Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. 360 Degrees of Alternative celebrated it's 6 month anniversary on the air this past week, and as if right on cue, the station received, in my opinion, it's first piece of "hate mail".
The email came from a former listener - and his main complaint was "the station had veered tremendously from it's original concept of being a "different" alternative radio station". His main focus was regarding the tracks that had been added over the past 3 months, and he really objected to the addition of bands like Motorhead, Pantera, and Megadeth. In his opinion, those bands are heavy metal, not alternative. Other points included, "there is too much variety", "there are too many decades featured", and my favorite, "I've come to believe you really don't know what true alternative music is".
I'm going to pass along a Readers Digest condensed version of the reply I sent to him. First off, I sent along my expressions of disappointment that he was no longer a listener and had become dissatisfied with the music selection. However, I informed him that I was not going to change a thing. In the past 6 months, we have had over 2,000 listeners add 360 Degrees as a "preset" to their member profiles... and they are only allowed six presets at this time. We also have over 325 listeners who have designated the station "as their favorite". On the other side of the coin, he was our 1st dissatisfied listener. Sorry Charlie, that ratio doesn't add up to do a major change in my book. I also dished the statement of "veering from the original concept". It sounded as if the station has been on the air for something like 15 years not just 6 months. Yeesh pal, relax.
As far as adding bands as Motorhead, Pantera, and Megadeth, there's a very good reason for this. It's called a matter of influences. Motorhead, as I have stated before, have influenced more bands, metal AND alternative, that I dare to count. Likewise for Pantera & Megadeth. In regards to Pantera, and the song we feature "I'm Broken", it's difficult to find a band that can truly rock harder and still maintain a level of quality. In regards to Megadeth, the song we currently feature is the classic, "Peace Sells". While the guitar sound and style could be classified as "metal-esque", if there is such a term, one just needs to step beyond that point. Listen to the lyrics, what they're about, the snarl in the vocals, the attitude, and finally the all-out assault of the bass & drums at the end of the song. Then play a modern kick ass "alternative" song right after that and I dare you to tell me there's vast night & day differences...
As far as variety, that's one of our strong points according to our listeners and people who have reviewed / rated the station. I get feedback constantly about what people think about the station, the songs I feature, and more stats than one realizes. According to the people that matter most, the listeners, 360 Degrees is doing a great job. If one doesn't want variety, go back to listening to some of the traditional radio stations out there. On average, their playlists only consist of approximately 200 songs. We feature, at the present moment, over four times that amount.
Lastly, as far as keeping or playing alternative music "that is true"... all I have to say is "c'mon; what planet are you from"? Alternative is a vein of rock n' roll, which was a bastard child to begin with. It came together decades ago from several different types of music. It could not nor can it ever be "true". Ditto with any form or genre of rock n' roll. Period. Deal with it.
On a different note, we wanted to let everyone know that we have a new email address! We were experiencing some problems with the initial one we had, so we went with a local company that has a much more reliable system. You can now send comments, suggestions, or whatever to altrnatv@midcoast.com
Til next time, keep listening...
Peace out,
Dave
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