KRBZ

KRBZ, 96.5 FM in Kansas City, is an alternative rock station. The station uses the brand name 96-5 The Buzz. The station is owned by Entercom Communications, with studios located in Mission, Kansas and a transmitter site in Kansas City's East Side.

KRBZ
CityKansas City, Missouri
Broadcast areaKansas City metropolitan area
Frequency96.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding96-5 The Buzz
SloganThe Alternative
Programming
FormatAnalog/HD1: Alternative Rock
HD2: LGBTQ Talk/Dance "Channel Q"
Ownership
OwnerEntercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stationsKCSP, KMBZ, KMBZ-FM, KQRC, KWOD, KZPT, WDAF-FM
History
First air dateSeptember 3, 1959 (as KXTR)
Former call signsKXTR (1959-2000)
Call sign meaningKansas Radio BuzZ
Technical information
Facility ID57119
ClassC0
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT335 meters (1,099 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.965thebuzz.com

History

KRBZ began broadcasting on September 3, 1959, as classical music station KXTR, and was owned by Telesound Broadcasting, and initially operating at 58,500 watts. Stereo Broadcasters, Inc. bought the station in 1962, and Senthesound Broadcasting bought it three years later. Robert Ingram took over the station in 1976, and KXTR upgraded to 100,000 watts in 1981. Ingram would then sell the station to Heritage Broadcasting (and then Sinclair) in 1997, followed by Entercom in 2000. By the mid-1990s, KXTR replaced much of its live, local airstaff with satellite-fed programming; only mornings were local, as well as "Night on the Town" on Saturdays (which would become syndicated). By the Spring of 2000, KXTR's ratings were tied in 12th place 12+, with a 3.8 share of the market (and ranked even lower in the 25-54 age demographics, though ranked 9th 35-64).[1]

On August 17, 2000, at 10 a.m., KXTR was moved to 1250 AM, displacing sports talk station KKGM (now KYYS), and 96.5 began stunting with a ticking clock. At noon, 96.5 flipped formats to a Top 40 format that emphasized on modern rock (also known as a "Rock 40" format), taking aim at rival station KMXV, and was branded as "96.5 The Buzz." The first song played on "The Buzz" was "Learn To Fly" by The Foo Fighters.[2][3]

By 2002, the Buzz moved towards a Hot AC format, most likely due to low ratings with its "Rock 40" format. However, this failed, as the station fell to a 3.1 share of the market (15th place) by the Spring of 2002.[4]

On April 1, 2002, the station stunted as "K-Gay 96.5", playing mostly dance music (in 2019, its HD Radio subchannel would take on Entercom's Channel Q network, which more explicitly and appropriately targets an LGBT audience). The next day, the station refocused as a Modern AC station, as well as introducing a new morning show (titled "The Kenny & Afentra Showgram"). Scott Geiger, known on the radio as Lazlo, was also hired in September 2002 to work nights.[5] "The Kenny & Afentra Showgram" morning show lasted until July 2003, when Kenny left the show, and was re-branded as "Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz". By September of that year, the station completely shifted to a full-fledged modern rock format, which it continues with today. It returned the alternative rock format to Kansas City for the first time since 1999, when KLZR dumped alternative rock for Top 40/CHR and when KNRX dumped its alternative format for urban oldies. KLZR later changed to an adult top 40 format when KRBZ dumped modern AC.

Also in 2003, KRBZ was nearly pulled off the air when plans for sports station KCSP forced longtime country station WDAF to look for an FM home. Fans gathered to "Save The Buzz", showing a huge turnout and solidified the station's alternative format. Instead, WDAF moved to 106.5 FM, displacing KCIY, a Smooth Jazz station.[6][7]

On June 1, 2006, afternoon host/program director Lazlo announced that he was leaving the station to become program director of KNDD "The End" in Seattle, KRBZ's sister station.[8] His wife, Afentra, host of morning show "Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz," worked her last day from the studios in Kansas City on August 4, 2006, but continued hosting mornings at KRBZ via satellite from her home in Seattle until November. Her co-hosts remained in Kansas City. Operations Manager Greg Bergen took over as program director in the wake of Lazlo's exit. On September 8, 2006, morning co-host Danny Boi announced plans to leave the show and the station. He was replaced as co-host by Slimfast.[9][10][11]

On November 10, 2006, it was announced that Lazlo, Afentra, and SlimFast reunited on air for The Church of Lazlo, which broadcast from Seattle on KNDD and simulcast on KRBZ.[12] On February 12, 2007, The Dick Dale show with Jessica Chase debuted as the new morning show.[13] Less than a month later, Chase quietly departed the station ultimately being replaced by Kevin Quinn. On July 9, 2008, the morning show was disbanded with Dick Dale being fired from the station.[14]

On July 17, 2008, Lazlo, Afentra, and Slimfast announced plans to end The Church of Lazlo's run on KNDD. This came shortly after the announcement that former KRBZ Program Director Mike Kaplan would take over programming duties at KNDD.[15][16]

On August 25, 2008, both "Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz" and "The Church of Lazlo" returned live to Kansas City.[17]

Afentra abruptly left the station August 1, 2018, due to her contract not being extended. Her co-hosts, Danny Boi and Mark Van Sickle, continued the morning show as "Danny and Mark in the Morning".[18]

On September 24, 2018, Jordin Silver joined Danny Boi and Mark on the morning show, and it was renamed to "Mornings with Jordin Silver and Friends". Jordin previously worked at KYSR and KNDD. Danny Boi and Mark eventually disappeared from the station.[19]

gollark: What do Linux users do to change a lightbulb?First, a user creates a bug report, only for it to be closed with "could not reproduce" as the developers got to it in the day. Eventually, some nights later, someone realizes that it is actually a problem, and decides to start work on a fix, soliciting the help of other people.Debates soon break out on the architecture of the new lightbulb - should they replace it with an incandescent bulb (since the bulb which broke was one of those), try and upgrade it to a halogen or LED bulb, which are technically superior if more complex. or go to a simpler and perhaps more reliable solution such as a fire?While an LED bulb is decided on, they eventually, after yet more debate, deem off-the-shelf bulbs unsuitable, and decide to make their own using commercially available LED modules. However, some of the group working on this are unhappy with this, and splinter off, trying to set up their own open semiconductor production operation to produce the LEDs.Despite delays introduced by feature creep, as it was decided halfway through to also add RGB capability and wireless control, the main group still manages to produce an early alpha, and tests it as a replacement for the original bulb. Unfortunately it stops working after a few days of use, and debugging of the system suggests that the problem is because of their power supply - the bulb needs complex, expensive, and somewhat easily damaged circuitry to convert the mains AC power into DC suitable for the LEDs, and they got that bit a bit wrong.So they decide to launch their own power grid and lighting fixture standard, which is, although incompatible with every other device, technically superior, and integrates high-speed networking so they can improve the control hardware. Having completely retrofitted the house the original lightbulb failed in and put all their designs and code up on GitHub, they deem the project a success, and after only a year!
gollark: Minetest is already a thing.
gollark: It really isn't.
gollark: Most people of my generation just use popular social media apps on a locked down phone of some sort and may not know what a "file" or "terminal" or "potatOS" is.
gollark: It is, yes.

References
  1. "R&R Magazine Spring '00 Page 83" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. Christopher Hearne, Jr., "KXTR moves to the AM dial; Station 'wasn't commercially viable'; classical fans are stunned", The Kansas City Star, August 18, 2000.
  3. "R&R Magazine 2000-08-25 Page 3" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. "R&R Magazine 2002-1" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  5. "The Main Street Tattler" (PDF). Main-st.net. September 20, 2002. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  6. "Buzz Off?". thepitchkc.com. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  7. "Radio station to drop 'smooth jazz' format", The Kansas City Star, July 19, 2003.
  8. "KNDD/Seattle Names Lazlo As PD". AllAccess.com. 2006-06-01. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  9. "The Church Of Lazlo Is Coming To KNDD". allaccess.com. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  10. "KRBZ Morning Co-Host Danny Boi Exits". allaccess.com. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  11. KRBZ's Slimfast On Fast Track To Mornings
  12. KRBZ Teasing 'The Second Coming of Lazlo'
  13. KRBZ Brings In 'The Dick Dale Show' For Mornings
  14. Dick Dale Plays On The Beach
  15. Lazlo Exiting KNDD To Return To KC
  16. Mike Kaplan Moving To KNDD PD Post
  17. Afentra's Big Fat Morning Show & The Church Of Lazlo Return To KRBZ
  18. "Longtime KRBZ/Kansas City Morning Host Afentra Exits". AllAccess.com. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  19. "KRBZ (96.5 The Buzz)/Kansas City Adds Jordin Silver To Mornings". AllAccess.com. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-10-25.

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