KBRP

Did I mention Bisbee is a sanctuary of superlatives? A magical place that punches far above its weight? 

Well. If you missed it, take a tour back through some of the posts your humble blogger has published this year on the subject. The breweries, the mini poetry/music festivals on offer. The world-class hatworks with nationwide appeal. The standing invitation for any and all creative types, the secret sauce. Bisbee, truly, is the Town Too Big for Its Britches.

We’re not done cataloging the many things, people, events and places that make Bisbee so special. Today, we keep it going, beginning with a confession mixed with pride and a little shame.

Today I finally became a member of KBRP 96.1, our low-power radio station. There’s little to brag about here after almost 20 years in Bisbee. Yet in spite of my long courtship there is room for pride. The best time to plant a tree, they say, was 20 years ago. The second best time is today, and there’s no call for beating oneself up about the past. Today is all we truly have, and today we put that sapling in the ground. 

KBRP started in Brewery Gulch as the “Bisbee Radio Project” in 1997. In 2005 the station moved its broadcast antenna to the Central School bell tower, which eventually became its first real home. The station later experienced a season in limbo, moving to the Bisbee Royale, then to the Copper Queen Convention Center before coming to rest in “downtown” Warren.

A glance at the station’s program schedule shows the value of KBRP: public affairs shows of local and regional interest hosted by local talent; syndicated programs like This Way Out and Democracy Now; and interviews with Bisbee’s many culture-makers. And of course, music. There are live in-studio sessions with Bisbee acts. There is a real variety of genre-specific hours featuring jazz, reggae, celtic and R&B. Then there’s “Meg,” a giant, ever growing library of tunes including decades of locally-produced music by artists still with us and some long gone. Meg provides the randomized playlist in between dedicated programming. 

And: it’s an opportunity to make culture. For those who long dreamed of being a disc jockey with their very own radio show, Bisbee is…catnip.

The occasion for my station consummation was KBRP’s fall membership drive, at their new digs on Arizona Street in Bisbee’s Warren District. The station kicked off the drive in that good old  Bisbee way: with an outdoor party with live music, libations provided by the inestimable Fred Miller and Electric Brewing, a raffle with goodies from local businesses. Two trios, the Carolyn Torontos Trio and the Mule Mountain Trio delivered great performances, and the party lasted till sundown-and-some-change.

KBRP carries the label “LP” as part of its call sign. That stands for Low Power, and that it is. High up in the Mule Mountains, with a good AM radio one can sometimes pick up KTNN, the Voice of the Navajo Nation all the way from Window Rock. When the weather is right, that is. Look down at Warren from the peaks and you can almost spot KBRP’s new home, but that same radio is unlikely to pick up the signal. It is seriously LP. Fortunately, you can stream it online, anywhere in the world. It’s streaming now as I finish this report from the coolest town anywhere. On deck is some neato-mosquito acid rock / funk music with hand percussion going wild, with interspersed readings from Lord of the Rings.

What a place. 

KBRP’s fall membership drive is wrapping up now, but memberships, underwriting, and donations are welcome all year round. The best time to become a member was 20 years ago, but the second best time is today.

Keith Allen Dennis is a Bisbee writer and songster. You can find his music at http://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com.