Today we’re digging into some alternative radio history from right here in Minnesota. Thirty years ago, on May 1, 1994, a groundbreaking radio station known as REV105 launched on the Twin Cities airwaves. Although it existed for just a little under three years, the station’s impact on the local music and media scene continues to be felt; in fact, its existence helped map the plan for launching The Current.

To help us look back on this important chapter in Twin Cities music and media history, Jill Riley welcomes Kevin Cole, a longtime radio host and programmer at KEXP in Seattle who, before moving to Washington, was a member of the team who founded REV105. Listen to the interview using the audio player above, and read a transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current. The Coffee Break is coming up at 9:30, and the conversation that I'm about to have is going to lead into today's Coffee Break topic. And it's some alternative radio history from right here in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, as it was 30 years ago today, on May 1, 1994, a radio revolution was started in the Twin Cities. You know, I've been with The Current for a number of years now I've had the pleasure of working with a number of talented DJs and music lovers that came from the very station that we're about to talk about who are part of that legacy of alternative radio and being involved with alternative music and the local music scene in the Twin Cities. Well, I have a very special guest with me, known as an influential Club DJ at First Avenue; speaking of alternative music history and radio, KJ104; and he was part of the team that started the groundbreaking radio station REV105 in 1994. I have Kevin Cole with me this morning. Hi, Kevin.

Kevin Cole: Hey, Jill. How are you doing?

Jill Riley: Not bad.

Kevin Cole: Thanks for having me on on this 30th anniversary of the launch of REV105. It's hard to believe it's been 30 years.

Jill Riley: Yeah, 30 years, but you know what? I hear from listeners just to this day, who have such a big place in their hearts for REV105. And folks still talk about the music that they discovered on REV105. Which, again, for a station like The Current, which The Current was started by a number of former staffers of REV105, and kind of with that same spirit in mind. So Kevin, I wonder if you could take us back to the launch of REV105, to 1994, and talk about the creation of that radio station.

Kevin Cole: Sure. So really what led to the launch of REV105 were a number of factors. One was just the evolution of commercial radio, but also the demise of KJ104, which was one of the first Modern Rock — using an industry term — commercial stations. Modern Rock became a commercial radio format officially recognized I think in like 1987, '88 or so. But anyway, it was the demise of KJ104, that happened on Labor Day '92. So it was evolution of commercial radio, demise of KJ104, and a desire and a drive to do something new, to revolutionize radio by doing something really simple: playing great music, and really appealing to music lovers, appealing to a psychographic as opposed to a demographic. 

Jill Riley: What do you mean by that?

Kevin Cole: So commercial radio, and most radio, has a very specific audience in mind: "We're targeting this group of people" and "We will sell beer advertisement to this group of people" or whatever. We were, instead of targeting a demo, we were targeting a lifestyle, people who loved music, regardless of age, regardless of background. Music lover, that's who we want, a very diverse and broad group of listeners. So that was part of what led to the launch of REV105, to do something different.

But to do something that we felt really reflected the way people listen to music, not a format. Like you go to people's homes, they don't have one style of music sitting in their record pile or in their Spotify playlists; they got a bunch of different kinds of music. And what we wanted to do was respect that. So create a station that embraced musical diversity, local music, community involvement, DJs who were relatable and accessible as real human beings, not as, you know, kind of robo-DJs. And really to respect the audience: don't dumb down, challenge the audience, but do it in an accessible way that brings people in and as opposed to pushing them away.

It was kind of those factors and the timing was right. You know, Jill, when KJ104 went off the air, that coincided, I think that same weekend or right around that same time, with the Twin Cities market being the largest market for Lollapalooza that year. There was an audience here. And so, for us, it was just a whole bunch of different factors that just kind of came together. And you know, as you know, Minneapolis St. Paul, the Twin Cities, are an incredible music scene and have been and deserve a great radio station.

Jill Riley: How did REV and the music community kind of fit together?

Kevin Cole: It fit together really well. In '94, Twin Cities, great music scene, a long heritage of music lovers that sort of had to do the work on their own, right? But there was an infrastructure: There was First Avenue, and there were other clubs. But First Avenue – 7th Street Entry, amazing place that cultivated a music scene: The Entry cultivating new bands, providing support for them, new local bands that were playing original music; then you had First Ave where the big bands could play, but also on weekends, you had this diverse eclectic mix of music. And I think, First Ave at that time was so important in bringing people together. And in doing so, the scene got to know each other as well, right? Because, you know, it's not that huge. You had great record stores. At that time, I believe the Twin Cities had more record stores per capita than any other city in the U.S. So there was tons of interest, great bands.

So REV fit in there, there was a great place. I think REV was embraced immediately, in part because we were sort of like the sibling to the music lover, we were the companion to that person that was looking for a place to be able to hear music. There wasn't another real radio station at that time playing the kind of music that REV played and that was that open and eclectic. So people were ready for it, starving for it, and hadn't had it. And I think because we were an extension of that scene in terms of personnel and recognizable voices, that we were embraced as opposed to kind of held at bay initially.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with Kevin Cole about the history of radio, alternative radio, here in the Twin Cities from KJ104 to REV105. Kevin, you've been out at KEXP for what, probably 25 years now? Something like that. And so you have a long, storied history in alternative radio, but also radio with a focus on the music and a lot of different types of music, not just one type. Kevin, I wonder if we could go to the first day and the launch of REV105 and the sound of REV105, and what do you remember from that first day? Because, you know, REV105 had a distinct sound, and it had like a life and an attitude of its own.

Kevin Cole: Thanks for saying that, Jill. It did indeed, and that was really by intention. So the sound was somewhat complicated because it was a mix of all genres and styles. So it maybe took an acclimation. So it's hard to say exactly what the sound was in that we wanted to defy expectations. And I think the opening track is a great example. So we launched with Patsy Cline's "Crazy" — great song, not something that people would necessarily expect, defies expectations — but you can't pin it down to a song. It's like a set. It's a sound. It's an hour. And I think the first four songs, it was Patsy Cline, then it was, in those first songs, were The Suburbs, it was either the Ramones or the Sex Pistols, and then Prince. And we were going to play a different song, but one of the strong memories I have of launching REV105 and being in the studio, which had windows overlooking First Avenue, is it snowed. It was May 1, and it snowed. It was snowing, but it was nice out, it was kind of sunny, and I was thinking of the song, Prince, "Sometimes It Snows In April," which is really about that unusual, rare circumstance. And here we were getting it on May 1. And I saw that as a real sign of blessing, of something really unique and special happening.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with radio host and programmer Kevin Cole about the 30th anniversary of the launch of REV105. Kevin, I've heard some stories from my radio friends who were at REV, I've heard stories from them over the years about how you guys had to get creative with getting the word out about REV105 because the station's coverage wasn't so great.

Kevin Cole: REV105 had a signal challenge, which is sort of part of what led to its demise in a way. And so we initially launched with two stations, and we were simulcasting on those two stations: 105.1, 105.7, and that covered the south and the north kind of, but we had a weak spot in the South Minneapolis area. But we took a real community approach to programming the station and also engaging with the community and marketing the station. So we were a commercial station but we actually did a fundraising drive early on as part of our marketing of the station. We asked people to call in and pledge their support to REV105. But we weren't asking for money. We were asking them to help spread the word, and also we send them a "Share REV105" packet that included an antenna, a bumper sticker, a keychain, and kind of instructions on how to get the station if you couldn't get it. So it was kind of a fun thing to do.

But it also really was, we were really thinking about, like, building community and making it have a community feel. When we got the third signal, that's after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed, which deregulated radio, and then you could have more than two signals in a market, so we were able to get a third; that then made us a threat to the competition, which, you know, was kind of what ended up instigating the sale of the station.

Jill Riley: Kevin, you talk about the music, you talk about the community, the people at REV105 were pretty special. What was your philosophy in staffing the station?

Kevin Cole: So part of my goal in launching REV105 was to have really relatable, accessible on-air talent that just sounded like somebody you could trust. I knew we could teach people how to run the board and all that kind of stuff. There's a couple things I'm really proud of relating to REV, and you mentioned one: just the connection with the community and the fact that people are still talking about it and have yard signs and speak fondly of it. It's had a life of its own for a station that was only on the air for three years. That's one thing. The other thing is the staff. I took an approach to hire people that hadn't had on-air experience for the most part outside of Shelley Miller and Dave Anton, who were mostly maybe college radio DJs, or in the case of Mary Lucia, was just an incredible, outstanding personality. She actually called me, and we had a conversation on the phone that lasted over two hours that was about like, the station, like, "I hear you're launching a station, you're looking for talent, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." And she was so engaging and so funny that we hired Mary. Shawn Stewart went on to produce the World Cafe and XPN after REV. Steve Nelson, who you mentioned, Brian Oake, Mary Lucia, Kyle Smith.

Jill Riley: Kyle! Yeah.

Kevin Cole: Mark A, Morgan Church, who has done affiliate relations for PRI I believe. Just so many incredible and talented, wonderful people who were involved in the success of REV105 got their starts there and have gone on to have careers, life-changing careers. So that is something I'm super proud of.

Jill Riley: Yeah, I'm talking with Kevin Cole. Today is the 30th anniversary of the launch of REV105. It was May 1 1994. Coming up for the Coffee Break, we're going to do like that era of REV, like mid-90s alternative music Coffee Break. And so keep that in mind for the Coffee Break, and you can join that conversation at thecurrent.org. Kevin, thank you so much for sharing your memories and sharing some history of the launch of REV105, and I wanted to say congratulations to you. I know that you're kind of making some plans for this summer to kind of like exit off the KEXP airwaves. And I know that that has to be a difficult thing to do, because a love of music and putting together playlists. Like, I imagine that that's something that you can't exactly retire from. You know?

Kevin Cole: That's right, Jill. Yeah, it's impossible for us to retire from music or radio. I'll be stepping aside from doing the show full time. I really want to create opportunity for others; I have been on the air 20 years in that Drive Time afternoon show position. I'm going to still stay on. I'm going to do a weekly show. So I'm super excited about that. And I feel really fortunate I've had a remarkable career; launching REV105 was a dream come true; being a part of KEXP has been a dream come true. And I'm looking forward to doing a weekly show. I'm gonna do some other stuff. I'll still be on there full time, just not on the air full time.

Jill Riley: All right. Well, best wishes to you. And you mentioned the first song that was played on REV105. And Kevin, I had looked it up, and I went, "Well, that doesn't make sense. Why would it be that?" And I kind of laughed to myself, I'm like, "But why not?" So it was Patsy Cline, "Crazy." And again, you had mentioned that it was such an unexpected way to launch a radio station.

Kevin Cole: Yeah, it really was, and it is such a great song, right? So the idea was, "Let's defy expectations. This is sort of a crazy concept. But it's a great one. Some people might think we're crazy. But let's go with this." And, you know, again, when you think of REV105, you need to think of the whole of all the music and all the styles and all the genres, and all the incredible specialty shows we had in the mix of music, and it's kind of a defining song in a way. It's a perfect song. Patsy Cline's "Crazy."

Credits

Guest – Kevin Cole
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor