Supersnake Takes Tucson
• Beloved longtime Arizona air personality and programmer Supersnake is back in action as the new PD and afternoon personality at Busto Media’s latest acquisition, Rhythmic Oldies KTGV (Groove 106.3)/Tucson. Owner Amador Bustos, who has been in the radio business for decades in California and Oregon, is now making a broader play in Tucson-area radio — last fall he also acquired 1030 KVOI-AM from Good News Communications and on Nov. 1 turned it into an all-local-talk, all-day format. You may recall that when Scripps divested its radio properties last year, it sold KMXZ, KFFN, KQTH and KTGV/Tucson to Lotus Communications, which immediately spun off KQTH and KTGV to meet FCC ownership cap rules. Bustos snapped up KTGV and is reportedly considering additional radio station purchases.
“All I can say is, ‘integrity, integrity, integrity,'” said Supersnake. “What a concept. That’s what you get with Bustos Media. They did what they said they were going to do the old-fashioned way — keeping the stations local with live jocks. When they approached me to re-launch the new Groove, I said, ‘Let’s make it happen.'”
Snake’s quarter-century of Arizona radio experience includes programming and on-air stops at Sierra H Broadcasting’s KAJM (Mega 104.3) and Rhythmic KNRJ (101.1 The Beat)/Phoenix. His earlier Phoenix stops include KKFR, KZZP and KZON. He’s also known for his charity work and TV appearances during the NBA All-Star Game, the Grammy Awards, Super Bowl week, and his long involvement with the Larry Fitzgerald Celebrity Softball Game and the Snoop Bowl.
Supersnake said he welcomes Bustos returning the stations to their “mom and pop” roots, noting, “It’ll be nice when I play Prince‘s ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ and the bosses actually know the song,” he laughs. With APD/MD Krystal Pino in mornings and Snake in the afternoon, the team will begin building a local, customized music and personality line-up for Tucson. Stay tuned!
