Weatherly

0

Kevin Weatherly

Program Director

KROQ FM 106.7

Radio station KROQ FM-106.7 could be considered the E.F. Hutton of alternative music. Whatever it plays, radio professionals listen.

Kevin Weatherly, KROQ’s program director since 1992, is the main man behind the sound. Over his six-year tenure, he has secured the station’s reputation as the pioneer of the modern rock format and as a bellwether of national trends.

“KROQ’s reputation in the industry is as the flagship of alternative stations in the U.S.,” said Spence Abbott, associate editor of alternative music for radio-industry trade publication Gavin. “The rest of the country always looks at what music KROQ and Kevin (Weatherly) have discovered, and follows suit.”

Weatherly was born into the industry. His father owned a radio station in Casa Grande, Ariz., and Weatherly grew up and worked around the station since childhood. He made his on-air debut at age 12 and got his radio-operating license by age 16. Despite this upbringing, Weatherly still insists that he “just fell into the industry.”

“I certainly considered other careers along the way, but I realized that I had this knack for picking out music that would become a hit,” he said.

Weatherly worked as a DJ at several stations during his radio career under the name “Kevin Styles,” but he ultimately discovered that he did his best work behind the scenes, as a programmer.

After bouncing around top-40 and urban contemporary stations in Phoenix, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego, he was recruited by KROQ executives in 1992. He found the transition from top-40 to alternative music fairly easy, because he simply applied the same principles of radio.

“It’s still all about knowing compelling music when you hear it, and knowing what your audience wants,” Weatherly said. “At KROQ, there’s just the added motivation of keeping it fresh, being able to break the mold.”

Weatherly and KROQ also have the reputation of giving air play to local bands that don’t have record contracts leading to deals for previous unknowns.

“The executives at KROQ have even been instrumental in getting bands signed,” Abbott said. “They have made the artist in countless situations, most recently Wank from Orange County and Reel Big Fish. No other radio station can claim that distinction.”

Sara Fisher

No posts to display