Does anyone in KC have enough of "the X factor" to score a $5 million recording contract?

This is an article I wrote for the Kansas City Pitch on their Wayward Blog. It was published on April 8, 2011.

--------------------------------------

Is there a Kansas City musician or band that's looking to win a big, fancy recording contract? (We're guessing the answer is yes.)




The X Factor, a singing-competition series that will air on Fox this fall, has expanded its auditions to cities across the country, including Kansas City.

Vocal groups and individuals (ages 12 and up) who can't make it to the cities holding auditions -- the closest metro to Kansas City is Chicago -- will be able to use an HD recording studio. In the studio, audtioning acts record a song a cappella and tell why they believe they have what it takes to become a global sensation. Oak Park Mall will have one of the MyStudio audition booths from Friday, April 15, through Saturday, April 30. It will be located inside the mall near Macy's. The hours of operation will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Click here to register.

KC Radio hits the same demographic as the late Gen X 99.7

This is an article I wrote that was published by the Kansas City Pitch on their Wayward Blog on March 30, 2011

--------------------------------------------------------------

Good news for those mourning the loss of Gen X 99.7: According to Facebook and Twitter, KC Radio returned to Internet radio this afternoon to broadcast music from the '80s and '90s.




KCRadio.com is an Internet radio station that is owned and operated by local radio personality Kelly Urich. It was founded in January 2009 and has had a lot of local public figures involved, including Bryan Busby and Andrew Cook (the brother of American Idol winner David Cook).

Here's what Urich told us about KC Radio:

"Gen X 99.7 FM was incredibly popular with a small demographic of people. Unfortunately, not enough to survive in the world of advertising. I have this radio station in my basement and I thought it would be a welcome relief to -- instead of blowing up a station and that's the end -- give an option for people who listen at work, or people with smart phones who really want '80s and '90s."

"I originally built the studio to do a show for Sirius-XM, but their financial woes led to KC Radio at kcradio.com. We had a hot adult-contemporary format for over a year, and that's when Entercom entered the picture. It quickly became a conflict with the Gen X 99.7 FM format, so we closed shop. Ironically, the launch of 99.7 the Point left us with the perfect opportunity to play nonstop Generation X music."

Web radio has obviously arrived with Pandora and the like. KC Radio is a cool way to localize the Web experience, but we have listeners from all over the world.

For those Gen X listeners out there who are missing their hits of the last few decades: Be sure to log on to kcradio.com. You won't be disappointed

Gen X 99.7 and 98.1 KUDL are now replaced by "adult contemporary music, past and present" [Updated]

This is an article that was published by the Kansas City Pitch on their Waywar Blog on March 24, 2011

---------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: Thursday, March 24, at 2:17 p.m.: Entercom's press release of 1 p.m says KUDL 98.1 switches call letters to KMBZ next Wednesday

Gen X Radio 99.7 and KUDL 98.1 are no more.




According to a press release on March 23 by Entercom Kansas City, Gen X Radio is now known as 99.7 the Point. The direction of the station is aimed at women ages 25 to 54 and will play adult contemporary music, past and present.

Brand Manager and Program Director Mark Edwards stated in the press release, "We've worked hard to find out what kind of music and interactive elements the women in Kansas City desire, and we built an entertainment experience from the ground up just for them." (To read the entire press release, you can find it here).

KUDL will play a "free trial" of 99.7 the Point for the next 30 days until it leaves the airwaves.

So, to the Kansas City listeners, what do you think of the changes to both stations? Did Entercom make the right decision, or will this become a fatality?

UPDATE: The KUDL website has posted a thank-you to the listeners for keeping them on-air for the past 34 years. Radio personality Tanna will be joining 99.7 the Point as the afternoon DJ (from 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays) starting Wednesday. Roger will be moving to 106.5 the Wolf for the morning show starting Monday.

If anyone is interested in obtaining a piece of either 99.7 or 98.1, there is an event tomorrow, March 25, at the AMC Mainstreet Marquee Lounge from 2 to 6 p.m. The Point is hosting the event and will be giving away merchandise (T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) to anyone who decides to attend. They will also present the new radio team and have givaways for future events in Kansas City. Click here for more information.

Pimping perfume: five pop stars guilty of shamelessly promoting their fragrances in videos

This article was posted by the Kansas City Pitch on their Wayward blog on March 8, 2011

-------------------------------------------

Recently, Wayward tossed off a blog entry about Lady Gaga and her future fragrance. (Can we even call it that?) While we are still grossed out over the idea of buying something that smells like blood and, um, man goo, we have also given some thought to how she will promote such a product. Then it hits: why not in one of her erratic music videos? The idea isn't new. Pop artists have been pimping their own products through video placement a lot recently. Here's a list of five starlets guilty of shamelessly promoting their fragrances in music videos.


5. Hilary Duff, "With Love"
Features: With Love (1:03 into the video)



Who keeps a glass bottle of perfume in their jacket pocket? Apparently Hilary Duff.

4. Britney Spears, "Hold It Against Me"

Features: Radiance (0:37 into the video)



Britney's brain: "Let's show on a bunch of TV screens all of my past music videos. I also want a scene where I am fighting my own alter ego. Oh, wait! I have a new fragrance called Radiance. Let's work that into the video, too, OK?"

We're done throwing up now.

3. Christina Aguilera, "Not Myself Tonight"

Features: Christina Aguilera and Christina Aguilera by Night (2:17 into the video)



Most people spray perfume before they go out for the night, not right before bedroom gymnastics with a shirtless guy. Way to go, Christina! Get your freak on!

2. Avril Lavigne, "What the Hell"

Features: Black Star and Forbidden Rose (0:38 into the video)



After rolling out of bed with the nameless man, Avril goes to the dresser and applies not one, but both of her fragrances before walking out the door. Really? Both? Hopefully they complement each other well, or else everyone will be fleeing to get away from the overpowering stench.


1. Britney Spears, "Circus"

Features: Curious, Believe, and Fantasy (0:01 into the video)



Attention: We have a repeat offender in shameless promoting. Spears is clearly the winner when it comes to showing off her many fragrances -- by the way, she has a few more that have yet to make it in a video. Oh, and how many times is she going to spray herself with Curious? It's not body splash, you know ...

'Poppin' bottles' and nine other obnoxiously overused phrases in pop songs

This is an article that was published by the Kansas City Pitch on their Wayward Blog on March 2, 2011

-----------------------------------------------------

Pop music is great ... to an extent.


Top 40 may be everyone's favorite mindless genre, but pop music's trends are idiotically transparent. Wayward has spent a few weeks scanning hundreds of radio earworms in order to specifically calculate which words and phrases need to be abolished from pop music's vocabulary.

10. "Play my/her favorite song"
As heard in: Tim McGraw's "Felt Good On My Lips"; Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me"; Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA"

Is there anything more obnoxious than name-checking another, better song during a pop song? (No, Miley, there isn't.) But referencing someone else's favorite song is almost as bad.

9. "I like it"
As heard in: Rihanna's "S&M," Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull's "I Like It"

Um...we don't like it.

8. "Poppin' bottles"
Heard In: Far East Movement's "Like a G6," T.I. feat. Chris Brown's "Get Back Up," Birdman feat. Lil Wayne's "Pop Bottles"

Poppin' bottles - namely, when large quantities of champagne are either consumed or poured over scantily clad women -- is a remnant of far earlier days, back when Diddy was Puff Daddy and drank Cristal. Currently, it's a standard in hip-hop excess. (Other runner-up phrases that should similarly be abolished: poppin' pills, poppin' caps, or poppin', er, lady parts.)


7. "Duece/Dueces"
As heard in: Chris Brown's "Deuces," Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)"

Deuces" has replaced "peace out." Nothing like swapping one obnoxious phrase for another.

6. "Animal" or "cannibal"
As heard in: Usher's "More," Neon Trees' "Animal," Ke$ha's "Cannibal," Disturbed's "The Animal"

Since when did "animal" and "cannibal" go hand-in-hand, outside of novels featuring Hannibal Lecter?

5. "Swagger" or "swag on"
As heard in: Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)," Lil Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot," Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag," Jay Z's "Swagger Like Us," Ke$ha's "Tik Tok"

Swagger is defined as a confident and arrogant type of attitude. (It's also a jacket cut.) Once Ke$ha snatched up the term, she made it trashy. Then Toyota decided to shake things up and give swagger a new attitude, with minivans. Jay-Z, meet hordes of balding middle-aged suburbanites.

4. "808's"
As heard in: Far East Movement's "Like a G6," Ke$ha's "Your Love Is My Drug," Kelis' "Bossy," also Kanye West's 808's and Heartbreak

Ah, the 808 drum. It was a staple for music 20 years ago. Now that the children of the '80s are taking over the music industry, it seems as if they all want to pay homage to the instrument. Clearly, the keytar is next.

 3. "In the club"
As heard in: Nelly's "Just a Dream," Usher's "DJ Got Us Falling in Love," Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)"

When you're awkwardly finding someone to bump-'n-grind with, do you find it slightly redundant to hear references to being "in the club" when you're ... in a club? (Then again, if you were listening to the lyrics anyway, your night might already suck.)

2. "Turn it up" or "Turn it loud"
As heard in: Ke$ha's "We R Who We R," Brad Paisley's "This Is Country Music," Jason Aldeen's "My Kinda Party," Chris Brown's "Yeah 3x," Waka Flocka Flame's "No Hands"

Upon further consideration: I think the music industry has a contract with a company that produces hearing aids.

1. "Put your hands in the air" or "put your hands up"
As heard in: Nelly "Just a Dream," Chris Brown "Yeah 3x," Linkin Park "Waiting for the End," Taio Cruz "Dynamite," Flo-Rida "Club Can't Handle Me"

There is a list of 100 songs that use this phrase -- not including my aforementioned song choices. After all this time, you'd think we'd all have figured out what to do with our hands when dancing at a club, no?