At KCRW we’ve decided that the holidays officially begin today!  This morning we are all still a bit fuzzy from our Masquerade Ball Saturday night.  It was a great time. If you were there, you know what we’re talking about. If you missed it, here’s another chance to celebrate the season with us before the year is out.
We would like to invite you to join us December 3 for Are Friends Eclectic? – KCRW’s holiday benefit show at the Orpheum Theater.
We have an amazing lineup of artists unique to KCRW. …

Henry Rollins is always a ball of fire on the air during his Saturday show (8-10pm) but when you get him in front of a crowd, he really takes it to the next level. He was headbanging, mouthing every word, and sweating up a storm during his DJ set at Masquerade. You can check out the set list below, as well as photos from Gary Leonard.
Also, for his Halloween character on air this year he performed as Jason Bentley and I hear it was hilarious. He also played the 5th …

Upcoming Live Performances on MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC with host JASON BENTLEY
Tuesday, November 1, Seminal indie rockers Death Cab For Cutie performed tracks from their new release and old favorites for a small live audience at Berkeley St Studios and we’ll broadcast that session, including an interview with host Anne Litt, on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Tuesday, November 2, Mexican actress turned singer/songwriter Ximena Sariñana transcends language barriers with songs from her new album when she visits Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Thursday, November 3, Ace-producer and songwriter Joe Henry brings songs …

From the moment you walked in the door of the Park Plaza and were greeted with a tower with gold-painted mannequin parts spelling out the letters KCRW, it was clear Masquerade is not your normal radio benefit event. Or your normal Halloween party for that matter.
Without a doubt, KCRW throws one of the best parties in town but a good chunk of the credit goes to the attendees themselves who really get decked out and continue to impress with their creative costuming.
Within minutes of the doors opening, a small group …

Brett Ratner is perhaps best known as the director behind the “Rush Hour” series and we found out during his Guest DJ Project set that his early inspiration for the film came from the theme to the 1973 film “Enter the Dragon”, which had Bruce Lee’s screams over urban grooves.
He told us he uses music to inspire actors on his set, including his latest film “Tower Heist” starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy.
“It’s a kind of quintessential ‘New York heist’ movie, very ‘70s. So I was playing stuff from like, …

All of our DJs receive hundreds of CDs a month to consider for airplay. In this regular feature, KCRW DJ Chuck P catalogues his musical bounty from the Post Office each week.
Fall is setting in. LA fall anyway. It’s been between 65 and 85 degrees, so we’ve pretty much rounded the bend. Massive haul this week at the post office as well… and I still haven’t even seen what’s waiting for me at the station! Lovely… and speaking of lovely, a surprising amount of lovelies in this weeks post as …

Since posting my Artist You Should Know feature on Sea Lions a little over a month ago, I was asked to write their bio for the Slumberland website.  I have now seen my words from both that blog post, and the ensuing bio quoted on several other blogs and Record/CD distribution sites. It feels amazing! Also amazing, is the fact that we’ve been offered the opportunity to premiere “Grown Up,” the first single from the Sea Lions forthcoming full length “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sea Lions but …

Believe it or not, I’ve never been high in my life.  I’ve never smoked, toked, puffed or inhaled.  When it comes to controlled substances, I’m as straight-laced as they come.  I know, that totally blows my image as someone living the hedonistic “sex & drugs & rock’n’roll” lifestyle of radio DJ, but it’s the truth.  Still, two out of three ain’t bad!
That said, one of my favorite records of 1991 is perhaps the most stoned albums of all time: Ween‘s sophomore release, The Pod.  That’s “sophomore,” not “sophomoric,” although that …

KCRW Presents dozens of shows across Southern California and here are some photo highlights!

Getting a song on a soundtrack to one of the Twilight movies has launched a few artists to success – or at the very least opened them up to a new (and huge) dedicated audience of fans.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen a single movie in the Twilight series. But I’ve listened to all of the soundtracks and they always have some interesting songs. My favorite until now has been “Friends” by Band of Skulls from “New Moon” but now that I’ve heard Belle Brigade’s “I Didn’t Mean It”, there …