Danny Green Quartet
Tommy Hough - Photo by Jay Reilly
In the three weeks since FM 94/9 gave longtime program director Garett Michaels the boot, the alt-rock station has made big cuts to its specialty shows.
For one, the Sunday-morning reggae show Brunch with Bob and Friends is no longer at the station. Host Tommy Hough says he decided to pull the three-hour show when he was told that it would be moved to an earlier time slot and would end at 10 a.m. instead of noon. He didn’t want to risk losing longtime listeners and is looking for a new station to broadcast the show. (However, he’ll continue doing public-affairs programming for stations run by 94/9 parent Lincoln Financial Media.)
Also, Big Sonic Chill—which ran Sunday through Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.—has been canceled. On Sunday, the show was replaced by Tim Pyles’ The Local 94/9—which now runs on a new, three-hour schedule from 9 p.m. to midnight—followed by a rather unchill mix of tracks by artists like Everclear, Smashing Pumpkins and Florence + The Machine.
The shows FTP, Desert Island Discs and 4 O’Clock Blues Break have also gotten the axe. Rick Jackson, 94/9’s general manager, says the station suffers from poor ratings and the cuts are part of an effort to boost profits.
“We’re making a lot of changes at the station,” he says. “Whether you’re running an ice-cream shop or a radio station, you need to make money.”
Musician and journalist Bart Mendoza is almost done with the 10th volume of Staring at the Sun, a local music compilation put out by his label, Blindspot Records. He’s planning to release a free, two-disc set featuring more than 40 groups, and local bands are welcome to submit tracks.
“I just feel that there is a lot of music in San Diego that deserves a shot,” he says. “I figure that a comp is the perfect way to put together some of those tunes, mixing new artists and more established acts on a completely level playing field.”
To submit, contact Mendoza via Facebook.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
