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

Steve West and 91X part company

Longtime alt-rock radio personality and Resurrection Sunday host on his departure

Steve West sitting before the banner of the brand he helped build
Steve West sitting before the banner of the brand he helped build

With posts decrying “an end of an era,” and lamenting “there goes our music,” social media was reacting to veteran DJ Steve West’s surprise separation Wednesday from 91X.

West joined 91X a month after 91X flipped to a “cutting edge of rock” format in January of 1983. Except for a few lapses, the British expatriate was with the station for 28 of its past 31 years as an alt-rock station. West came to San Diego from a station in Orange County in 1982 and before that was a DJ in his native England.

Since launching the “Resurrection Sunday” show in 1989, West has served as San Diego’s pied piper for the heritage artists who defined 91X during the ’80s and mid-’90s, when it dominated the local ratings and changed local music tastes. Within three months of flipping over to the “new wave” of modern rock cuts by the B-52s, the Cure, and Oingo Boingo, 91X was the top-rated station, blowing past KGB’s Ted Nugent and REO Speedwagon playlist. The success of 91X triggered other rock stations across the country to switch to alternative.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I just DJ’d a high school reunion show last week,” says West. “One of the guys there said he was working at a Carl’s Jr. and they were all huddled around the radio when 91X flipped. We were the music station in town. I think [the 91X format flip] was one of the biggest days in San Diego broadcast history.”

West’s “Resurrection Sunday” morning show brought back deep cuts by the Misfits, Hoodoo Gurus, X, Sugarcubes, and Depeche Mode, artists that 91X was originally known for playing but which are otherwise ignored on local terrestrial radio today.

West’s only comment: “I wish 91X well.”

The separation is noteworthy, considering how well “Resurrection Sunday” performed in the ratings. Insiders say that the show was regularly the top-rated music show during its time slot and was often in the top three among all local stations in the targeted age groups during Sunday morning.

In addition to his Sunday show, West also worked part-time as a fill-in 91X DJ.

Will West get back on the airwaves? “All I can say is stay tuned,” he says. “There will an announcement shortly.”

91X is still home to some of its other heritage DJs. Oz Medina joined the station in 1985 and Mike Halloran and Robin Roth came on board in 1986. While L.A.’s KROQ aired the modern-rock/alternative-rock format a few years earlier than 91X, none of KROQ’s trailblazing on-air talents (Jed the Fish, Freddie Snakeskin, the Poorman) remain on the L.A. airwaves.

As of this morning there were 183 members of a “Boycott 91X” Facebook page that was created in the wake of West’s departure.

91X program director Christy Taylor did not respond to questions about West’s departure.

The latest copy of the Reader

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

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Steve West sitting before the banner of the brand he helped build
Steve West sitting before the banner of the brand he helped build

With posts decrying “an end of an era,” and lamenting “there goes our music,” social media was reacting to veteran DJ Steve West’s surprise separation Wednesday from 91X.

West joined 91X a month after 91X flipped to a “cutting edge of rock” format in January of 1983. Except for a few lapses, the British expatriate was with the station for 28 of its past 31 years as an alt-rock station. West came to San Diego from a station in Orange County in 1982 and before that was a DJ in his native England.

Since launching the “Resurrection Sunday” show in 1989, West has served as San Diego’s pied piper for the heritage artists who defined 91X during the ’80s and mid-’90s, when it dominated the local ratings and changed local music tastes. Within three months of flipping over to the “new wave” of modern rock cuts by the B-52s, the Cure, and Oingo Boingo, 91X was the top-rated station, blowing past KGB’s Ted Nugent and REO Speedwagon playlist. The success of 91X triggered other rock stations across the country to switch to alternative.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I just DJ’d a high school reunion show last week,” says West. “One of the guys there said he was working at a Carl’s Jr. and they were all huddled around the radio when 91X flipped. We were the music station in town. I think [the 91X format flip] was one of the biggest days in San Diego broadcast history.”

West’s “Resurrection Sunday” morning show brought back deep cuts by the Misfits, Hoodoo Gurus, X, Sugarcubes, and Depeche Mode, artists that 91X was originally known for playing but which are otherwise ignored on local terrestrial radio today.

West’s only comment: “I wish 91X well.”

The separation is noteworthy, considering how well “Resurrection Sunday” performed in the ratings. Insiders say that the show was regularly the top-rated music show during its time slot and was often in the top three among all local stations in the targeted age groups during Sunday morning.

In addition to his Sunday show, West also worked part-time as a fill-in 91X DJ.

Will West get back on the airwaves? “All I can say is stay tuned,” he says. “There will an announcement shortly.”

91X is still home to some of its other heritage DJs. Oz Medina joined the station in 1985 and Mike Halloran and Robin Roth came on board in 1986. While L.A.’s KROQ aired the modern-rock/alternative-rock format a few years earlier than 91X, none of KROQ’s trailblazing on-air talents (Jed the Fish, Freddie Snakeskin, the Poorman) remain on the L.A. airwaves.

As of this morning there were 183 members of a “Boycott 91X” Facebook page that was created in the wake of West’s departure.

91X program director Christy Taylor did not respond to questions about West’s departure.

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

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Next Article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
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