Hey friends,
It's been an emotional and heated situation but it's official. I'm no longer the host of The Homegrown Hour. I know there will be lots of questions so here's the dealio:
I was concerned that the new genre restrictions facing The Homegrown Hour were going to damage the show’s diversity and ability to showcase ALL San Diego music. That and several other internal issues and incidents prompted me to resign in early September.
My letter of resignation included my plans to take The Homegrown Hour with me. I figured since the show mysteriously jumped from KGB to KPRi it could certainly pop on over to Listen Local Radio. I had, after all, been working my butt off with little support from the station over the last 5 years. After a few days and no response to my letter, I filed a trademark application with the help of my attorney friend, Michael Hoistington, who found it was available. With much excitement I went to work rebranding and rebuilding The Homegrown Hour.
I didn’t hear back from KPRi management for almost 2 weeks and when I did, they delivered the news that they claimed ownership of the name and I would be sued if I tried to continue to use it. Mr. Hoisington offered to help me but after weeks of anxiety and sleepless nights, I decided it was going to be too costly (financially and emotionally) to plead my case in court. Throughout the ordeal Michael and I were shocked and saddened at their behavior... truly scary business how it all went down.
Besides losing this beloved show that is so intertwined with every aspect of my livelihood, I’ve lost money due to my rebranding efforts and an entire month of time and energy. I feel physically and emotionally wrecked over it all. *sigh* But I'm moving on.
Before I do I want to thank Astra Kelly for her gift of the show in 2009 and of course to Jim McInnes, Scott Chatfield, Coe Lewis and everyone involved in The Homegrown legacy. I was proud to be part of it. Never ending love/thanks to James and Lloyd Pest Control for making it possible and to Jeff at Berkley Sound. Of course, thank YOU for listening. Also, there are some amazing folk over at KPRi who I'll never forget, sorry I never got to say goodbye.
Ok, so! The Listen Local Radio Network launches tonight at 6pm with the first Listen Local Show featuring Barbara Nesbitt, Grampa Gimbel and Torrey Mercer in studio plus TONS of great local music. The Listen Local Show will air on the Listen Local Raido Network every Sunday at 6pm and will be full of great music and fun people. Stay tuned…
With your help we WILL keep on rocking in the free world. Thank you again for your friendship and support and I’ll see you at the Music Awards. xo
Cathryn Beeks
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