PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: People

  • Mark Stevens

    Mark Stevens is one of Colorado Springs’ most familiar rock voices. If you’ve listened to KKFM on a weekday afternoon, you’ve likely heard him, and he’s been rocking the Springs since the mid-1980s.

    Arriving in 1985

    Mark came to Colorado Springs from Durango in 1985. He told the Gazette in 2012 that the first song he played on the air in town was Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time,” and that apart from a stretch working in Dallas and Washington, D.C. from 2002 to 2008, he’d been rocking Colorado Springs ever since.

    More than an air shift

    His KKFM role grew quickly. By 1987 he was music director, working with program director Bill Betts at what was then an album-rock station. By September 1992 he was assistant program director of the now-classic-rock KKFM under PD Chris Baker, part of its programming leadership during a big shake-up on the local FM dial.

    Afternoons

    After his years away, Mark returned to KKFM and became one of its most familiar afternoon voices; in 2012 he hosted 2 to 7 p.m. and ran recurring features like the 6 p.m. Triple Shot, often built around an artist’s birthday or anniversary, and the Friday 5 p.m. Loud and Proud Military Salute. In that interview he said great personalities should sound conversational instead of using the stereotypical DJ voice, and that radio’s long-term challenge is staying relevant as listeners get more ways to find music, which means personalities staying entertaining and connected to listeners instead of just announcing records.

    Sources

  • Shawn Lucero

    Shawn Lucero is a Colorado radio host and programmer who started out in Colorado Springs and ended up with a statewide reach. Grew up listening to the Springs’ rock stations? Odds are you have heard her.

    Right now: Indie 102.3

    She works for Colorado Public Radio, hired as an on-air host and promotions coordinator for Indie 102.3 (KVOQ-FM) in Denver. May 1, 2023 was her first day at Indie, and she began weekend afternoon shifts in mid-May. Part of the job is coordinating between the station and artists, venues and promoters throughout Colorado.

    Home base: KILO

    It all started in 2002 at 94.3 KILO, where she was an intern and also hosted weekend mornings. She came back to KILO in 2015 as music director and midday host.

    Time away

    In between, she worked in promotions at 98KUPD in Phoenix. In 2006 she moved to 101.5 K-Rock/KMKF in Manhattan, Kansas, beginning as promotions director and morning host and eventually becoming program director there.

    X103.9 and the Springs alternative scene

    In 2019 she became program director of KRXP/X103.9, still doing on-air shifts and producing digital content built around music. In 2022 she promoted midday host Aubrey Bishop to promotions director. She was a big presence in Colorado Springs alternative radio until April 2023. When she departed, Carly Evans succeeded her as program director and called Lucero one of her best friends of the past decade.

    Sources

  • Coyote McCloud

    Coyote McCloud, whose name is documented as John Lane, is a Colorado Springs radio personality and music director at 92.9 Peak FM (KKPK). If you drive the Springs with the Peak on in the afternoon, that’s him on the air.

    Meeting radio fans

    A 2011 International Radio Club of America convention report names “John Lane, aka Coyote McCloud of KKPK Peak-FM 92.9.” When the convention came to Colorado Springs, he chatted with attendees during his air shift, joined the group for dinner and later talked at length about his experience in radio.

    On the board

    Photos from 2011 show Coyote at the control board during his shift and identify him as KKPK‘s music director. The station’s current schedule still lists him in weekday afternoon drive, 3 to 7 p.m., and on Sundays.

    Sources