Alternative radio, a staple of Baltimore's musical life for more than 25 years, is experiencing a resurgence with the growing popularity of two small stations fighting for the hearts of progressive rock fans.
WHFS, the granddaddy of area alternative rock stations, now shares the airwaves with the progressive free-form station WRNR in Annapolis and an Adult Album Alternative station from Philadelphia that sends its signal to the area via WKHS on the Eastern Shore.
But even as those stations are generating excitement among listeners, WHFS is enjoying some of its strongest ratings ever. New ratings out yesterday put the station in eighth place among all local stations -- just a notch above WIYY (98 Rock). A year ago, WHFS ranked 11th and WIYY 5th.
The resurgence of alternative radio is part of a national trend, as stations capitalize on the huge appeal of such groups as Pearl Jam and the Gin Blossoms. Billboard magazine says modern rock is the nation's second-fastest growing format behind '70s oldies.
This area, of course, has a history of passion for stations with a broad-minded musical format -- among them such old favorites as WRTI in Frederick, WCVT in Towson, WLMD AM in Laurel, WKTK in Catonsville, WGTB in Washington.
But none has been more popular -- or more resilient -- than WHFS, the station Jake Einstein founded in Bethesda in 1967. For 15 years, progressive rock and home-grown talent flourished at WHFS on Cordell Avenue, next to the legendary nightclub the Psychedelly.
Mr. Einstein moved the station to Annapolis in 1982 and sold it six years later. The new owners moved to Landover and changed from the eclectic, progressive format that had been WHFS' hallmark to a more mainstream version of modern rock.
That has led to a debate over whether WHFS has left the alternative edge. "People ask if alternative has gone mainstream," acknowledges music director Robert Benjamin. "I
suppose it has. The quality of the music, though, hasn't changed at all. It's just that more people like it."
While it may be more mainstream, Mr. Benjamin says the station remains dedicated to discovering new artists and introducing them to its listeners.
"When we believe in an artist, a song, we get very enthusiastic about it and we will play things a lot," he says. "We've found that's the best way to do it. We're always changing. The music is always changing."
Still, listeners hungry for more progressive and varied programming are finding it on WKHS or WRNR. Their popularity, however, is hard to measure since both are small stations without nearly the range of 50,000 watt WHFS.
Nevertheless, both have developed a following among music fans as they offer a mix many feel has been missing from local alternative radio -- everything from Frank Zappa and Harry Connick Jr. to the Ramones and the Subdudes.
"I like the new material on WHFS, but find more frequently on WRNR music you just don't hear anywhere also on the radio," says Baltimore radio fan Mark Hopkins.
Who could argue when WRNR is giving airplay to such music as Austin Lounge Lizards' bluegrass version of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage," or the Annapolis group Duende's flamenco guitar interpretation of Santana's "Black Magic Woman?"
Doing it again
It's no surprise the WRNR would succeed as an alternative radio station, since it was founded by the same man who brought the area WHFS.
After a six year absence from FM radio, Mr. Einstein jumped back into it in January 1994, when he bought a tiny station with a studio in Annapolis and a 6,000-watt tower in Grasonville, a small town just across the Kent Narrows bridge on the Eastern Shore.
The station, then known was WXZL, played a heavy metal format. Mr. Einstein switched the format to one that re-created the progressive sound and feel of the old WHFS days, and last fall he changed the call letters to WRNR, for rock 'n' roll.
He's also brought in some Bethesda alumni -- deejays John Hall, Bob "Here" Showacre, and most importantly, his son Damian Einstein, who ended his long stint at WHFS last fall to join his father in this new venture.
Known simply by his first name, Damian is among the area's most well-loved rock deejays. In the early days at WHFS, he played the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat and Bruce Springsteen before the rest of the country had even heard of them.
Longtime listeners are thrilled to hear Damian back in his natural element, a station where he can focus on blues, local music and on-air interviews. Dean Rosenthal, a slide guitar player and band leader in Annapolis, says it is nothing short of an honor.
"Without him there is so much we never would have heard over the years," he says.
WKHS, the other relative newcomer on the local alternative radio scene, also has deep roots. The roots, however, are in Philadelphia, where WKHS receives a signal from a station that has broadcast out of University of Pennsylvania for some 50 years.
Known there by call letters WXPN, the non-commercial, member-supported station has played all kinds of popular music over the years. By 1991, it had evolved into what is described as the Adult Alternative Album format, an eclectic mix of folk, Celtic, blues and progressive rock.
In September 1993, the station began sharing its signal with WKHS, a 17,500-watt station operating from the small Eastern Shore town of Warton. While it was new to the Baltimore area, some of its work already had a national reputation. The Philadelphia station gained that recognition, in part, for its syndicated World Cafe show, featuring live in-studio performances and interviews with national and regional artists. The show is broadcast on 70 stations around the country, including WHFS at one point.
That same approach is taken on WKHS' Xtra Local shows on Monday nights. Among the Baltimore-area artists that have been featured, with airplay from Baltimore to New Jersey, are the Empties and Mary Byrd Brown.
"We play a bit of everything, but in a focused way," says Kim Alexander program director at WXPN in Philadelphia. "Feedback from our call-in shows asks for more eclectic programming. 'Turn us on to more new stuff,' they say."
Both WRNR and WKHS face the problem of relatively weak signals, especially for listeners closer to Washington. Stories of dedicated listeners flicking the switch from stereo to mono, draping wire antennas around the house, even hanging out of dorm windows in order to pick up the signal have made it back to the stations.
While he insists that "our talent will bring us our listeners," Jake Einstein is currently negotiating with other stations with bigger signals to broadcast his programming -- in much the way that WKHS sends out the music from the Philadelphia station.
Selling the music
Joe Lee, the owner of Joe's Record Paradise in Wheaton and a music supplier for both the old WHFS and WRNR, says the market will respond to any expansion of alternative radio. He points out that the area's rich musical heritage created a sophisticated audience that expects more.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the influence alternative radio has on record sales. "The records they can sell outweighs the ratings," says Eric Boehlert, radio features editor for Billboard. He notes that many of Billboard's top 200 songs start on modern rock or adult album stations, then cross over to those playing mainstream and Top 40 music.
Mark Maggio, sales manager at Tower Records in Annapolis, certainly understands that. He can't stock enough of the first LP by Veruca Salt on the Chicago-based Minty Fresh label -- a fact he attributes to continuous play on WHFS.
And WRNR recently heard from A&M; records in Chicago after the label tracked an upsurge in area sales of its new Blues Traveler release to the progressive station operating in Annapolis.
But beyond the sales alternative radio can stimulate at record stores may be something more important, says Annapolis artist and musician John Ebersberger.
"The old WHFS was an incredible vehicle to create a musical community," he says. "The first time I heard WXPN down here, I thought they would run out of material, but they didn't. I sensed a real sensitivity to what was going on in the music, finally intelligent rock and roll radio."
ALTERNATIVE RADIO
Where to find the area's alternative radio stations:
* WHFS broadcasts at 99.1 FM
* WRNR broadcasts at 103.1 FM
* WKHS broadcasts at 90.5 FM. It carries the signal sent by WXPN, a Philadelphia station that broadcasts in that city over 88.5 FM