Ozomatli In The Morning

I somehow missed this yesterday: Los Angeles' multi-culti band Ozomatli has signed on to host a new morning show on KYSR-FM 98.7, the radio station formerly known as "Star 98.7."

The station has more recently adopted a harder rock edge, and now just refers to itself as "98.7." Bringing in Ozomatli definitely gives 98.7 a little more street cred -- something it's been lacking, given those ridiculous billboards and equally lame "Rock-a-holic" tagline.

From the station's announcement:

"Authenticity resonates with today's consumer," says Greg Ashlock, Market President, Clear Channel Los Angeles. "With Ozo, what you see is what you get. There are no pretenses, just genuine, raw opinions based on their experiences as Los Angeles natives and successful recording artists. Their music appeal is undisputed (they've won 3 Grammys), their social conscience is widely acknowledged they were recently named United States Cultural Ambassadors), and they are not new to this side of the radio biz (they have hosted a weekly local music program on Saturday nights on 98.7fm called "Ozo-Local" since January of this year)."

Michael Martin, VP Programming Clear Channel Los Angeles continued, "the idea to have 'Ozo' host mornings for 98.7 was really born out of a 'wouldn't it be cool if...' conversation. It just made complete sense. Based on the sound, flow and compelling local content of the Saturday night show, and the spirit Ozomatli has as a group, we knew we had something special there. They are not trying to be disc-jockeys. They are and relate to the 98.7 audience. Given their lifestyle, and perspective on community, music, pop-culture and politics, 98.7 listeners are in for one heck of a morning show."

Too bad 98.7's music mix is still uninspiring. And Clear Channel's insistence that 98.7 is "Southern California's most talked about Alternative Rock Radio Station" is just plain wrong.

But the idea of having the band host mornings is, I gotta admit, interesting. The new show starts Aug. 20; they replace Lisa Foxx, who had been handling morning drive.

In other radio news, 93.5 KDAY is moving further away from hip-hop and will transform into an urban contemporary station in the next few weeks. Change comes as the station strips its remaining local fare and goes completely syndicated, airing shows from Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams, Mo'Nique, Michael Baisden and Theo.