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KWOD (defunct)
Encyclopedia
KWOD was a commercial radio station
in Sacramento, California
, primarily known for playing alternative music before it was mainstream. The Entercom
-owned outlet changed formats (and call letters) on May 22, 2009, to a "90s hits" format as KBZC.
format, commonly identified as "instrumental elevator music."
format in favor of an adult contemporary/jazz
music hybrid with a change of call letters to their final incarnation, KWOD, which was named after quadrophonic sound, as the station was one of the first to experiment with the technology that never caught on.
hybrid music format in favor of a Top 40 music format.
By 1985, KWOD was the second rated station in the 12+ age demographic under the programming of PD Tom Chase and MD Mr. Ed Lambert behind cross-town KSFM
. The popular morning show of this period was "The Masters & Johnson Morning Radio Clinic" featuring Doug Masters and Marty Johnson. Other jocks throughout the Chase era included Dave Diamond, Dean Stevens, Dave Skyler, Greg Lane, Melanie Evans, John Edwards, Panama Jack, Rick Foster, Russ Martin and Alex Cosper. Chase left in late 1987 to program competitor KROY and Mr. Ed followed to become KROY's MD in early 1988.
In 1988, the morning show became "Sterling and Steele in The Morning" featuring PD Jeff Hunter (Terry Steele) and Charlie Simons (Tom Sterling) following the resignation of Marty Johnson, as Doug Masters moved to middays. The rest of the full-time line-up of this period included "Jammin'
" John Edwards and Panama Jack in afternoons, Pat Garrett "The Night Hawk" in evenings and Alex Cosper in late nights. Other jocks included "Wild" Bill Shakespeare, Vince Simon, Rick Neal and Rick Foster. Rex McNeill did weekend overnights and was responsible for cleaning the KWOD Power van after late night station parties. Sterling and Steele left in 1989 to do mornings in San Jose and were replaced by a temporary irreverent show that failed called the Renegades.
and KROY. Even after KROY changed to The Eagle as a classic rock station, the ratings remained dismal leading to a change of format in 1991 to a Top 40/modern rock
music hybrid which evolved into a modern rock
music format.
After Cagle's departure in 1993, programming decisions went to Alex Cosper, who shifted the format to full-time Alternative without the top 40 music. This change of format proved to be a success as noted by a ratings surge. The line-up included the morning team of Shawn Cash and Jeff Jensen followed by Cosper in mid-days, Brad Adams in afternoons and Nick Monroe in evenings. Later in 1993, Monroe moved to afternoons and Joe Gomez moved to nights. Shortly after the move to their new headquarters in downtown Sacramento, part-time DJ Giles Hendriksen from the U.K. became the full time afternoon host with Joe Gomez staying in the evening slot. Joe Gomez was in the 7-midnight slot until his departure in 1994. Jamie Gates took over the evening slot as well as programming both the "punk" and "industrial" music shows. Jamie stayed on until 1997 when new management took over. By this time, Ally Storm had already departed to work at Live 105 in San Francisco. The station reached its ratings peak as an alternative station in the summer of 1995 with a 5.2 (12+) share, making it one of the highest rated alternative stations in America at the time (as documented in the 12/9/95 issue of Billboard). It also beat all four other rock stations in the market. Cosper left the station in 1996 and later did radio in Milwaukee and San Francisco. Cosper later wrote a book about his experience called, "The Rise of Alternative Radio."
Ron Bunce assumed control of KWOD's programming in 1997, and took the station to an edgier harder rock direction, which peaked at 4.5 (12+) in the Arbitron ratings.
In 2003, after a protracted seven-year court battle wherein violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO) were alleged, Entercom acquired KWOD from Royce International Broadcasting. Entercom left KWOD's Modern Rock/Alernative format intact until two years later.
In Spring 2005, the Royce-era KWOD played its final song ("Nice to Know You
" by Incubus
) then started a two week long transition to a Modern AC/Light Alternative format with an auditory progress indicator between songs. Artists such as John Mayer
and Tracy Chapman
were added as harder rock bands like Korn
and Deftones
were dropped. The station re-branded itself "KWOD 2.0", and released the entire on-air staff. The station later shifted back toward its original approach, but the heritage KWOD on-air staff (Boomer & The Dave, Andy Sims, Nick Monroe, and Capone) did not return. Under Entercom's management, KWOD's overall 12+ ratings dropped under a 3 share throughout 2005 and 2006. In the Winter of 2007, KWOD's 12+ ratings fell below a 2 share.
In early 2006, KWOD picked up the syndicated Adam Carolla
Show for the morning drive, and began to feature projects and shows devised by the disc jockeys, including the returning David X and Andy Sims. KWOD also started to feature a strong program of music including a focus on modern punk
and indie music complemented by a "Never More Than 2 Minutes of Commercials" campaign.
In June 2008, Andy Sims' "Ask the Intern" segment marked the introduction of Laith the Intern to the station.
In February 2009, following the cancellation of the syndicated Adam Carolla Show, the morning drive time slot transitioned into playing music DJed by Andy Hawk.
At approximately 9 a.m. on May 22, 2009, the station became "106.5 The Buzz - Totally 90s", playing music exclusively from the 1990s, and using the call letters KBZC. The format change left Sacramento without a modern rock/alternative format station until March 3, 2010 when KSSJ 94.7 Smooth Jazz was shut down and became KKDO Radio 94/7, a gold-based Alternative rock
station.
The final song played by KWOD was "Short Skirt/Long Jacket
" by Sacramento's very own Cake
. The first song of the new "The Buzz" format was "Summertime" by Will Smith
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, primarily known for playing alternative music before it was mainstream. The Entercom
Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States....
-owned outlet changed formats (and call letters) on May 22, 2009, to a "90s hits" format as KBZC.
Origin
The 106.5 frequency in Sacramento signed on in 1957 with the call letters, KJML, which adopted a number of format changes before settling with the beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format, commonly identified as "instrumental elevator music."
1970s, Royce Broadcasting, AC/jazz format
Royce International Broadcasting headed by Edward R. Stolz II acquired the station in 1977 dropping the beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format in favor of an adult contemporary/jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music hybrid with a change of call letters to their final incarnation, KWOD, which was named after quadrophonic sound, as the station was one of the first to experiment with the technology that never caught on.
1980s, Top 40 format
In the late 1970s, Royce Broadcasting decided to drop the adult contemporary/jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
hybrid music format in favor of a Top 40 music format.
By 1985, KWOD was the second rated station in the 12+ age demographic under the programming of PD Tom Chase and MD Mr. Ed Lambert behind cross-town KSFM
KSFM
KSFM is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hits formatted radio station serving the Sacramento, California, USA, area. Its city of license and transmitter are located in Woodland but their studios are based in Sacramento...
. The popular morning show of this period was "The Masters & Johnson Morning Radio Clinic" featuring Doug Masters and Marty Johnson. Other jocks throughout the Chase era included Dave Diamond, Dean Stevens, Dave Skyler, Greg Lane, Melanie Evans, John Edwards, Panama Jack, Rick Foster, Russ Martin and Alex Cosper. Chase left in late 1987 to program competitor KROY and Mr. Ed followed to become KROY's MD in early 1988.
In 1988, the morning show became "Sterling and Steele in The Morning" featuring PD Jeff Hunter (Terry Steele) and Charlie Simons (Tom Sterling) following the resignation of Marty Johnson, as Doug Masters moved to middays. The rest of the full-time line-up of this period included "Jammin'
Jammin'
Jammin' is a musical comedy show on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. It is presented by Rowland Rivron, who also plays drums. In addition to Rowland, there are two regulars in the band, and two guests - usually one comedian and one musician. The two regulars are usually Dave Catlin-Birch and...
" John Edwards and Panama Jack in afternoons, Pat Garrett "The Night Hawk" in evenings and Alex Cosper in late nights. Other jocks included "Wild" Bill Shakespeare, Vince Simon, Rick Neal and Rick Foster. Rex McNeill did weekend overnights and was responsible for cleaning the KWOD Power van after late night station parties. Sterling and Steele left in 1989 to do mornings in San Jose and were replaced by a temporary irreverent show that failed called the Renegades.
1990s, Modern rock format
Gerry Cagle arrived in late 1989 to oversee programming as Operations Manager. Ratings fell sharply beginning in 1988 (as documented in the Sacramento Bee) as KWOD fell into third place in a three way battle with cross-town competitors KSFMKSFM
KSFM is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hits formatted radio station serving the Sacramento, California, USA, area. Its city of license and transmitter are located in Woodland but their studios are based in Sacramento...
and KROY. Even after KROY changed to The Eagle as a classic rock station, the ratings remained dismal leading to a change of format in 1991 to a Top 40/modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
music hybrid which evolved into a modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
music format.
After Cagle's departure in 1993, programming decisions went to Alex Cosper, who shifted the format to full-time Alternative without the top 40 music. This change of format proved to be a success as noted by a ratings surge. The line-up included the morning team of Shawn Cash and Jeff Jensen followed by Cosper in mid-days, Brad Adams in afternoons and Nick Monroe in evenings. Later in 1993, Monroe moved to afternoons and Joe Gomez moved to nights. Shortly after the move to their new headquarters in downtown Sacramento, part-time DJ Giles Hendriksen from the U.K. became the full time afternoon host with Joe Gomez staying in the evening slot. Joe Gomez was in the 7-midnight slot until his departure in 1994. Jamie Gates took over the evening slot as well as programming both the "punk" and "industrial" music shows. Jamie stayed on until 1997 when new management took over. By this time, Ally Storm had already departed to work at Live 105 in San Francisco. The station reached its ratings peak as an alternative station in the summer of 1995 with a 5.2 (12+) share, making it one of the highest rated alternative stations in America at the time (as documented in the 12/9/95 issue of Billboard). It also beat all four other rock stations in the market. Cosper left the station in 1996 and later did radio in Milwaukee and San Francisco. Cosper later wrote a book about his experience called, "The Rise of Alternative Radio."
Ron Bunce assumed control of KWOD's programming in 1997, and took the station to an edgier harder rock direction, which peaked at 4.5 (12+) in the Arbitron ratings.
2000s, Entercom purchase, modern AC format
Throughout the 2000s KWOD stayed below a 4 share 12+, but was competitive with rock station KRXQ. Over time, there was a lot of staff turnover. Morning personalities Shawn & Jeff left for KZZO in 2001 and were succeeded by Boomer and the Dave. Comedian Kelly Pryce eventually replaced Dave after KWOD's eventual sale to Entercom and the show later featured DJ Mervin and Ian Gary. Andy Sims also came on board in 2001 for middays, replacing Derek Moore, who later went on to 96.9 The Eagle.In 2003, after a protracted seven-year court battle wherein violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) were alleged, Entercom acquired KWOD from Royce International Broadcasting. Entercom left KWOD's Modern Rock/Alernative format intact until two years later.
In Spring 2005, the Royce-era KWOD played its final song ("Nice to Know You
Nice to Know You
"Nice to Know You" is the first track and second single by Incubus from the album Morning View. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock Charts.-Music video:...
" by Incubus
Incubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
) then started a two week long transition to a Modern AC/Light Alternative format with an auditory progress indicator between songs. Artists such as John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
were added as harder rock bands like Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
and Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
were dropped. The station re-branded itself "KWOD 2.0", and released the entire on-air staff. The station later shifted back toward its original approach, but the heritage KWOD on-air staff (Boomer & The Dave, Andy Sims, Nick Monroe, and Capone) did not return. Under Entercom's management, KWOD's overall 12+ ratings dropped under a 3 share throughout 2005 and 2006. In the Winter of 2007, KWOD's 12+ ratings fell below a 2 share.
In early 2006, KWOD picked up the syndicated Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
Show for the morning drive, and began to feature projects and shows devised by the disc jockeys, including the returning David X and Andy Sims. KWOD also started to feature a strong program of music including a focus on modern punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and indie music complemented by a "Never More Than 2 Minutes of Commercials" campaign.
In June 2008, Andy Sims' "Ask the Intern" segment marked the introduction of Laith the Intern to the station.
In February 2009, following the cancellation of the syndicated Adam Carolla Show, the morning drive time slot transitioned into playing music DJed by Andy Hawk.
Closure
In May 2009, Program Director Curtiss Johnson posted a notice on KWOD's homepage announcing that the station would be shutting down. Citing economic difficulties as the primary reason for the shutdown, Johnson assured that the decision was local and not made by the owner corporation Entercom. At the time of the closure, the on-air staff consisted of Andy Hawk, Andy Sims, Rubin, Mike D "Dezego", and Laith the Intern.At approximately 9 a.m. on May 22, 2009, the station became "106.5 The Buzz - Totally 90s", playing music exclusively from the 1990s, and using the call letters KBZC. The format change left Sacramento without a modern rock/alternative format station until March 3, 2010 when KSSJ 94.7 Smooth Jazz was shut down and became KKDO Radio 94/7, a gold-based Alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station.
The final song played by KWOD was "Short Skirt/Long Jacket
Short Skirt/Long Jacket
"Short Skirt/Long Jacket" is the first single by American alternative rock band Cake from their 2001 album Comfort Eagle.-Music video:The associated music vox pop video is composed entirely of people listening to the song on headphones and their reactions...
" by Sacramento's very own Cake
Cake (band)
Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and...
. The first song of the new "The Buzz" format was "Summertime" by Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
.
Awards and honors
- In 1993 and 2006 KWOD was named Station of the Year by Sac News & Review. It was also named Station of the Year in 1992 by the Sacramento Bee.