What happened to The Brew 97.3

[Nix]

It's now some top 40 shit like Kiss FM? Format change? Someone said they went bankrupt?

[pw_cc_runner]

It's now some top 40 shit like Kiss FM? Format change? Someone said they went bankrupt?

Im hoping its just a recording for the holiday weekend because that would be a shame.

[xxtremeteam]

I have been asking the same question the last two days, the web site noe says 97.3 radio now so Im thinking the brew is gone

[Nix]

Im hoping its just a recording for the holiday weekend because that would be a shame.

Im not sure about that. I just mentioned it to someone else and they said around 9am they were listning to connie and fish and when they came back from a commercial break it was all of a sudden top 40 garbage.

[Prince Valiant]

By Duane Dudek of the Journal Sentinel

May 28, 2010 |(8) Comments

Ok, first of all it's a holiday weekend people. I should be cleaning my barbecue grill and not checking out local radio drama. But here we go. First a recap on this week's local radio format changes.

* Thursday, Saga-owned WJZX-FM (106.9), the artist formerly known as Smooth Jazz, switched to a gag / stunt format called "Tiger Radio," playing songs about cheaters like Tiger Woods. It appeared to be a prelude to a format switch of some sort that was supposed to be revealed Friday at noon. Sports Illustrated, and some newspapers, ran stories on the gag.
* And then Friday, Clear Channel station WQBW-FM (97.3) switched from The Brew and its 80s rock format, to a high energy contemporary hits, aka Top 40, format that it calls "Now Music.
* All of which has listeners upset. Check out the comment section on my earlier blog item.

Plenty of questions remain, among them:

* 1) Was Saga scooped by Clear Channel?
* 2) Or did Saga outflank Clear Channel and force their hand?

Saga did not unveil its new format at noon Friday as promised, and WJZX president and general manager Tom Joerres indicated it might not anytime soon. He said the plan was always to run the gag format through the holiday weekend. And he refused to say whether the way it played out was a belly flop or a swan dive. But he did suggest that the announced switch caused Clear Channel to act.

"To have a competitor get out of the format is huge," he said, noting that The Brew shared an audience with WKLH-FM (96.5) and WHQG-FM (102.9), The Hog. He called it a "moment of celebration."

Meanwhile, Jeff Tyler, vice president and market manager for Clear Channel in Milwaukee, wouldn't speculate on Joerres' motives. He did say the switch at WQBW had been planned for several months, but admitted that it "got a little bit rushed yesterday," referring to the switch at WJZX.

He said the new format would play mass appeal "contemporary mainstream music," and that its core audience was women 25-54, which it will probably share with female centric WMYX-FM (99.1) and youth oriented WXSS-FM (103.7).

"This station is designed to split that gap," said Tyler.

Examples of the music they would play, he said, included Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Daughtry, Rhianna and Black Eyed Peas.

And finally, all this appears to be an early warning about the brave new world radio listeners will face once portable people meters to monitor radio listening are introduced in the market in June. There appears to be no room for WJYX's Smooth Jazz format in this world. PPMs are "very unkind to smooth jazz," said a local industry observer. "You need to play your hits and do your bits" quickly, he said.

I'll follow all this up next week.The brew is no more....

[xxtremeteam]

damn just found that was getting ready to post

[1997 Trans-Am]

oh god, just what we need, more lady gaga and black eyed pees because 99.1 and 103.7 doesnt play it enough as it is. :chair:

[BlackLightning]

While we are bitching about radio stations what's the deal with 102.1 playing the same shit over and over through out the day. I am so sick of hearing cage the elephant and dirty heads. It seems every time I turn the radio on or when I can actually hear it at work that damn dirty heads song is on.

[That_Guy]

While we are bitching about radio stations what's the deal with 102.1 playing the same shit over and over through out the day. I am so sick of hearing cage the elephant and dirty heads. It seems every time I turn the radio on or when I can actually hear it at work that damn dirty heads song is on.

I remember when they switched from rock 102.1 they had a huge selection

[2002 WARHAWK]

so, The Brews beer went flat??? just what we need more hip-hop shit!:mad: GOD I'M GETTING OLD!:dance

[HITMAN]

Yeah, I was surprised to hear this Flop 40 garbage as well. I kinda like The Brew as an alternative to having to listen to The HOG and their love of that atrocious 90's grunge vomit. Fortunately I've been on a CD buying binge lately, and I have satellite radio in my truck that I could easily transfer into my car as well. Not to mention Pandora radio on my phone. Soooo, the bottom line is: Who really gives a shit? Milwaukee radio has sucked donkey balls ever since good stations like QFM and ZMF went away. Just gotta deal with it.

[TheRX7Project]

While we are bitching about radio stations what's the deal with 102.1 playing the same shit over and over through out the day. I am so sick of hearing cage the elephant and dirty heads. It seems every time I turn the radio on or when I can actually hear it at work that damn dirty heads song is on.

I couldn't agree more. It's been CD's for me lately... can't listen to "Sex On Fire" one more effing time, or that stupid "la la" song about preserving the earth or whatever the hell it is.

[pOrk]

We are stuck listening the the brew at work, I'm glad it changed and hope they will force a new radio station on us once the gay lady gaga / beyonce crap hits the air waves. The brew was garbage, played journey all fucking day and repeated the same crap EVERY day

[Red97GTP]

We need a 94.1 like Madison.

[TheRX7Project]

We need Energy 92.5 like Chicago (dunno if it's still a station)

[rally_scort]

who cares, turn your shit to 94.1 or 95.1 and enjoy some real music :D

[xxtremeteam]

We need a 94.1 like Madison.

94.1 JJO is great and All I listen to when I get towards the dells

[British_Ben]

We need a 94.1 like Madison.

^This.

Or we need 95.1 WIIL Rock to get some more wattage on their antenna. They play good music and are somewhere around the WI/IL border.

[rally_scort]

^This.

Or we need 95.1 WIIL Rock to get some more wattage on their antenna. They play good music and are somewhere around the WI/IL border.

they just need to lay off the Nickelback :rolf

[BR3W CITY]

hooking my ipod adapter to my truck was the best thing i ever did. No crap music, no talk, no commercials. AND I don't have to listen to the radio at work. Its nice to seclude yourself from this crap sometimes.

[chargedformula]

i cant believe how big of a city milwaukee is and we dont have any stations like 94.1 jjo or 95.1 will rock. i am glad the brew is gone, just could not stand that station! it is nice to have your own selection of music so you know it its all good, but then i end up missing out on new artists that i havent heard of and wouldnt have known to add it to my own library.

[Slow Joe]

I guess I'm the only one on here embracing the fact that the brew is gone... Thus far listening to 97.3 makes me think it'll be better than 103.7...

If you want 80s, you've still got 102.9 (For Rock), 96.5, and sometimes 95.7. Hate to say it, but 80 music is 20+ years old now... Might as well put it on an oldies station.

[British_Ben]

Edit: I'm an idiot, don't listen to me. :thumbsup

[frank_zappa_is_dead]

95.1 licks sweaty yak sack too.Not much better than whats allready out there.

[Rocket Power]

95.1 licks sweaty yak sack too.Not much better than whats allready out there.

QFT and if I wanted to hear about Chit cago traffic I'd move there

[2002 WARHAWK]

105.7 wapl out of appleton... good songs:headbang

[jbiscuit]

JJO all the way. One of the best stations. They play kickass music all day long. To me, the Hog sucks.

[BoosTT]

Yup, the brew sucked and there morning shows were always the worst.

I mix it up while in the car (94.1, 106.1, 95.7, lol) at work its mostly 102.9. Can't play jjo at work. The fake at eight killed it.

[wrath]

Thankfully the antenna on the truck can get 94.1. Otherwise I listen to 102.1. Everything else around here is pure shit except WPR.

Of course, if I'm paying for XM at the moment (and I currently am) I listen to XM48 or XM54.

You'd think in a metro area the size of Milwaukee there would be more channels to choose from. It's really weird to choose scan and hear the same station within 5 minutes.

[Neal Steffek]

Thankfully the antenna on the truck can get 94.1. Otherwise I listen to 102.1. Everything else around here is pure shit except WPR.

Of course, if I'm paying for XM at the moment (and I currently am) I listen to XM48 or XM54.

You'd think in a metro area the size of Milwaukee there would be more channels to choose from. It's really weird to choose scan and hear the same station within 5 minutes.

The fact it that Milwaukee is not the big of a city. To us it seems big because we live here, but it really isn't. Plus add to the fact that the people who listen to that type of music (top 40's, 80's, any type of rock) will not listen to it on the radio, they have the money to spend on CD, MP3's, XM, ect ect. Because of this the advertising dollars are not there.

The people who listen to "urban" music (V100) do not have the money to spend so free radio is all they have. Thus V100 has not changed in forever.

[Neal Steffek]

Also, I want to add that more people should listen to 91.7 or 88.9.

[JC70SS]

Connie and Fish were just annoying.

We need a classical station and a classical Jazz station like 88.9 used to play.

[Yooformula]

I just use my mp3 player or slacker radio on my phone through the radio. radio stations overall here suck, period.

[rally_scort]

Yup, the brew sucked and there morning shows were always the worst.

I mix it up while in the car (94.1, 106.1, 95.7, lol) at work its mostly 102.9. Can't play jjo at work. The fake at eight killed it.

haha, we used to listen to JJO all day, now we are limited to 95.1 during the week, and for "casual fridays" we get to listen to JJO.My boss hates anything harsher than AC/DC, he was speechless when he heard anything from Static X :rolf:rolf:rolf

[GTSLOW]

94.1 JJO is great and All I listen to when I get towards the dells

94.1 gets old QUICK. They play the same freaking music during the day over and over and over. :(

I was also wondering about 97.3 this weekend, to bad it's gone.

[wrath]

The fact it that Milwaukee is not the big of a city. To us it seems big because we live here, but it really isn't. Plus add to the fact that the people who listen to that type of music (top 40's, 80's, any type of rock) will not listen to it on the radio, they have the money to spend on CD, MP3's, XM, ect ect. Because of this the advertising dollars are not there.

The people who listen to "urban" music (V100) do not have the money to spend so free radio is all they have. Thus V100 has not changed in forever.

Oh shit, did someone say that Milwaukee is not that big of a city and has no entertainment or infrastructure?

I'll have you know both Indy and Detroit (home of 50% unemployment) have so many radio stations that every spot on the dial has a station and if a station isn't coming in it's usually because of bleed-through instead of static.

Anyway, I have little to complain about when it comes to 102.1 or 94.1. They seem to be pretty well run stations even though I don't much care for some of the repetitiveness of crappy songs to appease a select few or some of their gimmicks (JJO does the faking it woman thing around ~8am).

[GTSLOW]

Fake at 8!!!

[DirtyMax]

105.1 Charlie FM out of Madison is pretty good. Their tagline is "we play everything" and they mean it. Who else will go from Led Zeppelin to Black Eyed Peas. It's a pretty cool melting pot actually!

[GTSLOW]

101.5 great classic rock station in madison

[Al]

Also, I want to add that more people should listen to 91.7 or 88.9.

Thank's for bringing this up! Kat is my sister!


I have an oversized antannae on my radio so now I can pick up more distant radio stations. I sometimes wonder if I am hearing something from the other side of the pond. Which one is "the Wolf"


The people who listen to "urban" music (V100) do not have the money to spend so free radio is all they have. Thus V100 has not changed in forever.

Then there is FM 106.1 which some say is the biggest station in Wisconsin. I think the only regional competition to that is 92.5 out of West Bend. I am surprised that we don't have another country station in Milwaukee.

[FoxStang]

Had the new format on at work the other day when everyone was too lazy to change it, you think 102.1 is repetitive, the new 97.3 is 2938402934802394x worse. Albeit, still better than the old format for the most part. Face it, the brew was just a really bad station, 102.9 and and 96.5 were way better for older music. Or if you got lucky you could pick up the drive 97.1 out of Chicago.

[lordairgtar]

This town needs more Polka!:headbang

[EvolvedRegal]

Channel 20 XM radio

Octane is probably the best.

[Jeff]

Channel 20 XM radio

Octane is probably the best.

X2 I love it, as soon as they got rid of the brew I renewed my sirius subscription.

[1997 Trans-Am]

The new brew is just another 103.7 IMO. I heard a few same songs played on both stations at least 4 times in a 3hr period. They play the same songs 20times everyday.

[GTO RLY?]

The Brew sucked balls from day 1.
The Hog should go back to Lazer. The Hog is epic phail.
102.1 is weaksauce, and great if you are some self-hating emo cutter.
JJO is ok, when they're not playing that lame ass Mallcore shit, which is like 100% of the time.

The only station I listen to is WTKM. Polka, represent. Until SE WI opens up to extreme metal (NOT mallcore) the rock/metal stations can piss up a rope.

[Plum Crazy]

i ususally have on 96.9 the drive.

[HITMAN]

The Brew sucked balls from day 1.
The Hog should go back to Lazer. The Hog is epic phail.
102.1 is weaksauce, and great if you are some self-hating emo cutter.
JJO is ok, when they're not playing that lame ass Mallcore shit, which is like 100% of the time.

The only station I listen to is WTKM. Polka, represent. Until SE WI opens up to extreme metal (NOT mallcore) the rock/metal stations can piss up a rope.

XM 42-Liquid Metal. Right there's your winner.

[Al]

I tuned in to 106.9 and they played about 5 country songs that I had not heard before and then an older Toby Keith song. I think I will get rid on 106.1 and put 106.9 instead.

BTW- 104.9 is the station to play when everyone is complaining about the radio.

[izzman55]

kiss sucks and so does this now station.

[drrodder]

105.7 wapl out of appleton... good songs:headbang

I'm with this one "WAPL" in Fon du lac. I travel all over the states and Baltimore's 98 rock is one of the best. Satilite is OK, but between the costs and the better stations start repeating songs as well when you listen long enough, the XM and Sirus aren't worth the money.

I liked the Brew when I was home, but that Connie & Fish was just the worst and I like many others stopped listening to them which will cause the drop. I don't miss it any more.

[GrimreaperSS]

I want to know why 97.3 thinks we need a third Top 40 Station around here. I never thought The Brew would disappear! Milwaukee has always had this strange affection for 80's music. Not my cup o tea, but was nice for a change of pace, once in a while. I mostly listen to 102.1 or 94.1 when I am around home, cant pick it up after I get about halfway to work. I stopped listening to 102.9 after they switched about 3 years ago! Cant stand Bob and Brian!:chair: Especially when it seemed like they were calling the shots about what music got played. Stick to you're stupid morning talk show, not music. I just remember them commenting something about Slipknot and Mudvayne being played and I never heard those bands again on 102.9. :flipoff2: I would love to have a station more like JJO/WILROCK in town. I will say though, it seems the times that I have turned on JJO lately, they are getting a little soft for my taste. Stuff I can hear on 102.1 shoudlnt be played there (except soemthing like Rage Against the Machine.....etc).