The station plays mostly familiar alternative rock tracks recorded between the 1970s and 2010s, ranging from David Bowie to Of Montreal. It also features specialty shows such as "Passport Approved," which focuses on international rock music. On Sundays, an experimental program known as "The Bottom Forty" is heard, an alternative to conventional Top 40 Countdown shows. There is also "Greasy Kid Stuff," a Saturday morning program specializing in music for youngsters.
History
On November 1, 1992, KMUZ-FMsigned on the air. It was owned by Pacific Northwest Broadcasting, along with AM 1230 KMUZ. The station aired the Bonneville Beautiful Music format, led by veteran program director and then VP of KMUZ, Claude Rorabaugh. William F. King, now deceased, was CEO. It was powered at 3,200 watts on the 223-foot PGE tower on Mt. Scott in SE Portland, so it only could be heard from north to south - Battleground to Wilsonville, west to east - Forest Grove to Troutdale. On March 6, 1995, KMUZ-FM switched to modern rock as KNRK. It was re-branded as "94-7 NRK". The station's playlist was made up of alternative rock music by bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Radio personalities Stephanie Steele and Mike Chase hosted a morning show dubbed "S & M." A DJ who only goes by his middle name, Gustav, hosted weekday afternoons. Gradually the station's format began to shift towards harder rock music in the late 1990s. The conventional DJs like Gustav and Daria O'Neill were gradually replaced by "shock-jocks." Music from bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Puddle of Mudd and Godsmack made up much of the playlist. The station's harder edge came to an end on May 12, 2004. Two morning DJs played audio recordings of Nick Berg's violent death on the air and added their own snide commentary. Hundreds of angry phone-calls and e-mails flooded into the station. KNRK's General Manager fired both of them, along with their producer. Following the incident, KNRK temporarily pulled all of its DJs off the air and played only music and commercials, in addition to the nationally syndicatedtalk showLoveline in the evenings. Brief messages by station program director Mark Hamilton explained the changes and plans to reshape the station. Listeners were encouraged to submit their ideas via an online survey or to call in with their own suggestions. Soon thereafter, KNRK became "94/7 FM." A staff of personalities returned and the station's music, while still alternative, leaned a bit more pop.
KNRK broadcasts in the HD Radio format. The HD2 subchannel carries "94/7 Too," playing rock music. In 2007, KNRK introduced "94/7 Too," an online station focusing entirely on bands based or initially established in the Pacific Northwest. It was added to over-the-air radio on 910 AM in July 2010. That station flipped format to sports talk in 2013, with 94/7 Too moving to 94.7FM's HD2 signal and streaming online. New personalities were added in 2015 and 2016.
