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04/08/2008: "Introducing ... Bruce Radio?"

One of the lesser known facts about your humble host is that I was a frustrated radio DJ in my earlier days. I spent two years on the air on a college station and did an internship with a rock and roll station in the Inland Empire ("96-7 K-CAL FM ... Redlands ... Riverside ... Saaaan Bernadino ... "). In fact, were it not for the depressing stories told by the KCAL jocks of the gypsy lifestyle, I might have gone that route. Although I chose a different path, my love for radio and the people who make the magic remains.

One of the most exciting events in radio is the flipping of the format at a station. I've watched changes that worked when they shouldn't have (94.7 The Wave), and others that should have worked when they didn't (100.3 Pirate Radio). Ironically, the same frequency that once housed the Pirate Mothership is flipping again as we speak. What was yesterday 100.3 The Beat, an urban R&B format, is today Bruce Radio - all Bruce Springsteen, all the time.

Now, I'm as big a Boss fan as the next guy - maybe more than most. If you were going to base a station on a single artist, Springsteen is a pretty good choice. The Beatles and Rolling Stones have larger catalogs, but both long ago stopped being relevant. Springsteen has been a rock icon since 1975, but continues to ride popular and critical success, and is currently touring in support of his platimun album "Magic" - I assume the timing of the flip is meant to coincide with Springsteen's appearances at the Honda Center in the OC this week. But even I wonder if this can work. You see dedicated stations on satellite radio - hell, even Oprah has one - but they're one of a hundred choices all supported by subscription fees. Can standard commercial advertising support such a narrow format?

The format flipped at midnight, and I listened in as I drove to work this morning. Like most changes, they're starting out with a period of jock-free format that transitions to the new format. It's all Springsteen songs (caught "Born To Run", "She's The One" and "Tunnel of Love" during the drive), intersperced with snippets of TV theme music - I heard the themes from Seinfeld, Law and Order and ... The Price is Right? Not sure what exactly that means. There was at least one non-Bruce song, a old-school bluesy rocker that I couldn't identify. I also heard them cut off a song mid-chorus to do the 7AM station ID - not sure if that was deliberate or accidental. In the world of modern radio, I guess you just don't know ...

We'll watch the progress and report back. Should be interesting to see if a new format can survive in the difficult world of modern radio.

UPDATE: Turns out it was all a stunt. At 10AM (5 minutes ago), they rolled out the real station - 100.3, The Sound - World Class Rock for Southern California. By their own definition, "On The Sound you'll hear everything from the geniuses that gave birth to the seminal rock of the '60s and '70s to the ever evolving offspring of that music, including great stuff that came out last year...or even last week."

Whew ... that sounds a lot more appealing that all-Bruce, all the time ...