High Noon in the High Desert : Radio: Antelope Valley’s KAVS and KGMX have evolved from amateur stations to professional operations. Now they’re out to beat L.A.’s heavyweights.

They spin different tunes and seek different types of listeners, but the top two Antelope Valley FM radio stations fight the same battle:

Beat L.A. Beat L.A.

And as the Antelope Valley swells with commuters lured by the cheaper real estate market and slower lifestyle, the race to knock off hip L.A. radio personalities Rick Dees and Mark & Brian in the bedroom communities of Lancaster and Palmdale gains momentum every day. No longer just neglected dots in the desert, these towns are trying to mold an identity separate from the big city.

Separate schools, separate stores, separate stations.

People have “moved here to get out of the rat race,” said Larry Thornhill, general manager of KAVS-FM (97.7). “They’re proud of being part of a growing community, and we want to give them a radio station good enough so they won’t turn to L.A. when they head to work.”

The Antelope Valley supports eight AM and FM radio stations with formats from country to Christian music.

But the quest for valley supremacy is clearly a two-team race. And they don’t just go for commuters.

KAVS plays rock ‘n’ roll; KGMX-FM (106.3) sticks to adult contemporary music. KAVS appeals to the 19-year-old student; KGMX targets the 37-year-old housewife. Each, by providing more local news and weather, and more accessible programming, hopes to persuade listeners that they need a station more in tune with their new surroundings.

“Everybody needs a local radio station,” said KGMX General Manager Catherine Moreau, whose station is nicknamed K-MIX. “The temperature is different than in L.A., and so is the news.”

Added Thornhill: “You may be a Rick Dees fan or a Mark & Brian fan, but your chances of being recognized by them is pretty rare. Here, you can call Woody Woodward, our morning DJ, and ask him how his wife is.” Mike (Woody) Woodward frequently puts callers on the air.

To meet the challenge, the two stations in the last five years have evolved from amateur operations staffed by recent broadcasting school graduates to professional operations with ambitious plans. Since 1986, KAVS-FM and its sister station KAVL-AM (610) have gone from 10 to 25 employees, while KGMX-FM and its sister station KHJ-AM (1380) have increased their staff by 15% in the last 18 months. KAVS hopes to improve its signal by going from 1,000 to 5,000 watts this summer or fall. “We’d be heard from Catalina to Vegas,” Thornhill said. Currently, KAVS can be heard from Ridgecrest to Santa Clarita. KGMX’s signal ranges from Mojave to Acton.

Moreau said her station has hired disc jockeys and other employees who have years of experience in smaller markets. “We’ve had to get better,” Moreau said, “so we don’t sound like small-town radio.”

Said Thornhill: “Five years ago, we just let the tapes play. That’s not going to work anymore.”

Neither is the practice of running dozens of advertisements to fill air time. Moreau said KGMX has gone from 16 to 12 commercials per hour.

So far, the stations are making their improvements without battling each other; the common enemy is Los Angeles. That’s largely because the Antelope Valley is too small to qualify for the Arbitron ratings system. The Arbitron ratings, radio’s equivalent of television’s Nielsen ratings, measure listening audiences by selected surveys. Stations then set their advertising rates based on the number of listeners and their demographics. But when Arbitron finally does measure the stations’ popularity, all this will change. Instead of primarily local ads, the stations are likely to receive national commercials as well.

“We’re preparing for when that time arrives,” Thornhill said. “When it happens, everyone will have to live with the same numbers.”

Now, each station comes up with its own numbers. KAVS and KGMX commission their own surveys. And, not surprisingly, both claim they are No. 1 among their respective target audiences. KAVS, according to its January survey, says it leads among the 18-34 age group, garnering 19.1% of listeners in Antelope Valley compared to 12.5% who listen regularly to KGMX. Both trail KLOS-FM (95.5) in Los Angeles, which picked up 21.1%.

Conversely, KGMX, without releasing the specific numbers, says it captures the 25-54 age group.

“And that group,” Moreau said, “is the most sought-after for advertising. They are in their peak earning years, making big purchases.”

Until Arbitron can provide a more reliable standard to compare the radio stations, advertisers must rely on their own research to determine where to put their money. At KAVS, commercials range from $15 to $25 per spot, while at KGMX they range from $14 to $40.

And even though Thornhill and Moreau claim they are not competing directly against each other--at least now--the morning disc jockeys at each station behave differently.

At KAVS, Woodward, 23, who is on the air from 5 to 10 a.m. each weekday, says he has passed KGMX’s Scott Michaels in the ratings.

“I don’t even worry about that station anymore,” said Woodward, who primarily plays rock ‘n’ roll and Top 40. “We used to have a hard time making contacts with record companies, but now more people are sending us tapes. The area’s getting a lot more attention.”

Michaels, meanwhile, said he has seen numbers that show he has already passed Woodward in the morning race. He said the station plays upbeat adult contemporary music, including tunes by Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart.

“I’m trying to take his business,” said Michaels, who joined the station four months ago and lives next door to Woodward in the same apartment complex. “I’m really looking at beating KLOS and Mark & Brian. In time, I will. If I don’t, I think there’s something wrong with me.”

Because of the older sensibilities of his audience, Michaels can’t really do typical Mark & Brian shtick, which is geared to younger listeners. He’s a fan of Andrew Dice Clay, who can be heard on L.A. stations. But Michaels would never dare put Clay on the air because “the listeners would take offense.”

KAVS has a little more flexibility. But last year, when the station tried to be a little raunchier, the audience didn’t buy it.

“This is a conservative area,” Thornhill said. “People want to listen to a more respectable type of radio.”