Playing what we feel like

AT THE RED: From left, Andrew Jeffries, Matt Lorigan of local band My Damned Kind, technician Andrew Johnson, Vicky Jeffries. PICTURE: PAUL BROOKS

Irreverent, self-deprecating, unpredictable and fun - sounds like Brian FM.
Wanganui, among other locations, has been granted custody of the brainchild of a group of friends who wanted something different in radio. They've called their baby Brian and set him loose on the airwaves with a large playlist, no high rotates and no announcers; just a male voice cropping up between songs with one-liners as station sweepers and idents, and a unique form of advertising.
Brian is a full-powered legitimate radio station broadcasting at the same strength as the local commercial stations and paying all due fees as required. It just sounds like a pirate station.
Former Wanganui people Andrew and Vicky Jeffries, now domiciled in Los Angeles and nostalgic for New Zealand speedway action, are two of the founding parents of Brian. Andrew has driven stockcars and swung off a sidecar driven by Murray Hackett, and he and Vicky have timed their three trips home in the past 12 years to coincide with teams racing speedway championships in Palmerston North. Powerboats and jetskis are also a passion and they take off-roaders and dirt bikes into the desert for fun.
And they love the dangers of unrestricted radio.
Brian FM could have easily been blocked out of the market by the big players when its own frequencies plus a host of others went up for auction late last year, courtesy of the New Zealand Government.
Instead, the renegade radio station came out of it with its original frequencies and a few more, giving it the commercial edge, should it ever decide to play commercials.
In Wanganui, Brian FM broadcasts from a downtown transmitter at 91.2 on the FM band and a growing number of car stereos have it stored for instant listening.
"Brian is a fun project with a bunch of mates who just enjoy music," Andrew says. "That's how we keep looking at it. It's a very different business model, it's one that loses money; it's a failing business and proud of it." A business that's gaining listeners every day.
Andrew started in radio in Wanganui in 1989. "Somehow I just stumbled through the door and had a good time learning through River City Radio, as it was then, and moved on from one thing to the next. It's been one of those 'pick-it-up-as-you-go' kind of careers and it's worked out very well for us."
Now, after a career that's spanned the English-speaking world, Andrew is senior vice-president of programming for Clear Channel in Los Angeles.
"I have eight radio stations in Los Angeles, seven in San Diego and seven in Seattle; that's the region I look after, directly reporting for all the marketing, promotions, all the talent, all the music, the strategies, all that kind of stuff that goes on behind the scenes - that's what we do for a living. What we do for fun is this little project we call Brian FM."
He has worked in Blenheim (where he and Vicky were married), Hawkes Bay, Timaru and Dunedin, finally leaving New Zealand in 1998 for a year's holiday. "We ended up living in England for 11 years, working in radio there, and now seven years in the US."
Andrew's time in the UK saw him programming at Capital Radio, then at various stations in Brighton, Glasgow, Yorkshire and Edinburgh and finally, London. During that time he was able to slip Down Under and programme Nova 93.7 in Perth during a one-year sabbatical. Back in England he launched Kerrang! the rock station in West Midlands and then ran KIIS 100 in London for a while.
"From there we came over to the US. I was in San Francisco for nine months, moved to LA and took over two stations here. They've done very well so I ended up with eight stations in the cluster in Los Angeles."
Now 22 stations in California profit from his skills.
Recently, Andrew, Vicky and their sons touched down in Wanganui to check out support for Brian FM advertising - but radio advertising with a difference.
A small but loyal crowd gathered at the Red Lion Inn where Andrew made a short speech and caught up with friends over a few beers.
"We are, with a few people inside this room and a few outside this room, Brian FM, which is a strange thing for people to do in their spare time."
Calling it a "little, private, independent venture", Andrew outlined the commercial plans for the station.
"Brian is a weird chance for us to break the mold of how radio stations operate.
"We need to have a few partners come on board to help us offset the costs of running the business. We're looking for a way to expose a limited number of businesses to the listeners who are already buying into what Brian FM is ... we are going to have 10-second bursts of advertising, twice an hour; two 10-seconders every hour. We wish to make enough money to keep things rolling; we're not in it to make a profit."
"The worst song we play is better than five minutes of commercials," he says.
Needless to say, there was no shortage of interest.
Brian FM establishes a link to home, but there is a sadness in the name. "Brian Hand was a great friend of ours in Blenheim. He was part of our wedding party ... but was killed in a tractor accident on a farm in 2010. He loved music and we just used to sit and listen to music for hours. We always said, wouldn't it be great to play what you wanted on the radio ... and that's what kind of inspired it. The happy side is I've got two wonderful boys; one's Blair (11), one's Ryan (7), put those together and you get Brian as well. It just came to be."
The music on Brian FM is random and has an attitude about it, says Andrew. "That's the fun part for us. There are six or seven guys involved in some part of making Brian happen, and I just happen to be one of them. "
Brian was launched in March last year and broadcasts on 91.2FM in Wanganui and streams online.
"The people who find this little radio station have a real passion for it and they share it." Brian FM's Facebook page has more than 2200 "likes" and climbing. People are able to listen on line as well and there are fans all around the world.
"There's a Kiwi attitude about it," says Andrew. "And we'll poke a lot more fun at the big guys."