Kevin Ryder goes back to his old home
You probably read right in this very newspaper that Kevin Ryder has returned to KROQ (106.7 FM), the station where he woke up Los Angeles with partner Gene “Bean” Baxter and others for over a quarter century — 33 years in fact.
Ryder had been fired from his morning show over the phone during the pandemic five years ago, and his most recent on-air work was afternoon drive with Doug “Sluggo” Roberts on KLOS.
He’s flying solo on his new weekday 3-7 p.m. show, which began last week. The first day had a lot of calls from listeners welcoming him back, later in the week while I listened I heard more music than Ryder. Ryder himself sounded a little off, though that is to be expected considering that it’s been close to 40 years since he did a show by himself – no sidekick, no staff … just him.
One thing I cannot shake, and I mean no ill-will toward Ryder — in fact I am glad he landed the gig. But with KROQ trailing competitor Alt 98.7 by a full point in the February Nielsen ratings (3.1 to 2.1 overall): is programmer Kevin Weatherly simply out of ideas? Is the plan now just to recreate a ‘90s version of KROQ?
KLOS’ hits the high seas
It’s been many years since radio stations have done true April Fools Day pranks, perhaps the most memorable being the year — 1998 I believe — that KROQ and Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) switched morning shows for the day … Kevin and Bean playing hip-hop and Big Boy playing alternative.
This year, KLOS decided to take the plunge, and they did it masterfully, creating one of the most impressive and all-encompassing pranks in the history of Los Angeles radio. No one will take credit for the idea, though I believe the genesis came from programmer Keith Cunningham and manager Pio Ferro: the the all-new 95-5, SoCal’s Yacht Rock.
It began at 10 a.m. and ran through just after 7 p.m. There was a new logo, new station IDs, even jingles, including one which proclaimed “Christopher Cross is a genius!” before playing his song “Sailing.”
Station production and imaging director Stew Herrera did much of the “heavy lifting” as far as the on-air formatics went. “All that ‘attention to detail’ stuff,” he explained, such as artist liners, promotional announcements, and “getting the dozens and dozens of additional songs we needed to out into the library.”
The station featured all the artists you might hear on an easy listening station … or exactly as you’d hear on SiriusXM’s “Yacht Rock” channel … the already mentioned Christopher Cross along with others including Steely Dan, Little River Band, Hall and Oats, Doobie Brothers, Toto, Rupert Holmes, Pablo Cruise, Ambrosia, and The Eagles. Weather reports were “on the marina,” and the DJs all got into the act, speaking of getting “aboard the station.” The promos were snarky and fun.
Herrera himself took on the normally jockless mid-day shift, using the on-air name of “Captain Stew Bing. “As soon as I heard the idea, I insisted on hosting the shift. I knew our listeners would go nuts and they did. The phones melted down all day with most people loving it and getting the joke … but still plenty if confused and upset calls too, which were my favorites.”
Afternoon driver Nik Carter absolutely sold the format, giving no hint of it being a prank. “I was tickled pink,” he said when the idea was presented to him a few weeks ago. After it was over he made a comment on the air regarding the calls … “we were expecting a lot of angry calls; instead we got some who were angry the format wasn’t continuing.”
Besides the fun involved in the prank, it brought up two things in my mind. One, why isn’t Herrera always on the mid-day shift? He is an excellent air personality and really fits with the KLOS vibe. If he is willing, he should be the mid-day guy.
Secondly, considering that Yacht Rock is popular on SiriusXM and elsewhere, many calls to the station and posts on Facebook mentioned how much people liked the music, and there is no on-air station playing the format locally … why doesn’t, say, Power 106 – which has been languishing around a 1.6 share of the listening audience for quite some time – take on the format? Time was when a major signal looked at change when it hit a 2.4. Even former AM powerhouse KHJ (930 AM) dropped top-40 for country at that level in 1980, and others have done the same, in the past.
I think Yacht Rock may be just the ticket for a station that wants to at least try something different, once more, all over again.
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