KENZ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| KENZ | |
 |
|
| City of license | Ogden, Utah |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo |
| Slogan | 101.9 The End |
| Frequency | 101.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1984-01-11 (as KKAT) 1996-01-01 (as KENZ) |
| Format | Adult Album Alternative |
| ERP | 25,000 watts |
| HAAT | 1140 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 2444 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Former callsigns | KKAT (1984-2004) KPQP (2004-2005) |
| Owner | Citadel Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | KKAT-FM, KKAT, KBEE, KBER, KFNZ, KHTB, KJQS, KUBL |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.1019theend.com |
KENZ, branded as 101.9 The End is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based radio station. Owned by Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, the station airs an adult album alternative format on 101.9 FM.
Contents |
[edit] History
KENZ first signed on as 107.5 The End January 1st 1996 with R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Originally owned by The Slaymaker Group, the station was sold to Citadel Broadcasting in 1998. Much of the original staff came from now cross town rival KXRK, X96. Jimmy Chunga, a weekender and morning show producer at X96 was hired to lead the morning show. He was joined by Marcus shortly after the station went on the air. Andrea was hired away from X96 to work the midday shift. Biff Raff returned to the Salt Lake market after spending time in Austin, TX and Denver, CO to be the program director. He also did an afternoon on-air shift. Dom Casual was the station's first music director and afternoon drive jock. Barb Thomas worked the night shift.
In 1999, the KENZ morning show "Chunga and Marcus" hosted a contest titled "The Cruise of Dreams," after which Marcus did not return to the show. Shortly after the departure of Marcus, Mister West joined the morning show as Chunga's partner. This was a role reversal of sorts as Chunga had been West's partner on the "Saturday Night Cold Case," a request show during West's weekend shift dating back to their days at X96.
At the end of 2005 Citadel Broadcasting moved the station from the 107.5 FM frequency to the stronger and farther reaching 101.9 FM frequency. Even though they were no longer at the "end" of the dial they retained the name.
On December 6th, 2007, Chunga announced that Mister West had left the station and the Chunga and Mister show. Chunga explained that both his and Mister's contracts were up this year and he had planned to retire at the end of the year. Citadel Broadcasting gave him a good deal and he chose to stay. Management decided not to renew Mister's contract. However, according to the February 22, 2008, edition of the Deseret Morning News, Mister claims that Chunga demanded Mister be fired (as part of Chunga's own contract negotiation).[1]
[edit] Airstaff
- Jimmy Chunga (Brett Smith)- Morning Show (1996 - present): Had been the morning show producer and a weekender at X96 before being offered his own morning show when KENZ was starting up. After a few years teamed up with Marcus, he tapped Mister West to be his co-host. Does voice over work on the side as well as some acting ("Singles Ward"). Older brother to Jon Smith.
- Cort Johnson - Promotions/Marketing Director (2000-2007) Morning Show (2005 - present)
- Chelsea - Traffic/Morning Show (2005 - present)
- Parker - Program Director/Afternoons (2007 - present): Came to KENZ in January from WXRK (K-Rock) in New York to replace Biff Raff.
- Grant Ruby - Music Director/Middays (2007 - present): Came to KENZ at the end of the year from KEDJ (The Edge 103.9) in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Dallan - Afternoon co-host,End Zone Producer, and on-air Mix Engineer. (2005 - present) Graduate Berklee College of music. Produces and Engineers Professionally.
- Mister West - Morning Show co-host (1999 - 2007)/ Weekender (1996-1999): A weekender at X96 and then at The End, West had done a weekly request show with Chunga before being asked to replace Marcus in 1999. He left the show in 2007 after management chose not to renew his contract.
- Producer Casey (Casey Scott) - Morning Show Producer (1998 - 2006): Currently working in real estate, and as a Gonzo reporter on KUTV Channel 2's morning show.
- Announcer Boy (Pete May) - Production (1996 - 2004): Sassy on-air comic foil to Chunga.
- Biff Raff (Bruce Jones) - Program Director/Afternoons (1996 - 2006): Program Director and afternoon jock. PD for KBER 101 as well as The End. Biff announced his retirement in August of 2006.
- Dom Casual - Music Director/Afternoons (1996 - 1999): Had been part of the original X96 morning show with Bill Allred. Left The End to PD a station in Spokane, Washington. Once there he hired Kari Bushman who had been doing weekend shifts at X96. Returned to the Salt Lake market to work at the new incarnation of KJQ.
- Andrea - Music Director/Middays (1996 - 2000): Another former X96 jock. Hosted the weekly advice call-in show "Bitch & Moan" with various co-hosts. She left KENZ after landing her own morning show in Pennsylvania. Returned to Salt Lake and worked for a time at the new KJQN.
- Kari Bushman - Music Director/Middays (2000 - 2007): Had been a weekender at X96 before taking a job in Spokane, Washington working for Dom Casual. Returned to Salt Lake to take the midday shift vacated by Andrea. Kari resigned from KENZ in 2007 due to a conflict with new management. In 2008 Kari Bushman joined fellow former KENZ staffer Jon Smith as a morning show co host on Sunny 106 in St. George, Utah.
- Norm Church (Brad Davis) - Promotions & Marketing Director (1996 - 1997)
- Little Ricky (Rick Pollock) - Promotions & Marketing Director (1997 - 2001)
- Jon Smith - Weekender/Nights (1999 - 2004): Younger brother of Jimmy Chunga. After weekends and nights at KENZ did afternoon drive at KJQN. Jon left the Salt Lake City market in 2005 to program KPLD 94.3 The Planet (alternative) in St. George, Utah. Jon is now the Morning Show Guy and Program Director for Sunny 106 in St. George.
- Barb Thomas - Nights/Afternoons (1997 - 2002):
- Mike Lindsay - Weekender/Nights (1997 - 2002): Currently works weekends on X96
- Vince Klortho - Weekender (1996 - 2003):
- Jay Johnson - Weekender (2000 - 2007):
- Tysen - Weekender/Production (1998 - 2007): Tysen currently works behind the scenes at Bonneville communications.
- Marcus - Morning Show co-host (1996 - 1999): Chunga's first co-host. Left amid accusations of sexual misconduct on a cruise sponsored by the radio station; Marcus denied the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Chunga, Little Ricky (Rick Pollock), Biff Raff (Bruce Jones) and Citadel Broadcasting. Marcus later dropped the lawsuit after it was revealed that there was an audio recording of the incident. He was later a member of the morning show on Star 102.7 and now works for 94.9 The Blaze. [2]
[edit] Jimmy Chunga
Jimmy Chunga is the only original member of the KENZ morning show, first starting the show by himself on January 1st, 1996. Chunga had worked previously at X96 as a Radio From Hell producer and station DJ.[citation needed]
Chunga debuted on the morning show, first solo and then later adding Marcus.[citation needed] However, in 1999 the show hosted a contest entitled "The Cruise of Dreams," after which Marcus did not return to the show. The actual events of the cruise remain unannounced to the public.[citation needed] Shortly after the departure of Marcus, Mister West joined the morning show as Chunga's partner. This change placed Chunga with his former partner from "Saturday Cold Case" which had previously aired on X96.[citation needed]
In December 2007, Mister West left the show under executive order, leaving Chunga alone with staff members Cort Johnson and Chelsea as new co-hosts.
[edit] Chunga Trivia
 |
The factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. |
On March 31, 2006 Chunga gave a stand-up comedy performance at the Wise Guys Comedy Club in West Valley, Utah. He was opening for famed comedian Lewis Black, who was working out some material previous to an HBO special. [3] [4] [5]
Bill Allred of X96 has repeatedly claimed to have bestowed the "Jimmy Chunga" moniker on Chunga - something that Chunga has also confirmed on air. Allred claims that he had previously said that if he were to ever use a radio name, he would use "Jimmy Chunga." When Chunga was to debut on the radio, he asked Allred if he could use the name, and was given permission. [6][7]
Chunga has appeared in various movies filmed in Utah, including "Forever Strong," "Taking 5," "White on Rice," "Church Ball" as well as other HaleStorm movies. Jimmy Chunga has has also appeared briefly in other films, including Believe The Movie as a DJ giving commentary on multi-level marketing, and "Stalking Santa" with former co-host Mister West and narrator William Shatner.[8] [9]
[edit] Station Features
Regular features over the years have included...
- Gender Wars
- Chunga Community College
- Spit it Out
- What's Happenin' Hot Stuff
- Laugh Your End Off Lunch
- My Three Songs
- All-Request Lunch
- Bitch & Moan
- 80's Remixed
- Saturday Night Cold Case
- Minor League Mornings
- Mister's House of Retro Pleasure
- All Request Hour
- 9 O'Clock News
- Stupid News
- Birthday Brain Buster Game
- The Onion Radio News
- Win Jimmy Chunga's Lunch Money
- Who Wants to be an (Italian) Millionaire
- Cheesy Song of the Day
[edit] References
- ^ Internet is keeping some programs alive - Deseret Morning News Friday February 22, 2008
- ^ "Suit sheds light on firing of KENZ disc jockey", Deseret News, 10 November 1999.
- ^ About Me
- ^ No subject is off limits to howlingly funny Black | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ atroposrandom: Brett Smith "Humor" Report
- ^ Radio From Hell Blog - RFH - 2007-04-20
- ^ Radio From Hell Blog - October 11th, 2005
- ^ Stalking Santa (2006)
- ^ Jimmy Chunga
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KENZ
- Radio Locator information on KENZ
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for KENZ
|
||||||||||||||||||||
