The programming on KEOS isn’t scheduled by a computer, and the DJs don’t record their shows from thousands of miles away. What listeners hear when they tune the dial to 89.1 FM is a volunteer radio station created in Brazos Valley, for Brazos Valley.
For over 25 years, KEOS has provided a blend of programming every bit as eclectic as the studio that houses it. The converted home has been everything from a bar to a pharmacy, and now its walls are lined with CDs and records from genres like R&B, country, rock, and even film soundtracks. Premier musical acts like Willie Nelson and The Chicks have passed through the studio, says DJ and engineer Lance Parr, and on a typical Friday night, listeners will hear playlists that a range of styles, from disco to heavy metal. DJs at KEOS aren’t restricted to playing just the hits, either. On the Sunday night all-Beatles show you’re as likely to hear an obscure B-side from George Harrison’s solo career as The Beatles hit, “Hey Jude.”
KEOS is unique among modern radio stations in that the on-air talent is producing the shows live and in-studio. The same can’t be said for other stations. "You could fire a bazooka into most radio stations and not hit a soul,” Parr says.
KEOS provides a forum for members of the community to express themselves, Parr says. “I’m here every Friday, and whenever I interview somebody they work or live in the Brazos Valley,” says DJ Dr. Doug Vance. “The point of community media is to provide an outlet of information by and for the community,” Parr says. He adds that KEOS serves the underserved who are “not receiving programming that targets them, their needs, and their interests.”
When the station receives petitions for new types of programming, they extend an offer to whoever made the request to come into the studio and help produce the program themselves, whether that be as on-air talent or in a behind-the-scenes role. “We function as an open door for the community to be involved with KEOS, to be trained and to produce programming, to share with the community … news, information, or music programming,” Parr says. “We have gotten really good volunteers that way.”
Rita Taylor is one such volunteer who took that message to heart, Parr says. He was making a deposit at the bank one day when Taylor made a programming request. “She just mentioned casually, ‘You know, it’d be great if y’all had some gospel music on the radio,’” Parr says. “I countered with, ‘Why don’t you and some other people maybe come and program a gospel show?’” Taylor agreed to Parr’s proposal, and the Gospel Express has been a Sunday morning fixture on KEOS for over 20 years, Parr says.
Longtime volunteer Vance is the president of the Brazos Valley Coalition on Suicide Prevention, and has been with the station for 16 years. He says he had the idea of doing a talk radio show to showcase programs, agencies, and businesses in the area. KEOS gave him the opportunity to air his show, A Family Affair. Vance also plays a blend of music during his show. “I pick the songs I like — a little country, a little rock, a little pop — whatever’s on my mind,” he says. A benefit of the station is that there are no corporate restrictions on what DJs play, he says. “We have complete autonomy over our shows.”
Volunteering is not the only way the community can get involved with KEOS. “They can be part of our listener family,” Parr says. Requests are not just welcome, they are encouraged, he says. “Our phones are always open when there’s somebody here, our doors are always open when there’s somebody here, so we invite people to come in and let us know what they’re interested in,” Parr says.
Parr notes that while they do have the current technology used by corporate radio stations to replace DJs, KEOS instead uses it to assist live DJs. “I use the automation extensively on my show, but I also play vinyl, CDs, and a lot of requests,” Parr says. The technology is mainly used to ensure that the station can broadcast programming 24 hours a day despite not always having volunteers to man the station, he says.
Newer technology is also useful to handle requests. When a caller wanted to hear “Fire” by The Ohio Players during Parr’s Retro Friday show, it took seconds for him to find the song in his library and queue it up. “In the old days we had to actually go find records,” he says, “and now we point, click, search, and drag it onto the playlist.”
Deep cleaning of the station and social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into the station's live format, but the programming carried on as volunteers produced their shows from home, Parr says. “In a lot of ways, we never skipped a beat,” he says. “All of our live, local programming was still produced locally, even if there wasn’t a live person standing here in the studio.”
The pandemic put a stop to KEOS’ planned 25th anniversary celebration last March. “We’re very much in a holding pattern with all of our events,” Parr says of any upcoming plans. “I’m sure eventually we’ll have some sort of celebration, but the 25th was a very routine day around here because there was nobody here.”
Despite that, Parr, who has been with the station since its inception, was able to mark the occasion with a special touch. “I celebrated it in my own special way by coming in and playing the first song that we actually played on air,” he says — “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen. The lyrics to the chorus struck the perfect chord:
“You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio.”
Visit KEOS.org for more information.
