Volume 2, Issue 21 September 28 - October 11, 2000

Dear Editor:

I admire Kate Williamson for tackling the interview and article "Cold Fusion Experiment" Volume 2, Issue 20, and am glad to have been interviewed by her. However, a few items did not come out as clearly as I would have liked, and I'd like to make clarification. It matters to me what the local Burning Man community thinks of me and of Fuse. The cover subheading, "Fuse Speaks Out Against Burningman," seems overly inflammatory to me. If nothing else, Fuse is a large community and is therefore incapable of 'speaking out' for or against anything. I am an individual, and my issues with Burning Man are my own. I understand the need to create a hook for the cover and story but was frustrated by how the subheading was worded. The inner subheading, containing the phrase "Does Burningman Stand In The Way," was likewise inflammatory in a way that I would have prefered to avoid.

The third to the last paragraph, despite Kate's best efforts, came out very differently from what was intended. For one, I am not so concerned with Burners alienating one another as I am about whether or not the monoculture and mainstream culture at large will ever benefit from the esoteric creative cauldron of Burning Man. Burners, among one another, reinforce and support one another; Burners, to the outside world, appear indecipherable. The chance to more subtly cultivate tolerance of true diversity within mainstream culture is therefore missed by heavy-duty Burners, even as mainstream culture misses out on Burning Man's creative energy. This was the point that was missed by the quote.

Finally, I certainly don't believe that Burning Man is akin to daily life in any city, New York or otherwise and didn't mean to appear that oblivious in the quote. Rather, I'd hoped to express that larger cities such as San Francisco and New York already contained a critical mass of diversity and opportunity for those wandering non-mainstream paths, and that Burning Man spilled over and out of these more permissive, culturally dense, and truly diverse environments. Denver has a long way to go before it reaches such critical-mass levels of diversity and permissiveness for the average freak, and until that time Denver needs all the creative energy it can get. It is this energy that I miss when Burners are gone and that I hope to see more of now that they have returned. I am told that I should go to Burning Man precisely because I have an abundance of this kind of energy, but it's the dearth of that energy locally that compels me to spend it here rather than thousands of miles away. That is what I was unable to express. Denver will never be New York or San Francisco, and this is why Burning Man may never be the complete answer for the local creative freak.

Ah, the joy of format changes. While I was prepared for some major shake-downs in the wake of the AM/ FM-Clear Channel merger, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that the end result would be the resurgence of Richard Marx. As best I can tell, here's what's happened: 96.5 The Peak has returned to its original formula (pre-Howard Stern) of "' 80's and beyond." This is fine, since it's the format the made The Peak such a beloved station and charitable community leader.

In response, Clear Channel's 93.3 KTCL has morphed from "The Adventure"-- a heavy hitting, techno-oriented style of alternative that crossed over often with the Howard Stern Peak-- to something called "' 80's, '90's, and beyond." Hmmm. Throw on top Alice 106, U102, and Magic 100, and an outside listener might think Denver is obsessed with the '80's and its bland musical machinations.

Let me take you on a quick trip back to Denver in the '80's. The economy was poor, downtown was a wasteland of activity and entertainment, Colfax was voted one of the most dangerous streets in America, and the radio, my friends, the radio was horrible. In fact, 93.3 KTCL emerged as a market leader by leading the charge of alternative music into Denver in the late '80's and early '90's. It was thanks to KTCL that Denver became a regular stop on the seminal Lollapalooza tour, thanks to KTCL that punk music finally found an outlet on Denver's airwaves, and thanks to KTCL that an entire crop of DJ heroes emerged on the scene. Before it was "The Adventure," it was the most adventurous station in town. We were starved for something new and different-- starved on a steady diet of '80's music. So why are we walking this plank again? Aside from 1190 AM, there isn't a single station left on the air willing to take risks, play new music, say new things, and make something of this starved scene. I challenge Clear Channel to drop this new copycat act on KTCL. You own the market leaders in every other category (KBCO-- Adult Alternative, KBPI-- Hard Rock, KOA-- Talk/ News/ Sports, KRFX-- Classic Rock) so we know you can afford a station that's trying something artistic as opposed to ratings-grabbing. Those stations, without exception, became market leaders by being the first in Denver to promote a new style of radio. KTCL should be doing the same.

--Chris J. Magyar

EVENTS * ART * FILM * MUSIC * BOOKS * STYLE * THEATER * DINING * BARS and CLUBS * SPORTS * WEB *