Whoever these folks are, Skibitsky is trying to attract them to his latest project, the Peak, based in Evergreen but with studios in Lakewood. Even though SBR is consulting the new outlet, which went on the air this summer, everyone involved agrees that it is not an A3. Thus far, the station is playing far more rock-based alternative music (e.g., Nirvana, Pearl Jam) than KBCO, as well as plenty of tracks from Tori Amos-style female vocalists. "We're not as broad as KBCO, and [we're] more focused," Skibitsky says. "We're also staying away from the softer folk." Responding to the persistent rumors that the Peak is meant to be Skibitsky's revenge on his old station, he adds, "Our intention is not to compete head-to-head with KBCO. We'd rather be the soundtrack for the Nineties."
In other areas, the Peak means to borrow some of the lessons Skibitsky learned at KBCO--and to lift some of KBCO's staffers as well. Most prominent among those who defected to the Peak is program director Doug Clifton, who spent eleven years at KBCO; he earned Billboard awards as music director and program director of the year during his tenure there. "We're looking to appeal to the adult alternative listener," Clifton says. "We looked at those bands that started to surface in the late Seventies and early Eighties, and [we're] using those as the foundation for this new sound we're trying to create."
Newness is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Among the features Skibitsky touts is From the Peak Lounge, which will broadcast live appearances, interviews and mini-concerts. In other words, then, these are Studio C sessions by another name. Among the performers to take advantage of this program thus far have been edgier alternative groups such as the Meat Puppets, as well the A3-esque acts Sheryl Crow and Harry Connick Jr.
Clifton also notes another similarity between the Peak and the granddaddy of all A3s. "Just like at KBCO," he says, "we decided on what we thought was right for this market mostly on our gut feelings."
The Gavin A3 Summit will give like-minded music professionals from around the country an opportunity to explore these feelings. And there are plenty of folks who wish to do so. Gavin's Zimmerman, the primary organizer of the Summit, says, "The first Summit we held in Boulder, last August, we expected 30 or 40 people, but we ended up with nearly 300. I think it was a great surprise for a lot of people, because they realized, `Hey, we're not alone.'"
Skibitsky's memories of the conference sound straight out of the men's movement. "Last year the experience was pretty incredible," he recalls. "It was almost like a bonding experience--like going out into the wilderness with a group of people and finding that you shared this passion."
But the Summit's seminars won't all be hugfests. Constantine says registrants will be attending panels on promotion, marketing and the like, as well as "a rate-a-record session where we'll play songs that haven't been released yet and decide whether it would be appropriate or inappropriate to play. And we'll be talking about musical boundaries--about just how far we can stretch this thing."
But mostly, summiteers will be networking, talking, commiserating, attending concerts and showcases and learning to get in touch with their innermost musical emotions, just like those A3 listeners who lately have been coming out of the woodwork in greater and greater numbers. It's a situation ripe for stereotyping, as KBCO's McNutt is well aware, but she'll have none of that. "These are not granola people," she says about her audience and, maybe, her peers. "Okay, some of them may be vegetarians, and some of them may be fond of granola, but a good many of them are just normal, hard-working, radio-loving people. Not that I have anything against granola, but geez...
