Lone Star

Mama

 

“Like a modern day Don Quixote a family owned radio station battles to save the virtue of country music.”

Wow, was I excited to see about that!!

I was so thrilled to hear that a documentary was being done about my favorite D/FW area radio station, KHYI 95.3 The Range.  I was even happier to hear the filmmaker was from McKinney, right here in our North Texas area.  Having a couple of friends who were resources for the film made it that much sweeter.   I couldn’t wait to see it.

On a Thursday afternoon, my wish came true.  Andy and I sat down to watch the documentary, which has already been submitted to a film festival competition.  I forgot to mention, I had also been told this fellow has actually won awards, too!  For more info on his many awards and credits, check him out at www.augustins.net .  A deep breath drawn, I was so excited, punched play, and so it began.

I experienced a mixed “range” of emotions if you will.  Most of them summed up with the word "disappointment".  For my experience, the title “Hopes, Dreams, Enough! and Reality” would be the title.  Or even more accurately for the film - “All About Joshua Jones: A Resume”.

Hopes:  Of course, hearing and seeing some of my favorite local/Texas/Americana artists is always good, and I love that hopefully they’ll have some exposure from this.  Maybe someone with more clout and lots more money than I have will be able to help them out.  The same goes for the hard working DJ’s at KHYI, and it was GREAT to see them behind the scenes, well, for the most part.  I’ve listened to this station since its beginnings and loved the thought of a good homage being paid to it.  More about that coming…….

Dreams:  I really, really had hoped it would be a little more musician/DJ/fan/music focused.  The station AS A WHOLE, not because of one person, has done a whole lot for the music we love.  It’s been a team effort, I had hoped the documentary would reflect that.  My dreams of the documentary were that it would clearly show how the whole package has helped immensely in the careers of some, has helped along the careers of others, has brought a strong fan base together, and even at times done good to help with charitable projects in the area.  In my wildest dreams, it might show the station for better and for worse, dealing with its strong and weak points.  My expectations were truly dashed.

Reality:  Unless you are the #1 fan of  Joshua Jones, VP of Sales and Marketing (and son of the station owner), I’d almost bet this film will disappoint you.  (Editor's Note:  I have heard Joshua Jones speak of himself as Owner/General Manager recently on the air, so he may actually own and operate this little station now that his dad, Ken, is busy with local politics).  Let me begin by saying I have nothing personal against Mr. Jones, he doesn’t know me from Adam, and we’re not related.  But he made me queasy by the end of the film, and it’s probably not all his fault.  I can’t bear to watch again, or I’d time it, but I’m going to bet nearly half of the documentary’s time is spent interviewing Josh.  He’s made out to be (not entirely his fault, the filmmaker chose to do it this way) the guy who has almost single-handedly created and fostered this great North Texas music scene that has evolved over the past few years.  Some of the DJ’s (not all) lend to this “painting” a little bit, but noticeably, they were the newer employees…..nice.  What else could they say??  I’m sure they’d prefer to stay employed!  I did like seeing/learning about some of them.  The strongest parts of the movie are actually scenes shot inside the studio with DJ’s Brett Dillon, and Natalie and Nadine from the morning show.  Snippets of interviews and musicians would be second strongest, but not nearly enough of those for me.

By the film’s end, I couldn’t believe what I had just seen and was sorely disappointed.  I wondered why the filmmaker might choose to take the film that direction.  I’ve never thought Jones was that interesting from near or afar, why did Augustin think so?  I was disappointed for many of those associated with the station who never got a mention (some who have worked for them for years), for the way it seemed the whole spirit of the station got lost in the story.  I was sad for those who contributed and cared so passionately about this project, both up close and from afar, and I’d be shocked if the outcome was as they expected.

Then, I got my answer in the credits.  “Executive Producer – Joshua Jones”

I don’t know the filmmaker, but I do know this didn’t make it any better and further shot the credibility of the film with this reviewer.

Should this film become available to the masses (and I believe it will at some point), I know many KHYI fans will in fact want to see it.  Maybe some of them will like it, but the few who have seen it so far that I know agree with me: only Josh’s family will love it.

http://www.augustins.net – The Good Fight Motion Pictures

http://www.augustins.net/therange/index.html - Info on The Range documentary

www.myspace.com/thegoodfight - the myspace page

                                                                                           Lone Star Mama

Written by Dana Jones, July, 2006

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