JBTV–the locally produced weekly music video show–is about to find itself with competition in the form of a new program, Sound & Vision, partially produced by the well-connected (and financially imposing) Jam Productions. But that’s only a distraction at this critical juncture in JBTV’s evolution; co-owner Michael Harnett is more concerned with plans to turn the show into a 24-hour video channel. How are Harnett and his partners–David Gariano and eponym Jerry Bryant–going to do it? Nothing’s firm yet; Harnett says he hasn’t even finished the business plan for the $15-to-$30-million proposal. “It’s a goal more than anything else,” he says. But given the investor interest he’s had so far–and the clever advantage he plans to take of certain changes anticipated in the cable industry–he’s optimistic.
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The show (which airs locally Saturday night at 11:30 on Channel 66) is the creation of the irrepressible Bryant, whose unapologetically hippie-esque look, informal interviewing technique, and vigorous support of alternative music gives the show its Zen, charm, and authority, respectively. Bryant is the nephew of the late songwriter Boudleaux Bryant, author with wife Felice of Everly Brothers hits like “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Bye Bye Love.” (“My family practically disowned him,” says Bryant. “They said, ‘He’s going nowhere, hanging out with those rock ‘n’ rollers.’”) The younger Bryant grew up in Milwaukee, where he got a job at radio station WQFM as a teenager. “I was there at the right time and the right place,” he recalls, punctuating the sentence with his distinctive, slightly manic staccato laugh. “Right after I got there the owner shot and killed himself. I was acting program director for three years before the station was sold.”
For a time in the late 80s Harnett also worked for SuperSpots, bringing in business with connections from his years promoting rock concerts, but eventually he left to form his own promotions company. In November 1990, he was channel surfing and happened on a Goo Goo Dolls video on Channel 19. When he saw that his old coworker was the show’s host, he kept watching. “I thought, Who the hell are these bands? This is great!” he recalls. He called Bryant, and when SuperSpots went bankrupt in July 1991, he, Bryant, and Gariano (another ex-SuperSpots-er) took it over. At the same time they moved JBTV over to Channel 66.
