WELP, 105.7 The Peak bit the dust. Again. The station I held in my heart of hearts as a youth, and was recently teased by with its return to the market, has passed along once more (with no Peakfests this time around either—hrmph!). As of May 18 at 12:00 p.m., the Peak is now, well—hang on, I can feel a collective eyeroll coming and I want to curtail it…—the New NOW 105-7, Spokane’s Hit Music Channel. Stick with me…
NOW 105-7 offers Hit Music, DJs and Ryan Seacrest (Weekdays, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.—don‘t even pretend you don’t love Ryan. Ryan’s gold.). I’m listening now and the last hour has included Rihanna, Ke$ha, Jay Sean, Jay-Z, Jason Derulo, Cobra Starship, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, etc.
Operations Manager Mike Skot answered questions via e-mail during the tail-end of a busy transition to the new format. To this occasional-Spokanite’s most pressing question, Skot offered this: “The Peak was loved by many people, however we heard over and over that a Hit Music station was desired more by the listeners in Spokane. We feel it is our responsibility to give our local community what it needs and wants.” Okay, okay, enough pining for my (our??) childhood, I know.
“Since Now 105-7 appeals to the younger crowd, we’re focusing heavily on the web and social media. We have a new website at now1057.com, we’re streaming our signal on the internet, and we’re on Facebook,” Skot said. “We’ll also be spending a lot of time out on the streets of Spokane and in the clubs. Our hope is to provide a place for locals to hear their favorite songs, keep up with local information, laugh a little from funny DJs, and relieve some stress.”
Local radio shake-ups make the world go ‘round, Spokane, but it’d sure to be nice to find some things that fit solid and leave ‘em be for awhile. I’ve always had high hopes for The River. In many ways I’d say they’ve picked up that ORIGINAL Peak vibe of what’s current and “cool” (can I even say that?), BUT if I’m being honest, MY ideal hip and trendy radio station wouldn’t still be pumping out Dave Matthews Band and Alanis Morissette hits from the ‘90s (don’t hassle me, I just checked their last 10 songs!).
And what of ZZU which HAS been around forever in one form or another? Remember good ol’ 93 ZOO fm? We’d listen to the Breakfast Boys’ Dave Sposito do his Tom Brokaw impression and pick up bumper stickers at the fair every fall? Aww, here I go again…
Here’s the real question: what will NOW offer that ZZU hasn’t? More music, Skot says, and less A/C. And I’ll add: good old-fashioned healthy competition in a market large enough to handle the load, friends.
Now for something you probably won’t hear about on NOW… your leg of the Star Wars: In Concert tour on Saturday, June 19 at the Arena. This traveling performance features music from all SIX of John Williams’ Star Wars scores, is narrated by the actor who played C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), features an 83-piece orchestra, 30-piece choir, and film montages on a three-story tall screen. YOWZA. I think it sounds fun (maybe even dweeby-fun!). Tickets available at all TicketsWest outlets.
And one more transition! The Blvd is now the Seaside and they have a junk-load of great stuff happening this month, and surely in the months to come! Support, support!
Quickly, Crushing Rocks is now on Twitter! It’s tough bein’ a Spokane music columnist on the other side of the state, so let’s be in touch! If you’re a Spokane band, venue, artist, activist, promoter, reader, citiiiiizen, find me and let me know what you’re all about: www.twitter.com/crushingrocks.
