BUNNELL, Fla. – What does it take to be named one of Radio INK’s Top 30 National Program Directors in country music radio?
Flagler Broadcasting announced KIX Country 98.7 FM radio personality and program manager Kevin Kane’s spot on the list on Friday, March 8 while on air to a bevy of well wishes from friends near and far.
“I’m as shocked as anyone,” Kevin said during an interview. “I’m stunned by it honestly and humbled. It was totally unexpected. Our sales department nominated me. I’m totally humbled. I love them anyway, Kirk Keller and the entire sales staff, in my opinion, they’re the reason I’m able to do what I love. I know it goes both ways but I have nothing but a deep, deep respect for those people.“
“I’m humbled they even thought enough to nominate me for this award. And then to actually get it, this is crazy.”
But how did Kevin Kane get here?
Just a small town boy, Kevin’s passion for music comes straight from the heart and started at an early age. Spending hours on end as a youth listening to records and dissecting the sounds on his parent’s hand-cranked Victrola record player with steel pin needles, he was hooked.
“I was enamored with radio to begin with. Even as like a young kid, music more than anything but radio is where I found the music,” he said.
Discovering endless genres of music and styles of DJs over the airwaves, Kevin fell in love with radio.
“Going all the way back to when I graduated high school in 1972, up in Connecticut, I knew I wanted to get into radio. I was a big fan of Don Imus, Imus in the Morning at that time,” he said.
Attending the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Hartford, he hooked up with a friend at WLOC in New London who was working nights there.
“He kind of took me under his wing, let me come into the station at night and kind of showed me around. That led to my first job in radio. Back in those days there was no internet or electronic files so I would go to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and cut demo tapes and then I would bring it to the radio station with him and we’d go through it. Coaching me. We ended up being good friends for a long time.”
That friend left to take a job in Manchester, New Hampshire and Kevin would mail him demos to critique. It was during this time the program director, Jim Scott came in and heard Kevin’s work.
“Tell him I want to interview him,” Kevin recalled his friend Bill saying.
“A few days later he called me up and made me the offer. That was my first paid radio job and that was in 1974. I was 19 or 20.”
Taking the job working the overnight disc jockey shift, Kevin was excited to have his foot in the door of an industry he was truly passionate about at WGIR. His on-air talent was getting noticed and when another station offered him a raise, he took it, anticipating opportunities to continue working his way up at WKBR.
Promises made are not always promises kept and after working months without the promised raise, Kevin made the ask.
“Another week or two went by and I didn’t hear anything. I left another note and was a little more direct. In retrospect that’s probably why I got fired, but in any event, I got fired.”
It seemed for the moment his dream of working in radio had come and gone, and Kevin took a job back home for a national corporation in 1976, working his way to success over 30 plus years.
“I gave up on full-time radio at that point,” he said.
But the dream never left his heart.
Lightning Strikes Twice
After retiring and moving to Flagler County with his wife Cory, Kevin connected with a fledgling station known as The Blizzard, that later disbanded but the talent and staff stayed in touch. Meeting on-air personality Dr. Dave and Ron Gitschier, engineering and news director for Flagler Broadcasting there, when an opportunity came available at the growing radio family, Kevin put his name in the hat.
“Low and behold I get this email from Ron, and in big letters, capital YOU NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH DAVID AYRES, SEND A RESUME TODAY. I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY, BUT DO IT. So, I get excited, and do that. Turns out that’s when they were interviewing for KIX and were going to bring KIX online,” he recalled.
“At that point they were looking really for a program director not just an air person. They wanted somebody that could program. Honestly, I knew nothing about that at that point. So that led to them hiring JT. He started right away. I heard his voice in like a little teaser promo that they had on the air and well, I don’t feel bad because this guy rocks,” said Kevin.
Long story short, as Flagler Broadcasting continued to grow in new markets, Kevin took over for on air talent and program director John Thomas (JT) overseeing the KIX Country station’s programming and the rest is history.
“It was like two days later and JT calls me and says we’re looking to have somebody voice track KIX in the afternoons, would you be interested? I’m like, listen dude, I don’t know what that is but yes. Whatever it is, I’m interested. I learned a ton from him in a short amount of time.”
Since that day years ago, Kevin has maximized the freedom he has at Flagler Broadcasting to make KIX Country into a household name while providing opportunities to new talent – from on air to musicians.
Kevin credits David Ayres, President and General Manager of Flagler Broadcasting with creating a culture that allows new talent to flourish and support for innovative team members who bring big ideas to the table.
“It’s unique to here and so is the way that I’m allowed to program KIX. There are people for example, in Nashville, that I talk to now on a regular basis because they know I have free rein on what I can add or what I can play. I know that there are programmers that would give their right arm to have the freedom I have because we’re not corporate radio.”
“David is like, listen, if it’s a local band and they’re good, play it. If it’s a regional band and they’re good play it. He’s really left it to my discretion and it’s been awesome. Like recently with Ashley Estevez, a great example,” he shared.
Playing several of her songs on air, Kevin says her latest, ‘Truck Could Fly’ has gone national.
“It’s amazing to have that kind of freedom and support from upper management to be able to do that kind of stuff.”
To say Kevin is living his dream would be an understatement.
“It’s been a real blessing. It’s a ton a fun, I love going to work every morning. I love being on the air live anyway, but moreover I love having my hands in everything, tweak and adjust and bringing in other voices,” he said.
“It’s just been an incredible ride. I’m surrounded by music which I absolutely love, I’m surrounded by people that are a ton of fun to work with, and that I really have a lot of respect for. And as far as our listeners I just feel fortunate enough to be part of that.”
Side Note: Kevin has played the saxophone since the fourth grade. He is currently the drummer for Southern Chaos.
