There are a number of people, on the technical side, that have worked tirelessly to keep our radio station going for half a century. Over the last 20 years though, Stephen "Tex" Kurtz is at the top of that list.
Born in raised in Dallas, he wanted something different. And having spent some time in upstate New York as a kid, he liked the area. And when he toured the campus, despite the fact that Z89 was broadcasting from the Ostrom house that year, he immediately fell in love with the people and spirit of WJPZ.
Since he was a kid, Stephen has wanted to know how things work. And new studio was still being finished when he entered as a freshman. This was a perfect opportunity for him to jump in and work with John Ferracane, Rob Crandall, and others on putting things together. This included, for the first time, running the radio station from a computer. Ever heard of Jazler? You will.
Eventually, the man they call Tex tired of all the snow, and headed home to Dallas to finish school. But he was never far - always on call for the students. And he returned with John, Rob, and Alex Silverman to help do another studio rebuild a decade after the previous one. You'll hear more details about this in episodes with outgoing GM Liz Doyon and incoming GM Corey Crockett, but this group managed to build a radio station in a week and get it on the air.
Stephen cites that new studio rebuild, and the upgrade to a 1,000 watt transmitter as two of the technical achievements he's most proud of. But of course, lessons from JPZ extent much further. He says that WJPZ taught him you can work with your friends, and how it can be done.
Since returning to Dallas, Stephen did some major market radio work in his hometown, before moving to the IT world, and eventually starting his own company, Total IT, in 2009. And while he does a lot of work in that sector, Tex also works with - you guessed it - radio stations, marrying both of his passions.
We close with a couple of funny stories from Stephen's time at the station, including Peterman knocking us off the air - with his rear end - and a funny moment at Josh Wollf's expense at Chili's on Erie Boulevard.
Join Us in Syracuse for Banquet on March 4th: https://bit.ly/WJPZ50BanquetTickets
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast is produced by Jon Gay '02 and JAG in Detroit Podcasts
Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com
Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/
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