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This site is for Arizona rockers who remember one of the best radio station ever to come out of Phoenix... KZRX-FM 1003! In the early 1990's Valley listeners only had a handful of rock stations to listen to, such as KUPD, KDKB, and KSLX... which ironically is the same situation today! However, in 1991 a radio station in Mesa on 100.3fm dumped a lame smooth jazz format, to begin piping in the satellite delivered Z-Rock format from Dallas. The local station was awful, and had no local identity, until early 1992 when the station was purchased by G&G International. KZRX moved its facility to a combo broadcast center in West Phoenix. The new owners hired Mike "Mad Dog" Madigan from KLPX in Tucson, as the new Station Manager. Madigan wasted no time breathing new life into the sleeping giant. He hired rock radio programmer "The G-Ster" from Chicago as Program Director... from there the madness began! G-Ster dumped the satellite for a local format to cater directly to the Phoenix market, as the new KZRX-FM 100.3 Arizona's Rock Radio Superstation!
This site is for Arizona rockers who remember one of the best radio station ever to come out of Phoenix... KZRX-FM 1003! In the early 1990's Valley listeners only had a handful of rock stations to listen to, such as KUPD, KDKB, and KSLX... which ironically is the same situation today! However, in 1991 a radio station in Mesa on 100.3fm dumped a lame smooth jazz format, to begin piping in the satellite delivered Z-Rock format from Dallas. The local station was awful, and had no local identity, until early 1992 when the station was purchased by G&G International. KZRX moved its facility to a combo broadcast center in West Phoenix. The new owners hired Mike "Mad Dog" Madigan from KLPX in Tucson, as the new Station Manager. Madigan wasted no time breathing new life into the sleeping giant. He hired rock radio programmer "The G-Ster" from Chicago as Program Director... from there the madness began! G-Ster dumped the satellite for a local format to cater directly to the Phoenix market, as the new KZRX-FM 100.3 Arizona's Rock Radio Superstation!
Within
months, the KZRX "Get Hard" bumper stickers were plastered on cars
throughout the valley. The war between KZRX, and veteran rocker 98 KUPD had begun! Several
high profile KUPD jocks jumped ship to the edgier KZRX, such as Jan Williams, and "Dangerous Dave" Olson.
From there, G-Ster hired old pal Madd Maxx Hammer, who left
the Z-Rock network for Arizona. The rest of the On-air team consisted
of some of the craziest DJs such as; KC Kennedy, Rancid Randy, Jimmy
Blade, Freeze Fresquez, Lucifer, Klondike the Retard, Arte "The
A-Man", and Alan
Summers. The street war was incredible, with Jan Williams
getting her former KUPD listeners to listen to KZRX, by locking it in,
and ripping the knob off! The KZRX van crashed many KUPD promotions,
consistently winning listeners over from events. KZRX was well known
for publicly ridiculing KUPD's lame rock format, as well as its on-air
personalities. Dangerous Dave
was well known for putting KUPD jocks live on the air, by calling the
request line, and making them look like fools! In addition, the station
was the hardest rocker in Arizona, and expanded its coverage, with a
tower in Tucson on 100.1 fm, now giving KLPX a headache! In the Fall of
1992, KZRX jumped in the ratings, practically taking a huge chuck out
of the legendary KUPD market share. The sleeping giant had finally
awoken, and rockers all over Arizona were locking it in, and ripping
the knob off! KZRX also brought a lot of hard rock, and alternative
rock to the airwaves, that hadn't been heard before like: Slayer, Pantera, Motorhead, Rage
Against The Machine, The Deftones, Testament, Fight, Skatenigs,
Suicidal Tendencies, Sacred
Reich, Dream Theater, Trouble, Butthole Surfers, Primus, Danzig,
Helmet, Green Jello, and tons more!
Freeze Fresquez, Dangerous Dave, Michael Schenker, G-Ster, and Val Serrano. Trouble visits G-Ster, Jan Williams, and Dangerous Dave. Crystal Storm with G-Ster, KC, and Freeze.
KZRX Blast from the Past, featuring
Dangerous Dave!
The station
also became very controversial, as G-Ster brought on guest who
turned his program into a Jerry
Springer type atmosphere. Guests included XXX Star Crystal Storm, who got naked
on-air for listeners, but really for the benefit of the KZRX staff.
Another event that went bad, included a live on-air nipple
piercing. The Jim Rose
Circus visited, with Jim showing G-Ster, and Klondike how to eat raw
glass, and nails live.
Not
all was crazy, as some of the top rockers of the day stopped by the
studios to do interviews, such as; Michael Schenker, Fight, Bullet
Boys, Rob Halford, Trouble, Suicidal Tendencies, Dave Mustane,
Testament, Slayer, Dee Snider,
Dream Theater, Arsinal, Ron Keel, Flotsam & Jetsam,
Jackyl, Propain, and many more! Many of KZRX's shows
also became popular such as Madd
Maxx's Top 50 countdown, G-Ster's daily Yank or Crank, Dangerous Dave's Saturday Night Loud,
and Rancid Randy's
Sunday night Thrash Bash.
The antics of KZRX caught up with the station as the Arizona Republic's radio
column began reporting the mayhem. Weekly accounts of the radio stunts
made the newspaper, which led to the firing of several jocks. The
December 19, 1992 addition accounted the abrupt termination of Dangerous Dave, after
advocating "gay bashing" on the air as a joke. After, Echo Magazine filed a
complaint against KZRX to the Federal
Communications Commission, which was no joke! The
following month, the January 16, 1993 edition reported several more DJs
were fired, such as the high profile night anchor Jan Williams. Management of
the station began to get edgy after all the negative news, and G-Ster was asked to tone
things down. KZRX dropped the "Get Hard" moniker, and began turning its
attention to the music, instead of the personalities. More shakeups in
management in the Spring of 1993, left KZRX with a strained budget, as
sister station KEDJ-FM 106.3
sighed on as
The Edge. Mellower DJs
were hired for the more toned down format, with lame presentations such
as Jimmy Blade, and Twisted Tim. By summer
1993 many of the original jocks left, after PD The G-Ster exited for a gig
in Las Vegas, and Madd Maxx
quit for tour duties with Pantera.
Eventually everyone from KC
Kennedy to Freeze
Fresquez, and Rancid
Randy
were cleaned out, and a whole new team took over the station by
1994.
KZRX took on a new moniker as "Arizona's Hardest", and hired low
profile DJs
from KSLX, and even KUPD.
After G-Ster's tenure running the station, ratings dropped considerably
as sister station the Edge
picked up old KZRX listeners, and KUPD began
playing edgier tracks that made it lose out to KZRX in the first
place. By early 1995, the anemic KZRX was taken out of its
misery, and the best rock station in Arizona came to an end.
The station
briefly switched to a "Hot Talk" format with Carla Foxx, but eventually
dropped that to simulcast 106.3
The Edge for many years, until Not
all was crazy, as some of the top rockers of the day stopped by the
studios to do interviews, such as; Michael Schenker, Fight, Bullet
Boys, Rob Halford, Trouble, Suicidal Tendencies, Dave Mustane,
Testament, Slayer, Dee Snider,
Dream Theater, Arsinal, Ron Keel, Flotsam & Jetsam,
Jackyl, Propain, and many more! Many of KZRX's shows
also became popular such as Madd
Maxx's Top 50 countdown, G-Ster's daily Yank or Crank, Dangerous Dave's Saturday Night Loud,
and Rancid Randy's
Sunday night Thrash Bash.
The antics of KZRX caught up with the station as the Arizona Republic's radio
column began reporting the mayhem. Weekly accounts of the radio stunts
made the newspaper, which led to the firing of several jocks. The
December 19, 1992 addition accounted the abrupt termination of Dangerous Dave, after
advocating "gay bashing" on the air as a joke. After, Echo Magazine filed a
complaint against KZRX to the Federal
Communications Commission, which was no joke! The
following month, the January 16, 1993 edition reported several more DJs
were fired, such as the high profile night anchor Jan Williams. Management of
the station began to get edgy after all the negative news, and G-Ster was asked to tone
things down. KZRX dropped the "Get Hard" moniker, and began turning its
attention to the music, instead of the personalities. More shakeups in
management in the Spring of 1993, left KZRX with a strained budget, as
sister station KEDJ-FM 106.3
sighed on as The Edge. Mellower DJs
were hired for the more toned down format, with lame presentations such
as Jimmy Blade, and Twisted Tim. By summer
1993 many of the original jocks left, after PD The G-Ster exited for a gig
in Las Vegas, and Madd Maxx
quit for tour duties with Pantera.
Eventually everyone from KC
Kennedy to Freeze
Fresquez, and Rancid
Randy
were cleaned out, and a whole new team took over the station by
1994.
KZRX took on a new moniker as "Arizona's Hardest", and hired low
profile DJs
from KSLX, and even KUPD.
After G-Ster's tenure running the station, ratings dropped considerably
as sister station the Edge
picked up old KZRX listeners, and KUPD began
playing edgier tracks that made it lose out to KZRX in the first
place. By early 1995, the anemic KZRX was taken out of its
misery, and the best rock station in Arizona came to an end.
the station
was purchased by Univision.
The new owners switched to a spanish format, and changed call letters
to KMRR-FM.
KZRX Call letters are now used by a rock station in Bismarck, North
Dakota. Today, KUPD is the current Active Rocker in town, with music,
and DJs
that sound much like KZRX did went it signed on, however it's a more
corprate type feel. Radio in
Arizona has been taken over by large corporations such as Clear Channel, and Infinity Broadcasting, who
would never broadcast the likes of Slayer, Pantera, Anthrax, or even
King Diamond! Sure you will hear the occasonal watered down Metallica,
or Ozzy song, but never the true hard rock, and heavy metal that
100.3fm brought to the Valley of the Sun! Long live KZRX and it's brave
over the top jocks! I
will add any updates I
receive on current activities of old KZRXers on this site! Thanks to all of the old crew who
helped my write this story, Kim!!(Photos above include: G-Ster and Testament's
Chuck Billy, Slayer's Kerry King with Rancid Randy,
and G-Ster, Pantera's Phil Anselmo, and Madd Maxx.)
.
GO TO THE NEW KZRX
LISTENERS FORUM!
SHARE YOUR MEMORIES, AND COMMENTS ABOUT ARIZONA'S HARDEST RADIO STATION!
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SHARE YOUR MEMORIES, AND COMMENTS ABOUT ARIZONA'S HARDEST RADIO STATION!
FIND OUT WHAT SOME OF THE ON-AIR PERSONALITIES ARE UP TO TODAY
ON FACEBOOK!
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