by Abel Horwitz
Daily Lobo
John Strader wants to bring the art of live music back to the radio.
Strader is the host and producer of "Southwest Stages," a local one-hour radio show that showcases live music recorded at venues throughout the Southwest. The show, in its second season, is nationally syndicated and broadcasts to over 25 radio stations across America. It is the first show in KUNM history to be nationally syndicated.
The secret to the show's success is free distribution, he said.
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"The crew and I incur all the costs," Strader said. "It's our own equipment. We do it all ourselves. We put together the whole package. It's a very long process to get a show together. We have to find artists coming to the Southwest, work with the promoter and make sure it's OK with them, work with the artists and management and make sure it's OK with them, get to the venues, and set up our gear."
The core crew of "Southwest Stages" consists of Strader, Nola Daves Moses, who is the operations director of the show, and Chip Borton, the technical director. The crew honed their radio skills as producers of KUNM's "Ear to the Ground," a local music showcase, for five years. They came up with the idea for "Southwest Stages" over a mutual appreciation for live music, and the opportunities to record and interact with some of their favorite musicians.
Bringing local, live music to the radio is important in today's climate of corporate radio, Strader said.
"In a world of Clear Channel, who very tightly controls what you hear on the radio, we feel that live music is vital and important to cultures of the Southwest," he said.
Local radio stations across America have graciously accepted "Southwest Stages" to their lineup. Strader and the crew send out their weekly one-hour show either by CD or they put it on their Web site, southweststages.org, in downloadable format, free of charge.
"Our wildest dream when we first started out was that if we could get syndicated on five stations then we'd be happy," Strader said. "We were syndicated by 20 stations within two months. We're blown away by people's desire for live music. In small communities without venues to hear diverse styles of music, we now give them the opportunity to become exposed to it. That makes me feel good."
The crew's diverse interests in a wide variety of music is what keeps the show fresh every week.
"Many times I've recorded an artist that I don't know about," Strader said. "It exposes me to all kinds of music that I've never heard before. We try to look for things that are out of the ordinary and not the typical mainstream shows."
"Southwest Stages" broadcasts on Wednesday nights, 10 p.m., on KUNM.
