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daily nebraskan
Wednesday, december 3, 1980
KBHL changes from religious to country format
By Bob Crisler
Lincoln FM radio station KBHL's
religious format was apparently not "Kept
By His Love."
As of 6 a.m. last Saturday KBHL meta
morphosed into a country -pop station,
filling a gap that had existed in the Linc
oln radio market since the demise of
KHAT's similar format several years ago.
"Right when we started, phone calls
started coming in from the people who had
been regular listeners of our religious for
mat. Of course, they didn't like the change,
but we've had an excellent response from
new listeners," said Dave Graupner,
program director at the station.
"When people think of country, they
think of a twangy guitar or banjo. Country
is just good music that doesn't need a lot
of overdubs," Graupner said. 'This is not
just a country station, but is a 'sophisti
cated urban country' station."
A self-confessed jazz fan, Graupner was
at first reluctant to leave his old job at
KFOR-AM to go to any country station.
"I've had a stereotyped image of
country music being 'hick' music all my
life," he said, "but when I started to listen
to it, 1 fell in love with it.
"The people who listen to country
music are statistically better educated and
financially stable than the average Ameri
can," Graupner said. "We play the usual
run-of-the-mill popular country, but the
difference is in the variety-it's like a
buffet, instead of the same old hamburger
that most stations give you everyday. I
really don't see any direct competition in
the market. We're not doing what KECK is
doing."
'Flash in the pan'
Regarding the obvious correlation be
tween the format change and a recent John
Travolta movie, Graupner said, "I think
that this whole Urban Cowboy trip is just
a flash in the pan, something that country
music definitely is not."
An old hand overseeing the new staff
recruits is David Benware, president of
Sound Experiences Broadcasting Corpora
tion, who took over the station in the fall
of 1979.
According to Benware, "the Urban
Cowboy film and the aura surrounding it
has spurred this whole country trend.
Country -western is fashionable -they're
wearing cowboy hats and boots in New
York City."
KBHL's parent company began its
analysis of the station in May of this
year.
"We made the decision to go to a coun
try format six to eight weeks ago. We saw
an opening in the market and we went lor
it. Generally speaking, country music is
the hottest sound around right now,"
Benware said.
"We tried to continue with the religious
format for nearly a year, but it just wasn't
working. The central problem was a lack of
acceptance of religious programming in this
community. There was not a level of
acceptance that we've come to expect from
a city like Lincoln," Benware said. "I've
been involved with many religious stations,
and this one stands alone. It was a totally
unique situation."
Benware sees religious radio going
through big changes in the last few years.
"We are seeing the evangelistic
preaching approach go downhill, with
everyone going to Christian music and
short theological messages."
Became oversaturated
The biggest thing that hurt
radio was that in the 70s it became over
saturated. Some markets have as many as
religious
seven religious stations. There are more
than 1,000 religious stations in this
country, which is 10 percent of all broad
casters," Benware said.
Asked if finances had entered the pic
ture when the decision was made to aban
don the Christian format, Benware simply
replied, "That's an answer better left un
said." Another newcomer to KBHL is general
manager Tony Lupo, a 27-year veteran of
NBC in New York and other East Coast
broadcasting (outlets. He is past vice
president of Crawford Broadcasting, a
chain of contemporary Christian stations.
Of Lupo, Benware said, "Tony Lupo is one
of the finest broadcasters in the world to
day." Lupo is pleased with the reprieve Lin
coln has given him from the too-fast pace
of the East Coast.
"It certainly isn't boring, as a matter of
fact, I find it delightful. Lincoln isone of
the most pleasant towns I've ever been in,"
he said.
"We are totally committed to making
this radio station a factor in the commun
ity. We intend to dominate the market as
soon as possible," Lupo said. "We plan to
use as many promotions as there are ideas
for them. We've got a biggie coming up Sat
urday at the Armadillo."
The "biggie" that Lupo speaks of is be
ing billed as the "Lincoln Country Kick
Off Bash." Sour -Mash will provide the
vibes, with an interruption every half-hour
for prize giveaways. At 1 1 p.m. the Grand
Prize a cruise for two to the Bahamas
will be awarded, according to Benware.
According to Program Director Graup
ner, no one has yet thought of a new
slogan for the station, but he was not with
out an idea; "Kept By His Lariat?"
Video film artists use dancers to create moods
By Jennifer Bauman
Two videofilm artists will be appearing at Sheldon
Film Theater this weekend with some of their recent
works. Doris Chase and Amy Greenfield share an in
terest in fusing the filmvideo medium with dance to
create a new art form.
Chase's works use visual techniques such as multiple
images, high contrast photography, distorted time
frames and bright colors. She explores the possibilities
of the video and filmmaking equipment in affecting
images of dancers on screen.
movements. What is most impressive is that Greenfield and
Dolphin can so effectively portray such a wide variety ot
feelings, and the camera work always complements their
dancing.
Transport (l()7l) is a short color film by Greenfield
that shows a group of people carrying two figures for a
short distance. In direct opposition to the weightlessness
of ballet-type modem dance, these figures are dead
weight, and the film concentrates on their massiveness and
the effect of gravity upon them. Strange camera angles,
often short from below the carried forms, emphasize the
downward pull.
In F. lenient (1973). Greenfield's nude body moves in a
sea of mud. The film is black and white and is silent,
focusing our attention on Greenfield's movements and the
textures and consistencies of mud-covered skin and hair.
Moisture and sunlight and the various textures have a very
strong tactile appeal.
Continued on Page 1 1
wiMvik reuiew
In Dance Frame (1978) we see the image of a
dancer produced three times in different color and line
treatments. A synthesizer-produced soundtrack is
reminiscent of jungle noises. One image moves in and
around a solid rectangle, emphasizing the contrast
between confined and open space. But even as the
figures act in open space, their movements arc con
trolled, not expansive.
Jazz Dance (1979), another short film by Chase, is
similar. A dancer is seen three times as a high contrast
highlight in white against a solid background. As the
images dance to a tune by Jelly Roll Morton, they
draw apart and then together again, always in parallel
motion. This precision is enhanced by multicolored
horizontal bands that occasionally fill space between
the images. The soft colors are a pleasant contrast with
the otherwise black and white images. Jazz Dance is more
successful then the other film partly because it lacks the
garish, sometimes ugly color combinations of Dance
Frame. Both films are quite short, but they exhaust the
possibilities of their style, which really has little variety.
Amy Greenfield, directed, choreographed and edited
Videotape for a Woman and a Man (1979), a half-hour
dance performed by Greenfield and Ben Dolphin. The
two nude figures interpret a relationship in its many
forms, from hostility to tenderness. Greenfield and
Dolphin dance in a studio and at the seashore, reproduc
ing sensations of happiness, playfulness, love, melancholy,
loneliness and anger. Sometimes Greenfield and Dolphin
speak; sometimes there is silence; at other times we hear
the music of JS. Bach or the songs of humpback whales.
The camera moves to different angles and distances from
the dancers, sometimes moving in close for a detail, some
times pulling back and allowing space to surround their
M f . ,
Photo courtesy of Sheldon Art Gallery
Dancer Sara Rudner forms a high-contrast image in a work by video film artist Doris Chase.
