17 Jan 26th–Feb 1st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | front and lobby wanting to apply. Word spread quickly. By the end of the day, I’d interviewed hundreds of people and even more over the next few days. I can tell you the first hire: Christopher the Minister. Minister: I came to Phoenix originally to work at KFMA, the FM alternative station [KUKQ’s Jonathan L.] started in Wickenburg. Jacobs Media called me and said, “Sit tight, we’re doing something in 10 days with this classical station.” Clay’s other early hires included Willobee, Shaun Vincent, and then-KFMA DJ Allison Strong. Allison Strong, KEDJ DJ, 1993-1994: When John Clay asked to meet, I lived up in Wickenburg, and KFMA was about to sign off. I remember feeling I was in the right place at the right time. John was excited to be working in this format he loved. And he was good at it. Willobee, KEDJ DJ, 1993-1995: I came in a couple of months after they signed on to do [Morning Breath Theater]. It was a three- person team: me, Mary Zeal was my co-host, and Commander Bill doing traffic. We didn’t do the morning zoo thing; it was really music focused and locally focused. Minister: The studio was an old house, and we all squeezed in there with two other stations: Z-Rock [KZRX] and [AM sports-talk station KGME]. Larry Mac, KEDJ DJ, 1997-1998/2007- 2008: I was working for Z-Rock, and we were literally in a closet next to The Edge’s studio. Willobee: There were [two] double- wide trailers out back for promotions staff and salespeople. We referred to it as the “Modern Rock Trailer Park.” Other people who worked there called it “The Crackhouse.” Mac: I actually had a car stolen from the front of the station. Shaun Vincent, KEDJ DJ, 1993-1996: I’d moved to the U.S. in ’89 [from England], so I played that up. It was the stereotypical English guy who knew all about the music, especially alternative, because a lot came from the U.K.: New Order, Joy Division, The Cure. We came from all over and created some great radio, even if we were on a smaller signal. Locals noticed KEDJ, though, thanks to word of mouth and television commercials touting its “modern rock without the static,” a shot at competitors KUKQ and KFMA’s weaker signals. Clay: It was competitive radio. It made sense to use that. [KFMA] hit the far, far fringe west of Phoenix. And KUKQ was AM, which hindered their ability to really penetrate. Although in retrospect, consid- ering how weak our signal got into Tempe and Scottsdale, it makes me smile. On May 15, 1993, KEDJ presented its first- ever Edge Fest, which brought Stone Temple Pilots, Goo Goo Dolls, Wailing Souls, 311, and thousands of fans to Chandler’s Compton Terrace. Willobee: It was packed. Back then, we didn’t pay much for artists to perform because they did radio festivals to promote their records. Times change. Minister: Me and Willobee introduced Stone Temple Pilots. It started raining really bad, and their manager wanted to pull them off stage. One of the DeLeo brothers said, “One more song. We just want to play!” By August, KEDJ had a 2.4 share in the local ratings. It also became the Valley’s only alternative station after KUKQ switched formats. (KFMA had flipped to easy listening months earlier.) Mac: Did The Edge kill the original KUKQ? Probably. By 1994, The Edge had added new voices, including Jayn Sayd and longtimers Dead Air Dave and Robin Nash. Dead Air Dave, KEDJ DJ, 1993-1998/1999- 2011: I initially came in as production director to write and produce commercials and all the station’s [promos]. They The Edge’s Christopher the Minister (left) and Gregg Paul (right) with Depeche Mode’s Andy Wilder in 1994. Courtesy of Gregg Paul >> p 18 Edge from p 15
