KFOG, But Not 10@10

[RGMike]

The Woody show is coming to KFOG on April 30. :O AFAIK it's still based in LA and syndicated.

Also, the advertised 10@10 with Rockwell is no longer listed. Rockwell is no longer listed either for that matter.

I'm wondering what this means for the format/music mix generally. I realize they're allowed to insert several "local" songs per hour but isn't the Woody Show designed for alternative stations? Doesn't its audience skew male? Is KFOG planning to go head-to-head with "Alt 105.3"?

[ggould]

We have tended to have KFOG on for breakfast during all these changes, as much as I dislike the music and DJ's.  I think this new change will finally put an end to that.  I think we'll be giving Dred Scott a listen on Monday morning.

[RGMike]

We have tended to have KFOG on for breakfast during all these changes, as much as I dislike the music and DJ's.  I think this new change will finally put an end to that.  I think we'll be giving Dred Scott a listen on Monday morning.

They finally get to have a "Twitch"-type show without having to pay any salaries. Cumulus is thrilled, I'm sure. But carving up the "alt" audience when Live 105 barely gets by as it is, seems dumb.

[RGMike]

From KFOG PD Mat Bates' email to Fogheads:

“As a fan of The Woody Show, it’s remarkable to me that it’s taken this long for them to have a major platform from which they can take back the Bay. As a resident of the Bay Area, I’m grateful for the fact that I’ll have something truly entertaining to accompany me on my 90 minute commute every day. And as member of this community, I am grateful to be at the helm of the station that will bring this show back to the folks that elevated and supported them from the beginning. KFOG’s charter is to be a reliably bright spot in an increasingly difficult world- and The Woody Show represents that bright and entertaining spot in our daily routine. YOU KNOW!

KFOG is your home for The Woody Show! #ALLIN"

[RGMike]

It occurs to me that the former Live 105, which became "Alt 105.3" in December, has only one live DJ (on from 2p to 7p), so in that sense,  importing the Woody Show (horrid as it is) might actually work for KFOG, short-term.

[radical347]

I don't doubt that they're trying to go head on with Live/Alt 105. They've also tweaked the music mix to make it sound more alternative/rock -- we're hearing far more Green Day, Foster the People, Kings of Leon, Sublime, Third Eye Blind etc (KFOG has always played these but are playing more now) whereas AAA-only artists like Lissie, Mt. Joy, Anderson East, David Byrne, The War on Drugs have all but disappeared.

It's disappointing because I actually liked the playlist we were getting a few months ago...but somehow never expected it to last. I'm not so bent out of shape about the Woody show itself, since most of the morning shows for the past 8 or so years were also horrid esp. this last one. I'm just more sad that they got rid of Rockwell but kept Alicia on in his old timeslot...although, it's not like they haven't kept members of a previous horrid morning show while letting the other good DJs go before... 

[Davefish]

After repeated emails from the PD, I searched on The Woody Show to see what people were saying about it. I listened to maybe 5 minutes of today's show on Soundcloud and it's unlistenable. No music. At. All. Maybe that's normal for morning shows, but not something I need to ever listen to. Greg Gory still has a great voice, but not much value to that if he's just gonna be a giggle-boy.

[RGMike]

Went to KFOG's Yelp page. Looked at the most-recent comments, all slamming the Woody Show. In fact most of the comments from the last 2 years are negative. But check out this hilarious bit from "Debbie F" in Concord, posted less than 3 weeks ago, on 4/18/18:

"5 Stars! I absolutely love KFOG! Especially in May when they have Kaboom Fireworks show!! Keep playing great music!"

Uh, how many years has it been since the last Kaboom? 7? 8?

https://www.yelp.com/biz/kfog-san-francisco?sort_by=date_desc

[RGMike]

New ratings out today: KFOG has fallen to a 1.3, which is, i think, the lowest they have ever been in their history as a rock station. be interesting to see if the Woody Show does anything to reverse the decline (this ratings period doesn't reflect the WS effect). 

[radical347]

The Woody Show has been added to three more Cumulus stations: https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/176673/cumulus-adding-the-woody-show-to-3-new-markets

Despite Mat Bates' emails pumping up the Woody Show, even saying some things that are obviously untrue (i.e. saying that one of his top 3 questions he gets asked at KFOG is "What happened to/When is/why don’t you bring The Woody Show back to the Bay???"), I doubt he's calling the shots on this. But when he started, he insisted that the days where Cumulus upper management was in charge of everything were over--I guess he's finding out that that's not the case.

Also, new VP of Cumulus SF (Doug Harvill, evidently replacing Justin Wittmayer): https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/176676/cumulus-media-san-francisco-names-doug-harvill-vp-

Renee and Dred seem to semi-publicly not miss Wittmayer at all. Gee, I wonder why.

[radical347]

Acoustic Sunrise is ending.  This time presumably for good. From their newsletter:

Hi friends-

I’m going to keep this week’s dispatch from KFOG HQ succinct.

If there were ever a time to listen to KFOG, it would be this Sunday morning, starting at 6a.

Rosalie’s Acoustic Sunrise program is a Bay Area institution. The care, planning, and instinct that she puts into curating this show every week will never be duplicated. Her musical acumen has provided the soundtrack to not only our Sunday mornings, but to countless milestones- whether it was on in the background when you proposed to your partner, or if it got you through a particularly difficult labor- Acoustic Sunrise is more than a radio show- it’s part of our routine.

With that said, this Sunday morning will be the final episode of Acoustic Sunrise on KFOG. I would never presume to speak for Rosalie, so I encourage you to tune in to hear her say goodbye (for now) in her own words. She will be playing all of her favorite Acoustic Sunrise tracks from across eras, and weaving them into a narrative in the way that only Rosalie can.

We love and respect Rosalie. She’s been an indelible part of art and culture in the Bay Area for decades, and we are incredibly lucky that KFOG was the platform from which she chose to communicate and entertain.

While I doubt that she’s very concerned with it, her legacy as a broadcaster and leader in this community is secure forever. I hope you’ll join us this weekend in honoring that, and letting Rosalie do what she does best- entertain and enlighten you with world class music.

We appreciate you, Rosalie. We love you.

KFOG

[RGMike]

Acoustic Sunrise is ending.  This time presumably for good. From their newsletter:

Interesting that it's signed "KFOG" rather than "Mat Bates" -- has he been shown the door too?

[radical347]

Acoustic Sunrise is ending.  This time presumably for good. From their newsletter:

Interesting that it's signed "KFOG" rather than "Mat Bates" -- has he been shown the door too?

There have been rumors (since he seemed to be steering it back towards the 'old KFOG' for awhile) but I haven't found anything to corroborate them. The writing style does match that of Mat Bates though.

[RGMike]

Listening to Rosalie's last "Acoustic Sunrise" and she was doing shout-outs to all her old KFOG colleagues. She mentioned Dave Morey's  pirate radio station in... Palm Springs?? Did he move?

[RGMike]

KFOG's playing Childish Gambino? Is that considered "alternative"? Is Live -- er, I mean "Alt 105.3" playing him too?