20 Jan 26th–Feb 1st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | you the minute I’m at the other studio.” I raced across town listening while she told people, “Don’t lose your Edge. Tune to 103.9 in a few minutes for Dead Air Dave.” Nash: He flipped the switch, and Linkin Park was the first band played [on 103.9]. Howard Stern didn’t come with them, though, moving to KZON a month later. Independent Days With a new lease on life, The Edge attempted to forge a new direction. They also helped a few local bands break out. In 2001, the station played The Format on its Local Frequency show. The initial response earned the band regular airplay, resulting in a record deal. Andy Hawk, KEDJ DJ (in 2002): I played one local song every night at midnight, and [asked] people whether they liked it or not. And [the] response was just overwhelm- ingly strong. The same year, KEDJ began playing Mesa punks Authority Zero. Jason DeVore, Authority Zero vocalist: The effect [The Edge] had for us was massive. Labels were hearing this local unsigned band getting massive airplay. It led to getting our first record deal with Lava/ Atlantic Records. The same year, The Edge also began releasing comps of the various in-studio “Acoustic Live and Rare” sets performed by both local and touring bands. Joe Maier, Tempe resident: They have some really great stuff from local and national acts. Like Tegan and Sara, Story of the Year, MxPx, and The Format. In 2002, The Edge tapped local sports talk radio personality Vince Marotta to co-host its morning show. Vince Marotta, KEDJ morning show co-host, 2002-2007: I knew Nancy pretty well. She’d started a new morning show a few months earlier with a guy named Whip. They’d tried finding someone to pair with him and couldn’t find the right fit. A year later, Whip was ditched in favor of Chuck Powell, Marotta’s former on-air partner at KGME. The show was rechris- tened The Morning Ritual and became a hit with Edge listeners. Marc Young, KEDJ DJ/program director, 2003-2005/2009-2012: They had amazing chemistry. Marotta: It was probably the funnest time of my career. We had so much creative freedom, and I find Chuck genuinely funny. He had all these ideas for sketches. It took a while to build our audience. The station itself was also attempting to increase listenership. Lower-than-expected ratings in 2003 caused Fey to push a new “Independent Radio” concept. Young: Ratings dove even harder in the fall of 2003. We knew the station wasn’t healthy and needed major sweeping moves or else we’d go under. So Scott gave the programming department complete autonomy, which is rare. We stripped the station raw and had Scott’s voice on the air talking about how we were doing what people wanted from radio: good music, a variety of music, and not being corporately or chart-led. The concept worked, as did bumping the station’s signal to 100,000 watts to compete with corporate stations. Within six months, it bounced back and gained on alt-rock competitor KZON. The Edge became a victim of its own success the following summer when New Planet Radio sold the station to Riviera Broadcast Group. Months later, Young was fired. Young: When selling The Edge, they [mandated] new ownership had to preserve the format. They just didn’t say preserve the staff. They came in and decided to clean house and make every- thing sound corporate and rock. Let the Bad Times Roll Riviera later purchased Power 92.3, moving it to 98.3 FM, and hired Bruce St. James as program director of both stations. Controversial decisions were made, including narrowing KEDJ’s playlist and nudging out Marotta. Bruce St. James, program director, 2006-2008: My philosophy is addition by subtraction. It serves stations well. The mindset is, from a listener standpoint, you’re never hurt by songs you don’t play. You’re only hurt by songs you do play. If you play more songs people like, they’ll listen, and listen longer. We did music research. We tested songs with audiences. It wasn’t throwing darts at a board, going, “I like that song.” I’ve never run stations based on songs I liked. Marotta: Riviera decided, “This is Chuck Powell’s creation.” So it went through these marketing changes and became Chuck Powell’s Morning Ritual. Around then, I’d gotten an offer from my old station. I told Bruce about it and he said. “You should take that offer.” Marc Young: They were playing the national charts. You make a vanilla product, you get vanilla results. They lost massive amounts of money after buying it but kept spending. St. James: The [Great Recession] didn’t help matters. Losing The Edge In 2009, the banks backing Riviera took possession of their stations, downsized, and rehired Young to rebuild again. Five months later, Phoenix-based Sun City Communications bought The Edge and rebranded it as X103.9. Young: The Edge was declining for four to five years. They wanted to splash the market with a new name. Then it became, “Go back to what you were doing in 2005. Here’s your expanded [music] library.” So you start cooking. It takes three months to get ratings and let the market understand what you’re doing. We were starting to cook when we got acquired again. Riviera Broadcasting had been revived by a private equity firm and purchased Sun City Communications, bringing in new management and another round of consul- tants and adjustments. Young: Then you start over again. It was cooking pretty well. We retooled it, and we were doing pretty good again. Then other chaotic things came in into play. Namely, adding legendary Valley rock jock and morning host Dave Pratt in November 2011. The move caused a significant backlash against the station by Pratt’s detractors and was its death knell. Young: It was an attempt to expand our ratings. It wasn’t working for the listeners. So, why would the listeners work for him? They abandoned us in droves. As a result, X103.9 officially flipped to classic rock on January 12, 2012, becoming My103.9. Fittingly, the final song played was Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” Nash: What’s funny is myself, Craven, and Gadger were the three last DJs that remained through all the changes. Moorehead: The Edge is one of those things you look back on, that, in the moment, you don’t realize how great it is until it’s gone. It was a special time for us and the fans and bands of the station. It was all one [shared] thing. The staff of The Edge at Peoria Sports Complex during one of the station’s festivals in the ’90s, including Larry Mac (second from left), Dead Air Dave (center), the late “Pistol” Pete Kelly (center right) Robin Nash (second from right), and “Smilin’” Marty Whitney (far right). Edge from p 18 Courtesy of Robin Nash The concept worked, as did bumping the station’s Around then, I’d gotten an offer from my old station. national charts. You make Courte sy of Joh n C la y
