Stasia has left the building

After 30 years, KSUT’s longtime music director retiring

by Missy Votel

On the afternoon of Aug. 5, 2015, a calm voice came over the Durango airwaves, alerting listeners to a mine disaster on the Animas River in Silverton. Residents, many of whom were hearing the news for the first time, were advised to stay out of the river until the plume making its way south had passed. That disaster was, of course, the Gold King Mine spill, and that familiar, trusted voice was none other than KSUT radio DJ, Stasia Lanier.

“We got a press release about it,” Lanier recalled. “I pre-read it and was in disbelief. I was trying to imagine what the Animas was going to look like.”

As shocking as the news was, thanks to play-by-play updates from Lanier and KSUT, residents were kept abreast of the developing situation and encroaching “orange glob.”

“I remember standing there, just watching it flow and really feeling like the river would never be the same,” she said. “Fortunately, that hasn’t been the case.”

Gold King is just one of the many memorable moments of Lanier’s 30-year career with the Ignacio-based National Public Radio affiliate, KSUT. Sadly for fans of her afternoon music blends or her Saturday morning San Juan Sunrise show –which was totally worth getting up for –it’s a career that is coming to an end this Thurs., March 2, when Lanier steps away from the mic for good.

“I started in April 1993,” said Lanier,

Stasia Lanier, KSUT music director, through the years, (clockwise from top left: With Robert Earl Keen in 1997 on his “Picnic “album tour; with (a very tall) Michael Franti at KSUT’s 40th anniversary show in 2016; a reenactment of the REK photo in 2017 in front of the poster he signed for the station; and “fangirling” with Lucinda Williams at KSUT’s show in 2019./ Courtesy photos who was originally hired as KSUT’s office manager, “and here I am 30 years later.”

She and husband, Jim, moved to Durango in October 1992 from San Francisco, where they lived for 12 years. There they partook in the usual outdoor activities: he was an avid surfer, and they both enjoyed biking, skiing and windsurfing (hey, it was the early ‘90s), and Durango was a perfect fit for their active lifestyles.

So when Jim, a physical therapist, was offered a job here, they headed inland. “I figured I’d figure something out,” said Lanier, who had been working for a music technology company in the Bay Area. “I’d done marketing and promotion and that kind of stuff.”

However, soon after her arrival at KSUT, Stasia was put on air to spin music. Although she had no background in DJing, she said she has been into music her whole life, so it wasn’t too far of a stretch.

“My parents were sort of ‘American songbook’ kind of people,” she said of her upbringing in a small town outside New York City. “But my older brothers, they brought all the rock and roll into the house – they had the Beatles haircuts. So I got turned on to music at an early age.”

In addition, growing up close to the city, she got to see lots of live music, taking the train into the city to storied venues like Madison Square Garden and the Academy of Music. It was this background that served Lanier well when, only a few months after starting at KSUT, she was named music director, a title she held till her retirement. At that time, she said the music being played at the station was mostly “roots-based,” including bluegrass, acoustic and folk. However, as times and tastes changed, the station’s focus broadened to include Americana, alt-country and even a little Prince and punk rock thrown in (looking at you, Ted Holteen).

“Roots-based is still at the heart of it,” she said. “But, our music blends in particular are a lot more eclectic now. Although, even back then with the music blends, you had to play a different genre every song.”

In the early days, she said the station wasn’t getting a lot of attention from big record labels, and therefore wasn’t getting exposed to a lot of new music. That’s something she worked to change.

“We were this small, rural radio station; we weren’t getting serviced by the record labels, no one paid attention to us,” she said. “And that’s what the music director’s job is: to figure out how to get the industry’s attention, and how to get the labels and artists to pay attention.”

She said she started attending conferences and taking music calls at the station. “My big effort was to get us to receive more variety and more music in general,” she said.

Today, the station offers not just bluegrass shows, but shows that run the gamut from big band and blues to world beat and techno. It also recently took over the Pagosa Folk ’n Bluegrass Festival, held in early June, and the Four Corners Folk Festival, held over Labor Day weekend, also in Pagosa.

And while the station’s musical offerings have bloomed, so has its reach and membership. Lanier recalls that at the time she started, the station, located in the iconic little red house, had about 200 members. Today, there are well over 4,000, making KSUT the largest NPR affiliate in the Four Corners.

Lanier also added that another big milestone in her career was seeing the station grow into two separate signals. Originally started in 1976 as a service for Southern Ute tribal members, growing demand for public radio prompted the station to expand its appeal and broadcast area. In 1984, it added NPR, American Public Radio and more diverse music programming, morphing into the KSUT we all know and love today. (Indeed, both parties sitting on either side of us for this coffee shop interview heard Lanier’s voice and leaned over to say how much they appreciated her and the station.)

However, in June 1998, KSUT returned to its roots, adding a second service and launching what is now known as Tribal Radio, which offers Native American programming as well as occasional NPR content.

In addition, with federal grant money for digital up- grades, in 1998 the station installed an additional transmitter on Missionary Ridge, which helped expand its coverage beyond La Plata County to Silverton, Cortez, Mancos, Pagosa Springs, Farmington and parts of northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. Also, with the help of executive director Tami Graham, KSUT leveraged $1 million in donations to land another $1 million in grant money from the tribe to build a brand new building –all while navigating the tricky waters of COVID.

“(Tami) did the grand pivot really well. She had us working remotely and started a local news department at the time so we could report on COVID,” Lanier said. “Our listenership grew and our membership grew during that time. Our mission was to expand our service to address what was happening, and I think we did it successfully.”

Alas, we digress to the music (did I mention how much I like San Juan Sunrise?).

“What I try to do is play a lot of new music but also play a lot of familiar music, and I weave them together, so you don’t lose listeners,” she said. “People tune into the radio for familiarity, but music discovery is a big buzzword right now in public radio. I think that’s something we’ve done for a long time. Each music blend hour has a minimum of four new artists.”

Which isn’t to say she doesn’t like to throw in her favorites – which include Emmylou Harris, John Prine and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.

“The familiar is important. I just read an article about how music triggers memory. And it does to me now, a song will just snap me back to fifth grade or a great memory of a friend,” she said. “I’ll walk around City Market and I will sing every word to a song. I can’t remember the name of the book I’m reading, but I can sing the entire song.”

But most of all, playing music is about the connection – with the community and listeners. In fact, as we wrapped up the conversation, Karen, from Farmington, who sat to our left, mentioned it’s her birthday on Thursday. Lanier asked her if there’s a song she’d like to hear that morning, and they settled on Jackson Browne’s “Late for the Sky.”

“I think public radio, especially in our community, is huge. It’s so important,” said Lanier. “I feel like it’s held up better in communities like ours than it has in the rest of the country because we’re so connected. Getting to work at KSUT has really been fantastic, it’s been an honor.”

And if you’re one of those Saturday morning early risers, not to worry. San Juan Sunrise will continue under the capable hands of Ken Brott, aka Kenny B, who was the originator of the show.

“Ken actually started it way back, no one really knows exactly when,” she said.

As for her other duties, of which there were many, the station has hired someone to take over Lanier’s digital editing, social media and marketing duties as well as one airshift (this person has yet to be announced; you’ll have to tune in to find out). As for the Music Director position, current Membership Director (and former Telegraph music writer) Chris Aaland will be taking on that role.

“Chris will take over as music director, which is a perfect fit as he’s booking our festivals,” Lanier said. An assistant has also been hired to help Aaland with his development work so he’ll have time to devote to the music side. “He’s a very busy guy with many talents to tap,” said Lanier.

As for Lanier, after she signs off for the last time, her and Jim – recent empty nesters with daughter Mylie at college – will pack up the boards, the dogs and the truck for a few months of #campershelllife. And while the swell can’t be guaranteed, one thing for sure is that good music will be playing on the truck stereo wherever they go.

To listen to Stasia Lanier’s last music blend (better hurry, it’s March 2, from 9 a.m. - 12 noon), tell your speaker to play Four Corners Public Radio, tune into 89.3 or 90.1, or stream it at ksut.org. ■