By Noe Gutierrez
After a brief hiatus from the airwaves, the FITZ in the Morning show is back! FITZ has returned in a big way on the Coachella Valley’s newest radio station CV 104.3 FM, in this, his 18th year on the air. FITZ proclaimed, “I will continue my tradition of waking up the valley weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. with the perfect blend of music to start the day along with local news, information, stock market reports, traffic updates, humor and interviews of famous musicians and desert luminaries.” Although he was absent for only a short time, he was missed greatly by his dedicated listeners. This new undertaking will only further establish FITZ as the “Administrator of the Arts” in the Coachella Valley.
Owned and operated locally in the Coachella Valley by Sunnylands Broadcasting, CV 104.3 FM features all the smooth favorites FITZ is famous for spinning. “CV 104.3 FM is the perfect format for real music loving fans like me! A mix of soft rock, jazz, blues, standards, classics, old school, R&B, with a dab of country and current pop custom made to put together the perfect blend of music. We will also work closely with several of our desert charities to help them spread the word about the great work that they all do.” FITZ is well-known for his involvement in local humanitarian efforts around the Coachella Valley.
FITZ’ social conscience leads him to connect everything he does with helping others. FITZ envisions CV 104.3 FM to completely encircle the Coachella Valley with support, thus the initials ‘CV’ for Coachella Valley. “We want this station to super-serve the valley. My vision for this station and my show is to be real local radio. Being real on the radio is what audiences want and need. They want someone to be looking out for them and to let them know about what’s going on in this special desert paradise. They want great music and some humor to lighten up their mornings. Listeners want to be motivated and given positive reinforcement for their day.” Since January, FITZ has been providing his listeners with inspiration and levity. He has also maintained the support of many local business organizations. “Our sponsors are very important to us and we will work hard to help grow their businesses as a good marketing partner. I have many long time sponsor supporters and appreciate their continued belief in the “FITZ IN THE MORNING” brand. Special thanks to DESERT LEXUS, THE McCALLUM THEATRE, STUDIO DENTISTRY, UNITED AMERICAN MORTGAGE, CRYSTAL CLEAR HOME, and GENERAL AIR CONDITIONING and PLUMBING.”
FITZ is committed to placing Coachella Valley bred musicians center stage. “I’m also shining the spotlight on our world class musicians who call the Coachella Valley home. We have so many great world class musicians with amazing resumes who call the Coachella Valley home. I will be shining the spotlight on them every morning weaving their music in throughout the morning and having them in my studio to jam live and also debut new recordings they might have.” FITZ has played new music from local artists Courtney Chambers and Michael Keeth, to name a few.
FITZ is also concluding work on his most recent release. “I’m just putting the icing on my new album. It’s gone through three ‘are we finished yet’ stages but I’m getting pretty close on saying it’s done. It’s almost time to get it out to the Universe! I produced this new project with my talented friend Lewis Richards (Micah Brown, Zen Robbi, Slightly Stoopid, Sting). WJ RENE (Wendy Jane Fitzgerald) wrote the lyrics and Lewis and I wrote the music. We’re all proud of it and Wendy wrote some amazing lyrics that take us on a great musical journey. We’re looking forward to jamming them live.” FITZ debuted two songs this past Saturday when he performed with the ‘Kings of California’ ZEN ROBBI at The Monthly Music Showcase at The River at Rancho Mirage. This is just another regular event that FITZ is spearheading to continue the forward march.
FITZ looks back on his time at his previous home and recognized the need to move forward. “My 17 year home on the radio in the valley had a format change about a year ago. Then my next station got bought and the new owners wanted to change the format. In both instances I was offered mornings on each of their sister stations but I just didn’t feel it was the correct fit for me. CV 104.3 FM fits all of my criteria so I’m happy and super excited for what the future holds for the valley’s brand new radio station and me! It’s not every day that you get to start a new radio station and a brand new frequency. 104.3FM initially launched as North Pole radio and was very popular during the Christmas season of course. I made several trips to the North Pole to visit Santa and try to get him to let us change the music after New Year’s Day. This was not an easy task because as you can imagine Santa loves his Christmas music but after we had numerous discussions he agreed to let us change the format to what we’re doing now! Thank you SANTA!” Christmas is now year-round in the desert thanks to jimi ‘FITZ’ Fitzgerald and CV 104.3 FM, the gift that keeps on giving.
