Springs Culture Cast broadcasts to rest of state

   Springs Culture Cast is now casting farther afield.

   The two-man video/radio/ Internet exploration of local arts and culture has been renamed Colorado Culture Cast and will begin broadcasting to the entire state with tonight's premiere broadcast on public station KBDI (Comcast Channel 23).

   Culture Cast producer Klayton Elliot Kendall said the broader focus was a matter of necessity for the nonprofit program.

   "We've been at this a year and a half now, and still Colorado Springs isn't fully supporting the program," he said. "It's either we do this, or we die."

   Including events in Denver and elsewhere in the state will allow Culture Cast to broaden its fundraising efforts, Kendall said.

   Don't think, however, that Culture Cast will ignore its hometown.

   "I don't want to see a situation where you'll turn on the television one week and not see anything from Colorado Springs," Kendall said. "My vision has always been to show the better side of Colorado Springs and I don't ever want to change that."

   When Kendall and co-producer Craig Richardson started Culture Cast, their intention was to shine a positive light on the local arts scene. It started as video blogging on the Web site, www.coloradoculturecast.com, then added a radio arm, with short segments on KRCC (91.5 FM) weekdays at 11:55 a.m. and 8 p.m., and a television show, airing at 6 p.m. daily on the Pikes Peak Library Channel (Comcast Channel 17). Joining those outlets, the new, half-hour KBDI show will air once a month in July and August, then switch to weekly in September.

   KBDI is a Denver-based public station that reaches 80 percent of Colorado, according to the station.

   Half of the show will be clips from the Web and the other half Kendall plans to devote to a Springs musician or band.

   "We don't really want to change anything, it's worked out pretty well," Kendall said. "Nothing's really changed, we're just trying to expand our coverage to the state and get a wider audience."

   The first edition of the KBDI program won't be as up-todate as the Web site, he said, since it's been in the can for a while. It will feature an interview with "Democracy Now's" Amy Goodman, actress Allison Janney and April's Daniel Johnston concert at the Smokebrush Gallery. Future shows will be more topical, Kendall said. 

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