A figure from a bolder era of KROQ is coming back
In a case of going back to the future, or perhaps simply going full circle, KROQ (106.7 FM) and owner Audacy have announced the return of Kevin Weatherly as the programmer of the once-mighty station.
I hate to use the word “alternative” to describe KROQ because that’s not what KROQ was all about during most of its successful life … at least not in the traditional sense of the word. When KROQ was the trendsetting station, breaking new bands and new music in the days of DJs Rodney Bingenheimer, Jed the Fish, Freddy Snakeskin, Richard Blade, Poorman, Swedish Egil, Ramondo, etc., the songs heard on KROQ tended to appear there first, and later on KIQQ (now KKLQ 100.3 FM) — though KIQQ broke numerous songs and bands itself. Then was followed by other stations such as KIIS-FM (102.7), KKHR (now Jack FM, KCBS 93.1), and even KRTH (101.1 FM), KMET (now The Wave KTWV 94.7 FM) and KLOS (95.5 FM).
It should also be pointed out that KNAC (now KBUE 105.5 FM), during the Rock ’n Rhythm days, played much of the same music with a similar attitude, but the limited signal out of Long Beach was KNAC’s downfall.
The Plimsouls, The Bangles, Oingo Bingo, The Blasters, Berlin, Wall of Voodoo, The Go-Go’s, Billy Idol, R.E.M., A Flock of Seagulls, Human League, Peter Gabriel, X, Stray Cats, INXS, The B-52’s, Adam Ant, Psychedelic Furs, Prince, Rick James … almost every ’80s band that you hear on flashback weekends — or now
Jack FM — appeared first on KROQ. KROQ was the place for the hippest kids to find new music, and it was the soundtrack for so many of the era.
Which is why I was listening to other stations. I was never a trendsetter. But I digress.
Intermixed with the new music, be it new wave, British pop or hard rock, was some traditional flavoring from The Rolling Stones, Cheap Trick
or even Led Zeppelin. DJs on KROQ were funny, relatable, irreverent, sarcastic and, importantly, your friends. They curated the music, and especially in the case of Bingenheimer and his “Rodney on the Roq” Sunday evening show, they visited clubs, recording studios and any other place they could think of to find new bands and new music.
Original programmer Rick Carroll didn’t design KROQ to be a station to hear alternative music. He wanted it to be an alternative to other stations — a station where you heard a song or act first. By the time you heard it elsewhere, KROQ had already moved on.
But something changed along the way. The music got more predictable. More formatted. More limited in scope, such that the few new songs and new sounds got lost in the constant repetition of songs from bands that tended to all sound exactly like each other.
I blame modern corporate ownership, in which executives are so afraid of taking chances, they choke the life out of such formats.
As time went on, ratings dropped. Stature dropped. The once mighty trendsetter became a has-been, almost embarrassing to its history. So it wasn’t surprising two years ago when Weatherly left KROQ to join online service Spotify as head of North America programming. He could once again be free to innovate.
What is surprising is his decision to return. Nothing appears to have changed at KROQ. One radio observer I talked to speculated that it probably had to do with giving him a better title and a larger paycheck.
Let me be clear: I hope he succeeds. If Weatherly is given the freedom to do what he wants, and he isn’t too old to remember that not everyone wants to live in the past and on past glories, KROQ could be in for something big.
His new title is senior vice president of programming. In that capacity, he will not only oversee the programming — including content, talent operations and even the branding at KROQ — he’ll also advise the Audacy alternative stations throughout the country. No word yet on if he will be given a budget to hire DJs for each station, or if he will be stuck with the current policy to have a handful of DJs, all aiming to sound local, but spinning the tunes for stations nationally and regionally.
“KROQ is one of the most recognizable and iconic brands in all of radio,” Weatherly said in a news release. “I’ve had the privilege of spending the majority of my career programming KROQ and I’m energized and ready for the next chapter. We have a lot of work ahead of us to return KROQ to its rightful position in the hearts and minds of longtime listeners and partners, and I can’t wait to get started.”
My message to Audacy management: Leave. Weatherly. Alone. Let him do his job. Give him the financial backing to do it — invest in your stations and talent for a change. Weatherly — who officially starts June 6 — is talented enough to get the job done … when he is allowed to do his job.
My message to Weatherly: Keep an open mind to new music. Start exposing new bands. Bring KROQ back to greatness. Los Angeles long ago lost the image of being a place to find new music … you have the ability to singlehandedly change that, and in doing so save not just KROQ.
I’ve reached out to Weatherly and will hope to interview him in the very near future. At press time, I was unable to connect.