KC Confidential

Here we go again, boys and grrrls…

Hot off the presses, the latest radio ratings for the merry month of March.

And again country is king with a nearly 18 percent share of  listeners.

Yep, the days of urban station KPRS FM ruling the roost are in the rearview mirror. Because forget the Christmas music factor, once again KFKF FM is large and in charge at the top of the heap.

And while The Rock 98.9 FM may still be able to draw 50,000 beer swilling headbangers to Liberty Memorial, the station’s reign atop the ratings slag heap are yesterday’s news. The station barely made the Top 5.

And speaking of nosedives, highway shootings and zoo riots aside, News Radio KMBZ fell out of the Top 10, despite the fact that it’s heard both on the AM and FM dials.

Oh and remember that station – what was it called – oh yeah, Alice? The Adult Album Alternative signal at 102.1 FM that sold its soul two months back for a nondescript slogan and a run at the adult contemporary market.

Well, looks like it’s starting to pay off as the station climbed more than half a share point (a 28 percent increase) avoiding a spot just shy of the bottom end of the Top 20.

So did Channel 19′s new baby The Bridge 90.9 FM finally make it into the ratings with its spiffy, new tower and a monopoly now on the Triple A format locally?

In a word, no.

Not only that, KTBG didn’t even garner a mention on the also ran list of unrated local stations that range in formats from “Religious Teaching” to “Regional Mexican.”

Not exactly a good sign, but let’s give ’em a bit more time.

And now, on with the March ratings show… Continue reading →

From one extreme the other…

It’s no secret that for years Ward Parkway Shopping Center has had an on-again, off again problem with urban teens hanging around its movie theaters. Much like Cinemark’s Palace on the Plaza today and Crown Center and Cinemark in Merriam in the not too distant past.

For now however, the coast is clear at Ward Parkway

That according to nearby neighbor Jeff Glazer.

“The movie theater’s been improved – they cleaned it up – and you just don’t see any of that anymore,” Glazer says. “Not at all – zero – they completely got rid of the entire issue. I would say the last two years it’s just completely disappeared.”

That’s a lot bit for a dude who four years ago felt like he was in a race war.

“My home was vandalized a little over a year ago,” Glazer told me at the time. “The black kids congregate there at Ward Parkway after the movies – about 500 to 600 deep – and our neighborhood association complained and they put in a police officer there afterwards.”

Unlike Cinemark on the Plaza, that seemed to do the trick, Glazer says.

Because before the post movie action at night had been intense.  Continue reading →

Let’s give credit where credit is due…

Nobody gets in business to fail or go broke – including now-former Kanrocksas promoter Bill Brandmeyer.

Brandmeyer went down hard last summer after failing ticket sales forced him to cancel what would have been his second huge summer spectacle at the Kansas Speedway. And while he was on the receiving end of some ultra harsh criticism from both music fans and the very industry insiders who encouraged him to absorb yet another multi-million dollar hit, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that Brandmeyer’s heart was in the right place.

Was he naive to think he could come out of nowhere and swack one out of the park?

Obviously. Continue reading →

Talk about the Top 40…

With Vampire Weekend, O.A.R., Pat Metheny, 311,  Ziggy Marley, The Rainmakers, Robert Randolph and 33 more acts – and still counting – this summer at Crossroads KC promises to be the biggest and brightest yet at the 8 year-old outdoor venue in downtown Kansas City.

“Yeah, there are way more bigger shows this year and there’s a reason for that – no Kanrocksas”  says promoter Brett Mosiman. “We’re barely into April and we already have 40 shows booked and we’ll probably have another 5 or 6 shows.”

Joss Stone

For example, yet to be announced are shows featuring acclaimed British soul singer Joss Stone (September 7th), Bruce Hornsby (July 26th) and the Under the Sun tour with Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Blues Traveler and Uncle Kracker. Continue reading →

Once upon a time there were only private clubs…

So when you wanted to go out to a nice restaurant in Kansas City – with rare exception – it wasn’t in the state of Kansas. Kansas City, Missouri was where the action was at when it came to credible dining options. Because in the 1970s Kansas was still sorting out its antiquated liquor laws and you had to “join” a “club” to be able to order liquor by the drink with your meal.

But as the 1980s unfolded a bold Johnson County barbecuer by the name of Hayward Spears bought up a bunch of land at College Boulevard and Antioch and moved his popular rib roost south from 95th Street into a gorgeous, new space with a scenic view of the city to the north. Oh and he got one of those new-fangled liquor licenses Kansas was starting to give out and – just like that – fine dining was born in Overland Park.

However unlikely though because Hayward’s was a mere barbecue joint. Continue reading →