Buh-Bye KKSF

[Bill Harmonic]

According to published reports...San Francisco got a new station today (May 18) at 3 p.m. when Clear Channel detonated smooth jazz on KKSF. What they got in return was classic rocker "103.7 the Band," which kicked off with Bay Area native Carlos Santana's "Everybody's Everything" and will roll 10,000 songs commercial-free. The first hour featured artists like the Beatles, the Doobie Brothers, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Pink Floyd, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Journey. The Band is streaming online at www.1037theband.com. The former smooth jazz format lives on online at www.kksf.com. "We thank all the loyal KKSF listeners for their passion and support over the years," said president/market manager Dave Pugh. "We want to keep the music alive on the online platform and continue to provide a venue for smooth jazz artists to distribute their music." How far behind is WNUA? Who else? All I can think of is the scene from Titanic where the stern of the ship is out of the water and ready for the last plunge. Hang on to the rail and be ready to swim away before the undertow gets you!

[Nock]

You sure that's not 103.7 The BLAND?

Nock

[majaman78]

According to published reports...San Francisco got a new station today (May 18) at 3 p.m. when Clear Channel detonated smooth jazz on KKSF. What they got in return was classic rocker "103.7 the Band," which kicked off with Bay Area native Carlos Santana's "Everybody's Everything" and will roll 10,000 songs commercial-free. The first hour featured artists like the Beatles, the Doobie Brothers, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Pink Floyd, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Journey. The Band is streaming online at www.1037theband.com. The former smooth jazz format lives on online at www.kksf.com. "We thank all the loyal KKSF listeners for their passion and support over the years," said president/market manager Dave Pugh. "We want to keep the music alive on the online platform and continue to provide a venue for smooth jazz artists to distribute their music." How far behind is WNUA? Who else? All I can think of is the scene from Titanic where the stern of the ship is out of the water and ready for the last plunge. Hang on to the rail and be ready to swim away before the undertow gets you!

KKSF was a spectacular station when owned by Brown Broadcasting.  Clear Channel/BA destroyed it.

Sunday Morning Oasis will be missed. 

The rest of their inferior B.A. programming won't be.

[AC Tones]

I want to say, "Unbelievable," but the fact is this became a foregone conclusion once CD 101.9 flipped in February 2008.  I recall e-mailing the then PD of WSMJ in Baltimore when I learned of the news, and was concerned about the future of the format in Baltimore (WSMJ flipped about 3 months later).  I said, "If it can happen to the nation's largest market with a longtime and passionate following, it could happen to anyone."  WNUA can't be far behind (one poster already mentioned recently that WNUA might clean house soon).  Three of the Big 4, the true pioneers of the genre, are gone.  The true test of a champion will be whether KTWV (although one could argue they have been "gone" for awhile) can survive this apocalypse.  If there is one place where this format can survive, it's So Cal.  But for how long given what has happened over the last 18 months??  "Unbelievable."

[Carmine5]

Great! That's just what S.F. needs, another classic rock station playing the same 300 or so hit songs. 

So now KKSF can compete against CC's own classic rock KUFX while at the same time competing against classic rockers, KVRV-FM and KSAN. And, of course, being Clear Channel, neither of their stations are being programmed locally but somewhere in Cincinnati (or wherever).

What I don't get is that, as a smooth jazz station, KKSF did moderately well in ratings--much better than any of the classic rock stations are doing.

Well, Redwood Empire Stereocasters should be pleased.  Their low-rated KJZY will no doubt get a ratings boost as they pick up some former KKSF listeners.

C5

[majaman78]

Great! That's just what S.F. needs, another classic rock station playing the same 300 or so hit songs. 

Well, Redwood Empire Stereocasters should be pleased.  Their low-rated KJZY will no doubt get a ratings boost as they pick up some former KKSF listeners.

C5

KJZY >> quite possibly the worst looking "smooth jazz" playlist I have come across yet! lolololololol

Im Yours   Jason Mraz   6:03 PM 
 Soulful Strut (Top Down Vers   Grover Washington, Jr.   6:00 PM 
 My Fathers Eyes   Eric Clapton   5:55 PM 
 Dreamin   Vanessa Williams   5:48 PM 
 Mais Que Nada   Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66   5:46 PM 
 Esperanza   Bluezeum   5:42 PM 
 Blue Bayou   Linda Ronstadt   5:38 PM 
 Strangers In The Night   Frank Sinatra   5:36 PM 
 Aint Nothin Like The Real   Richard Elliot   5:31 PM 
 The End Of The Innocence   Don Henley   5:27 PM 
 One You Love (The)   Glenn Frey   5:19 PM 
 I Can See Clearly Now   Jimmy Cliff   5:16 PM 
 What Does It Take   Peter White   5:12 PM 
 Kissing A Fool   Michael Buble   5:09 PM 
 A Change Is Gonna Come   Seal   5:05 PM 

[AnotherCat]

Here's the thing. How can they/we blame the music when these stations quit playing it a long time ago. They still called themselves Smooth Jazz but the list above is not that much of an abberation. Look at the playlist of any existing SJ station and you'll see more Barry White than Peter White.

[Nate Wesley]

Here's the thing. How can they/we blame the music when these stations quit playing it a long time ago. They still called themselves Smooth Jazz but the list above is not that much of an abberation. Look at the playlist of any existing SJ station and you'll see more Barry White than Peter White.

I like your argument.  To some extent, the end of consultant-programmed 'smooth jazz' could be a latent blessing for the lovers of actual jazz, whether its a contemporary or a classic sound they like.   I'm sure those folks might like the options they find online or through subscription services (XM/Sirius, Slacker, smartphone apps, etc.) better anyway.  Because lets face it, jazz on commercial radio had to be dumbed down to reach the audience it did--it had to get 'smooth' so advertisers would get not-THAT-old adults. 

[Tom_Webster]

I think this is pretty sad; and I posted a brief note about this here: http://budurl.com/hkaa

[AC Tones]

I agree.  While I truly feel for those dedicated folks at KKSF who loved this music and did everything they could to make it work, let's blow it up and start from scratch.  The loss of the KKSFs of the world (as far as this genre goes) is more symbolic than it is substantive.  Those of us who have the ability to control the programming we deliver (whether we do it as a hobby like myself, or do it to help put food on the table) have an obligation to be as creative as we can, be attentive to listener feedback, and most importantly, not lose sight of the elements of what made this format great to begin with:  Contemporary instrumental music with great vibe and vocals with similar elements (more Michael Tomlinson and Pete Bardens, and less Michael Bolton and Barry White).

I know it's easy for us to say things like, "The world needs another Classic Rock station like it needs a hole in the head."  But there is a reason why Classic Rock has always been a nice fallback for radio.  The music has survived on mainstream radio for 4+ decades, and there is seemingly no end in sight.  My nephew is in his senior year in high school, and he is a huge fan of 70s rock bands, as are many of his friends.  I recently asked him why.  He said, "Uncle Chris, the new music on radio these days just stinks."  And he's right.  The reason for these kids embracing the music we grew up with is simple:  The quality of the music is FAR better than the alternatives on radio today.  For years this analogy has applied to contemporary jazz on terrestrial radio, with one VERY notable exception.  The diehard fans of this genre had NOWHERE else to go (there were no true NAC stations), so they went away in huge numbers, while the relative few that stayed around tolerated an inferior product.

It's time to go back to the drawing board.  But the nice thing is, the artwork has already been done for us.  The only thing we have to do is come up with a creative way to display it.

Chris