Mickey Klein

Radio has changed quite a bit since I first started broadcasting in 1980. Maybe not so much as the "on the air" sound, but in the upper rooms - at least, at some of the stations that I've worked. In 1980, I started as a part time DJ, moved on to Promotions, and news. Then I graduated H.S. in 1983, and went to work for a Chicago agency specializing in radio promotions. Becoming the youngest Marketing Director in the industry at age 18, the company I worked for went from netting $3 Million a year to just over $8 Million in my 5 year term with them. Went to work in Albuquerque for a couple of years, but came back to Chicago. I used to play with a Christian-Rock group in Illinois - did the church circuit for a short time. Was told about Branson, Missouri by a friend of a band member. When we saw the potential, we decided to quit our jobs up north, and make the Ozarks our home. That was in 1989. Needless to say, that was the typical "rock-star idea gone dead" before it ever got started. Now an "out of work musician", I went back into radio. Back then, Branson had Silver Dollar City, Shepherd of the Hills, and MAYBE a dozen Country music shows. Roy Clark was the big name headliner in town then, at the "Roy Clark Celebrity Theater", and Box Car Willie had his own theater too (for those Branson fans out there). Today, Branson has more than 100 DIFFERENT shows at more than 50 theaters. Country, comedy, rock-n-roll, magic, broadway, musicals, acrobats - it's ALL here! Plus the museums, theme parks, golf courses, shopping... AND THE LAKES! What once was thought of as a "hillbilly" music town, Branson Missouri has become a live music mecca! More than 8 million visitors from practically everywhere in the world came through town in 2008, and with the ever changing events, activities, guest stars and special shows, Branson really gives me something to talk about! Tired of playing the games with today's radio industry, I decided to start my own station, and run it with a back to the basics approach (i.e. - Common Sense and Logic). The Internet has given us all new ways to communicate, and Live365 has provided me a way to tell the world about this fun place in the Ozarks. Since 1999, I've been able to do the work I love, in a way that benefits everyone involved, in an absolutely wonderful place. Hope you enjoy our programming, and we look forward to seeing you in Branson! Your Friend in the Ozarks, Mickey