Smooth Jazz Splits KKSF For "The Band"

'Round about 3 PM today, legacy Smooth Jazz KKSF (103.7 FM) made a quick transition to a Classic Rock-ish format, rebranding the Clear Channel-owned station as "103.7 The Band."

On The Band's new website, a welcoming blurb purports:

103.7 The Band has been designed around the rich heritage of the San Francisco music scene. A time and place where music was filled with passion and reflected the ideals of a generation.

So far, the music -- being run jockless -- is a fairly standard mix of classic rock chestnuts (think 98.5 K-Fox without Greg Kihn) (yet) ... but also without hardly any of the "rich heritage" of actual San Francisco music.

But it's a new station. Let's wait'n'see.

Meanwhile, it's so long to KKSF and its talented troupe of tonsils, including Maria Lopez and Miranda Wilson. KKSF had been one of the earliest adopters of the Smooth Jazz genre, beginning its run in the Summer of 1987.

UPDATE (6/4/2009): The original KKSF website, complete with more than 6,000 irate comments (as of now) from displaced listeners, has been updated to note that the music -- now bird-beamed from the Smooth Jazz Network -- has been moved to 98.1 Kiss FM's HD-2 side channel, and is also streamed online at KKSF.com.

In addition, comments on KKSF.com by program director Michael Erickson note that:

"...beginning this Sunday June 8th, (and every Sunday) from 8am to 10am you can listen to 'Smooth Jazz Weekend' on 98.1 KISS FM. (regular FM radio) This two hour show features the same great Smooth Jazz music you are used to listening to, plus interviews with some of your favorite artists. ... No, this is not supposed to be a replacement for KKSF, just a way to keep Smooth Jazz on the airwaves, and to support the music and artists in the Bay Area."