WDVX Radio, Tony’s dream, started broadcasting in the late 80’s from a camper in the middle of the Fox Inn Campground in Clinton, Tennessee.Â
 Fed up with life in commercial radio and business Tony set out with little money, lots of passion and an empty camper to play his kind of music.Â
With the feeling that commercial radio was dying because of a “lack of general creativity” and the conviction that “radio is a beautiful medium,” he founded homegrown WDVX with the simple principles of autonomy, diversity and creativity to give local bands an outlet for their talent. Ruffling through spread sheets in his underground office he starts citing listener numbers from around the world. “We’ve got listeners from everywhere, 500-600 from France, 1200 from the UK, 1000 from the Netherlands and 400 from Norway,” he says. ”We’re fully listener supported, volunteer staffed and I receive donations via our website on a daily basis.” As he describes his life long dream of a radio station, the music it plays and the significance of WDVX Radio now being beamed worldwide from the 100-year-old building located at the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill Avenue in downtown Knoxville he rocks back to think more.Â
“You know,” he says leaning forward over his desk with a slow drawl, “if you’re around tomorrow you should stop by at noon when we serve up live in-studio performances during our Blue Plate Specials. We host bands from around the world and some good local ones too, if you’re not you can catch them on the web.” The website is also Paypal functional he points out on the sly.Â
After naming over a dozen bands that have passed through his station’s live studios Tony rocks back in his leather chair and describes his plans for the future. “I want to keep up with internet technologies, stay in it for the music and possibly help folks quality of life,” he says humbly with a sincere grin.Â
“Before you leave,” he offers “you should stop by Yee Haw Industries up the street. They too are part of the renaissance in Knoxville.” Knoxville is definitely changing with construction cranes crisscrossing the skyline. The historic centre is cleaning up and according to locals, people are moving back downtown. It’s obvious the city is on the right track.Â
If there is a renaissance blossoming in the Southeast and in Knoxville in particular, it’s thanks to WDVX and people like Tony Lawson and his volunteer staff, doing it simply because they love it.Â
Links: http://www.wdvx.com/
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[...] Last you read I was visiting Tony Lawson at WDVX Radio in Knoxville. Tony was a nice man, living his dream of broadcasting the music he likes from his downtown radio station. In my humble opinion he’s also doing a fine job of fostering a cultural renaissance in the South. Not only does he do it by keeping the tradition of local music alive he also does it by partnering and sharing tips. [...]