Named for the sheer, unrelenting volume of 128 decibels, which is louder than a jet plane and more bombastic than a Pantera concert, the new company aims to bring back the days of radio personalities and playlists that include songs people actually want to hear. (There is also an online magazine, 128db.com, spearheaded by former Harder Beat art director Kevin White, with columns from scene OGs Jeff Liles and Dale Lammers, among others.)
"It's actually an idea I had a long time ago," Russell says, detailing sit-downs with White to originally create a magazine dedicated to the local and national rock/metal scenes. "We missed things like Harder Beat and magazines like that catered to the DFW scene, and it just seemed like a no-brainer."
Russell, a Canadian road dog with a pedigree of touring with bands such as Skid Row and Tesla, sprung into action once 97.1 The Eagle announced it was, once again, switching formats.
"We have 7 million people in DFW, and it felt like rock was dying in the Metroplex," Russell says.
128db aims to bring together DJs from beloved stations past and present like 89.3 KNON, 93.3 The Bone, 102.1 The Edge, 97.1 The Eagle, Z Rock and plenty of others to once again champion the local scene, as well as play deep cuts from bands across the spectrum of rock and heavy metal.
"It's going to be rock and roll, all genres and all flavors, and it's going to be the DJs you love and what you would expect from them," Russell says, noting he wants to play music from bands whose newer songs have a hard time receiving airplay over their hits from 30 years ago.
"We want to stay on top of older bands, like Skid Row," he says. "That last record [they] put out was fantastic, and you can't hear that anywhere. There's no radio stations playing it, certainly not in DFW."
Extreme metal, a focal point of the North Texas music scene, will also be heavily represented with shows like The Crypt with "Carcass" John Fossum and The Local Show with Chaz, the latter being a staple of 97.1 The Eagle in the late '90s.
Another show returning is Russell's former KNON gig Reckless Rock Radio, which he co-hosted with Greg "Spicoli" Reneau until KNON forced Russell's exit from the station a few weeks ago due to the obvious conflict of interest.
With the majority of humanity now consuming content mostly through phones and computers, Spicoli says the writing is on the wall.
"There comes a point where you have to take a long hard look in the mirror and say, 'This media is dying.' No one cares anymore. They're listening to playlists and streaming services," he says.
Spicoli, who will continue a yet-to-be-renamed show with Russell under the 128db umbrella, says the company's mission is to act as a home base for the local scene.
Rocking the Dial
"There is no place for people to advertise anymore as far as rock goes," says Spicoli. "Being the fourth-largest market in the country, there's no place for rock fans to have a home. This is going to give listeners a sense of belonging, community, that has been lost on FM radio, especially in the last 15 years — probably longer."Multiple shows are already airing while Lee and his brotherhood of radio veterans iron out the kinks, and their ideas for content are boundless.
"I got some rock star friends I'm trying to get to do a radio show once a month, like Frank Hannon of Tesla for example," Spicoli says.
The station also successfully aired a remote broadcast at Drowning Pool's June 15 hometown show at The Studio at the Factory, including a live feed of the band playing straight from the soundboard.
"That worked out well, so we've done a lot of testing and everything works," Russell says.
While the 128db Rock Radio app and 128db magazine app are available for free on iOS, Russell says there has been a delay in getting the apps approved in Google's Play Store.
"Both of the apps are still in review, I'm not sure what happened but I think I found the problem yesterday," he says.
In the meantime, he advises rock listeners to visit 128db.com or download the Live365 Radio app and search for "128db Rock."
"If you surround yourself with good people, nobody is going to lose out," Russell says of the app's reception. "The response has been amazing, and I'm excited to get things going full-blast."
