CoViD-19: San Diego Beaches To Reopen | Blood Needed | Face-Coverings Matter | Swap Meet Reopens | Private Equity Is Killing Us All

Starting on Tuesday, passive activities can resume at San Diego County Beaches (Taken 3.9.2020)
These sea lions are me, screaming at strangers to social distance and put on their goddamn masks. 

Darren and I had a fun little night in the speakeasy. We didn't end up going for photos yesterday as we ran out of time, but maybe after I publish this we'll head out since Nova's soccer Zoom is canceled today. Things are opening up around the City and the State and I'm trying to quell my anxiety about that. This pandemic sure hasn't made me trust any of my fellow humans. I'm already freaking out about going to see the sea lions and getting pissed that even though we all know very clearly what 6 feet of distance looks like, people still get way too close to the pinnipeds. Anyway, my last SoundDiego post published today, and I've been working up to a post on that, but until then, be safe out there.

San Diego Radio Tributes to Steve West to Air Sunday, May 17 from 6-10am

photo by Ciro Sepulveda

Last week, we got the sad news that Steve West lost his long battle with cancer. Throughout the week, several radio luminaries took to the airwaves in tribute and to honor his legacy. You can listen to a 91X tribute with Marty & Danielle here and with Hilary and Halloran here. On Sunday, ALT949 will be running a Legends of the Alternative tribute from 6-10am. At the very same time, 91X will be running a special episode or Resurrection Sunday which will be accompanied online with a live Zoom and Facebook Live feed, so fans can chat and share memories. More info from 91X after the jump. Also, take the time to read George Varga's long-form obituary in the U-T if you can get past the paywall and check out Yew!'s podcast.

ALT949 Reveals Not So Silent Night Lineup

I was having a pretty fun time trying to follow the clues for ALT949's Not So Silent Night bit today they've finally revealed the lineup. I got three out of the six (Shaed, White Reaper, Winnetka Bowling League) but wasn't even close on the other three (Neon Trees, Local Natives, Half Alive).

The lineup includes Neon Trees, Local Natives, SHAED, Half Alive, White Reaper, and Winnetka Bowling League. The show takes place on December 8th at Del Mar Arena. Get your tickets to the show here.

Local Radio News: 98/9 TJ-SD To Launch March 31 and other radio tidbits...

You may or may not have heard that More-FM is modifying their format to be a multilingual and 'Borderless' station branded 98/9 TJ-SD. As much as it pains me to link to a KL penned article, The Reader primarily focuses on the fact that Cesar Gonzalez--owner of the now defunct Mama Testa (home of the best salsa ever but never served without attitude)--will be the first on-air personality at the station, then digs in a little on Halloran, who will be playing three hours of cross-border local artists every weeknight from 9pm-Midnight. As someone who has known Hal for years, and worked with station owner Mario Mayan and sales director Randy Phillips for several years back in the day, I'm super excited about a new radio format to stir the San Diego pot.

From a local music perspective, Halloran and crew are trying to build their local music catalog. Bring CDs to Pitbull Audio in National City 2 pm on Saturday, March 31, or April 7 at 2 pm at Secret Garden [Jardin Secreto] on Manuel Doblado in Tijuana. If you plan on submitting music, note that they are specifically requesting CDs. Don't email links or MP3s. If you don't have CDs, burned ones are usually acceptable, but LABEL them. The CD itself and the case should both include your Band Name, a contact phone number and/or email, web address and track titles. On the case, you might suggest one or two "singles" from the record, bio, band photo, and other pertinent or more specific info. (Perhaps my old San Diego Music Thing notes might help in this situation.)

In other radio news, 91X recently launched a new morning show...The Moug Show...and you know I'm not commuting or listening to radio in the mornings (or even awake) to have an opinion about it. Meanwhile, Woods is back on the air at The Mighty 1090 with the Ben and Woods show, offering up morning sports talk weekdays from 6-9am.

 And on Monday night, I was made aware of the disgusting, tacky, and insensitive photo posted on social media by the new Kevin Klein Live show on 97.3, which has flipped from Energy 97.3 to The Machine 97.3, which will be a classic rock format and taking the Padres broadcasts from Alt 94/9.  The dude's morning show starts today. I'm not posting his shit photo here, but I'm sure you've seen it, and you can see the backlash on NBC, the U-T here  and HERE  and even the Padres. If what he wanted was attention, mission accomplished. I'm not the demo so my not listening doesn't mean shit to them, but for the record, fuck that guy and all the assholes defending the post.

If radio news interests you, you should always keep up on SanDiegoRadio.org and you can see press releases, news, and quarterly radio ratings, and marvel at the fact that country is the 3rd ranked station in San Diego, and more people listen to Christian Radio than to your favorite alternative station. Gag.

Garett Michaels Named Program Director of 91X San Diego

Garett is PD at 91X! He came, was at 94/9, then he left to Seattle, then came back and did the radio hopscotch and now he's PD at 91X. Though does that mean he just took Hillary's job? Maybe not. I think she is Music Director. These kinds of moves in the market don't tend to be isolated, so keep an eye out for some other movement around town. Full press release below.

Photo Courtesy Facebook. Tommy Hough (For City Council 2018!!) & Garett Michaels

Veteran radio programmer and consultant Garett Michaels has been named Program Director of 91X (XTRA-FM).

Michaels’ San Diego radio roots date back to 2002 as the founding Program Director of KBZT-FM, a position he held for nearly a decade.  After spending two years as the Program Director of KNDD-FM “107.7 The End” in Seattle, Michaels returned to San Diego in December 2015 to become Program Director of KFMB-FM, and was responsible for the rebrand of JACK-FM to the highly successful launch of 100.7 KFM-BFM.

In January 2017, following the end of the joint operating agreement between Local Media San Diego and Midwest Television, Michaels decided to exercise his option to leave the KFMB Stations, and has been serving as consultant to 91X ever since. 

“After spending the last year consulting and working with the team, I couldn’t be more excited to officially join Local Media San Diego”, said Michaels.  “It's an honor to be a part of 91X, a station that represents the San Diego lifestyle, has deep roots serving our local community, and is truly one of the icons of the Alternative format.  I’m thankful to Gregg Wolfson, Norm McKee and the LMSD Board for making this possible.”

“Garett is the best man for the job,” said LMSD Vice President / General Manager Gregg Wolfson.  “His knowledge of San Diego, expertise in alternative radio, and leadership skills provide us much confidence as we celebrate 91X’s 35th birthday.”

Newsy Bits: 91X Radio Shakeup & Goodbye Chargers?

I'm stunned to read the news that Michael Halloran, program director and afternoon host at 91X, has been let go. I mean, I guess we're all used to the radio shuffle here in SD, every year seems to see some big shakeup and as SoundDiego mentions, we should expect to see more when 94/9 begins their Padres broadcasts, but it doesn't mean we ever get used to it...not as listeners of the stations, not as friends of the jocks and programming directors and music directors, and even as a veteran of advertising where this kind of thing seemed to happen all the time. When I was let go from The Observatory, Hal was one of the only people to call me to check on me and I only hope he's staying in San Diego because he's an essential part of our music culture. I suspect, based on this inquiry about Garett Michaels "logging off" of KFM-BFM on Friday (and disappearing from their website), we might conclude he'll be installed as PD of 91X or oversee programming for multiple stations. But I guess we'll know when we know.

Here's the full article on SoundDiego

Bye-Bye Chargers?
In meantime, there's another article circulating social media, and that is this ESPN story that the Chargers are, in fact, leaving San Diego with an announcement to come tomorrow. While I would love for this to be true, as I commented on Facebook, I would love to do a FOIA request on all of Kevin Faulconer's e-mail tonight. And Sherman, and Zapf, and all of the City Council for that matter. This has been going on for years, of course, even before the renovations and upgrades that got us the blackout ticket purchase deal. I hoped that with November's resounding votes against Prop C & D, that this issue would be dead and gone. But I'll believe it when I see it. Meaning even if an announcement is to come tomorrow, I won't believe it. Not until the Chargers kick-off on someone else's, not paid for by San Diegans, field.

Let's think about this. This is the same team that "essentially pays no rent". This is the team only willing to contribute $350 million to a new San Diego stadium, even though leaving will cost them a $650 million relocation fee. And if they decide on moving, they still have to find a place to play until that L.A. stadium is finished in 2019. You really think they're playing in Carson Inglewood with half the seats as the Q for two years?? And on a really superficial level, you think they want two blue & gold teams in the same stadium? Give me a freaking break. I'm just not buying it.

But I hope it's true. We've wasted enough City and County resources and money on this billionaire family. Time to move on.

Radio News: Tommy Hough Takes The Helm of 91X Morning Drive & Garett Michaels Returns to San Diego with KFMB-FM

Back in October, it was announced that "Local Media San Diego, LLC and KFMB Stations, two leading digital and broadcast companies in the greater San Diego area, announced a joint operating agreement that preserves local ownership and operation of San Diego’s top-rated radio stations. Magic 92.5, Z90, 91X, 100.7 Jack FM and AM 760 KFMB will now make up the largest local radio broadcasting platform in San Diego."

At the time, I didn't post the press release, because it's the kind of things radio nerds like me care about, but so long as it didn't affect major shifts on the stations, it didn't seem something necessary to share. Fast-forward a few months, and we're starting to see just the impact the joint operation is having and it is a good thing for San Diego. Besides some "shared assets", in the way of focused sales and promotions staff able to work across formats and stations, yesterday it was announced that Tommy Hough would be taking over full time on morning drive at 91X and that Garett Michaels is returning to San Diego as the new Program Director at KFMB-FM (Jack FM).

Garett Michaels from back in his FM 94/9 days

I'll post the full news releases after the jump, but I have to say the most interesting thing about the news was this quote by SDLocal Vice President / General Manager Gregg Wolfson (Wolfie!), who said about Michaels, “with his large market experience, knowledge of San Diego, and his proficiency in CHR, AC, Alternative, Triple A, Rock, and Country, he is the perfect fit for the future format of KFMB-FM.” (emphasis mine) Could this mean change is coming to Jack? I certainly hope so, because I don't care how high DSC ratings are, Dave is off the rails and shouldn't have a mic in his face anymore, and with the recent sale of KPRI-FM, there is definitely a void in San Diego radio in the realm of Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) and really breaking new music in the market, which is only reinforced every time a new show is booked in San Diego and the agents ask for our "KEXP or KCRW equivalent" and we have none. But that's just my little projection. Congratulations to Tommy and welcome back, Garett. You'll both be hearing from me, I'm sure. Full press releases after the jump.

91X Celebrates 28 Years with a Resurrection Weekend

91X has seen its ups and downs over the years, with management changes and programming tweaks, the station known as "The Cutting Edge of Rock" that defined our formative years perhaps lost its way when they got sucked into the radio conglomerate, but the station has recently made efforts to get back from where they might've strayed and this weekend, they're bringing back many of the personalities that developed 91X. Obviously they can't have personalities like Cantore or Jen White who have found success at other stations around town, but they're bringing back some of our favorites, including Lou Niles' return to Loudspeaker on Sunday.

In advance of its 28th birthday on January 11, San Diego’s heritage alternative rock station 91X will celebrate with a “Resurrection Weekend,” bringing back many of the voices that have defined the station’s storied history.

Mike Halloran will return to the 91X studio to kick off the Resurrection Weekend tomorrow at 2:00 PM. Other former 91X DJ’s returning on-air include “Mad Max” Tolkoff, Billy Bones, Chris Muckley, and Dred Scott as well as current 91X DJ’s Robin Roth, Oz Medina and Steve West. The weekend on-air schedule is as follows:

Friday, January 7
2:00 – 6:00PM: Mike Halloran
6:00 – 10:00PM: “Mad Max” Tolkoff
10:00PM – 2:00AM: Muckley

Saturday, January 8
6:00 – 10:00AM: Steve West
10:00AM – 2:00PM: Muckley
2:00 – 6:00PM: Dred Scott
6:00 – 10:00PM: Billy Bones

Sunday, January 9
6:00 AM – Noon: Steve West
Noon – 3:00 PM: Robin Roth
3:00 – 8:00 PM: Oz Medina
8:00 – 10:00 PM: Loudspeaker w/ Lou Niles

In addition to on-air, listeners can stream the weekend programming live on 91x.com, as well as photos and videos of the jocks in studio. Complete audio of the last “Resurrection Weekend” held in October 2010 is also available to stream on the website.

San Diego Fires: Idiot Patrol Part 3

On his radio show today, Beck said: "I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today."

Take Action!

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San Diego Radio Format Change

Once upon a time I worked in advertising. I was an assistant to media buyers at, what was at the time, the biggest media buying agency in San Diego (maybe it still is?). We bought airtime for clients from all the local tv and radio stations in the market, negotiating rates, placing ads based on demographic info and whatnot. My job was to make sure the shit ran in the right places at the right time. I didn't make the kinda money that all those college recruiters tell you is waiting for you once you have a degree, but it was fun, it was good experience, and the fringe benefit of working with media is all the free shit. I mean, bucket loads of concert tickets, Padres tickets, parties galore with booze freely pouring, lengthy lunches, and oh, yeah, the experience was great. Even though I'm no longer in media, my interest in radio and tv hasn't dwindled and I still like information about ratings, new show pilots, show cancellations, and in this case, radio format changes.

So another radio station bites the dust. 103.7 FM, San Diego Free FM, is ending its run as an FM talk station. I don't think I've ever listened to the station in this format, mostly because talk radio raises my blood pressure to unnecessary levels so it's not a station I'm gonna miss. The station is going to be 103.7 K-Surf 60s and 70s. So it's kinda oldies and kinda back to the Planet format? We shall see how that works out come the November book, I guess.

Good News For Indie Music

I don't like to regurgitate Stereogum news, but this is kind of a big deal.

If you haven't been following along, here it is in a nutshell.

Basically, the FCC was investigating terrestrial radio for evidence of payola, meaning that stations and/or program directors were given cash, trips, etc., in return for spins for their artists. The result of this investigation was that, duh, the 4 big labels were rewarding radio stations, especially radio conglomerates, namely ClearChannel, for playing certain artists which in turn, boosts record sales, etc., for those artists. It's bad for a number of reasons, but one major problem is that indie labels have a hard time finding airtime so many good quality artists never get noticed. Just think of Barsuk... Death Cab For Cutie was a great band for a long time, but until suddenly there was a demand created by an alternate venue, namely The OC, where people could discover them since they were pretty much absent from radio, did they get the recognition they deserved (though the quality of Transatlanticism had a lot to do with it, too, and resulted in them signing to a major.)

One side result of the investigation and subsequent settlements is that certain amounts of airtime would be set aside for indie labels (labels not owned by Sony BMG, Warner, Universal and EMI) . Of course, it's a voluntary side deal, but 8,400 half hour blocks of music will be set aside among the station groups. (Clear Channel, CBS, Entercom, Citadel)

It was rumored within the past couple months that this would be part of the settlement agreement, but it can only be good that it is coming to pass, even if it is voluntarily. In San Diego, it is unlikely we'll really benefit on the alt/indie stations since 94/9 is not in one of the named congloms and 91X is owned by Finest City Broadcasting, but in my recollection, it's the first time in many years that the FCC has made a decision that actually punished the corporate radio groups.

Radio Morning Show Contest Turns Fatal

Woman Dies After Water-Drinking Radio Contest

January 15, 2007

A 28-year-old mother of three died from water intoxication after taking part in
a water-drinking contest for KDND (The End)/Sacramento on Friday. The contest,
Hold Your Wee for a Wii, involved drinking as much water as you could without
going to the bathroom in order to win the much-coveted Nintendo Wii video game
console. Contestant Jennifer Lea Strange died after drinking well over a half
gallon of water during the Morning Rave program, said the Sacramento Bee.

The rest of the article is here.