2008 Woodie Awards
Minnesota music floods KVSC airwaves
Dana Johnson
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Intermission
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In fact, for many years now it has played a local show from 7-10 p.m. every Monday called "The Area." The show features artists strictly from Minnesota, followed by KVSC's "Monday Night Live," which also typically features Minnesota artists.
Each year, KVSC dedicates an entire 24 hours to the Minnesota music scene for Minnesota Music Day. KVSC DJs are required to play songs by artists from the music scene all day long.
DJs also must not repeat any of the songs that were played earlier in the day, but artists may be repeated. Other than those two simple rules, the DJs have no limits to what they can play. The result is a presentation of all the music the Minnesota music scene has to offer.
John Drake has been hosting "The Area" since 1990, playing a wide variety of Minnesota artists. The culmination of years has led to a vast knowledge of local artists. He has also been working at the Electric Fetus in downtown St. Cloud since 1998.
"These are things I've never given up, because I've always felt I'm still doing a good enough job to keep going," Drake said. "And I probably have a deeper background or knowledge than somebody else who would take it. It's not that I'm afraid of giving it up, it's just a case that nobody's challenged me for any of it."
The show has known only two other hosts, David Puffelen and Cliff Burrows. Both had knowledge of the Minnesota music scene.
KVSC has played an important role in the Minnesota music scene since its inception. Few radio stations in Minnesota play local music that hasn't been signed to a major label, much less dedicate an entire day to play these very artists.
In fact, the station has been known to help many major acts receive national attention and make it big over the years.
The Gear Daddies are one of these groups who weren't getting much attention in the Twin Cities and got played on KVSC, which built the large fan base they have today.
Another group is Trick Shakespeare, which later became Semisonic. KVSC again gave this band the exposure it needed to become widely known.