaging their listeners and supporters in a unique and exciting way."

"Personally, I felt that WNCW should share in the profits from the festival and suggested that we try to structure an agreement which would make this possible," Capps added. "However, WNCW management felt that this was inappropriate and might create the appearance of a conflict of interest, and therefore rejected the idea. Ironic, isn't it?"

"There was never an interest or an attempt on the part of anyone to mislead the public about WNCW's Mountain Oasis Music Festival. We named the festival in honor of WNCW and the vital role that it has played in the culture of this region. The station wanted to have the association and felt that they would benefit from it. However, all press releases were on A. C. Entertainment stationary. All negotiations with artists and all contracts were with A. C. Entertainment. If some people were under the impression that this was a 'benefit' for WNCW, I'm sorry. But most benefits are clearly advertised as such—this was not."

Critics say the festival promotion is part of a larger problem—that WNCW pays more attention to its sponsors than it does to listeners. WNCW program director Mark Keefe denied those charges, saying it's coincidental if the station is playing artists who will soon be playing local shows or has new CDs for sale in the record store.

"It's a symbiotic relationship. A lot of times the reason bands come around is that we're playing them. When we get discs in the station, we listen to them to see if it would appeal to our listening audience."

Still, concerns about who gets played and why have long dogged radio. As public stations try to survive in these days of reduced public funding—and, in the process, often become more like commercial stations—they find themselves more and more having to answer these questions.

Local CD Review

Kidsnack, First Steps
(Double Zero Records)

Stirred up from the still-smoldering ashes of Torture Kitty, Kidsnack might well take issue with any tag you tried to put on them, be it punk-pop or "melodic hardcore" or...whatever. And perhaps rightly so, because mostly, Kidsnack is just plain damn fun, a punkish and hyper-tuneful four-piece possessed of as much raw spunk and sheer mutant ebullience as any better-known hard-fast-rules popsters you'd care to name (Blink-182, Green Day, Fenix FX, etc.)

Lead vocalist and bassist John Sewell (and yes, it's true, he's a frequent MP contributor, but all journalistic nepotism aside, we really like the band. Really.) is no youngster, having played and sung in more punk and hard rock outfits than perhaps anyone in town since the early 1980s. But he still sings with all the free-spirited snottiness of fourth generation mohawks literally half his age. And guitarists Greg Williams and Greg Swift integrate punchy, amphetamine-laced rhythms and bits of metallish flotsam with much aplomb, adding a pleasing hard-rock flair to the punky grooves and the lighter, more pop-friendly vocal melodies.

But Kidsnack is mostly about fun tunes, which First Steps proffers in abundance. Opening cuts "Circus Tricks" and "Just For A Day" are worth the price of a CD by themselves, and the juvie kicks don't let up until the up-tempo wistfulness of "November's Coming Down" at the end of the disc.

While Kidsnack's melodic sensibilities never fail, they do occasionally falter, and songs like "To An End" (cut four) and "Above The Planets" (cut seven) fall a little short of the hook-y perfection on display throughout most of the record. But First Steps is nonetheless a wonderful aural photo album of lost loves, bad attitudes, and nights of mischief soundtracked by hellbent rock 'n' roll. Truly, good enough for punk rock.

Go.

Thursday: Joe, Marc's Brother at Barley's. A band with a silly name but well-crafted, crunchy, harmonic pop.

Friday: Louise Mosrie at Java (Homberg). Local singer-songwriter with sweet tunes that could make you a fan.

Saturday: A. Scott Miller with Kenny Roby at Patrick Sullivan's. Solo and acoustic this time out but still devilishly fun.

Sunday: Southern Christmas Memories at Church of the Ascension. Reader's theater about, well, Southern Christmas memories produced by the Tennessee Valley Players.

Monday: Jennifer Daniels at Barley's. Yet another singer-songwriter with mad skills.

Tuesday: Do some shopping. Drink some nog.

Wednesday: Chris Miller's photos at The Bearden Gallery of Fine Art Photography. Good stuff from the American West, both of which will soon disappear.

—Emma "No chestnuts, no open fire" Poptart