KNRJ
Encyclopedia
KNRJ 101.1 FM, K224CJ 92.7 FM, K257CD 99.3 FM, and K228XO 93.5 FM are a quadrocast station serving the Phoenix
area. KNRJ is licensed to Payson, Arizona
, which is 57 miles north of Phoenix
, while K224CJ is a 10-watt translator from South Mountain
's antenna farm to provide a better signal to the Phoenix area. Both are currently owned by Sierra H Broadcasting.
KNRJ targets Phoenix; although KNRJ's 101.1 signal does reach the northern portions of Maricopa County, K224CJ brings crucial coverage to the Phoenix metropolitan area and can be heard in the central and southern portions of the region, although recently K224CJ has been suffering from severe multipath distortion. Its main signal on 101.1 between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon has interference from 101.1 FM KPLD
in Saint George, Utah; the K228XO translator brings coverage to the Flagstaff area due to this interference. Past Seligman, Arizona
, the signal from 101.1 FM KRRK
in Lake Havasu City
disrupts any KNRJ reception. The addition of 99.3 FM covering mostly West Phoenix greatly increases KNRJ's reach to its target market.
In the late 1990s, KESP-FM signed on from Payson, Arizona as a classic hits
format station named Loop 101. In 2000, the callsign was changed to KAZL (K AriZona Loop), and K224CJ 92.7 FM from South Mountain and K292DF 106.3 FM (now K228XO 93.5 FM) in Flagstaff
were applied for and signed on during the same period. The station's goal was to be an alternative to KSLX-FM, another classic hits station serving the Phoenix area. KNRJ, K224CJ, and K292DF never achieved sufficient ratings.
The dismal ratings were followed by a format change on 18 June 2002: KAZL began stunting
, leading listeners to believe they were becoming an all-commercial station (All Commercials, All the Time, KAZL) Steven Szalay, Operations Manager, established A/V Producer and stockholder in Sierra H Broadcasting, Inc, created an entire phony radio format complete with sweepers, liners
, I.D.'s and recorded DJ comments as well as a collection of classic radio commercials. The station received a great many calls asking if this was serious; some called to express their appreciation of the joke, and some believed it pleading and demanding that the classic hits format be returned.
The stunting was stopped at 5 p.m. three days later (21 June 2002) and because of the clever and original stunting did receive considerable press coverage for the end of the stunt and the start of a format similar to WKIE
in Chicago, CHR Dance. At this time it was known that WKIE was sold and to be changed to a Spanish language format. Chris Shebel the program director of WKIE programmed the music of KAZL for nearly a year by e-mail. Also, the name changed to "Energy 92.7 & 101.1"; to match, the callsign on 101.1 became KNRJ. WKIE was also known as Energy; the name was chosen for KNRJ to continue the legacy. KNRJ was also a reporter in Billboard Magazine's Dance/Mix Show Airplay panel. The station would still receive calls from Chicago visitors asking if they are the same Energy that was in Chicago. The KNRJ callsign previously resided in Houston, Texas at 96.5 FM under a top 40/dance/alternative format from 1988 to 1990, as Energy 96.5.
KNRJ's dance music
product included house
, techno
, and club
music, as well as remixes
of pop
and R&B hits. The first personality to be live on-air was KEDJ's "Pistol Pete" who took the afternoon day part. Shortly thereafter, Lysa D. began as the station's evening voice. In January 2002, Alex Santa Maria (PD of then KNRJ's sister station , KAJM Mega 104.3/99.3) took over the programming rein
s as well as becoming the voice of the morning drive. The first mixshow to air on the station was a syndicate of UK's own, Paul Oakenfold. After months of promoting the station, evening personality, Lysa D. (also a club–mixshow DJ), launched live mixshows including: the Friday Night Funky Mix and "GrooveSessionz" which aired Saturday evenings. With the thought of expanding the station's reputation in the dance world, she would feature exclusive interviews and mixes from the likes of Bad Boy Bill, Richard Vission, as well as much local talent, such as Rob Wegner, Kevin Brown, Pete Salas, just to name a few. Later, Beau Duran became the afternoon host and Pistol Pete took over as the morning show host.
In May 2004, programming authority had changed as well as the station's playlist. Internet radio station Energy 98's "Mike O." took the crown as KNRJ's new Program Director and continued the success and dance trend for which Energy was known. Energy 98's operations were merged with KNRJ's, and Energy 98's website redirected people to Energy 92.7 & 101.1's website. Months later Pistol Pete left for Los Angeles and Lysa D took over mornings with her show titled "The Morning Frenzy". More mixshows and some of the world's top talent would be featured including: Carl Cox, Armin Van Buren, Roger Sanchez, JJ Flores, Marcus Schulz, Justin Dohman, Spencer Thomas, Eddie Amador
, Rod Carrillo
, DJ Perry, DJ Kilo, Mickey "Mixin" Oliver (Chicago's Hot Mix 5), Victor Dinaire, and many more.
In Summer 2005, Mike O. was let go, bringing Energy 98 back to the world the same day. Rod Carrillo took over programming KNRJ, and the entire on air staff was let go including Detour Diva, the traffic reporter. Later with Pistol Pete returned from L.A. as the afternoon host, and Carla Cruise became the new traffic reporter. After Rod Carrillo
took over programming, the station became mostly jockless. The unhosted morning show was titled "More Music Mornings", the unhosted mid-day show was called "More Music Mid-Days", and the unhosted evenings and overnight show was titled "High Energy After Dark".
On October 31, 2007 KNRJ began stunting, playing Wall of Voodoo
's Mexican Radio, Front 242
's Headhunter, and Ministry
's Everyday Is Halloween along with commercials, the normal legal ID with Harry Legg saying "KNRJ Payson/Phoenix, 92.7 K227CJ Phoenix, 106.3 K292DF Flagstaff", and a white man speaking in Spanglish
saying (roughly translated) "Friends, please excuse the music which you hear on 92.7 and 101.1. Tune in tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the morning for more information. Thank you." At 10 AM on November 1, 2007, KNRJ played the Mexican Hat Dance three times and then KNRJ was relaunched with Beau Duran saying that Energy is back. The changes that took place included Beau Duran (who had been let go in 2006) taking over mid-days, Pistol Pete still hosted afternoons, recorded mix shows were played overnight rather than just music, the station playlist was completely revamped, and all new jingles were produced without long time Energy voice over veteran Harry Legg; instead he was replaced by Mitch Craig, a similar sounding person.
In April 2008, Rod Carrillo
resigned, to pursue his growing producing career and to start his own dance record label, as program director and Beau Duran took over as program director. Since the station was no longer even making it on the Arbitrons, mainly due to the lack for support of management towards the dance genre for over two years, Beau Duran decided to take the station in a different direction in an attempt to gain better ratings.
Energy signed off at 5pm on October 31, 2008. The final song was Depeche Mode
's Enjoy The Silence. K257CD 99.3 FM began simulcasting KNRJ, as KAJM now had adequate Phoenix area coverage, and KNRJ then launched a stunt format that started with a man saying "This is KNRJ Payson. If you're looking for Arizona's Old School, you need to hike it on over to Mega 104.3
. The Valley will be in the Zone
, Monday morning at 9:27 AM; right now though, I found this guy's iPod. Let's see what's on it." and then played U2
's Pride (In The Name Of Love). KNRJ's stunt format included many different songs from different genres as well as an announcer announcing that a new format will be coming to the Valley. Each announcement mentioned a different radio station, some of which were legacy names (e.g. Y for KYOT
(which formerly was KOY-FM/Y-95).
On November 3, 2008, the new format as Old school hip hop
92.7 & 99.3 The Beat launched, the first song being was Ice Cube
's You Know How We Do It. At first, they were the only known all old-school station on terrestrial radio up until KDAY
/Los Angeles
relaunched their Old School Hip Hop format in August 2009. It primarily plays old school hip hop from the '80s and '90s and some hip hop songs from the early 2000s.
In 2011, Fred Rico was named the new Program Director of KNRJ. The Music Director is Ramses Ja. Since these changes have been made, newer hits have found their way onto KNRJ's playlist.
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
area. KNRJ is licensed to Payson, Arizona
Payson, Arizona
- History :Payson considers its founding year as 1882, at which time it was known as Green Valley or Union Park. On March 3, 1884, the town officially established a post office. Postmaster Frank C. Hise recommended that the town be named after a man named Levi Joseph Payson. Senator Payson was very...
, which is 57 miles north of Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, while K224CJ is a 10-watt translator from South Mountain
South Mountains (Arizona)
The South Mountains , known locally as simply South Mountain, is a mountain range in central Arizona in south Phoenix, Arizona. It is on public land managed by the city of Phoenix as South Mountain Park...
's antenna farm to provide a better signal to the Phoenix area. Both are currently owned by Sierra H Broadcasting.
KNRJ targets Phoenix; although KNRJ's 101.1 signal does reach the northern portions of Maricopa County, K224CJ brings crucial coverage to the Phoenix metropolitan area and can be heard in the central and southern portions of the region, although recently K224CJ has been suffering from severe multipath distortion. Its main signal on 101.1 between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon has interference from 101.1 FM KPLD
KPLD
KPLD is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Kanab, Utah, USA, the station serves the St. George area. The station is currently owned by Marathon Media Group, L.L.C..-History:...
in Saint George, Utah; the K228XO translator brings coverage to the Flagstaff area due to this interference. Past Seligman, Arizona
Seligman, Arizona
Seligman is a census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-History:Between 1889-1891, Seligman was established by the Theut and Moultrie families. Both were prosperous slaughterhouse owners in Southern antebellum families who lost...
, the signal from 101.1 FM KRRK
KRRK
-External links:*...
in Lake Havasu City
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,938 people, 17,911 households, and 12,716 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.4 people per square mile . There were 23,018 housing units at an average density of 534.8 per square mile...
disrupts any KNRJ reception. The addition of 99.3 FM covering mostly West Phoenix greatly increases KNRJ's reach to its target market.
History
The first attempt to put a station on the air on 101.1 in Payson Arizona failed. A group had a construction permit for KRMM, but that never got on the air and the construction permit lapsed. Another group applied for the frequency and was more successful.In the late 1990s, KESP-FM signed on from Payson, Arizona as a classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format station named Loop 101. In 2000, the callsign was changed to KAZL (K AriZona Loop), and K224CJ 92.7 FM from South Mountain and K292DF 106.3 FM (now K228XO 93.5 FM) in Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
were applied for and signed on during the same period. The station's goal was to be an alternative to KSLX-FM, another classic hits station serving the Phoenix area. KNRJ, K224CJ, and K292DF never achieved sufficient ratings.
The dismal ratings were followed by a format change on 18 June 2002: KAZL began stunting
Stunting (broadcasting)
In radio broadcasting, stunting occurs when a station abruptly airs programming that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play...
, leading listeners to believe they were becoming an all-commercial station (All Commercials, All the Time, KAZL) Steven Szalay, Operations Manager, established A/V Producer and stockholder in Sierra H Broadcasting, Inc, created an entire phony radio format complete with sweepers, liners
Liners
"Liners" is a horticultural term referring to trays of very young plants, usually grown for sale to retailers or wholesalers, who then grow them to a larger size before selling them to consumers. Liners are usually grown from seed, but may also be grown from cuttings or tissue culture...
, I.D.'s and recorded DJ comments as well as a collection of classic radio commercials. The station received a great many calls asking if this was serious; some called to express their appreciation of the joke, and some believed it pleading and demanding that the classic hits format be returned.
The stunting was stopped at 5 p.m. three days later (21 June 2002) and because of the clever and original stunting did receive considerable press coverage for the end of the stunt and the start of a format similar to WKIE
WKIE
WCPT-FM 92.7 FM is a radio station licensed to Arlington Heights, Illinois, and serving the Chicago area. WCPT-FM is part of a trimulcast with WCPT , WCPQ and WCPY. During the daytime, the trimulcast simulcasts WCPT programming from 5 AM - 9 PM, and operates a Dance Hits format at night...
in Chicago, CHR Dance. At this time it was known that WKIE was sold and to be changed to a Spanish language format. Chris Shebel the program director of WKIE programmed the music of KAZL for nearly a year by e-mail. Also, the name changed to "Energy 92.7 & 101.1"; to match, the callsign on 101.1 became KNRJ. WKIE was also known as Energy; the name was chosen for KNRJ to continue the legacy. KNRJ was also a reporter in Billboard Magazine's Dance/Mix Show Airplay panel. The station would still receive calls from Chicago visitors asking if they are the same Energy that was in Chicago. The KNRJ callsign previously resided in Houston, Texas at 96.5 FM under a top 40/dance/alternative format from 1988 to 1990, as Energy 96.5.
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
product included house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, and club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
music, as well as remixes
RemixeS
RemixeS is a compilation of French singer Mylène Farmer's singles by various famous DJ's, including JXL, Felix Da Housecat and Paul Oakenfold.-Brackground, writing and release:...
of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and R&B hits. The first personality to be live on-air was KEDJ's "Pistol Pete" who took the afternoon day part. Shortly thereafter, Lysa D. began as the station's evening voice. In January 2002, Alex Santa Maria (PD of then KNRJ's sister station , KAJM Mega 104.3/99.3) took over the programming rein
Rein
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding or driving. Reins can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.-Use for riding:...
s as well as becoming the voice of the morning drive. The first mixshow to air on the station was a syndicate of UK's own, Paul Oakenfold. After months of promoting the station, evening personality, Lysa D. (also a club–mixshow DJ), launched live mixshows including: the Friday Night Funky Mix and "GrooveSessionz" which aired Saturday evenings. With the thought of expanding the station's reputation in the dance world, she would feature exclusive interviews and mixes from the likes of Bad Boy Bill, Richard Vission, as well as much local talent, such as Rob Wegner, Kevin Brown, Pete Salas, just to name a few. Later, Beau Duran became the afternoon host and Pistol Pete took over as the morning show host.
In May 2004, programming authority had changed as well as the station's playlist. Internet radio station Energy 98's "Mike O." took the crown as KNRJ's new Program Director and continued the success and dance trend for which Energy was known. Energy 98's operations were merged with KNRJ's, and Energy 98's website redirected people to Energy 92.7 & 101.1's website. Months later Pistol Pete left for Los Angeles and Lysa D took over mornings with her show titled "The Morning Frenzy". More mixshows and some of the world's top talent would be featured including: Carl Cox, Armin Van Buren, Roger Sanchez, JJ Flores, Marcus Schulz, Justin Dohman, Spencer Thomas, Eddie Amador
Eddie Amador
Eddie Amador is an American house music record producer and remixer. He is also the founder of the Mochico and MochicoPrimo record labels.Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Amador studied mechanical engineering at Arizona State University while moonlighting as a hip hop DJ. In 1996, he earned a...
, Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo is a dance and Latin music producer, a house DJ, remixer and record label president.Born in the Republic of Panama, he began the Carrillo Music record label in 2007 and is a sought after producer and remixer/DJ....
, DJ Perry, DJ Kilo, Mickey "Mixin" Oliver (Chicago's Hot Mix 5), Victor Dinaire, and many more.
In Summer 2005, Mike O. was let go, bringing Energy 98 back to the world the same day. Rod Carrillo took over programming KNRJ, and the entire on air staff was let go including Detour Diva, the traffic reporter. Later with Pistol Pete returned from L.A. as the afternoon host, and Carla Cruise became the new traffic reporter. After Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo is a dance and Latin music producer, a house DJ, remixer and record label president.Born in the Republic of Panama, he began the Carrillo Music record label in 2007 and is a sought after producer and remixer/DJ....
took over programming, the station became mostly jockless. The unhosted morning show was titled "More Music Mornings", the unhosted mid-day show was called "More Music Mid-Days", and the unhosted evenings and overnight show was titled "High Energy After Dark".
On October 31, 2007 KNRJ began stunting, playing Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
's Mexican Radio, Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
's Headhunter, and Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
's Everyday Is Halloween along with commercials, the normal legal ID with Harry Legg saying "KNRJ Payson/Phoenix, 92.7 K227CJ Phoenix, 106.3 K292DF Flagstaff", and a white man speaking in Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
saying (roughly translated) "Friends, please excuse the music which you hear on 92.7 and 101.1. Tune in tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the morning for more information. Thank you." At 10 AM on November 1, 2007, KNRJ played the Mexican Hat Dance three times and then KNRJ was relaunched with Beau Duran saying that Energy is back. The changes that took place included Beau Duran (who had been let go in 2006) taking over mid-days, Pistol Pete still hosted afternoons, recorded mix shows were played overnight rather than just music, the station playlist was completely revamped, and all new jingles were produced without long time Energy voice over veteran Harry Legg; instead he was replaced by Mitch Craig, a similar sounding person.
In April 2008, Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo
Rod Carrillo is a dance and Latin music producer, a house DJ, remixer and record label president.Born in the Republic of Panama, he began the Carrillo Music record label in 2007 and is a sought after producer and remixer/DJ....
resigned, to pursue his growing producing career and to start his own dance record label, as program director and Beau Duran took over as program director. Since the station was no longer even making it on the Arbitrons, mainly due to the lack for support of management towards the dance genre for over two years, Beau Duran decided to take the station in a different direction in an attempt to gain better ratings.
Energy signed off at 5pm on October 31, 2008. The final song was Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's Enjoy The Silence. K257CD 99.3 FM began simulcasting KNRJ, as KAJM now had adequate Phoenix area coverage, and KNRJ then launched a stunt format that started with a man saying "This is KNRJ Payson. If you're looking for Arizona's Old School, you need to hike it on over to Mega 104.3
KAJM
KAJM is a commercial Urban Adult Contemporary music radio station in Camp Verde, Arizona, broadcasting to Phoenix, Arizona.-History:...
. The Valley will be in the Zone
KZON
KZON is a commercial radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting on 101.5 FM. KZON airs a Rhythmic CHR format branded as "101.5 Jamz".-Before 101.5:In the 1960s the station signed on the air as KHEP-FM and aired a classical music format...
, Monday morning at 9:27 AM; right now though, I found this guy's iPod. Let's see what's on it." and then played U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's Pride (In The Name Of Love). KNRJ's stunt format included many different songs from different genres as well as an announcer announcing that a new format will be coming to the Valley. Each announcement mentioned a different radio station, some of which were legacy names (e.g. Y for KYOT
KYOT
KYOT-FM is a commercial rhythmic oldies music radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting on 95.5 FMDespite the station's branding, there is no affiliation of any kind with the Phoenix Coyotes, the local National Hockey League team...
(which formerly was KOY-FM/Y-95).
On November 3, 2008, the new format as Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
92.7 & 99.3 The Beat launched, the first song being was Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
's You Know How We Do It. At first, they were the only known all old-school station on terrestrial radio up until KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
/Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
relaunched their Old School Hip Hop format in August 2009. It primarily plays old school hip hop from the '80s and '90s and some hip hop songs from the early 2000s.
In 2011, Fred Rico was named the new Program Director of KNRJ. The Music Director is Ramses Ja. Since these changes have been made, newer hits have found their way onto KNRJ's playlist.