How to Save KSEXradio.com – 5 Tips
As a former show host at KSEXradio.com, I have been reading with great interest, the recent articles about its demise. Two owners and the former station manager parting ways and then a later report that those two owners have also parted ways and that all the sponsors have left! It’s a big mountain that KSEXradio.com is going to have to climb if they want to ever achieve the potential that the unique and entertaining internet radio station once promised.As the number two guy amongst show hosts, I had to sit silent when I noticed things amiss or I foresaw potential opportunities or ideas. I was not part owner, I was not a manager and the station manager at the time, while incredibly talented and almost singularly responsible for the growth and success that the station did achieve, had his shortcomings. I never really stepped up to speak up and it was really needed. During my time at KSEX from 2002-2005, I felt like any day, a cable network such as HBO or Showtime, or perhaps even a movie studio would walk in the front door, or make a call to offer the station a deal for it’s own cable show, movie or documentary. Back in the day, KSEX was damn entertaining, simply put there was nothing else like it. It was the stuff that urban legends are made of.
The station ran live programming from 5:00pm to midnight Monday – Friday and from top to bottom, the shows were entertaining, funny, sometimes sexy but always captivating. I moved to Arizona and left KSEX in 2005, while there were some things about being on the air I was going to miss, I felt my time there had run its course. I don’t care for Los Angeles that much and by the time I had a show in the prime time slots for the three years I was there, I was burnt out. In early 2006 I made a short comeback, but things just weren’t the same, that unique vibe was gone, and besides, I was still living in Arizona, which is too big of a commute even for me. For more than two years I made the two hour drive from Palm Springs, CA to Burbank to do my show, once a week, then later, twice a week.
I watched and listened with interest as over time the quality and entertainment value of the shows took a nose dive. These latest reports do not surprise me, not in the least. I don’t think these last two owners had any idea of exactly what they were getting themselves into when they purchased the station from the previous owners. The station manager, Wankus, was still there to hold it all together, but soon there were problems and he was out. When egos that big go head to head something’s got to give. Before the new ownership, there was no one there to butt heads with. The previous owners had complete confidence in Wankus, as well they should have.
What Wankus did for that station is nothing short of remarkable. The sheer volume of daily tasks that it took to keep shows running smoothly would be overwhelming for most people. Raw talent and work ethic like his is what it takes to make a station like that run successfully.
Who is there now to produce the commercials for the sponsors? No one could do it as well as Wankus. How about the themed musical introductions for each show? With new shows being added or changed weekly, Wankus had to produce new musical introductions each week. Not to mention booking guests, hosting his own two hour show five nights a week and other assorted chores.
The latest information I have read on the internet has the station might be or has been acquired by another ownership group, I thought I would take the time, because I care, to offer some advice on some important factors they might consider going forward.
1. Hire a producer and station manager with some real talent
Just because you are a loud-mouth or can talk as smoothly as a used car salesman does not insure that you will make a good radio show host. As much as we got tanked before our shows (I almost never hosted a show without a beer in my hand) there was some actual talent involved.
Wankus was the most talented of all. As I mentioned before, Wankus not only hosted his own two hour shows from Monday to Friday, but he also produced all the commercial spots and all the sound bites and audio clips needed for all the shows. I can’t stress enough how incredibly time-consuming this is. This type of work means sleepless nights and long work weeks that never end. He also spent time trying to help other show hosts improve their skills and in-turn, improve their own shows. While he may have come across as having a big ego, he backed it up with talent, and it’s just that kind of personality that is a perfect mesh for just such a station.
Being able to spot talent is a skill in itself, finding people with a real talent and flair for good internet radio is almost impossible. There are so many narcissists in the adult industry, everyone thinks that they can host a radio show. The often self-asked question is, how hard can it be? It’s not hard at all to get on a microphone and think that you are funny and interesting to listen to. It’s a completely different thing altogether to host a solid show week in and week out, to maintain the attention of your listening audience and to grow that audience. From my perspective, the latest generation of KSEX show hosts have not been thinking about the listening audience. It’s all about me, me, me.
So, job number one is to find a producer and station manager with some REAL talent. This person must be skilled in all audio production hardware and software. This person must have the work ethic of an illegal immigrant fruit picker. This person must be personable, likable, and entertaining. This person must be a salesman and have connections in the industry, after all, sponsors are essential. This person must be unselfish and must have a genuine care in helping other show hosts to improve their skills. This person must understand what a show “format” is and how important in radio and TV to stick to that format week in and week out. This person must be paid well. The job of station manager is a seven day a week job, it never ends. Only with a person with real experience, superior ethics, and talents can lead an internet radio station like KSEX into as yet unreached levels of financial and media success. The owners of KSEX will have to have the resources to reach deep into their pockets to lure just such a person. A person such as I have described is not currently at the station. They have to go out and find someone.
2. Develop and air shows of substance
Last time I tuned in, the best show going at KSEX was the show hosted by Lynn LeMay and Gene Ross. Not just because I appreciate all the favorable coverage and articles Mr. Ross gave to me when I was on the air, but because he is truly an industry insider and an observer. Most importantly, he’s got a great voice for radio and he’s an excellent story teller. His side-kick Lynn Lemay, while past her performing prime, is a vibrant co-host with big juggs. That is the only show that I feel has any potential at all and if I were advising the owners of KSEX, I’d tell them to make sure that show sticks around.
Lorrainiac and Cuzz Fucker have been on KSEX since almost the very beginning. Their show is solid, always has been, always will be, and is best kept on-air during those late night hours. It is a fabulous late night show, you’ll find no more loyal listeners than those that tune into the Lorrainiac and Cuzz Fucker Show. But Lorrainiac is not the diplomat, nor the skilled audio producer that is needed to be at the helm. Keep the show, keep the duo, they are great on the air! KSEX is lucky to have them.
Show hosts need to have attributes that are not easy to find amongst porn talent. Reliability, patience, commitment, good concentration and unselfishness. Doesn’t sound like anyone I’ve ever met in Porn Valley. The multitude of other current show hosts only include what appear to be egotistical, self-centered, only concerned about their own images as show hosts. Jacklyn Lick, Katie Morgan, Dee, Kylie Ireland, and Rebecca Love, Flexx, and Lisa Sparxxx round out my list of the best of the best of the best past KSEX personalities.
3. Additional features and content
I used to produce three, three-minute sex news segments for KSEX each week. These news segments aired during the commercial breaks at the bottom of each hour. They were professionally produced, complete with sound effects, etc. This and other additional content produced by Wankus (he often produced hilarious comedy sketches which were aired just for shits and giggles) kept listeners tuned-in even during commercial breaks. My old news segments and Wankus’ commercials and comedy sketches are just an example of other types of content that can be added to make the overall programming more interesting.
The key is interesting and original, features and content. Back in what I consider its “hay day” KSEX commercial breaks were just as entertaining and funny as the shows. This was due to the talent and time that went into producing the additional features and commercials.
4. Make KSEX matter again
Back in the day, KSEX was all over the place. Broadcasting from all the major conventions, even planning and hosting the KSEX Games. That was the kind of fun stuff that got people interested in KSEX, every major studio fielded teams for the KSEX Games, at least the first two years of the event. The former owners weren’t afraid to invest a little money in parties and events which attracted porn stars and interest from the fans. Who can forget New Years Eve 2002 at KSEX? OK, well for the millions that didn’t listen, watch or weren’t there, it was a party to be remembered for the ages. KSEX was broadcasting live all night long, and while the exact details of that night are still a blur, I do remember Johnny Buss and I hosting shows and entertaining listeners until 2:00am and that no one ever shut off the computers and the cameras were still broadcasting live the next morning, the camera on me and others passed out on the sofa, just sleeping, drool running down the side of my mouth. Johnny Buss already home, tuned into KSEX to see that we were still live on air even though it was just video of the people passed out on the sofa.
Back in the day, KSEX provided tremendous publicity and exposure for guests, but that was because of the then, large listening audience. Why has KSEX faded away over recent years? Simple, the overall quality of the product went downhill. The station opted, perhaps out of desperation to fill air time, to let pretty much anyone who wanted a show, have a show, regardless of their talent or potential. Porn stars and industry insiders used to WANT to be on KSEXradio. It used to be fun and it used to be a badge of honor. This is no longer the case.
5. Nurture the Talent
I started in internet radio in 2001 hosting a show with YNOT founder, Rick Meunyong called “Amateur Masters Live.” It was a webmaster internet radio show, we’d host the show over the phone. I was in Palm Springs, Rick in Diamond Bar, and guests from all over the world calling in to a central hub in St. Louis where a webmaster named Dokk would then mix and broadcast the show from his servers. I also had a short stint in mainstream radio working as a promotions DJ at Mix 100.5 Palm Springs, CA. I had some experience coming into KSEX, but Wankus, although not always sounding nice about it, helped me to be a better DJ.
Whoever is at the helm will have to make it a priority to help the other show hosts improve their shows. Having a good show is a commitment of time and energy. It’s not just walking into the studio and off you go. No prep time for your show equals a bad show. Research your guests. Research your topics. Stick to a regular format. Listen to other successful radio shows such as Howard Stern. Not for the content but for the regular format. Every day, listeners know when Robin Givens will read the news, this is the basics of formatting.
KSEX still has the potential, it’s a fabulous idea and it can be extremely entertaining, which means more listeners, more listeners means more sponsors, more sponsors means more money. Right now, KSEX is at it’s lowest point ever. The good news is there is only one direction to go, up. It’s just going to take some vision, talent, effort, time and money. But most of all it will take someone that actually cares about entertaining an audience, getting them to laugh, cry, jerk off, even getting the audience angry.
I will always cherish my time at KSEX. I really feel that back then, I was part of something special and truly unique in the entertainment world. I hope that they get “it” back, maybe then I’ll be able to tune in without feeling like I am looking at a menu at a restaurant, nothing looks appetizing, so I get up and leave.