They're going to be hearing a lot of John Denver in Denver this week. Classic rock station The Mountain is banning all Seattle-based bands from its airwaves until after Sunday's Super Bowl contest between the Broncos and Seahawks.
"This is a crucial prep week for the Broncos and I figured that Denver fans want to get all their positive mojo going in that direction,” morning show host Mike Casey said in a news release. "So how could I, in good conscience and good mojo, saturate the Mountain airwaves with Seahawk fan-bands like Heart, Pearl Jam, Hendrix and Nirvana this week? No way!"
It doesn't sound like it'll be an easy challenge. A visit to the 99.5 web site, where you can listen to the station live, features a 15-second promo for music they play — Pearl Jam's "Daughter" is mixed in with Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd songs.
A Mountain Facebook post announcing the boycott with a red X over Seattle's Space Needle received 29 "likes." One commenter said, "I'm not really a fan (of) this. More so because you tease with an awesome song then don't play it!!!" The station replied, "Don't worry ... we love those awesome songs, too and they'll be back before you know it."
Seattle's signature sound is well connected to the Seahawks and its decibel-busting fan base known as The 12th Man. Ann Wilson of Heart sang the national anthem before the team's Jan. 19 win against San Francisco. And while they're not classic rock, Grammy-winning hip-hop stars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed at halftime of that same game and their allegiance to the Seahawks is well-chronicled.