Connie Kis Andersen is a do'er rather than a talker. A recording artist in her own right. Who works hard to produce her syndicated radio show with one simple belief system.
“A Rising tide lifts all the boats .”
SHOWCASE AUSTRALIA is produced and hosted by multi-award winning, Australian singer songwriter Connie Kis Andersen, the popular weekly radio program is a one-hour show introducing listeners to radio singles, new releases and charted hits that are currently at Australian country radio by Australian artists - signed and unsigned - well known and emerging. On air since September 2011, Showcase Australia’s mission is to take Australian Country Music to the world and provide a well-rounded reflection of the country music industry in Australia.
With so much quality music regularly released to Australian Country Radio by Aussie artists, playlists are rarely repeated within the month, providing a fresh perspective to keep audiences engaged, informed and entertained. I caught up with Connie Kis Andersen to talk about life, her career and her amazing show.
Connie has built a large following through syndicating her show not only across Australian but the world. The list of stations Connie has got together to take her weekly Australian showcase show is really impressive. In a world of indpendent music were commercial radio is all but no existant for most indie artists. I believe the syndicated show is an amazing way forward. As each individual station may only have a small listening audience, but when a show is played across 30 stations, it makes the audience listening to that show quite considerable. I began in our interview by asking Connie how it all got started ...
"My program; ‘Australian Showcase’ (as it was then known at the time) first went to air on September 8, 2011 and was broadcast on Country Music Radio Nashville, 4 times a week. I met Lee Williams, the C.E.O. of CMRN in Nashville, during Fan Fest being interviewed as an artist in my own right. He was looking for a an Australian segment to replace Darryl Kirkup’s spot on his network.
Darryl had taken over CRS Publicity and could no longer do the segment and so Lee approached me asking if I knew any Aussie Radio Presenters who could do the job. Of course I knew plenty of radio presenters and rattled off a huge long list of names.
After the interview though, Lee looked at me and invited me to do the spot. (I guess he heard a ‘radio voice’ in my patter). I immediately hesitated and told him ‘no’, suggesting I might know about radio but only from the other side of being an artist … and that he was better off finding someone else. Lee suggested I think about it, and so I did.
I called Darryl Kirkup and discussed with him at length what was involved and it was Darryl who strongly encouraged me to do it … so eventually I said ‘yes’ and entered into a commitment with CMRN ..."
Connie then went on to explain how all this had happened and then she received the sort of news none of ever want to get. What I was most admiring of, was the strength Connie showed to throw herself into her music releases and the radio program as she faced tremendous adversity. I do recall how she kept her own issues out of the public eye at the time.
Connie said ....
"Three weeks later, I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer". With a brand new album out, the promotion and touring of which I had to set aside while undergoing treatment, I felt that the radio show would help me keep my name active in the industry during my downtime. After all, this is a difficult industry - especially for mature aged, independent artists like me, where one’s efforts and profile can be easily forgotten.
Even though I couldn’t tour, I did still release tracks from my new album to radio. However, reluctant to have any ‘sympathy’ influence the success of my singles, I did not make my cancer diagnosis or treatment publicly known until it was behind me.
So that said, in that first year, hosting and producing the program was the most difficult job I have ever undertaken in my life - given I was producing the program in-between surgeries and treatment.
Sourcing material, researching artists, recording, editing and mixing down the program, distributing and promoting the one hour program would take a good 12 hours a week … sometimes I would do ‘all-nighters’ on the day I had chemotherapy and could not sleep because of the steroids administered to mask the chemo effects, yet, I could hardly string a sentence together because of the drugs – so lots and lots of takes and editing - but I had committed myself to it, so I persevered. In hind sight, taking on the activity, was very good for me – it kept my brain and thinking active during a very rough time. "
"If you click on the LISTEN LIVE page on the Showcase Australia, you can find all this information (I have also posted below).. When I eventually started feeling better, and could see further into a positive future, I found my own ‘voice’, developed a specific format and mission for the program, registered the name; Showcase Australia, built a web page for it and with Lee’s blessing, ‘went forth and multiplied’.
I felt because so much effort was going into producing the program weekly, I needed to broaden my coverage for not just me, but so that Aussie country music could be heard.."
Connie Kis Anderson is a passionate independent artist and terrific award winning songwriter with drive and determination and a willingness to help others. Truly an admirarable personality in the industry. Checkout her latest album by clicking it below aptly named
"Naked Under the Radar"
Beachlife Radio Network (Florida, USA) Country Barnyard 305 (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire - USA) Country Capital Radio (Tamworth, Australia) Country Music Radio Nashville (United Kingdom, Europe) Canarvon 102.9 FM (Western Australia) Edinburgh Country Music Radio (Scotland) Fame Music Radio (Johannesburg, South Africa) Gin Gins Own 104.9fm (Queensland, Australia) Radio Great Southern (Wagin, Western Australia) Radio Goolarri 99.7 FM (Broome, Western Australia) Identify Radio (Online - USA) Indie Country Radio (Springfield Missouri, USA) International Connection Radio a.k.a. 'ICR' (New Zealand) Radio MAMA 100.5 FM (Geraldton, Western Australia) Meekathara 98.3 FM (Western Australia) Mullewa 95.7 FM (Western Australia) Nashville Broadcasting Radio Network FM a.k.a. 'NBRN.fm' (Nashville, USA) Noongar Radio 100.9 FM (Perth, Australia) Opus Music Country Radio Network a.k.a. 'OCMRN' (US / UK) OZ Country Music Radio a.k.a. OZCMR (Victoria, Australia) Power Country FM (Victoria, Australia) Radio Waves International (France) Seymour FM 103.9 (Victoria, Australia) Sound Machine Radio (USA) Tamar Valley Country 87.6 FM (Tasmania, Australia) 97.7 Tasman FM (Tasmania, Australia) VRadio Nashville (Nashville, USA) WLRE (South Carolina, USA)
Website: http://www.conniekisandersen.com.au/