BRAVO MIC NEWS - Today's date: Friday October 10th 2006 June Rocket Radio Roars into Las Cruces By Lucas Peerman Pulse Editor Las Cruces Sun-News A new radio station has launched in Las Cruces and the station's producers are hoping The Rocket's all-rock, no-talk format really "takes off." "Las Cruces didn't have its own rock station before. This will be nice for the town" said The Rocket program director KC Counts. The exclusively rock format on KXPZ 99.5-FM has been well received so far, Counts said. The playlist includes songs by mainstream and modern rocks bands such as Audioslave, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails and Staind. Josh Holguin, 27, of Las Cruces, said he'll tune in to The Rocket. "I'm glad we have this new station, it's about time. There is a lot of interest in this music (rock) and there aren't any stations that cater to that in Las Cruces," he said. "I think there is a big following for rock music in Las Cruces." The Rocket began broadcasting mainstream and modern rock hits at noon Thursday, replacing one of the most unique radio formats in the nation — all Barry Manilow, all the time. For the past month, KXPZ was known as Barry 99.5, where the crooner's hits from the past three decades played nonstop. Barry 99.5 gained local and national media attention. News of the format reached Manilow and the singer not only sent the station an autographed picture, but also produced advertisements for Barry 99.5. "The all-Barry format raised eyebrows. You have people talking about the station, saying you're just going to play one artist?," said Mike McKay, executive vice president of Bravo Mic Communications, which in April purchased the station from Rio Grande Christian Broadcasting of El Paso for $1.4 million. McKay said Bravo Mic, which also owns KVLC 101.1-FM, an oldies station, planned all along to launch a rock music station, but needed to play something on air to test the station's equipment and it only helped that the format brought attention. "The station was really a tribute to one of the greatest singers of our generation," he said. Calls to Manilow's manager went unreturned Friday. The station drew a lot of attention from Manilow fans nationwide, and even some locally. Sun Lanes General Manager Phil Kinzer Jr., a self-described "fanilow," said he and his dad tuned into Barry 99.5 "But it's a rock station now, and it's about time Las Cruces has its own," he said, adding that he's more of a fan of The Rocket's programming. Previously, fans of the rock genre tuned into El Paso's KLAQ 95.5-FM. Las Cruces pop station Magic 105 (KMVR 104.9-FM) and New Mexico State University station KRUX 91.5-FM also include rock in their rotations. Counts said The Rocket will be unique in that listeners can log on to www.rocket995.com and offer feedback on what songs should or shouldn't be in the station's rotation. Bravo Mic general manager Mike Smith said listeners will be able to tune into The Rocket online within the next two weeks. "Streaming audio will be a big part of the Web site," Smith said. "If people want to listen in at work or want to listen at home on their computers, they'll have that option." Another unique feature to The Rocket is the lack of on-air deejays. The Rocket bills itself as "all of the rock with none of the talk." In the fall, the station plans to recruit broadcasting talent from NMSU to be deejays, Counts said, but the station now provides an alternative to morning talk shows. "For people that just want to listen to music, we have that," she said. Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com Rocket info The Rocket's call letters KXPZ (think X-Prize) were chosen because of the area's affiliation with the aerospace industry, said Mike McKay, executive vice president of Bravo Mic Communications, which owns the station. "With White Sands, the X-Prize, the Rocket Racing League, no other area in the nation has as unique a relationship with the aerospace community as southern New Mexico," he said. "Naming it The Rocket was perfect for the community, perfect for the format (rock)."