ıContact: Richard Sands (415) 383-5955 • richard@thesandsreport.com ©All Rights Reserved

ı0 UNIFYING THE ALT COMMUNITY

Sands

Rick CarrollRick CarrollRick CarrollRick Carroll

Back In The Days When Jocks Were Given A Choice

Who is the father of the Alter-native format as we know it today? You’re forgiven if you don’t know the answer is Rick Carroll, who brought Top 40

formatics to the wacky “new wave” music he began playing at KROQ in the late 1970s. It’s been almost exactly 25 years since Rick died, and since it’s Father’s Day this week-end, I figured this might be a good time to remember dear old “dad.”

I missed the opportunity to personally meet Rick when he never showed up for an appointment he had requested in Burbank. Of course, Rick had a reputation for being “quirky,” no doubt. But those who did have the pleasure of meeting him, never forgot. One of those was Mike Jacobs, now retired from record promotion. He recalls, “I met Rick in 1978—I was managing a local

JUNE 12, 2014

THE REPORT

band, and he was looking for a band to play high school concerts for KEZY in Anaheim. A mutual friend intro-duced us, and it changed my life.”

Mike remembers Rick as a pio-neer, yes, but something much more. He tells me, “Rick had great ears, and the ability to sur-round himself with great people, and he listened to them. He didn’t care what anyone said, he went with his gut.”

But lest you think that Rick came to KROQ with some grand scheme to turn the universe onto Modern Rock music and make it a “world famous” station, you would be mistaken. “One of his first ‘big ideas’ was to do a Beatles weekend—for which I used to tease him relent-lessly in later years,” laughs noted KROQ jock Freddy Snakeskin, who is still heard on KROQ2.

“Fortunately KROQ’s owner, Ken Roberts, was aware of the inroads the station had already started making with some of the revolution-

“TEXT ME IN THE MORNING”

FOLLOW UP TO THE TOP 10 HIT "SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND"

HEADLINE TOUR JUNE/JULY

TOP 2026 stations/16 majors

tK singles TW tktkttktktkktktk

Learn This Song.STOLEN DANCEBy MILKY CHANCE

promotion#1 14 Countries

Top 10 28 Countries 28M+ Views

“Stolen Dance”

“Tennis Court”27 Stations/

16 MajorsTop 20 in 2 weeks

“Black Out Days”

MASSIVE TV CAMPAIGN FOR WITCHES

OF EAST END

NEW THIS WEEK:

ALT987, KXTE, KRBZ,

WWCD, KMYZ

> > > > > T H E H I T L I S T > > > >

IMPACTING NEXT WEEK.

24 STATIONS/ 14 MAJORS

NEW: WKQX, DC101, WWCD, KFRR, KRZQ

#7 SPOTIFY VIRAL CHART

38 MILLION STREAMS ON YOUTUBE

MILKY CHANCE

6,238 +9%/34K TD

25,929/

374K TD

ıary punk and new wave music that had started appearing, so Rick’s marching orders were to impose some kind of struc-ture on it, not tear the whole thing down.” Freddy adds that there wasn’t a sufficient level of good-quality ‘new music’ around that they could build an entire format upon, so at least in the first couple of years, KROQ still played a lot of traditional AOR music, as well. “Our strategy was to fool people looking for K-WEST (one dial position down from 106.7) in hopes they’d stick around—which they did. ‘Come for the Zeppelin, stay for the B-52’s,’” he joshed, remembering the plan at the time.

Want to hear something else “revolutionary”? Rick allowed his jocks to pick one song an hour to play, whether they found it at the local import store, or brought in from home! “Those jock choices really made things unpredictable, and that very musical unpredict-ability is probably the one thing most all of today’s radio stations lack,” Snakeskin says. “I don’t know exactly how most PD’s today would take to the idea of giving their jocks one free play an hour, but I have a very good idea—the very notion scares them to death!”

Mike Halloran of 91X has the distinction of being the

last jock hired by Carroll at KROQ, and he, too, loved that “jock choice, final song of the hour, every hour” concept. “WTF? Really? Jock choice? I loved him for that, no rules. He never bitched about a song, ever. Well maybe to Freddy, but not to me,” Halloran says with a smile.

Mike learned a lot in the short time he worked for Carroll. “Rick, along with Larry Groves, invented the idea that one could take the underground scene, and by applying enough pressure through tons of

exposure, through airplay and constant sunshine, then the stinky little mushroom-like underground would be forced up, through the boggy deep and into the real world,” he says somewhat cryptically, before quickly concluding, “Sadly, that has been lost today.”

Carroll’s impact wasn’t only on radio. It was also felt in the concert promotion business. Famed manager Jim Guerinot, owner of Rebel Waltz, reflects back. “My relationship with Rick and KROQ in this period was two-fold—as manager of as yet-unsigned Social Distortion, and as a concert promoter.

“As a concert promoter, we could feel the power of KROQ in Los Angeles and Orange County and how different it was than anywhere

THE SANDS REPORT ● page 2 of 5

last jock hired by Carroll at KROQ, and he, too, loved that “jock choice, final song of the hour, every hour” concept. “WTF?

never bitched about a song, Well maybe to Freddy, but not to me,” Halloran says with a smile.

Mike learned a lot in the short time he worked for Carroll. “Rick, along with Larry Groves, invented the idea that one could take the underground scene, and by applying enough pressure through tons of

ı “GOOD 4 IT”

# 2 Most Added! New this week at WBOS, KPNT,

KRBZ, WLUM and moreOn: KROQ, Alt 98.7, Live 105, KTBZ,

KXTE, KCXX 91X, and KBZT...

“My Sweet Summer”

Already 17*!

“FAMILY TREE”KINGS OF LEON

ADDED EARLY AT KTBZ/HOUSTON, WRZX/INDIANAPOLIS, WWCD/COLUMBUS, KIWR/OMAHA, WRRV/HUDSON VALLEY, WEQX/ALBANY

HEADLINE TOUR ACROSS THE U.S. THIS SUMMER

IMPACTING

ALTERNATIVE

RADIO THIS

WEEK

#1 WITH MEN 18-34!, Top 5 Across ALL Demos! - Rate The Music

MOVES TO POWER AT KXTE, WSUN, WWCD

iTunes Digital Single Sales +11% TW - now over 100k in 10 weeks!

For more info contact RCA Alternative: Dennis Blair db@rcarecords.com (212)833-5534 or Jeff Gillis jeff.gillis1@rcarecords.com (212)833-5537

“I WANNA GET BETTER”

MB Alt 4*

BDS Modern 4*

#7 GREATEST

GAINER!

MEDIABASE ALT 11*

BDS MODERN 12*

ITUNES DIGITAL SINGLE SALES +9%Appearing on Firefly, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch,

and Lollapalooza

MAKING IT’S MOVE ON THE TOP 10!

#5 GAIN!BIG INCREASE at 89X

ıOur Mail ing Address: The Sands Report • 38 Mil ler Avenue, #469 • Mil l Valley, CA 94941

THE SANDS REPORT ● page 3 of 5

else nationwide. The Cure and Depeche Mode went from clubs to stadiums here. Bands like Oingo Boingo and The Smiths were multiple arenas when they were only ballroom acts in other parts of the country. He was very, very advanced promotionally in a way that is still practiced on KROQ and still peerless.”

Mike Jacobs remembers Carroll’s philosophy, and thinks it’s still applicable: “Play the shit out of songs, make

them familiar, fuck research. Make it a hit. Most of those songs are still

around today. You think The Cure would have researched early? Also, have personalities.

Combine this with music that nobody else is playing...and two

hour power rotations. Those used to drive the jocks crazy. They’d say, “I’m gonna puke if I hear it once more,’ and he’d reply, ‘Good—the audience is just getting it.’”

Jacobs sums up what he learned from Carroll. “Have some balls. Stand up and take shots. The biggest wins come from the biggest risks in life—so fight for things.”

Rick Carroll changed this business, and his influence is still felt today. That’s why Jacobs helped start a scholar-still felt today. That’s why Jacobs helped start a scholar-still felt today. That’s why Jacobs helped start a scholarship fund in Rick’s name at his alma mater, Cal State University at Sacramento. You can find out more by clicking here.

When Jocks Were Given A Choice (Con’t)ıOur Mail ing Address: The Sands Report • 38 Mil ler Avenue, #469 • Mil l Valley, CA 94941

Selfie CityIt’s the Live

105 program-ming team, old and new! This past weekend, I met up with

newly installed PD Jacent

Jackson for some lunchtime

pizza, and it only seem ap-propriate that we take a rare

selfie together!

Rush your Alt selfies to pics@thesandsreport.com

“LAST WEEK’S SANDS REPORT

WAS FANTASTIC. GREAT INSIGHT

FROM SETH. I FORWARDED

THIS EDITION TO EVERYONE ON

MY STAFF. THANKS BUDDY.

—JOHNNY MAZE, KICT/KFXJ

around today. You think The

early? Also, have Combine this with music that

nobody

“Have some “Have some balls. Stand up and balls. Stand up and

take shots.”

“Recover”

New US Tour Dates Just announced: http://chvrch.es/shows

NEW AT Q101/CHICAGO ON OVER 20 STATIONS NOW

INCLUDING: ALT NATION, MUSIC CHOICE, 89X, WLUM, KROX, WROX, KMYZ, WWCD, WLKK,

WFUZ, KRXP, WEQX, AND MORE!

11+ Million Streams =

Top 10 Most Streamed Current

Alt-Track

#68 Most Streamed Album

in the US (#7 Current

Alt-Album).

New EP, PARALLEL PLAY, out now.Lyric Video: http://youtu.be/_q4P0SjIqoU

“Chvrches is one of the

most accessible bands out

there, sound-wise, and

this song has always been

one of my favorites from

their album. “

Tom Ferguson - PD/WFUZ

EARLY BELIEVERS: ALT NATION, MUSIC CHOICE, KRXP, WEQX, KOSU1,400 TRACKS SOLD TW (+78%) //

11,000 TRACKS ALREADY SOLD

“Call Me In The Afternoon” “A L L O F T H E P E O P L E ”

#8 IN DENVER #4 IN BOULDER

“It’s been a great roll out for “All Of The People” on Alt Nation, the listener feedback, early research and

sales based on our exclusive airplay through 250 plays all point to a very real connecting alt-rock song.”

Jeff Regan - PD/SiriusXM Alt-Nation (now at 400+ spins / 32x per week)

“If you’re looking for immediate reaction and fast burn, add something else. If you want to add a hit that

will grow, and introduce a true artist, add Half Moon Run. I love this band!” -NERF - PD/KTCL

(210x to-date, in SubPower rotation)

BBC Radio 1 Performance: http://youtu.be/ynoc_vz_-lY

TOP 5 CALLOUT AT KTCL

ı THE SANDS REPORT ● page 4 of 5ıııX96-Salt Lake City Rise Against

KHTB-Salt Lake City Rise Against

KBZT-San Diego Phantogram, Rise Against

91X-San Diego Coldplay, Linkin Park, Rise Against

Live 105-SF Rise Against

The End-Seattle Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent

KPNT-St. Louis Dirty Heads, Rise Against

Sirius/XM Alt Nation Bastille, Catfish and The Bottlemen

97X-Tampa No adds

DC-101-DC Milky Chance

Added/New in the Top 50WRDA-Atlanta No adds

KROX-Austin Rise Against, Spoon

WBOS-Boston Dirty Heads, J. Roddy Walston

WEND-Charlotte No adds

WKQX-Chicago Chvrches, Milky Chance, Rise Against

CD102.5-Columbus Hozier, Joywave, Kings of Leon, Milky Chance, Phantogram

KDGE-Dallas No adds

KTCL-Denver Rise Against

89X-Detroit Rise Against, Tokyo Police Club

KTBZ-Houston Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Lorde, Dirty Heads, Rise Against, Semi Precious Weapons, 30 Seconds to Mars

WRZX-Indianapolis Linkin Park

WXXJ-Jacksonville No adds

KRBZ-Kansas City OK Go, Phantogram

KXTE-Las Vegas No adds

KROQ-L.A. Cage The Elephant, The Eeries, Rise Against

Alt 98.7-L.A. Capitol Cities, Phantogram

WLUM-Milwaukee Dirty Heads, Meg Myers

KCMP-Minneapolis Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Itch, Jenny Lewis, Spoon, Tom Petty, Yann Tiersen

Music Choice Band of Skulls, Lorde, Manchester Orchestra, OK Go, The Griswolds, Pretty Reckless, Vance Joy

WBUZ-Nashville Rise Against, J. Roddy Walston

WROX-Norfolk American Authors, Chvrches, J. Roddy Walston, Rise Against

WJRR-Orlando Godsmack, Rise Against

WRFF-Philadelphia No adds

WXDX-Pittsburgh No adds

KNRK-Portland No adds

Premium Choice No adds

WBRU-Providence Foster The People, Magic!

KKDO-Sacramento No report

Buzzing At Alt1. Rise Against2. Dirty Heads3. Phantogram4. Bleachers5. J. Roddy Walston6. Milky Chance

US Tour

This Fall

➤ #1 MOST ADDED @ ALTERNATIVE 34 STATIONS KROQ-101WKQX-LIVE 105-KTBZ-89X-KTCL KPNT-91X-FM94/9-X96-KHTB-96X-WBUZ WRXL-KMYZ-WZNE-KROX-KFRR-WXXJ KFMA-KRAB-WWWX-KNOB-KNRQ-KRZQ WRRV-WCYY-KXNA AND MORE➤ ALREADY #33* #1 SPIN GAINER MEDIABASE

➤ ALREADY #10 SONG ITUNES ALT PAGE

ıThe Sands Report™ Spanning The Globe To Bring You Information You Can Use!®

THE SANDS REPORT ● page 5 of 5

Thursday Music Meeting & Three Dot Lounge

A huge week for Rise Against, which broke out of the gate as #1 most added by a mile. KROQ, WKQX, Live 105, 91X

and 31 others came in out of the box on “I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore” which was enough to put an enormous smile on the face of Jeff Stacey (as did KROQ starting

to play Lana Del Rey!)...Right up there with Kongos, Bleachers is the biggest breakout of the year. “I Wanna Get Better” is Top 3 in real-time, and growing. Plus with just Alt airplay alone, it’s selling 10,000 units a week! By the way, those digital sales have increased every week since the release. More RCA news: Cage is now firmly Top 10, with the new Kings of Leon impacting this week for Dennis

Blair, Jeff Gillis and team...Does anyone have more on their plates than Ron Cerrito and Amanda Walk? The Republic/Islanders have a ton of great product on their multi-tasking hands. The new Phan-

togram scored adds at Alt 98.7, CD102.5, KRBZ among others. Milky Chance had another big week, with WKQX, DC101 and more. Tove Lo is now Top 20. PLUS there’s a new one from Neon Trees, and American Authors...Good stuff at Glassnote. Huge adds from 101WKQX (welcome Wade Linder!) and WROX on Chvrches. Nerf’s airplay on Half Moon Run is generating a lot of Shazaming plus he’s getting super research back. Oh, and don’t forget about Panama

Wedding!...Mike DePippa has to be stoked about Jack White. The album is just out and already sitting at #1 on iTunes! The Roll-ing Stone coverboy will be at Bonnaroo this weekend...J. Roddy

Walston and the Business is feeling mighty real...I love hearing DH “My Sweet Summer” on Live 105...Band to watch: Twin Atlantic...Hey, I gotta go. Thanks for stopping by today! —Richard Sands

The Big ListCLICK AND LISTEN:• Bleachers “I Wanna Get Better” http://bit.ly/1nOo9ml• Chvrches “Recover” http://bit.ly/1i0wsNo• Dirty Heads! “My Sweet Summer” http://bit.ly/1ioPXeX

• Facebook Page for breaking newswww.facebook.com/thesandsreport• Follow on Twitter@thesandsreport

• Foster The People “Best Friend” http://bit.ly/1kndqQb• Half Moon Run “Call Me In The...” http://bit.ly/1s4iArb• Kings of Leon “Family Tree” http://bit.ly/Ucmlw2• Neon Trees “Text Me In The Morning” http://bit.ly/1hPEbQ8• Panama Wedding “Of All The People” http://bit.ly/Ros0NI• Rise Against “I Don’t Want...” http://bit.ly/THvUm4• Tove Lo “Habits (Stay High)” http://bit.ly/1p8o7M3• Jack White “Lazaretto” http://bit.ly/1k1tKGi

IMPACTING SOON:Kings of Leon “Family Tree” (RCA)Neon Trees “Text Me In...” (Island) The Griswolds “Beware The Dog” (WindUp)

Send dates to richard@thesandsreport.com

ON OVER 50 STATIONSHEADLINE TOUR

COMPLETELY SOLD OUTPERFORMING AT BONAROO THIS WEEKEND

“Lazaretto”

ALBUM AVAILABLE NOW

CURRENTLY #1 ON ITUNES

APPEARING

ON CONAN

TONIGHT

MEDIABASE 9*

COVER OF