105.3 The Mix is no more....

[TattooedPriest]

Apparently during the lunch hour, they left 105.3 on air but not playing any music at all. So sometime in the afternoon, 105.3 "The Mix" became "Jacksonville's Real Country - Real Country 105.3".

In the 45 minute drive home tonight I heard the following:

"You've Got The Touch" - Alabama
"It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" - Janie Fricke
"Rocky Mountain High" - John Denver
"All These Things" - Joe Stampley
"Let's Fall To Pieces Together" - George Strait
"I Couldn't Be Me Without You" - Johnny Rodriguez
"Untold Stories" - Kathy Mattea
"Grandpa Told Me So" - Kenny Chesney
"Touch Me When We're Dancing" - Alabama
"Crazy From The Heart" - The Bellamy Brothers
"Fallin' Out Of Love" - Reba McEntire
"You Make Me Want to Make You Mine" - Juice Newton
"This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me" - Conway Twitty
"There's No Way" - Alabama

As for Chris in the afternoon shift, I can't say if he kept his job there, as I wasn't listening at the time.

 

[yunglee981]

looks like they have brought classic country back to Jacksonville...

 

[Whiplash]

They did. Just announced that Boomer will return to Jacksonville mornings. Their running the Cumulus Real Country format the rest of the dayparts. But it was a hole in the market, after Renda Broadcasting flipped 100.7.

 

[TattooedPriest]

Here is a news article from the Jacksonville Times-Union:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/...adcasting-hits-few-details-jacksonville-radio

Chris, unfortunately lost his job.

 

[TattooedPriest]

In addition to Boomer returning in the mornings....

A.J. Young has been tapped to work the midday shift from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while a newcomer named Terry [?] comes to Real Country 105.3 from XM/Sirius and will work the afternoon shift 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. I heard this early this morning while listening to Boomer.

 

[TattooedPriest]

A.J. Young has been tapped to work the midday shift from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while a newcomer named Terry [?] comes to Real Country 105.3 from XM/Sirius and will work the afternoon shift 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. I heard this early this morning while listening to Boomer.

I must've not had enough coffee as I got the last names wrong... It's A.J. Davis returning to the local airwaves here in Jacksonville, and newcomer Terry Young.

 

[Whiplash]

That's Terry Young of Hot Hits WCAU fame, as well as XM Sirius. Wonder if he's slowed down the pace in the last 20 years?

 

[John FL]

I was on a cruise last week internet-free which is a great escape so I have some catching up to do on the boards. First off, it’s great seeing Boomer and A.J. Davis with a gig once again. I wish them the best of luck because they have earned it. If FB is any indication of listener interest, they are off to a very good start as they are approaching 2000 likes in relatively short time.

Still, I believe there could be more to all of this. There was the Christmas stunting in July and early August. Then there was the flip to Adult Hits in August. An afternoon talent was “hired” and a poster reported that additional talent would follow. One could assume they were going to make a go of it.

105.3 The Mix lasted only two months. There is a flip to Classic Country and in practically no time, the talent lineup is announced. I’m thinking this was in the works for some time and The Mix was just an interim format because doing Christmas for 3 months would have been suicide. If I’m wrong then it shows the format Du Jour MO remains alive and well @105.3. If I'm right, it's a crappy thing to do to listeners who perhaps enjoyed The Mix and believed they had a station they could call their own. Similarly, what Cox did bringing The Dove to market bringing a smile to some of us only to see it all taken away so fast is just totally insensitive and a slap in the face to listeners.

Via social media, not everyone is on board with the change. For those who love classic country, their response has been pretty much “listen to something else.” OK, and what would that be? With this move, Jacksonville now has 4 country stations, 4 urban stations, 4.5 rock stations if you include Jack FM, 2 CHRs and a lame AC. At least there is sports and news but my radio is mostly in the off position and that is the God’s Honest Truth.

As a side note, I was at Port Canaveral early Sunday morning. I caught the last half hour of Casey Kasem’s AT40 countdown on WOCL (Sunny 105.9) from 1973. As enjoyable as that was (we don't have that in Jax), what followed was absolutely the definition of what great radio is all about. With the return to Standard Time, Sunny 105.9 decided to add that extra hour @9AM giving host Domino the opportunity to take requests and it was commercial-free to boot. It was a phenomenal hour. Other stations probably just add the extra hour overnight. The music was loaded with variety and the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were all represented. Domino was not in your face but rather he just nailed it with a perfect balance. I wish I could have recorded it as it was that great.

There is this rest stop on 1-95 in very northern St. John’s County where we made a pit stop. As is usually the case, Sunny 105.9 breaks up right there close to the Duval County line. I don’t think any of you can appreciate the frustration I get when this radio junkie literally loses something enjoyable facing the reality that nothing comparable exists in Jacksonville. No Greatest Hits station in a market as large and diverse as Northeast Florida. I know I speak for many. One day I hope we can finally have station we can call our own where we can say “if you don’t like it, listen to something else.” Still, I'm happy for A.J. and Boomer but there are still many adult listeners who just settle. My Lord, we don't even have a translator station - nothing - it's very sad!