KWVH’s one-man production crew

Getting local information is important. This does not include Austin papers, TV or radio stations as local. Reporting news that is important, as in Wimberley and Hays County, is different than the rest of Central Texas. This is especially true when we are urged to stay at home as much as possible.

Not counting your local newspaper (a great one at that), there is only one other way to get the news on the latest developments that are close to home on a daily basis. That is what local radio station, KWVH 94.3 FM is doing.

Coach Smith is back on the air, and Dori, Matt Dowd and Captain Bob are on live with the re-christened “Taco Grande” in the morning. But what about the other times when the station is on the air? Things do go wrong with pre-recorded shows. Who is handling that?

Trying to stay healthy while completing an essential, necessary job is left up to KWVH’s Brach Thomas. Making sure the station is on the air at 5 a.m., and then setting up the “Taco” to be on at 7 a.m. is just the start.

At 6:30 a.m., he’s loading sound effects and other necessary tasks that are undertaken to prepare for the day. Then it is crucial to have the live updates at 5:30 a.m., then noon and at 4:30 p.m. plus making sure there’s no buzz in the audio. The station also covers big, important things.

“There are big things, special editions that are live, such as Governor Abbott or President Trump, then the news is updated every hour,” Thomas said. “It’s important since responsibilities were recently given to the states… (We cover) Hays County, Woodcreek, Wimberley, and Dripping Springs. Dori Bradford, Captain Bob and other superstar volunteers make it possible,” Thomas said.

Most guests are on the air remotely using Zoom, where they can stay at home. “From remote sites and delivered to Brach in finished and ready to broadcast form (using Zoom). In the past five weeks we have had 69 different guests appear on the Taco Broadcasts. There have been 201 appearances made by guests, co-hosts during this time,” KWVH’s Station Manager Mike “Crushdaddy” Crusham said.

This is also true for the return of “Over Easy with Coach,” running 9 to 11 a.m., right after the “Taco” from 7 to 9. But as much as technology does help, full control is not possible.

“There are challenges with Zoom, you can’t control the individual levels of audio. It’s not really setup that way. You have five people on Zoom and only one pot (audio level controller)… there’s also how fast is their (guests’) Internet speed or their Wi-Fi,” Thomas said.

But there’s also satisfaction that comes with the job for Thomas. “Getting things running is a rush,” which is hard to do with minimal equipment, unlike that of commercial radio stations, in business to make money with the latest equipment. A lot of elbow grease and passion for the job keeps him and the station going.

Oh yeah. Add one more problem to the mix. A few weeks ago a lightning strike on the production board put the “Fishbowl” or the street side studio out of commission. Thomas handled it all in stride. “It was a good time for it to happen. You can tear things down and repair things without interruptions (with limited people in the studio).”

Covering news during the pandemic is essential and Thomas helps to keep the radio station going and providing the community with local, Wimberley news, something that is needed to make daily decisions in the valley.