Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

When Country Folk Up 'n Quit

In an August 31 article titled "Given the Boot: Country Music Is Out in L.A.," the U-T pointed out that L.A./Orange County lost its only country radio station and considered whether one of San Diego's two country stations may follow suit.

According to Arbitron, KSON (simulcast on 97.3 and 92.1 FM) is the second-most-listened-to station in San Diego; KUSS (95.7 FM), meanwhile, is ranked 17th.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In June, while on the air, KUSS morning DJs Tony Randall and Kris Rochester suggested that maybe their station would be dropping the country-music format. Randall read a listener's letter in support of the Tony and Kris show. Rochester responded: "We get those letters all the time, but yet we're still getting our ass kicked by everybody in town.... We're going to be out of business soon, and just so you know, you heard it here first."

Randall and Rochester did the morning show on KSON for 11 years before being wooed to Clear Channel--owned KUSS in January 2004; insiders say the five-year contract guaranteed the duo $2.5 million each.

"Our old home [KSON] spends $2 million a year on [contests to attract listeners]," continued Rochester. "So if you punch back and forth, you're gonna put us out of business and you've got [KSON]. So I hope you really enjoy that show...."

"I'm a little ticked off," Randall responded.

"Well, I'm not ticked off," says Rochester. "I would rather just quit and get my next two and a half years paid out and be done."

Randall then took a dig at the three-person Cliff and Company morning show that replaced them on KSON.

"If I'm being beaten by that show, man, I don't deserve to be in the business."

Last week, Cliff and Company was nominated for the "Major Market Radio Personalities of the Year" award by the Country Music Association.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest

In an August 31 article titled "Given the Boot: Country Music Is Out in L.A.," the U-T pointed out that L.A./Orange County lost its only country radio station and considered whether one of San Diego's two country stations may follow suit.

According to Arbitron, KSON (simulcast on 97.3 and 92.1 FM) is the second-most-listened-to station in San Diego; KUSS (95.7 FM), meanwhile, is ranked 17th.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In June, while on the air, KUSS morning DJs Tony Randall and Kris Rochester suggested that maybe their station would be dropping the country-music format. Randall read a listener's letter in support of the Tony and Kris show. Rochester responded: "We get those letters all the time, but yet we're still getting our ass kicked by everybody in town.... We're going to be out of business soon, and just so you know, you heard it here first."

Randall and Rochester did the morning show on KSON for 11 years before being wooed to Clear Channel--owned KUSS in January 2004; insiders say the five-year contract guaranteed the duo $2.5 million each.

"Our old home [KSON] spends $2 million a year on [contests to attract listeners]," continued Rochester. "So if you punch back and forth, you're gonna put us out of business and you've got [KSON]. So I hope you really enjoy that show...."

"I'm a little ticked off," Randall responded.

"Well, I'm not ticked off," says Rochester. "I would rather just quit and get my next two and a half years paid out and be done."

Randall then took a dig at the three-person Cliff and Company morning show that replaced them on KSON.

"If I'm being beaten by that show, man, I don't deserve to be in the business."

Last week, Cliff and Company was nominated for the "Major Market Radio Personalities of the Year" award by the Country Music Association.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Next Article

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader