WNRZ Community Radio At Last!

WNRZ

COMMUNITY RADIO AT LAST!

The growing rainbow institutions developing here in Ann Arbor need the active participation of all the various kinds of media in order to fully involve the entire community in the process of change. "People can only act on the information available to them." Few, if any, local radio or television stations (but several newspapers, including the one you're reading right now) exist to consciously raise people's consciousness and help bring about the change we all feel the need for every day. But with recent events at WNRZ-fm, one radio station is a whole lot closer to providing the needed electronic alternative.

Lately the radio situation has, for the most part, been a dismal one.

It wasn't always this way. "Underground" or "free-form" radio first emerged back in the acid days of 1967 and at that point served to spread the new understanding through the new sounds of a brand new people, bringing newly energized radio waves into the ears and minds of millions of post-war electronic babies who were READY for it. In 1967 hearing "Somebody to Love" on the air or anything by Bob Dylan, was enough to make you jump back and check to see if it was really the radio. For the first time DJ's were able to use their real names and talk like real people instead of programmed automatons responding to a pre-determined "clock-hour", sprouting phony bullshit and selling pimple creams. Stations like WABX, KMPX in San Francisco, and others helped to bring the new culture to everyone within range of their antennae.

But since then the situation has slid downhill. With very few exceptions the radio stations that play our people's music have fallen far behind their listeners. Either the stations have reverted once again to automated, completely restricted and censored programming, or they've fallen somewhat short of the same approach. Competent DJ's are frequently fired for saying things that are too far out for the station's "owners." Rarely are people from the community able to do a show with a disc jockey or go on the air to say their thing in the context of music (like the Michigan Marijuana Initiative) but refuse to make full use of their facilities to really kick out the jams and let us know how we can best participate in making our lives fulfill the visions of our music.

In these days of the expanding FM "market," most stations are far more interested in playing the "hits" over and over and bending to the wishes of their advertisers than in informing their listeners. Most "progressive" stations on the dial are a programmed wasteland.

This has been less true here in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area, which has had a history of relevant rainbow radio. WABX has its great moments part of the time, but will only go so far, afraid that if it gets too far out people are gonna turn the dial to RIF. CJOM in Windsor also has some great times on the air (especially Bob Rudnick's distinctly brilliant shows). But neither of these stations (all the rest are garbage except for the occasional killer tunes that come on between mindless raps and the old hard sell) are close enough to Ann Arbor to truly serve the development of this community in the manner we need.

WNRZ-fm in Ann Arbor has been around for a number of years now, and at times has had good programming coming over its frequency. But whenever that happened it wouldn't last, and the sound of the station never got quite off the ground, and not surprisingly, never managed to maintain a sizeable audience, going through several station managers who each tried vainly to direct the station towards "success", which in commercial radio means only one thing: money.

But in the past few months a new manager, Wray Rutledge, has been placed in control of the station, and some really fine changes have come about as a result. WNRZ is fast leaving the wasteland and becoming a truly community radio station, having decided to experiment and see if relating to the growing alternative community here will attract more listeners and thereby make the station more commercially "successful." Listening on this end we can say that, given that the community doesn't have the resources at this point to own and operate a radio station completely in its own interests, WNRZ's attempts have been successful indeed and have been bringing new life to tired radio waves.

Over the summer NRZ hired Mike O'Brien, an Ann Arbor native who used to work at the station but who quit in disgust in April of 71 as a result of one of the format changes, and who worked last year at the UM student fm station, WCBN. Mike is on in the afternoons from 3-8. For the evening slot, NRZ hired another of its former DJ's under old and senile management, Larry Monroe, who had just finished quitting on the air at WABX, due to increasing restrictions coming down on his program there. Larry and Jim Dulzo quit ABX together because of the station's commercial policy of tasteless and offensive advertising, an emphasis on playing more of the "hits", and a never quite stated policy of playing just about no blues or jazz records (ABX has since loosened up a bit). Larry has been active in the community for some time, and his presence on the local airwaves, under an arrangement where he's free to put together his programs without interference (but for the rules of the F.C.C.), has been a welcome addition to the dial.

Larry can play whatever he wants to in whatever order he chooses, piecing together jams, raps, interviews, public service announcements and news into a unified whole. All the DJ's at the station are free to do the same, in fact the management encourages it. (Sister Ann Christ will be doing the all-night show starting soon after this issue hits the streets). You can hear people from the community on the air who have something relevant to say, the public service announcement are meaningful and the news (NRZ subscribe to the alternative Zodiac News Service, a really fine source of news you don't get to find out about otherwise) fits right in. The station operates a ride and message service on the air (send announcements, ride requests or offers, or anything you think should be on the radio to NRZ at Box 5, Ann Arbor) and other changes and expansions of this solid beginning are expected soon.

So far this summer Sunday's been a real good day on NRZ. Starting last July 16 the station began broadcasting most of the Ann Arbor Community Park Program live on the radio. The broadcast was put together by Dan Mullally and Larry Monroe from NRZ, along with members of the People's Communications Committee of the Tribal Council, who also handled the radio announcing on the show. The Communications Committee spent the time in between bands letting all those who couldn't make it on down to the park in on the latest news of activities in the community, interviewing members of the bands, Drug Help workers, Psychedelic Rangers, Food Committee volunteers, and other people active in making the park program happen every Sunday.

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WNRZ cont.

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After listening to the park program either live or at home, people could tune in at 7 to John Sinclair and Hawg Tate's four hour "Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival of the Air." John and Hawg's show features (it'll be on the air throughout the year) killer music rarely heard on any radio. And we can announce here and now that the People's Communications Committee will still take over the air waves on NRZ every Sunday afternoon even though the park program has, at least for this year, come to a close. The Committee's show will continue to bring you the latest news on what's happening in town, culturally, musically, politically, and every other way. People interested in participating in this program can attend the Communications Committee meetings every other Wednesday. Check the Sun calendar or call the Network for the time and place.

And that's not all; NRZ, again with the People's Communications Committee, will be broadcasting live the historic opening of the Ann Arbor People's Ballroom, direct from the Washington St. Community Center this Friday, Sept. 1st. More broadcasts from special ballroom events are possible in the future. Most of the Blues and Jazz Festival will be broadcast in stereo live on WNRZ. As the station gets the support of local advertisers and community merchants its ability to do expanded local and national news, more live remote broadcasts and other righteous programming will increase and there'll be even more exciting listening. Stay tuned to the SUN for further details, and check out 102.9 on your fm dial for more of the same.

The Ann Arbor rainbow community has grown by leaps and bounds since the last Back to Skool issue came out one year ago. Institutions are developing whole new methods for dealing with the welfare of the people, and more people are getting involved in building up all the various programs than ever before. In order for this growth to continue and accelerate, the community needs to be plugged-in together for continuous information exchange. This community now has the SUN, the Tribal Network, and the People's Communication Committee to aid us in this process of liberation. Cable TV is coming to Ann Arbor this fall, with perhaps the most revolutionary potential for taking people higher than any media to come along so far. And there's now a radio station on the air that's making solid progress towards keeping us movin on to our music while filling us instantaneously in on what we need to know to survive and grow together here in the midst of the collapsing civilization all around us.

SUPPORT WNRZ!

COMMUNICATE TO LIBERATE!

-- David Fenton, RPP