Author Archives: Alyssa King

KCRW Music Announcement, Station Announcement

KCRW Launches Award-Winning Music Mine App for iPhone

KCRW’s Award-Winning Music Discovery App Now Available on iPhone
Los Angeles Public Radio Station Continues Digital Expansion Efforts with “Music Mine” App

KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) is excited to announce the launch of its renowned music discovery app, Music Mine for iPhone. Already available on iPad and Spotify, Music Mine for iPhone takes the magic of KCRW’s curated music selection and puts it directly into the listener’s pocket.

KCRW has long been known as a station that breaks new artists and the app brings the same spirit of discovery to users. Songs are updated daily in tandem with KCRW‘s on-air playlists, which are hand picked by the station’s world-famous DJs. Music Mine was developed in partnership with the Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

“We have always imagined Music Mine would be launched on the iPhone, especially given its success on iPad and Spotify. Our goal is to make KCRW’s brand of music discovery as portable and accessible as possible, with a human touch,” says KCRW Director of Web & Mobile Development Nathan Lubeck. “It’s like having your personal KCRW DJ in your pocket.”

The app also includes full shows by DJs, video from in-studio performances from KCRW’s flagship music program Morning Becomes Eclectic and access to Eclectic24, KCRW’s acclaimed all music stream.

“KCRW and PRX share a vision for connecting talented artists with audiences beyond broadcast,” says Jake Shapiro, CEO of PRX. “Music Mine is a shining example of what stations with a passionate purpose and curatorial prowess can achieve in the competitive mobile market.”

The special format of Music Mine allows users who don’t have a lot of time to put together their own listening experience without being overwhelmed by options. Listeners who want to delve into the world of KCRW playlists, Eclectic24 and MBE in-studio live performance videos can do so, through an paired down Music Mine interface designed specifically for the iPhone.

“It’s time to dispel the traditional notions of what radio is, and start imagining what radio can be. It’s not just about tuning in anymore,” says KCRW Director of Digital Content Strategy Betsy Moyer. “KCRW is putting the power in the hands of the listener.”

Music Mine for iPhone is the most recent example of KCRW’s continued investment in digital programming and multi-platform distribution. Mobile app development and distribution partnerships are key aspects of KCRW‘s goal to be wherever the audience is. In the last year, the station has launched such digital-only programs as, This…Is Interesting hosted by Left, Right & Center’s Matt Miller and The Organist, a collaboration with San Francisco publishing house McSweeney’s. Partnerships with streaming services like iHeartRadio, Spotify and TuneIn has put KCRW in a unique position among public radio stations.

For more information on Music Mine for iPhone please visit: http://www.kcrw.com/about/musicmine-for-iphone

For more information on KCRW please visit: http://www.kcrw.com

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Uncategorized

KCRW Statement Regarding Shooting on SMC Campus (June 7, 2013)

KCRW remains evacuated after the tragic events that happened today in and around the campus of Santa Monica College. Some of the shots were fired right outside our offices, and we are relieved that our staff escaped harm. It’s never easy to leave the scene of a story unfolding before our news team’s eyes, but the safety of our staff will always be our paramount concern. Our hearts go out to those in the Santa Monica College community and surrounding neighborhood, of which we are a part. Even while evacuated, our news team continues to gather information and will report on the events as they develop.

 

Media Contact:
Alyssa King, KCRW
Communications Director
310-314-4627
alyssa.king@kcrw.org
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Programming, Station Announcement

A New Show from Left, Right, & Center’s Matt Miller

A New Show from Left, Right, & Center’s Matt Miller

Things Get Interesting as KCRW Launches a New Digital-Only Program

SANTA MONICA, April 24, 2013 — KCRW is proud to give its audience another way to explore ideas that are changing our world: introducing, “This… Is Interesting,” a twice-monthly podcast hosted by one of our most intellectually curious hosts, and the “moderating center” of Left, Right, & Center, Matt Miller.

As timely as the week’s headlines, yet tackling subjects destined to influence events for years, Miller engages in 15-20 minute conversations with some of the smartest minds around, bringing to listeners the thinkers and ideas at the forefront of politics, economics, culture and social commentary.

“One of the lucky privileges of being a columnist and author is you get to talk to a lot of fascinating thinkers and public figures. It’s the kind of thing where you get off the phone or leave their office and say to yourself, ‘Wow, that was interesting,’” says host Matt Miller.

“My goal with ‘This…Is Interesting’ is to bring these kinds of deeper encounters to listeners, letting them engage with the people and ideas that are shaping our world. The first show is a good example, and I look forward to sharing conversations with other leading voices in various fields throughout the series.”

The debut episode, entitled “The Robots Are Coming!” looks at how accelerating technological advancements could permanently displace the middle class — and finally prove the Luddites right. It’s the kind of conversation we need to be having as we emerge from the Great Recession.

“This is important programming,” says Gary Scott, news programming director at KCRW. “Rather than looking passively into the void of the future, our audience chooses to engage the world, and Matt Miller is the perfect host for the conversations we want to be having. And, yes, dammit, it’s interesting.”

Miller’s “This… Is Interesting” podcast continues with fresh episodes every second and fourth Wednesday of the month.

“KCRW bursts at the seams with talented people. With our digital platforms we can bring even more thought-provoking, quality programming to an audience who wants us to be wherever they are, ” Scott says.

For a limited time “This… Is Interesting” will be included as part of the very popular weekly Left, Right & Center podcast subscription, listen at http://kcrw.com/thisisinteresting. Subscribe to “This… Is Interesting” on iTunes or wherever you download podcasts.

 

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About KCRW
KCRW 89.9FM is an NPR affiliate serving Southern California and licensed to Santa Monica College. The public radio station represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and V entura counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’ s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide at KCRW.com. KCRW offers an all-music channel, Eclectic24, an all news channel and on-air simulcast. . Podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances are available on our website, as well as on our smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. KCRW’s acclaimed Music Mine app for iPad is dedicated to music discovery.

 

About This… Is Interesting
Matt Miller – author, Washington Post columnist and Left, Right & Center host – turns his curiosity and wit to deeper encounters with the world’s most provocative thinkers and newsmakers. As timely as the week’s headlines, yet tackling subjects destined to influence events for years to come. This…Is Interesting brings to listeners the people and ideas that are shaping our world.

 

About Matt Miller
Matt Miller is a weekly columnist for the Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Miller has authored two books, the first The Two Percent Solution: Fixing America’s Problems In Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love (PublicAffairs, 2003) and his most recent, The Tyranny Of Dead Ideas: Revolutionary Thinking for a New Age of Prosperity (Times Books, 2009). Miller’s commentary has been featured on The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Kudlow Report, and many other public affairs programs, and he has been a contributor and guest host on MSNBC. Miller served as Senior Advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1995. From 1991 to 1992 he was a White House Fellow, serving as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Miller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Screen Actors Guild (thanks to a cameo appearance in the thriller, The Siege.) He serves on the board of directors of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and the nonprofit journalism group Understanding Government, and was appointed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to serve on The Equity and Excellence Commission, which is examining inequities in US school finance.
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Awards, Station Announcement

KCRW’s Transmedia Project Sonic Trace Secures Funding for Second Year

KCRW’s Transmedia Project Sonic Trace Secures Funding for Second Year

Major Grant Support Provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Cal Humanities

SANTA MONICA, April 24, 2013 — Two major grants recently were awarded to KCRW for its Sonic Trace transmedia project. The grants include $75,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and $40,000 from Cal Humanities’ 2013 California Documentary Project. This is the first time KCRW has been awarded a grant from Cal Humanities while the NEA Art Works grant is the largest in the station’s history.

Sonic Trace, a multi-platform storytelling project, traces people living in the heart of Los Angeles to their origins in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, using radio, video and mapping to ask ¿Por qué te vas? ¿Por qué te quedas? ¿Por qué regresas? Why do you go? Why do you stay? And, what makes you return? The inaugural year of the project saw the conceptualization and creation of Sonic Trace’s portable sound booth, local and national radio pieces, a content rich blog and interactive, mapping website.

“In year one, we laid the foundation for Sonic Trace, which makes it beyond exciting to be given the opportunity to expand on all of our hard work,” says Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Sonic Trace founder and executive producer. “We are incredibly grateful that the NEA and Cal Humanities see the value and potential in Sonic Trace to plant seeds of innovation, experimentation and ground-breaking storytelling.”

Launched in March 2012 as part of Localore, a nationwide initiative of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, Sonic Trace goes beyond traditional story gathering by venturing into neighborhoods on both sides of the border to show how community connects across borders.

Through the interactive website, Sonic Trace maps the stories of immigrants in Los Angeles using stories gathered from La Burbuja, or the “The Bubble,” a portable sound booth specially designed for the project. Dozens of contributed stories are embedded on the map, creating a link between LA neighborhoods and cities, towns and villages across the border—creating an interactive, oral-history mosaic of Los Angeles not possible through radio alone.

“I love this project. To share your own story, in your own voice, and discover others with similar stories and circumstances, is empowering. There is nothing like telling the history of your life. It helps to define who you are for yourself, for your children and grandchildren,” says KCRW General Manager Jennifer Ferro. “Sonic Trace is a moving way to tell the story of immigration in Los Angeles – something that defines LA and the US. I’m so pleased that both the NEA and Cal Humanities, two important organizations that have long supported projects like this, also believe in giving it the resources to keep going.”

Funding for the second year allows Sonic Trace the opportunity to explore new communities in Southern California, including Orange County and MacArthur Park. In its inaugural year, the program focused on gathering stories in Koreatown and South Los Angeles.

“With our state’s incredible diversity, fostering communication and connecting people to a range of ideas is vital for our general welfare,” says Ralph Lewin, President and CEO of Cal Humanities. “Our grant award enables awardees to pursue the important work of engaging new audiences in conversations around stories of significance to Californians.”

The NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.

Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa notes, “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts.

For more information on Sonic Trace you can visit www.sonictrace.org.

For more information on KCRW please visit www.kcrw.com.

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Media Contact:
Alyssa King, KCRW
Communications Director
310-314-4627
alyssa.king@kcrw.org

 

About KCRW
KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is NPR’s flagship station for Southern California. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.

 

About The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at arts.gov.
In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

 

About The California Documentary Project (CDP)
The California Documentary Project (CDP) is a competitive grant program of Cal Humanities. CDP grant awards support film, radio, and new media projects that document the California experience and explore issues of significance to Californians. Through its California Documentary Project, Cal Humanities has granted over $2.7 million to projects since 2002. Cal Humanities is an independent non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information on Cal Humanities, please visit www.calhum.org.
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Awards, Station Announcement

KCRW’s Transmedia Project Sonic Trace Secures Funding for Second Year

Major Grant Support Provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Cal Humanities

SANTA MONICA, April 24, 2013 — Two major grants recently were awarded to KCRW for its Sonic Trace transmedia project. The grants include $75,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and $40,000 from Cal Humanities’ 2013 California Documentary Project. This is the first time KCRW has been awarded a grant from Cal Humanities while the NEA Art Works grant is the largest in the station’s history.

 

Sonic Trace, a multi-platform storytelling project, traces people living in the heart of Los Angeles to their origins in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, using radio, video and mapping to ask ¿Por qué te vas? ¿Por qué te quedas? ¿Por qué regresas? Why do you go? Why do you stay? And, what makes you return? The inaugural year of the project saw the conceptualization and creation of Sonic Trace’s portable sound booth, local and national radio pieces, a content rich blog and interactive, mapping website.

 

“In year one, we laid the foundation for Sonic Trace, which makes it beyond exciting to be given the opportunity to expand on all of our hard work,” says Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Sonic Trace founder and executive producer. “We are incredibly grateful that the NEA and Cal Humanities see the value and potential in Sonic Trace to plant seeds of innovation, experimentation and ground-breaking storytelling.”

Launched in March 2012 as part of Localore, a nationwide initiative of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, Sonic Trace goes beyond traditional story gathering by venturing into neighborhoods on both sides of the border to show how community connects across borders.

 

Through the interactive website, Sonic Trace maps the stories of immigrants in Los Angeles using stories gathered from La Burbuja, or the “The Bubble,” a portable sound booth specially designed for the project. Dozens of contributed stories are embedded on the map, creating a link between LA neighborhoods and cities, towns and villages across the border—creating an interactive, oral-history mosaic of Los Angeles not possible through radio alone.

 

“I love this project. It is a moving way to tell the story of immigration in Los Angeles – something that defines LA and the US.  There is nothing like hearing the tale of your life from someone who shares your story and circumstances.  It helps to define who you are for yourself and your children and grandchildren,” says KCRW General Manager Jennifer Ferro. “I’m so pleased that both the NEA and Cal Humanities, two important organizations that have long supported programming like Sonic Trace, also believe in giving it the resources to keep going.”

Funding for the second year allows Sonic Trace the opportunity to explore new communities in Southern California, including Orange County and MacArthur Park. In its inaugural year, the program focused on gathering stories in Koreatown and South Los Angeles.

 

“With our state’s incredible diversity, fostering communication and connecting people to a range of ideas is vital for our general welfare,” says Ralph Lewin, President and CEO of Cal Humanities. “Our grant award enables awardees to pursue the important work of engaging new audiences in conversations around stories of significance to Californians.”

 

The NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.

 

Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa notes, “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts.

 

For more information on Sonic Trace you can visit the Sonic Trace blog and Sonic Trace interactive website. For more information on KCRW please visit www.kcrw.com.

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Media Contact:

Alyssa King, KCRW
Communications Director
310-314-4627
alyssa.king@kcrw.org

About KCRW:
KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is NPR’s flagship station for Southern California. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.
About The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA):
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at arts.gov.
In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov
About The California Documentary Project (CDP):
The California Documentary Project (CDP) is a competitive grant program of Cal Humanities. CDP grant awards support film, radio, and new media projects that document the California experience and explore issues of significance to Californians. Through its California Documentary Project, Cal Humanities has granted over $2.7 million to projects since 2002. Cal Humanities is an independent non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information on Cal Humanities, please visit www.calhum.org.
 
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Programming, Station Announcement

DnA On the Go: KCRW’s Monthly Show Becomes a Weekly Podcast

Hand Selected Design Journalists to Curate Local Design Series

 

SANTA MONICA, CA (March 19, 2013) – After ten solid years, DnA has undergone a major renovation. KCRW’s show exploring the world of design and architecture, will grow from a single monthly on-air program to a weekly podcast, a lively blog, and a team of design journalists, also known as “DJs,” to report on emerging design talent in LA and beyond. The LA art and design community gathered to celebrate the show’s relaunch last night, with a live discussion between host Frances Anderton and Tesla-founder Elon Musk at his Santa Monica store.

Frances Anderton continues in her role, which she’s held since 2002, as DnA’s host and executive producer. As the author of several books on Los Angeles and Las Vegas architecture, her diverse mix of editorial contributions include Dwell, the New York Times, and L.A. Architect. Anderton’s most recent contribution as producer on KCRW public affairs shows Which Way, LA and To The Point fostered her knowledge of politics and current affairs, giving her a unique vantage point on the broad impact architecture and design have on communities.

“LA is admired the world over for its innovation in architecture, fashion, entertainment design, and more. And, the design of our visual environment has a huge impact on how we live our lives,” says Frances Anderton. “I’m thrilled to that we will increase our coverage of, and participation in this creative community and the work that shapes our lives.”

Through DnA, Anderton will talk with designers, consumers and critics from Los Angeles and beyond about products, fashion, buildings and more. The stable of DnA DJs, handpicked by Anderton, showcase emerging designers in weekly podcast interviews,  the redesigned DnA blog and at regular public events.

A commissioned series of limited edition, one-of-a-kind art objects by up-and-coming designers will be available to KCRW supporters. The first feature item DnA will have for purchase is a porcelain socket, custom colorized in safety yellow by Commune.

The show’s updated online home will showcase interviews, featured articles by guest contributors, video reporting on buildings and products, and an interactive map of design landmarks recently discussed in DnA.

“Launching DnA out into the world – online – to build its own community of design and architecture fans, is part of our strategy for the future. At KCRW, we’ve never thought of ourselves as merely a local radio station,” says Jennifer Ferro, KCRW General Manager. “Frances is the right person to build what is sure to be national relevance to a national audience.”

Public events hosted by DnA and partners around the city, will allow KCRW listeners an opportunity to access some of the most interesting minds in design and architecture today. DnA will host its first public event on April 14, a celebration of design and architecture in LA with guests from MOCA, LACMA and The Getty at the Helms Bakery District. For more information and ticket sales visit: www.kcrw.com/helms.

For more information on DnA please visit the DnA Blog and DnA Show Page

For more information on KCRW please visit: www.kcrw.com

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About DnA
KCRW’s DnA: Design and Architecture excplores who and what matters in our designed world – on air, online and at public events. Host Frances Anderton talks to designers, users and critics about products, fashion, buildings and more, in Los Angeles and beyond – revealing how we shape today’s world and how it shapes us. DnA broadcasts one monthly half-hour show and a weekly podcast. It updates design happenings almost daily on its blog and it reports on design issues for KCRW’s news shows Which Way, LA and All Things Considered. It also hosts public discussion about design issues. DnA is a participant in KCRW’s Independent Producer Project and will feature commentaries and stories by design journalist and personalities in LA and beyond.

About KCRW
KCRW 89.9FM is an NPR affiliate serving Southern California and licensed to Santa Monica College. The public radio station represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and V entura counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’ s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide at KCRW.com. KCRW offers an all-music channel, Eclectic24, an all news channel and on-air simulcast. . Podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances are available on our website, as well as on our smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. KCRW’s acclaimed Music Mine app for iPad is dedicated to music discovery.

About Frances Anderton

 

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Programming, Station Announcement

KCRW Strikes New Chord with The Organist

KCRW Strikes a New Chord with The Organist

Los Angeles Public Radio Station Partners with McSweeney’s to Launch New Podcast

KCRW has joined forces with San Francisco publishing house, McSweeney’s for another joint venture: The Organist. An experimental arts-and-culture program, the new monthly podcast features stories, interviews, reviews, comic radio dramas and more, produced by editors of the award-winning magazine, the Believer and KCRW. The inaugural episode became available the first weekend in February with new episodes available on demand, monthly throughout the year.

The scope of the podcast reflects that of the print edition of The Believer: its contributors take a thoughtful approach to pop culture, along with an irreverent attitude toward the highbrow. From philosophy to daytime TV, from poetry to martial arts, the show scrutinizes and interrogates the world with an affectionate and rigorous intelligence.

Episode One: Little Language Machine, features a variety of interviews and short stories:

  • The short-story master George Saunders talks about how riffing as a teenage benchwarmer led to the richly imagined voices of his fiction.
  • Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman explains the tortured etymology of the word “podcast” (it’s a conflation of the words paw and broadcast — a radio show with claws).
  • Critic Greil Marcus considers a reissue of the first Bikini Kill EP and a new novel by Percival Everett.
  • Amber Scorah tells the story of her defection from the Jehovah’s Witnesses while working as a missionary in Shanghai.
  • Pitchfork editor Brandon Stosuy presents five five-word record reviews of excellent new guitar rock.
  • The electronic duo Matmos takes a song from their new album apart, piece by piece, revealing its brilliant, pulsating innards.
  • A new(ish) film casts a shotgun microphone as its protagonist;

Listeners can visit the website to access “Web Extras” like an extended interview with George Saunders. Find that and those here.

This is the second partnership between KCRW and McSweeney’s. The two most recently collaborated for a one-hour radio drama, “Wayne Coyne’s Human Head-Shaped Tumor,” which starred Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. The bizarre, radio adventure in the style of Mercury Theatre’s War of the Worlds, featured the music from the Flaming Lips, Bill Callahan, Okkervil River, Eleanor Friedberger, Nico Muhly, Oneida and Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear. The special is still available to stream or download here.

For more information and to hear full episodes of The Organist, please visit www.kcrw.com/theorganist or http://www.theorganist.org/

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About The Organist:
The Organist is a monthly experimental arts-and-culture program produced and distributed by KCRW. The editors of the award-winning monthly magazine the Believer, published in San Francisco by McSweeney’s, produce ten annual episodes of the podcast, which includes reported stories, interviews, comic radio drama, reviews, and more. The scope of the podcast reflects that of the print edition: its contributors take a thoughtful approach to pop culture, along with an irreverent attitude toward the highbrow. From philosophy to daytime TV, from poetry to martial arts, the show scrutinizes and interrogates the world with an affectionate and rigorous intelligence. Pieces from the podcast grow out of stories in the magazine, and vice versa. Weaving together the voices of its contributors, which include the brightest talents in literature and the arts, the Organist is an elegant, impressionistic, funny, and sharp cultural magazine that itself becomes an object of inquiry, discussion, and wonder.

About KCRW:
KCRW 89.9FM is an NPR affiliate serving Southern California and licensed to Santa Monica College. The public radio station represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and V entura counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’ s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide at KCRW.com. KCRW offers an all-music channel, Eclectic24, an all news channel and on-air simulcast. . Podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances are available on our website, as well as on our smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. KCRW’s acclaimed Music Mine app for iPad is dedicated to music discovery.

About The Believer:
The Believer is a monthly magazine where length is no object. There are book reviews that are not necessarily timely, and that are very often very long. There are interviews that are also very long. We will focus on writers and books we like. We will give people and books the benefit of the doubt. The working title of this magazine was The Optimist.

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KCRW Music Announcement

Music Supervision by KCRW DJs

Music Supervision by KCRW DJs

Many of KCRW’s DJs are also successful music supervisors for film, television and commercials. The following DJs are part of the KCRW music team attending the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and you can view their current film projects below.

Recent and Forthcoming Film Projects from KCRW DJs:

 
KCRW MUSIC DIRECTOR JASON BENTLEY

TRON: LEGACY

 
LIZA RICHARDSON

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
PEOPLE LIKE US
TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT LIFE
UNTITLED NICOLE HOLOFCENER PROJECT

(To see Liza’s current TV projects, go here: http://lizarichardson.com/)

 
CHRIS DOURIDAS

THE DETAILS
WHAT MAISIE KNEW
IN A WORLD (premiering and in competition at Sundance)
BIG SUR (premiering at Sundance)
THE LIVING GALLERY OF REVOLUTIONARY COSTUMES

 
DAN WILCOX

A SINGLE SHOT
GIRL RISING
THE COUP
BILLY MIZE & THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND
RUBY SPARKS

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Programming, Station Announcement

KCRW’s Oral History Project Sonic Trace Presents Sonic Profiles

KCRW’s Oral History Project Sonic Trace Presents Sonic Profiles

10 Short Interviews Tell the Stories of Los Angeles

 

Tune into KCRW’s Morning Edition this holiday season for a series of short stories produced by the Sonic Trace team. Sonic Trace, the oral history project that begins in the heart of Los Angeles and crosses into Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will air short features gathered from immigrants all over Los Angeles in La Burbuja or “The Bubble,” Sonic Trace’s portable sound booth.

The series begins on Monday, Dec. 24 and runs through Friday, Jan. 4. Each piece will air at 7:00am PST and can also be heard on the Sonic Trace Blog and the Sonic Trace SoundCloud page.

Sonic Profiles begins with 42-year-old Aldo Velasco who was born in Mexico. Aldo talks about having a ‘gringa’ mother and a Mexican father and he tells the tale of their impromptu departure of his home country.

Mercedes Moreno who emigrated from El Salvador to Los Angeles 36 years ago. She came working as a babysitter, and in the process became a mother. Mercedes is one of the hundred of thousands of Salvadoreans who fled a brutal civil war that killed 75,000 and displaced more than one million people. She shares her story of arrival.

These are just a few examples of stories audiences will hear over the next two weeks. See the full schedule below:

Dec. 26
Guest:  Octavio Oilvas
Description: Octavio Olivas is from Mexico City. His wife is American, and they live in LA. Before getting married, he got a taste of Texas hospitality on a trip into the US from Mexico.

Dec. 27
Guest: Norma Medina
Description: Silverlake resident Norma Medina talks about her picturesque childhood in Mexico, and the culture shock she experienced when she was taken to live with her Aunt and Uncle in their ‘Brady Bunch’ house in California.

Dec. 28
Guest: Eric Garcetti
Description: Fourth-generation Angeleno and City Councilman Eric Garcetti talks about growing up in Los Angeles, the ultimate mestizo culture.

Dec. 31
Guest: Gustavo Arellano
Description: OC Weekly editor and KCRW contributor Gustavo Arellano talks about the romanticism vs. the realism of the rancho.

Jan. 1
Guest: Paulina Lopez
Description: Being a teenager is hard enough, but for Paulina Lopez, it was especially hard. Her family moved from Oaxaca, Mexico to Los Angeles when she was 12, forcing her to learn a new language, new culture, and make new friends.

Jan. 2
Guest: Janet Lopez
Description: 35 -year-old Janet Lopez tells the unlikely story of how her parents met. “They were Match.com before Match.com existed.”

Jan. 3
Guest: Teresa de Jesus Rivera
Description: Teresa de Jesus Rivera was born in the small town in California. Her parents came to the US from Sinaloa, Mexico in the 1950′s. Their job? Picking produce in the fields of Delano, CA. Her family went on to make history in the early days of the United Farm Workers movement of the 1960s.

Jan. 4
Guest: Raul Campos
Description: KCRW DJ Raul Campos talks about his parents’ home in the Maravilla projects in East LA, and how many of his high school peers were phonetically challenged when it came to pronouncing his name.

Be sure to hear these stories and more from Sonic Trace. Sonic Trace is also part of Localore, a nationwide initiative of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, and funded by CPB. Interactive design is produced by Zeega.

For more information on Sonic Trace you can visit the Sonic Trace Blog. For more information on KCRW please visit www.kcrw.com.

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Programming, Station Announcement

KCRW Welcomes Gustavo Arellano

KCRW Welcomes Gustavo Arellano

OC Weekly Editor Joins Station in New Role

 

SANTA MONICA, Ca. — KCRW (89.9FM and kcrw.com) is pleased to announce Gustavo Arellano as our newest weekly contributor to the station. Arellano has been a frequent guest on KCRW’s Good Food for over seven years. Now, in his new role, drawing on his work as Editor of the OC Weekly, Gustavo will offer his insight into the stories shaping Orange County.

Gustavo’s weekly feature, Orange County Line, will be heard on Monday afternoons starting December 10 at 4:44pm during KCRW’s All Things Considered.

“KCRW was looking for someone who could shine a bright light on this sprawling, diverse and vitally important region of Southern California, and we are happy to have Gustavo as a guide,” says Gary Scott, news program director at KCRW. “Gustavo is smart, he’s dogged, he’s funny … and he’s occasionally outrageous — but he’s more passionate and plugged in than just about anyone you’ll ever meet.”

“Orange County is virtually virgin territory in the Southern California media landscape, and my colleagues at the OC Weekly and I have been a lone voice in the wilderness proclaiming its glories and controversies for years,” said Gustavo Arellano. “I’m thrilled that KCRW has assigned me to be their guide to this strange land, especially after having collaborated with them for years on Good Food.”

KCRW and the OC Weekly also plan to hold regular events that highlight the cultural and political issues facing Orange County.

Arellano is the editor of OC Weekly, an alternative weekly newspaper in Orange County, CA, and the author of  a nationally syndicated column “¡Ask a Mexican!”, in which he answers any and all questions about America’s largest minority community. The column has a weekly circulation of over 2 million in 39 newspapers across the United States and won the 2006 and 2008 Association of Alternative Weeklies award for best column.

Gustavo is the author of two books, Orange County: A Personal History, and, most recently, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. He is a lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano Studies department at California State University, Fullerton.

For more information about KCRW and its programming, please visit www.kcrw.com.

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About KCRW
KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is an NPR affiliate based in Southern California. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.

 

About Gustavo Arellano
Gustavo Arellano is the editor of OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Orange County, California, author of Orange County: A Personal History and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, and lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano Studies department at California State University, Fullerton. He writes “¡Ask a Mexican!,” a nationally syndicated column in which he answers any and all questions about America’s spiciest and largest minority. The column has a weekly circulation of over 2 million in 39 newspapers across the United States, won the 2006 and 2008 Association of Alternative Weeklies award for Best Column, and was published in book form by Scribner Press in May 2007. Arellano has been the subject of press coverage in national and international newspapers, The Today Show, Hannity, Nightline, Good Morning America, and The Colbert Report, and his commentaries regularly appear on Marketplace and the Los Angeles Times. Gustavo is the recipient of the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2007 President’s Award and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and was recognized by the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award for his “exceptional vision, creativity, and work ethic.” Gustavo is a lifelong resident of Orange County and is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants, one whom was illegal.

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