United Stations Radio Networks (USRN) has confirmed the death of long-time friend and partner, Jeff Parets, on Wednesday, November 7 after a battle with cancer. He was 67.
Parets produced and hosted "The Acoustic Storm" on KSLX-FM in Phoenix before partnering with USRN in 2003 so he could focus on the show, while USRN handled affiliations, ad sales and distribution of the 3-hour weekend program. The program remains a mainstay of USRN's Classic Rock and Classic Hits lineup.
Parets grew up in the New York City area and used what he learned from the legendary New York broadcasters he heard to create his own form of radio. He started out in the medium on the college radio station as a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, before making his way out to the Phoenix area not long after graduation. During his long tenure in Phoenix, Parets worked at various stations, and like anyone with radio in their blood, he handled a variety of different jobs in radio, from news and weather chores to programming various genres of Rock radio. He was an award-winning broadcaster having won 8 broadcast journalism awards including the only national first place award in the Phoenix NPR affiliate's (KJZZ) 50-year history.
It was his experience as Program Director/Music Director at KSTM (The Storm) in Phoenix that convinced Paret that there was a sophisticated audience for music that needed to be served. "The Storm" lasted from 1981 to 1987, and not long after it changed format, Jeff landed at KDKB-FM. But his passion for digging deeper into music never faded, and in the late 90's, Jeff started producing and hosting "The Acoustic Storm" on KSLX-FM in Phoenix.
USRN's Andy Denemark commented, "Jeff was a gentle soul and a gentleman. He treated music and radio respectfully, and he recognized both as important art forms. We were lucky to have a partnership where we were mutually proud of our professional and our personal relationships, and he will be missed."
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