Station sends its radio signal with solar power

Local not-for-profit radio station KDRP, 100.1 FM, held its Down South Festivus for the Rest of Us broadcast at the Strange Brew, El Mercado and Saxon showcases during the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference.

The Bee Cave station's participation in SXSW is a long way from its beginnings as a station in Dripping Springs. Founder Daryl O'Neal said he purchased the then dark station with no equipment after a long career in commercial radio.

"We put $25,000 on a credit card to put the station on the air," he said.

O'Neal said the station thrived by playing the favorite records of the staff and by broadcasting local church services and sporting events.

"Jesus and football was our motto," he said.

O'Neal grew up surrounded by the sounds of rockabilly. His mother played the piano, and his grandfather played the fiddle, setting the course for O'Neal's love of classic Americana music, a style he said one can be hard-pressed to find these days.

"We were in our own world, hyper-serving our community," he said.

The station reached only 345 homes when it launched in 2009, but it built its loyal following through a strong online presence, O'Neal said.

"We built a vibrant Internet backbone," he said. "We have 5,000 people listening around the world each week. There are more people listening [to KDRP] in San Jose [Calif.] than San Antonio."

As the station expanded virtually, it struggled financially until well-known radio personalities such as Larry Monroe and Jessie Scott took notice and volunteered to join the staff, O'Neal said.

Scott, the founder of the Americana Music Association, joined KDRP after she heard Larry Monroe, famous for his Blue Monday program, had left KUT radio to join KDRP, O'Neal said.

"[Monroe] got to create his own world [at KDRP]," O'Neal said. "I knew we had something when he received a dozen roses from Elvis Costello's wife after his first show. All of a sudden we were getting sponsors, and we could breathe again."

Monroe died in January, and the station created a scholarship fund in his name.

"Our goal [with the scholarship fund] is to help archive and educate about Americana and Texas music. We want to teach real broadcasting to college students," O'Neal said.

The station, which hosts the Saturday Night Concert Series at the Hill Country Galleria, moved into the Bee Cave shopping complex in February, O'Neal said.

"[Hill Country Galleria owner] Adrian Overstreet approached us to build a studio across from Whole Foods [Market]," he said.

O'Neal said the station was operating out of a small studio above a quilting shop in Dripping Springs before moving to the Bee Cave location, which includes an area for live performances by bands. The area was built by The Musicians Woodshed, a Lakeway business, and allows for bands to plug in and play live on the radio, O'Neal said.

In addition to the new studio, the station is expanding its regional reach with a new antenna designed to carry the radio signal into North Austin, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Round Rock and the surrounding area, O'Neal said.

He said the station is growing in a dying industry because of its focus on the listener.

"Radio is an older format, but it is the original social media," he said. "Audio triggers memory, and radio has that power. We could be commercial [radio] tomorrow, but we decided to not do that. We don't want to sell out."

Solar Radio

KDRP, also known as Sun Radio, operates a little differently than most radio stations, founder Daryl O'Neal said. The station's Westlake radio tower is run entirely with solar energy, he said.

"I rented out some space on the hill and Freedom Solar [Power] donated the solar panels to power the tower," he said.

The station plans to add solar panels to power the Bee Cave studio in April or May and will do so in two or three stages, O'Neal said.

"We want to make it so that from when the voice hits the mic to when you hear it in your car, it is completely solar powered," he said.

KDRP, 12600 Hill Country Blvd., Bee Cave, 512-829-4681, 512-829-4680, www.kdrplive.org