by Caroline Hicok

Do what you love and success will follow. This is a maxim that both KAZI 88.7 and its general manager, Steve Savage, have proven a truism. Steve began volunteering at the station 10 years ago while he worked in the Attorney General's office. With the connections he made in radio, he began DJing on the side. The determination necessary for building a career from the ground up brought business flowing in. "It began interfering with my regular job," he said. Steve had to choose, and he chose what he loved, even if it meant taking a risk. "It doesn't feel like work to me, because it's what I love to do," he said. That love paid off by doubling his income, and KAZI has been climbing in the radio ranks in Austin ever since.

KAZI has a considerable listener base, and continues to grow. As of the last Arbitron rating, The Voice of Austin captured a 2-point share -- two percent of the population. That adds up to 20-30,000 listeners per hour. Not an exact measurement, but an impressive audience. At 1600 watts, KAZI is the smallest wattage station on the scale in Austin and is ranked 15th of 38 radio stations. An article that appeared in the American-Statesman on November 13 of last year says, "Community and listener-supported radio is rating well these days, with KAZI coming in at 15th place. Such ratings speak well for the interesting quality radio programming at all these stations, and demonstrate how Austin listeners support radio alternatives."

In the reception area of KAZI, the wall is lined with community service awards and other various commendations. Among these hangs a framed letter from a listener expressing gratitude and encouragement, with a one-dollar bill enclosed. KAZI's success as a non-commercial station mirrors Savage's own, and allows him to live the joy of renunciation in his work. KAZI is a labor of love, sacrificing profit to the good of the community. Where some radio stations choose to reflect their attitude in such names as KRAD or KROX, KAZI means "work" in Swahili. But, as Steve says, "If you love to do it, it's not work." The sacrifice and its subsequent rewards are reflected in so many ways by this radio station.

As the main black radio station serving Austin, KAZI does what it can to reach out and educate its audience. KAZI was started August 29, 1982 by Dr. Warfield from UT, eight years after applying for an educational license. KAZI policy is to broadcast innovative non-commercial programming that serves listeners with quality educational material: news, entertainment, public affairs and public service information, black history and, of course, music. "We are very diverse," explains Savage. "We play R&B, blues, jazz, rap, hip-hop, reggae, gospel, classical jazz, Caribbean -- a little bit of everything. Most of our listeners tune us in for the music, but we have an educational license. Our goal is to educate the community to let them know what's going on in the world." To this end, even the talk shows remain bipartisan -- equal time for both sides of an issue must be given.

KAZI's mission is to provide educational programming and information with special emphasis on media access for the black community, and other groups previously unserved by existing radio stations in Austin -- including minorities, women, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and children. Talk shows like Wake-up Call, from 7 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, fulfill part of the educational requirement at KAZI. They discuss community, national and minority issues. Other shows attempt to appeal to a smaller portion of the audience, as only a non-profit can afford to do. The Dad Show, coming on Tuesdays from 6 to 7 pm and underwritten by Child Incorporated, is aimed toward dads because "moms are automatically good parents." Teen Scene comes on Saturdays from noon to 1. There's also Wrap it Up, which emphasizes "sex education, how to get through life, stuff like that."

Savage encourages competition for their market, though. "We're a black community radio station, but there's no black commercial radio station, [except one on the AM band] and that's what I'd like to see here in Austin, the live music capital of the world. It makes the community, and it makes the economy. Radio brings business to town. If we had a black radio station, there'd be more black clubs, and more black concerts coming to town."

After nine years of volunteering, Steve started getting paid last year, but it's nominal. "The station's been here 15 years, and if it weren't for our volunteers, we wouldn't still be here. With their help, we'll be here many more." The DJs are all volunteers, but many have used the valuable experience, connections, and training to go on to top radio stations around the country. Former KAZI DJs have gone on to spin at KASE 101, KLBJ, one at KHFI, and in North Carolina and Atlanta. "The radio stations are looking for experience. You can have all the college you need, but unless you have the experience, you won't get into the marketplace. The radio business is tough to get in to," Steve said. KAZI is always looking for DJs who like their brand of music. "We can tell you what to play, but we want the DJs to feel it," Steve said. Most of the DJs play selections from their own collection. "That's one advantage to non-commercial, educational programming -- we have our own music."

With their listener responsiveness, restrained DJs, and modest equipment, they have more than their own music. Being a community radio station, KAZI is very conscientious about lyrics, abiding by the FCC guidelines against the "dirty seven," and even adding other words not covered by the guidelines. If they get even a few complaints, they'll take a song off the air. Beyond profanity, KAZI programming content cannot advocate violence, illegal acts, or the degradation and discrimination of women, ethnic, religious or cultural groups. Unfortunately for the rap artists, these guidelines censor a bigger chunk of their music than most genres. "The rap music industry is bad [about that]; they like to cuss a lot," Steve said. The DJs are responsible for complying with the integrity, professionalism, and community standards that reflect the goals of KAZI: Educate, Inform, Entertain.

Commercial radio stations have playlists on computers and talk jocks battling it out over who's the coolest personality to represent the products that cut into the airplay. "On most radio stations everything is pre-recorded. Their DJs aren't even DJs, they're announcers. Except for morning talk shows, people turn on the radio to hear music. [Here] the DJs here are free to play what they want, and we play a wide range. You won't hear the same song every hour. Sometimes people call, and we've just played the song, so we can't play it again right away," Steve said. The DJs at KAZI can only play a song once in their three-hour shifts, but they will make a note of requests and play them when they can. They do keep a 20-song playlist of the most popular songs. But the KAZI jocks won't make much ado in between playing them. You won't hear much talk from the KAZI's DJs. "We prefer that," he said. They do all this with a recording studio that could fit on three card tables. Pretty frugal for such a class act. So while the disk jockeys at the commercial radio stations that claim to rely on your support, ignore and talk you to death, KAZI relies on its listeners.

"Commercial radio hypes things up using all kinds of gadgets and tricks. This is a listener-based station. We don't sham the audience; we tell them the facts. In non-commercial radio we have to be nonpartisan. We have underwriting, which means we announce them as the sponsor and thank them for their support. We're not here to sell products. We're here to educate," Steve said. KAZI can't even endorse their underwriters, which include Affordable Living Printing, Big J Records, Child Care Incorporated, Top of the Marc, and Texas Organized Professionals. They can only give factual information as to the services they offer.

KAZI contributions to the community even extend beyond the airwaves. "We try to sponsor anything that deals directly with the community," Steve said. They're involved in such events as AIDS Services of Austin and health walks. Steve sits comfortably in his office, inclined forward to get his message across. The walls are decorated with framed prints of black baseball players, heroes, and everyday people dancing in the clubs or playing on the blacktop. "Anything that has to do with people, and no one's trying to make a profit from. If it's free, and it benefits the community, we'll support it. We are required to set aside a certain amount of time for community events. We're supported by the community. If the public, or the underwriters, don't give us any money, we don't make any money," he said. Most of their underwriters, about 90 percent, come to them. They hold a fundraiser twice a year where, Steve says, "No amount is too little -- not a dollar, not five cents." The fundraisers are also a major source of revenue and foster public support. KAZI also supports struggling musicians -- "We specialize in that" -- and local musicians. "We have a show called the Artist's Spotlight on Saturdays from 12 to 1 in which we showcase Texan and Austin artists," said Steve.

In a world where the norm is for people to expect to be employed somewhere, those building a career from the ground up on their passion are the exception, the dreamers. Savage is a man building a career on boosting the community, and rising in the markets as he goes. Steve says of his career choice, "If you work for yourself, and you put as much effort into it as you would working for someone else, you'll make more money." Steve is, of course, referring metaphorically to his radio station's independence from commercial sponsorship and its subsequent success. Only it's not the money KAZI wants, but the listeners. Setting an example for commercial radio as it goes, KAZI is getting them.