As we’ve already mentioned a couple of times on this site, the third incarnation of The Spy hits the Oklahoma City airwaves today. The man behind the station is Ferris O’Brien. Ferris’ voice should be a familiar one to Oklahoma City radio listeners. He was the program director for the “old” 105.3 the Spy, and 93.7 the Spy when it was a “college rock” format broadcasting out of Stillwater.
As a new music buff/pretentious music snob, I still feel the need to pinch myself. Even though we speculated about it’s return in the past, I never really thought the Spy was going to come back. It’s going to be so great to finally have a local radio station playing good and enjoyable music. I can’t wait to hop in the car, turn on the radio, and hear bands like The Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Student Film, and hell, even The Flaming Lips, coming from the car speakers.
Anyway, check out the Lost Q&A with Ferris after the jump. The immediately afterward, tune to 105.3 and listen to good music.
Q: Thanks so much for bringing back the Spy! There is a good chance you’re going to be named Lost Ogle Man of the Year for doing this. How did all this happen?
A: After years of thinking it would eventually come full circle & happen on its own, corporate radio getting better, I mean. I finally just got tired of waiting, figured out what it would take, & then found the opportunity.
Q: So, how much thought have given to the first song that’s going to be played on your own radio station?
A: Alot, it’s a kind of statement of sorts, but then again, I’ve always had a kind of man-love for Paul Anka and I have a great version of him doing “Wonderwall.” Mmmm, you might just have to tune in….
Q: How similar will this SPY be to the previous incarnations?
A: I truly hope this Spy is a mesh of both, the previous incarnations had their limitations. I am listening to it right now in my laboratory, Bauhaus into Neko Case into Gene into stellastarr* into the Thermals into Metric into Julian Cope & the Teardrop Explodes into the Decemberists, all just played, what do you think??? Plus you know they say, third times the charm!
Q: 105.3 is kind of staticky in certain parts of the metro. Is there any way to boost the signal? Also, will it be available in HD?
A: Anything is possible! We will be streaming “live” on the website at www.thespyfm.com as soon as we go live, plus I have a multimedia ap in the works. Plans for podcasts, live performances, interviews, “live” studio cam, the ideas are endless really. As far as HD, hopefully within the first year! : )
Q: In George Lang’s blog, he mentioned Tyson Meade will be recording a show from China. How will that work?
A: The particulars are Top Secret but i can tell you it involves a decommissioned Cold War submarine, Morse Code & the Cone of Silence!
Q: I’m thinking you should get Gary England to do the weather reports? Can you make that happen?
A: Yes…Cardboard Gary is ready with his doppler!
Q: Now that we have a legitimate alternative/indie/modern rock station, will we get legitimate music acts coming to the metro?
A: ABSOLUTELY!!! The one & only reason we have sub-par shows is NO RADIO SUPPORT…problem solved.
Q: Approve or Disapprove: Blade Runner
A: Totally APPROVE!!! We shop @ Wam A Lart together…
Q: Is programming ever going to be interrupted for Redhawks baseball?
A: No Redhawk games!!! But plans are in the works to air the UCO chess championships & water polo matches. Oh, and the Lost Ogle’s Snuggle Crawl…
Q: Speaking of that, are you going to The Snuggie Pub Crawl?
A: If my Spy Snuggie ever gets here!
Q: Last question: I’m thinking a weekly Lost Ogle radio show sounds like a good idea. What do you think?
[long uncomfortable silence... followed by some voice in the back ground saying, "the check cleared"]
That’s a great idea, lets make that happen!!!
It’s 1215am, where is the spy? This is already a dismal failure.
Still lots of Latin words for the first 15 minutes of the launch and counting, looking forward to the switch.
I’m on the Mexican radio. I’m on the Mexican whoa oh radio.
I know radio broadcast technicals are mind-boggling and beyond me but rápidamente por favor!
i’m not understanding the love-fest for this deal. i hope this guy succeeds and don’t have any ill-will towards him, but it makes no sense.
we live in a world where burning CDs takes a minute, where any car made in the last 3 years has a line-in hookup, and where you can [cheaply and easily] stream your iPod over the radio if you don’t have a line-in.
everyone i know has a song collection of at least 2k songs by now. there are podcasts for every time of music. you can stream every radio station in the world to your computer. and when the 4G phone system OKC, you’ll be able to stream any radio station to your cell phone.
if people are so desperate for the music they want to hear, there are plenty of avenues for them to hear it.
nermel: Most radio stations don’t switch at midnight – not much of an audience there. If I remember right, they mostly happen around noontime.
I’m not positive that’s what’s going on here, but you shouldn’t have expected it at midnight.
okie floyd: some of us don’t have all of that though – be it b/c of children, work, etc obligations or lack of extra income – so passive listening via the radio allows us to experiment with music in a lazy, quick, safe environment – plus hell it was a good radio station with good commentary – it had good content.
“I’m not positive that’s what’s going on here, but you shouldn’t have expected it at midnight.”
Well, they did tease us with that countdown on the website.
@oklahomarock.com when there is a change in ownership, most “flips” occur at midnight. Such as when 105.3 was sold to Citadel, when 92.5 changed from KKNG to KOMA-FM – even the “transfer” of 640AM, when it was first merged with 104.9fm
The countdown timer could easily have been set to something other than midnight (6am GMT)… radio-info’s main page is reporting this as being “technical difficulties”.
So far, 105.3 “the spy” reeks of poor planning…
With the sale of 105.3 one must ponder, how little programming from ESPN radio is OKC getting, compared with other top 50 radio markets?
I think it’s dumb when dj’s make up fake radio names…his real name is Bryan Howard, not Ferris 0′brien. And as far as the Spy goes: to quote Johnny Rotten-”Ever get the feeling that you’ve been cheated?”
The reason this is such a big deal,(to me) is currently there is extremely limited radio representation( the KATT at midnight) of alternative music in the metro. It will represent that OKC has finally grown beyond the typical red neck rock(play SKYNARD man) and has finally evolved to a higher plain of intellectual rhythms.
I have an Iphone and can stream any type of music I like any where or just use the Ipod on it. The relevance of the station is only important to those who enjoy change. I’ve listened to alternative since before it was alternative,Skinny puppy to the Church and farther back than that as well. I consider myself an audiophile and enjoy the new as well but I would never hear Fleet foxes on the KATT, due to time constraints, now at least I may be able to hear this without plugging my phone into my head unit(car audio receiver).
So to Ferris bring in your man from shanghai(via media pro) and maybe every once in a while the guy from the starlight mints. The SPY was a good friend, I can wait a couple of more days to shake his hand again. If you need any volunteers to make it go …. HERE COMES YOUR MAN!(pixies for those a little slow)
@ray the reason people take fake names is to keep stalker freaks at bay, your a tool! The people that followed the spy pretty much already knew that due to tyson’s slip-ups intended or not. Why do people have to be haters except to try to bail some of the crap out of their own lives. Who cares about his real name, Really!
@nermel do you really need an espn outlet when you have ” the sports animal” juggernaut available from 5AM to 7PM every weekday.
Caught some of the new station this AM – RAWK! I am a long-time spy lover, from back in the glorious Stillwater days. Huge props to Ferris for hanging on long enough for this incarnation. LONG LIVE THE SPY!!!
Tuned in this morning and heard Tears for Fears ’80s hit…. really alternative.
Ferris knows not good music. Sorry Patrick.
OMG!!! you have no idea how hysterically happy i am!!!! my radio is in use again after many many years! i remember the original spy out of stillwater in the late 90s!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“okie floyd”: i guess you have stopped accepting new songs to your playlist.
The Spy will provide us with new songs/artists to put in our iPods. Even XM isn’t as good as the SPY.
Also support for a live music scene. Why do you think we miss all the great shows that come to T-town.
To all the other naysayers: Ferris is giving us a gift. He took the initiative and the risk to start something from nothing. It’s so easy to sit back and snipe.
I love how someone can critique a radio station for playing ONE SONG that they don’t like. What about the other 24 hrs?
I cannot wait to see the change this will bring to OKC.
Congratulations Ferris and Good Work!! Everyone thinks they can do it, only a very few can and do. I want a job there.
Also: I want a new user name.
first of all, he didn’t start something from nothing. he is using an established name & format with a pre-existing fanbase. he is picking up where someone else left off in many ways.
second, i generally hate any local ‘live music scene’, especially in bars. when i hear a band and a bar, i want to say ’shut the hell up so i can drink my beer and make dick jokes to my friends at acceptable decibels.’ and you know what, 90% of the other people there are right there with me. the other 10% are just people who know the guys in the band.
third, i could give 2 sh*ts. i just dont understand the love-fest. there are lots of ways to hear the music/genres you want. same goes for sports radio. espn has a million podcasts, and there are tons of live streaming sites.
i’m all for this guy being successful. i certainly dont hope he fails; everyone’s gotta make a living. i’m actually jealous that everyone wants to lick his balls for doing something that others can do for themselves if they just make a little effort.
I’m not talking about local bands playing here. The SPY will bring us support for bands that tour nationally but pass us by but do stop at Cain’s. You should have caught that, obviously you are not a big music fan. Of course there are other outlets, but we are lucky to have a station that we can just turn on our radios. Only XM or Sirius expose you to new bands and they don’t do that great of a job. Pandora or your ipod are what you make of it.
He DID start something out of nothing. He is responsible for bringing the original SPY here from the old KDGE froom Dallas from the late 80’s. Apparently you’re too young to remember driving down to a show in Dallas that we didn’t get here, or to the Starck club and then driving home with your radio tuned to 94.5 and somehow being able to pick up the station all the way home and still barely picking it up the next morning. That was before Clearchannel bought then out and the word Alternative didn’t mean anything anymore.
Seriously you think you or anyone else could have bought a radio station from Citadel and changed the format? Then why didn’t you? With “a little effort” Okay. Go back to your desk job now.
This is a great sign that corporate radio has finally lost it’s monopoly.
no need to be a condescending prick.
i could give 2 sh*ts about national bands too. guess i left that out. so i’ve never driven anywhere to see any show. like i said earlier, i wish this guy all the success in the world, because in the end, i dont care.
you are right that corporate radio may be losing its monopoly. iPods have eaten into their customer base. and when the 4G network gets here, streaming music will do more damage.
i never said i could’ve started a radio station. i said that i could provide myself the same service as this guy, as in deliver the music i want to hear to my own ears. but to appease you, i will admit that i actually cannot do really do this, and that i lied. i cannot operate the internet, iPods or radios. that’s because i have no hands. or ears. and i’m retarded.
and you’re right. i know nothing about music. what is music? is that the sound that people make when air comes out of their butt?
If you don’t have a dog in this hunt than keep your negative mouth shut.
If you don’t care about seeing live bands, you’re not a factor in this discussion.
The internet does have thousand of streaming stations, 99% of which are crap and good luck finding one you like that can educate you on new music as well as something old that you may not have heard before while including and promoting the local scene.
And by the way the Spy is streaming on the internet as well. But seriously, you would rather listen to some 21 yr old streaming LIVE out of his parents basement from Minneapolis. Over the Internet. Through your iPhone.
And by the way, Condescending Prick is my new user name.