The AM is Still A Work In Progress....

As you may have heard, we have encountered several problems and we certainly appreciate your patience. We have John Gibson for an extra hour from 6p-7p, then Alan Colmes and then (hold your applause) Coast to Coast starts at its regular time, 10pm. There are still a few programming adjustments we would like to make in the meantime. One addition starts this Saturday with Bob Costas and his new show going from 4p-7p on Saturday.

Something else new for our AM listeners is the new and improved web site. We're still working on that as well, but hope to have it finished by the end of the weekend. The end result will be a great resource for the talk AND sports fans.

Tomorrow we'll talk about our Coyote party!

Let's Talk About The Troops...

Thanks to Trudy, we're back in full swing with our IWV Cares program. We're getting a lot of donations of cash and goodies to send to the troops. But we can always use more help. The cash is for postage and the goodies are for the troops. There are folks over there fighting and in harms way every day some of which don't have much family. They are so thrilled when they get something from the U.S., even if it's from a total stranger. So if you get a chance, drop by something from the list

We'll be doing a couple of bigger drives soon, so watch for that!

All The Turkey Leftovers Are Gone...

And I need a nap! The week ahead will be fairly calm (as weeks around here go anyway). Gearing up for our next Road Show Stop on Saturday at Santa's Art Shop. We had a blast at Bud Eyre for the pancake breakfast. It's always great to be out and visiting with folks.

People are asking about Ray. He is well, however, he has some stuff to tend to in Texas so Bud Klamt will be doing some fill in work and when he can't do it, I will. This is typically a quiet time for news, which is scary because that's usually when something happens. We have some Christmas goodies planned for the coming weeks so stay tuned for that.

Over on our AM station we have been chasing down several problems. This most important announcement would be having Coast to Coast on the air on time at 10PM! Alan Colmes is on from 7p-10p. Starting this Saturday at 4pm we'll have a new show from Bob Costas. Costas on the Radio. Bob will also have a daily feature on the AM and even one on the FM.

Speaking of features on the FM, we're sad to learn that Bob Kingsley's Music Makers heard weekday mornings at 7:35 is no more. Bob will still be around with his Country Top 40 on Sundays.

Happy Turkey Day!

We're taking the day off on Thanksgiving, but we're resting up for Friday. WHAT A DAY! We'll start off in the studio for an hour, then it's off to Bud Eyre for their first (we hope annual) "Back At You" Pancake breakfast. It's free and their chance to thank you for their success. They are doing a great job at taking care of the Valley with their great Toyota and GM cars, trucks and SUV's, but there is nary a string attached as the breakfast is free and espcecially for those early morning shoppers. So stop by, have a byte and check out the new Coyote Wagon. Then at 11 we'll scoot over to Sears of Ridgecrest for their big holiday kickoff sale. Definitely worth scoping out. I'm already salivating over the electronics!

We will be easing into the Christmas music on Friday. Of course it was almost a year ago we stepped into our little radio hovel here and we'll be talking more about the year that was here real soon.

If you are a regular visitor to the blog but not the site, you should check out the new site. We scaled it back on graphics and increased the info. It's a work in progress but since I'm a DIY guy on this, please let me know what else you would like on it. When I'm done, I'll be doing similar work on the AM site. Speaking of the AM...

More trials and tribulations for the wary workhorse that is our AM. An STL is what sends the on air sound from our studios to the transmitter site. We had not only our NEW STL croak, but also our backup! Thanks to the "unknown" engineer, we're back on the air and sounding mighty good. We do have some more work to do. As a matter of fact there will be a couple of major projects to embark on before the end of the year to get us back up to snuff.

We'll be back...I promise! In the meantime, don't let the tryptophan get the best of you and (sorry Cowboy haters) Go Cowboys!!!

-Eric

Another Busy Saturday Coming Up!

Even before that on Friday we have the Freedom Rally, to kickoff this year's Community Dinner. We're hoping a lunch crowd will turn out since it starts at Noon. We'll only keep you for about 50 minutes or so. You will hear from some great speakers including newly elected Sheriff Donny Youngblood. The Farris Family Singers will be singing some great patriotic tunes and the Habitat for Humanity Barbecue Team will be cooking up their famous tri-tip!

Saturday, The Fritzer will be broadcasting from the Local F-32 Firefighters fund raiser car wash and bake sale. It goes from 8:30 am till 5 and benefits the families of the lost firefighters in the Esperanza fire last month. That's 5 families we need to help! We'll be broadcasting from 10 until 2, also covering the BHS All Class Reunion event at T.J. Frisbee's. The at 6, we'll be having the next West Ridgecrest Blvd. Wine Walk that goes until 8. Another great weekend of plenty to do in Ridgecrest!

We're so proud to be from the IWV!!

We were so excited about the turnout yesterday. I don't think our eyes were deceiving us. At the Kerr McGee Center from 5 until closing hundreds of people were waiting (most patiently) for their turn to cast their ballot. I swear I will get pictures up. I need to go buy batteries for my camera!

We set out to do a job in April. I talked to Chip and then we talked to Al Huey and put a plan in motion to set new records in voter turnout in the IWV. I would like to thank everyone who came through our door, or to our live broadcasts to register to vote, or pick up a voter guide, or even chime in on the state of affairs in our wonderful home town. We all did it together. Next up, waiting for the actually percentage of turnout and then increase it every election by 10 percent.

I'm about to add some off election season stuff to the web site for voter registration and such. Feel free to spread the word.

Our Weekend Adventures (Part 298)

What a weekend! Thursday night, in front of a limted crowd, we still managed to have a great time. Friday was a better crowd, but threatening weather made for a little lighter crowd, Saturday afternoon we batlled the rain, but Saturday night we, well, battled the rain and the wind. Sunday was SO nice, we stayed longer. It was great. All in all, we have away a bunch of t-shirts, stickers and, a first ever (or in a long long time) gave away REAL money! $92.70 x 4. Congrats to all of our winners.

The SCE lamp exchange went very well, and they even gave us some extra lamps to give away at the fair!

Needless to say, by the end of the weekend we were pretty beat, but defintely felt good connecting with everyone that came out. We're on the move again this weekend with the still to be disclosed Fri-Sun Fair Grounds remote and coverage of Maturango Junction. The Junction is a great event and you should make it out to Jackson Park.

We're also hoping folks will come out for the Political Forums we're doing with the Chamber, the Swap Sheet and the DI. Keep listening for dates and times.

We'll always have stickers and a few t-shirts too!

-Eric

Slacking again??

No, not really. Wre've just been so busy here. Okay, we did manage to take a three day weekend but it was to get ready for the next stretch of road show stops. We work every day until the 22nd. Yikes! But it's all good, because we get to be out and about with everyone. Keep listening because we are going to do something un-heard of during the Desert Empire Fair. More on that later.

The other thing we'll be doing is taking pocket change (or more) for Operation IWV Cares. We're gearing up again with the new name but same dedication for the Troops and for Long Beach, Mississippi. We want to make Christmas special for all of them.

Come by and see us!

-Eric

WTG IWV!

They had the fundraiser dinner last night at Charley's and it was a huge success. They were able to donate $800 and Chip gave another $150 to the families of the accident victims. It's another example of the great work this community does. Speaking of...

We had a blast Friday night at the USO fundraiser. We raised almost $6000 form that including the wonderful $2600 that Peggy from the Swap Sheet donated to have Chip mow her yard. She threw him a curve however, by annoucning that as a taxpayer, the football field belongs to her and Chip would have to mow that!

That USO building project is really taking off. They raised over $12k on window sponsorships and we understad the new roof is going on soon. It is going to be the crowned jewel of Old Towne. Spekaing of...

We have a Wine Walk Thursday night on West Ridgecrest Blvd. We will be broadcasting that and we'llo be broadcasting live from the Swap Sheet to celebrate 60 years for that publication. We enjoy a great parntershiop with Peggy and crew. We're working on the Old Towne Fall Festival together as we speak!

-Eric

Busy, Busy, Busy....

We finish and unwind from the Road Rally weekend. Great job, Southern Sierra Boys and Girls Club. Also, great job from Habitat for Humanity! We were absolutely amazed they framed an entire house in a day and a half. It's on it's way to the devestated Gulf Coast. We watched the unveiling of the all new Superdome last night and on one hand it was amazing they got that done in a year and certainly had reason to celebrate. But I still worry that the rest of the Gulf is forgotten.

We're reviving High Desert Cares, but we're calling it IWV Cares. After all, let's face it, it was the IWV carrying that program anyway right? So we'll be doing a Christmas push for both the troops and the folks in Long Beach. Keep listening for details.

So THIS weekend we'll be at the Family Fun Fair for the United Way. That's from 10-3, after the Kiwanis Walk A Thon. The Grand Prix is also this weekend. Keep listening to the station for traffic changes.

And finally, go to Lugo's Saturday morning between 9-11 and you'll see a genuine talk show live and in person. Al and Gary are doing their show there with Water Board candidates. We also have tentative dates set for Candidate forums we will be sponsoring with the Daily Indpendent, the Chamber of Commerce and The Swap Sheet. We're hoping to carry these live on the Coyote too!

-Eric

About That Gasoline....

So after talking to our financial guru, Andy Barkate, he suggested we were going about this high gas price thing all wrong. He suggested we through out an offer for a free advertising package for a place willing to lower the price a substantial amount per gallon. In this case it was ten cents a gallon and someone took us up on it. It was One Stop Market on China Lake Blvd. They dropped the price of regular to $2.75 a gallon. That's a full ten cents below the current lowest price which is $2.85.

If you haven't heard, the price of gas, the SAME gas, 120 miles north of us in Bishop is as low as $2.61. We're still scratching our head about that. We were hoping this might inspire a friendly gas price war, but so far, no deal.

I would like to thank One Stop for stepping up though. AND we will be visiting them soon to put together a nice advertising campaign.

I wouldn't say this was a total bust, because a lot of people saved some bucks on gas.

We'll keep pluggin' away.

-Eric

Some Website Changes...

We finally have some stuff on the Podcast page. There are links to podcasts and videocasts for Access Hollywood and The Final Lap (our new NASCAR feature!) plus you can download the last weeks worth of The Coyote Report (Ray's News), The Coyote Calendar and Joy Grdnic. Now the big challenge....can I keep them updated? LOL.

We'll see.

This weekend we'll be mobile during the Boys and Girls Club Road Rally Scavenger Hunt. Friday I think Fritz will do some drops from Habitat's big weekend project at Home Depot. They will be there Friday and Saturday framing a house for the Gulf Coast. They are taking donations of purchased tools (there's a list on location) and the frame and sending it on. The coast is still ravaged and again the entire Mississippi coastline is a mess, with most of the attention still going to New Orleans. That's why...

Operation High Desert Cares is back and better than ever with it's new name, IWV Cares. We'll still be working on supporting the troops, helping out our adopted city on the Gulf Coast, Long Beach Mississippi, and we are talking about developing a local scholarship. You can make donations at Searles Lake Community Federal Credit Union on Balsam.

More latah!

-Eric

Here's a Heads Up or Two....

First, on the web site, click on that Sara Evans button! It's your chance to score a trip to L.A. to meet Sara Evans and catch Dancin' With The Stars. I heard she didn't do to well, but she could fall down several times and I would STILL think she looks good! :p

Hope to see you at the Women's Center Concert Friday night. It's for a great cause and we're going to have a lot of fun. I'm a little worried about the wind though. The new forecast says 25-45 MPH. We'll see.

Now, finally we have the new NASCAR programming! Every weekday afternoon we'll have The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey. It'll be on at 4:15 pm. Not sure where Back In The Pits will be, but we're keeping that one too! More NASCAR, on Friday nights from 7-9pm it's Thunder Road. What's Thunder Road?

Thunder Road combines powerful production, hit music, and the most credible correspondents in Nextel Cup coverage.

The hottest stars in country music along with top drivers sharing the microphone. This is the perfect way for your listeners to keep up with two of their favorite pastimes.

Timely delivery to reflect weekly race results!

Hosted by WYAY / Atlanta personality Steve Mitch

It's country music at 200 mph. I know it's the end of the season, but this will be good for people to follow things in the off season and in January we'll be ready to kick some butt!

-Eric

August was GREMLIN month!

Well obviously. The gremlins got into absolutely EVERYTHING. So now September is here and we have lots to talk about. Today was our 9-11 tribute, in the morning. I didn't get to do eveyrthing I wanted to do, but we still had a nice program. I'm still trying to get ahold of Glenn Beck's last segment from today. It gave me goose bumps. He is an incredible radio talent and I am very proud to have him on our AM station KWDJ.

Little by little we are chasing away the gremlins. Peggy from the Swap Sheet suggested we have an exorcism put on by listeners. What a great idea!

We'll see how long till we need to haul that one out. I'm beginning to think our AM station is haunted. Maybe? Nah.

We are looking for a sales person. We just need one and it should be fairly easy for someone who is organized and self driven. I do know we have a good product and I also know that it's working for our advertisers. I don't remember being this validated down the street.

The Coyote parties have been a blast. We'll be having another one in October. Not sure when yet. We have a very busy several weeks with:

The All American Barbecue Grand Opening this Saturday. That night the Women's Center Concert. Next weekend it's the Boys and Girls Club Road Rally. The next weekend it's the Walk A Thon and Family Fun Fair, the next weekend it's the Relay for Life, the next weekend is the Desert Empire Fair and I think the next weekend is Maturango Junction.

Now I'm tired.

Be back later! I promise!!!

-Eric

It Was A Hot Hit!

Yeah, it was toasty...and considering all of mother nature's challenges, it was a great event. Of course I am talking about the Small Business Expo, put on by the Swap Sheet, the Ridgecrest Chamber and Hometown Radio 92-7 The Coyote! There were over 100 vendors sweating it out and I'm not sure of the total head count for attendance but we had a lot of folks brave the icky, steamy halls to check out what Ridgecrest has to offer in small businesses.

I'm SO glad we did it and can't wait to do it again. We are working on trying to find either a way to cool it off at the halls there or find a cooler place. The only thing that makes that tough? It's been great for the small businesses so we need a place air conditioned and big enough to hold over 100 vendors. We'll get it figured out so that we can raise attendance even more.

From noon til 3 Sara was down at Ashley Furniture Homestore, giving away another $2500 in furniture and this week it's the big finale with $5,000 in furniture. The cool technical part of that is that we were doing two remotes simultaneously! Cellular technology rocks for radio.

A couple of last notes as we get our noses back to the grindstone...one I would like to throw out a giant shout out to John at I-Rock for bringing us a present, or make that two presents....so that little power surges like we had this morning won't take us off the air. I-Rock? Nope, John YOU rock.

AND, we would like to welcome our newest staff members. Shila, our intern extrordinaire and Dave Larson our new Sales Executive. He's coming soon to a business near you. Dave is very active in the community including being on the Lions Club Board.

More later!

-Eric

Are We There Yet?

One of our goals, when we came over here, was to eventual make everyone say, "man you guys are everywhere!". Not sure if we are there yet, but we have something going on almost every single weekend from now through October here in the Valley, and our plan is to be there. To sweeten the pot a little is being an Old Towne Ridgecrest business. The difference between working for a regional station and actually being here is that we participate in these events at no cost to the merchants here because, simply, we are one of them. I have to tell you, that during the Summer Stroll, we haven't felt that validated as a community radio station as we did that night. Not monetarily, but just on a community basis. A lot of small market owners would say we are nuts by not attaching strings that would make us money, but my philosophy has always been to by intertwining yourself in the community gets you two things. First more listeners, because they will always want to know what's going on, and then of course advertisers will follow because you are a happening place that people tune into for the community.

The final part of this radio equation is that you can actually do things like get normal people who might not participate in the activities of BEING a small community interested in something to better the community. Everyone wins. This is not, I repeat, NOT a theory. I have seen it work. Back in Texas, and yes, here in Ridgecrest. I think if there was one thing I missed being down the street, over the last several years was not keeping this plan in motion. And worst of all about that, was that it is not just possible in one community, but in all that you cover. Is it hard work? Damn right it is. Is it rewarding? You bet.

convoluted and wordy as it was, I am hoping that the community that is the Indian Wells Valley will get out and support the Small Business Expo this weekend. It will validate you as a member of the community and validate the people who make this place tick everyday. Whether we actually see it in action or not.

Plus you can win some cool prizes. (ok....I will appeal to a different sensibility if the other stuff didn't work)

-Eric

I'm Ready To Kick This Thing In The Butt...

Well, not that we don't try to kick butt daily here, but you know you've been there too. A little complacency sets in. The whole fat and happy thing. You drop off your game a little. It's amazing, doing this "boutique" style (as they say in L.A.) the domino effect that happens when you kick it in gear. The Small Business Expo is a perfect example. We have come through many crossroads on our little radio adventure, and so far, mostly correct turns. This was certainly one of them. I was proud when Peggy, who owns the Swap Sheet asked us to join in. It's our first year, and I don't know necessarily that we pulled our weight, but we're trying. But it has been not just an business opportunity but has openend up new lines of communication. Not with just the goal of making more money, but for us to become a better business at meeting the needs of the community. All of the small business owners giving us feedback about THEIR businesses. We're all fighting together.

You know, I have been accused on occasion of having a "Pollyana-esk" view on things when it comes to small town life, but I really believe a community, or groups within a community are capable of working together and doing great things. This expo is a perfect example of that. The Old Towne Stroll was that way. By the way, Old Towne is really buzzing these days. Again, the domino effect. The turnout that night was nice enough, but the impression it has left with the public in Ridgecrest, is that it is becoming a "happening" place.

Onto our powerful and efficient AM station. Foxtalk 1360 has finally entrenched itself as a radio staple for TalkRadio fans here in the IWV. Our outside the Valley coverage has been a real plus. We're doing a little more technical work right now so we are covering a little more than the Valley, but when we get things back up to snuff, our daytime coverage is Lone Pine to Palmdale, Tehachapi to Barstow and Victorville. I have been astonished. Bottom line? We will STILL only cater to the IWV. Local local local. Well and Rush Limbaugh doesn't hurt.

We hit a little speed bump with our sports coverage. We are taking a pass on BHS football. We had big plans, but the school wouldn't (or couldn't) go with one station, so we took the high road, for our advertisers. That is such a limited audience, it is just not fair to divide that up. It would have meant a premium price for limited reach. It was borderline that way anyway. Two radio stations would have really watered it down. I'm at peace with our decision. Kim and I talked a long time about this. I couldn't let ego get in the way of smart business and looking out for our clients.

Speaking of which. I plan a long winded diatribe about why radio is different (and in some ways more difficult) because we have two uniquely different customer bases.

More on that later. I'm activating the cooling center in my brain now.

-Eric

Celebrate your Liberty

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

On Tuesday we will celebrate our Nations Birthday. In July 1776 the Continental Congress courageously voted to declare independence from Great Britain.
The "Declaration of Independence" not only declared our freedom from English rule but it also set fourth many of the ideals important to our nation today.

The Fourth of July for me is a celebration of Patriotism as well as a celebration of everything that is summer. Coney Island will host the 91st "Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest." Major League, Minor League and backyard baseball games will be played, fireworks will light up the sky and many sunburns will be earned. In Ridgecrest we are fortunate to have a community celebration at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds. Each year the Lions Club and Knights of Columbus work together to bring our Valley a fantastic fireworks show funded by donations from businesses, individuals and service groups. There will be great food, live music and games from the Southern Sierra Boys and Girls Club. Eric has produced the background music for the fireworks and you can hear it live at the fairgrounds or on your FM dial at 92.7, beginning at about 9pm. Fritz and I will be live at the fairgrounds so I encourage you to come out and enjoy the festivities.

As we celebrate our Nation's Birth, we should also take a moment to reflect on the brave men and women who have fought and died to protect the liberty our fore fathers worked so hard for. Please remember their families as you celebrate with yours.

~Sara

We're not Slacking!

I promise! Things here at the Coyote and Fox Talk have been going great. We are so pleased with the response we've had to Fox Talk. We are also happy that this month we could celebrate 6 months of service to this community! This week we started "The Big Show Part 2!" It airs afternoons from 3pm to 6pm. It's a continuation of our morning program and it's pretty cool!

Tonight we have another chance to support our community as we broadcast live from the new and improved "Olde Towne Ridgecrest." It's a great chance to spend a Friday night getting to know all of these wonderful businesses and their owners as well as your friends and neighbors. There will be live music, great food and specials from your local merchants. Olde Towne Ridgecrest doesn't only include Balsam Street but it also includes businesses on the side streets and Ridgecrest Boulevard. Some come out and spend a great evening!

We have some great things planned over the next few months including a huge drive to "Get Out The Vote." We want a lot of registered, well informed voters in this community! Stay tuned!

Election Day Is Here!

It has been a long haul for the candidates AND for the radio station. We have tried to present all candidates. Some of them have declined to be on the air. I'm not sure what that's about, unless it is a carry over from an ongoing reputation that the media has in being somewhat of a sabateur. We certainly don't do that here, allowing an open forum for the candidates to get their message out. We'll be doing election returns tonight, a tradition we staretd down the street. The politically active and politically curious usually stop by as we watch the numbers on the big board. The big board now being the internet. Ray will actually be taking part from Texas courtesy of the internet too.

We have tried so hard to be the community's radio station. Not just politics, but events and organizations. I am glad the listeners have not only indulged us in this, but embraced and encouraged it. We have talked about it before here, but this is what a community radio station is supposed to do. It is so lost on all of the corporate radio stations. Oh, okay, no rant here. For now.

The AM is humming along and I was suprised to learn (on a little road trip yesterday) just how extensive our caverage is. We were pretty solid to Adelanto. Wow. Of course at night we reduce power to just the IWV, but it's great during the day for the talk show fans who have to travel. For those that don't know, the talk radio fans had a real problem when KLOA switched their format, but were able to listen to some of the hosts they like on KFI. That is until December of 2004 http://www.earthsignals.com/images/kfi/ when a plane plowed into the tower. Now we have come to the rescue with Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura who were mid-day staples to the KFI lineup. Add the Angels and the Chargers and Fox Sports on the weekend and I think the AM is here to stay. Also, I don't want to sell short our local talk show. Al and Gary are doing an EXCELLENT job and did their show this last weekend at Lugo's . It was a great show with a nice turnout. Way to go guys!

-Eric