There’s new programming coming to KFMB-FM 100.7 -- also known as Jack FM or, during the holidays, Jack Frost -- which can only be a good thing. As of Saturday, Dec. 26, the radio station traded in its catalog of relentless Christmas music (thank Kris Kringle), which dominated December’s programming and replaced the station’s usual supply of teen-skewed pop a la T. Swift and the Beibs. In its place: Well, we’re not sure yet.
And we won't until Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. Dave Rickards, anchor for the the “Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw” morning show, announced in a pre-recorded statement on Dec. 26 that they’d be having some fun between the Christmas-music tyranny and then, basing programming off of what's been dubbed the "Wheel of Musical Formats." Each day around 10 a.m., Rickards spins the music wheel, “and whatever it lands on, that’s what we’re gonna play, and we’re gonna play it all day long,” he says before the day’s tunes are revealed.
Saturday’s all-day set of AC/DC was followed by Sunday’s Bob Marley, and Monday, Dec. 28, is all ’80s all the time.
The looming Jan. 4 shift is one that’s been hinted at for some time. It was revealed earlier in December that Garett Michaels, an FM 94.9 veteran, would be taking over as the station’s new program director. Michaels spent a decade with FM 94.9 from 2002 to 2012, and now he’s bringing his touch to Jack -- or whatever the its moniker will be come the New Year.
The radio station has a long history, with high ratings particularly in the 1970s and ’80s when it was known as B-100. The current Jack FM format of modern super-pop developed just in the last few years, though when the station switched from Star 100.7 to Jack in 2005, there was no live DJ between the ’70s and ’80s tracks that dominated airtime.
There’s some speculation as to what the station’s rebranding will look and sound like. An educated guess might suggest that 100.7 will cater more toward the 25-54 age bracket that the “DSC” show draws, but without setting itself up to compete with sister radio station 91x by taking on the AAA format that KPRi abandoned when sold a few months back [read SoundDiego's report on the sale].
Whatever it sounds like, here’s hoping that what rises from the Jack FM ashes will not only have some staying power but also be worth listening to.
Hannah Lott-Schwartz, a San Diego native, moved back to the area after working the magazine-publishing scene in Boston. Now she’s straight trolling SD for all the music she missed while away. Want to help? Hit her up with just about anything at all over on Twitter, where -- though not always work-appropriate -- she means well.
