2024: A Year in Review

As I have contemplated what to say in this blog a number of thoughts have crossed my mind. When I think of the past 12 months with the stations, as always it is filled with mixed emotions. I had thought about really limiting what i wrote to just focus on all the positives, but there are some negative things that have happened along the way.

One of the pluses of having the stations is the amazing friends i have gotten to know over the past 10 years. I know i have said it many times before but I feel very blessed to have met and gotten to know so many amazing people. Sure there are negatives, but i don't generally let those people bug me. Why let them get inside my head. But once again this year i have run into a situation, where as I operate my stations, some people don' like the rules or guidelines i operate under. Its the same rules I have had and followed for 10 years now. the sad part is they only upset people when suddenly they affect them. As an example only, I have played songs for an artist for the past 2 years. We however don't play instrumentals, and they submit their next song and its an instrumental. I don't give special favours or change rules for this and I won't add it, and explain this to the artist. Suddenly they stop talking to me and the station. The sad part is this is not unique, and has happened in a couple different fashions this year and probably every year since I started.

Oh Well. Sadly some have taken it upon themselves to bad mouth me as well. lol If you are reading this and someone has told you shit about me, but you don't know if its true or not firsthand, than if you have already judged me, move along. I don't have the patience for people who judge someone based on rumours. all of that said, lets get on to the amazing part of the year.

I obviously have to start with some personal changes. To say it was a surprise to many that i suddenly got married could be the understatement of the year. The things that Lynne has brought into my life I can't even begin to tell you all of them. But aside from the personal she has brought a balance to the stations and operations. Not only a balance but a relief on the workload and day to day items that need to be completed.

With some of that we discovered a method for reviewing new music submissions when we hit the road and are travelling. The sound quality in the vehicle has helped with some of the processes. Not to say we don't have quality equipment in the studio. I run an Arrakis board with 15 channels and bluetooth connectivity. Trust me it sounds amazing in this studio. But with 2 of us we can accomplish some things while travelling, something i couldn't do while going anywhere on my own.

The stations themselves are going great. Listener numbers continue to be extremely satisfying and we are seeing slow growth with the country station after bringing it back on again. We are optimistic to see more significant growth as we go through 2025 with the country station, and with KB as we celebrate 10 years we have a new focus and driving determination to make it bigger and stronger than it is.

One of my biggest problem has always been keeping up with music submissions. Once again Lynne has brought so much help in this capacity that I don't think i could even begin express how valuable her help has been. Further to that we have worked hard to adjust how things are done and how new music is processed and have again made some adjustments going into 2025 that hopefully will help even more. We look forward to your emails and continued submissions of new music for the station.

the highlight of the year has to be the fact that I have finally been able to get out and meet more people in person. We of course have been to see the Incurables a number of times, and met some cool bands while out at their shows. We also travelled to the East Coast and on that trip met with Louis and his wife Stephanie even having dinner with them at their home. Louis is of course the founder of the Kollaborators and from their while on the east coast, Wes and I travelled one night to See Guy Paul Thibault perform and spend some time to talking to him also.

There are so many parts of 2024 that I could dive into and talk about, but lets just call it an amazing year. The best part of all is that 2025 is going to be even better. As we celebrate 10 years, i invite you to be a part of this celebration. There are some things planned and more in the works.

My final thanks is to the Incurables for their help with a weekly show, to Rachel and Luxthereal for her weekly show. To Emma and Sylvia for their syndicated shows that we air every week. To Wes for coming on board and becoming a great co host for the weekly Top 40 Countdown. Plus to everyone who listens to the stations. My gratitude is endless and my appreciation is beyond words. thank you everyone for an amazing 2024 and lets get on with our celebrations and making 2025 an even better year.

Cheers

Al Yardy