Category Archives: Programming

Programming, Station Announcement

PEE-WEE HERMAN (ME!!) GETS A RADIO SHOW ON KCRW!

For Immediate Release (Or WHENEVER!)

PEE-WEE HERMAN (ME!!) GETS A RADIO SHOW ON KCRW!

(Milky Way Galaxy, Planet Earth, Next to the Pacific Ocean, i.e. Santa Monica, CA) – Dear most esteemed journalists, it’s Pee-wee Herman here and I am going to be a DJ on a new radio show airing on KCRW! I’m so excited, it’s my very first one! I mailed them a letter, which got lost (apparently!), and then tagged them on Twitter and THEN they didn’t believe it was me until my biggest, bestest, most amazing fans called and called and jammed up their phone lines (hee hee)! Thank you fans because they are going to get me some donuts and leave me the keys to the studio while they are on vacation! 

Join me and my friends Chairry, Magic Screen, Miss Yvonne, and some surprise special guests (HINT: they are super famous!), while we listen to some of the greatest music ever recorded!

This is all happening on Friday, November 26, at 6 p.m PST, so you better get out your transistor radio and listen to my amazing voice!

Got any questions?
Reach out to a nice lady named Laura who did not write this for me!

For KCRW media inquiries, please contact:
Laura Cohen, LC Media: lcmediapr@gmail.com

About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. KCRW is driven by the spirit of LA and delivers in innovative ways – on the radio, digitally and in-person – to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in L.A., Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, and worldwide via the KCRW app or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrw
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/kcrw

About Maximum Fun
Maximum Fun is a pioneering podcast network, home to Bullseye with Jesse Thorn; Judge John Hodgman; The Adventure Zone; and other beloved shows. Founded in 2005 with a mission of bringing good things into the world, the network has grown to span over three dozen shows and millions of downloads every week. Going far beyond its internet roots, MaximumFun.org fosters a wonderful community of audience members and artists in real life.

 

 

 

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KCRW Music Announcement, Programming

KCRW’s Freeform Fridays feature Cut Chemist, Reggie Watts, TOKiMONSTA, Ceci Bastida, and more

KCRW announces new limited on-air series Freeform Fridays featuring special guests

Cut Chemist, Reggie Watts, TOKiMONSTA, Ceci Bastida, and a Surprise Guest TBA

KCRW DJs Aaron Byrd, Dan Wilcox, Novena Carmel, Mathieu Schreyer, and Jeremy Sole Back on Air for Opening Set

Anchored by Garth Trinidad and Travis Holcombe

Fridays starting May 15
8 – 11 PM PDT

Santa Monica (May 11, 2020) – KCRW has announced a new limited on-air series, “Freeform Fridays” featuring KCRW DJs and special guests Cut Chemist, Reggie Watts, TOKiMONSTA, Ceci Bastida, and a surprise guest TBA, starting on May 15, from 8PM – 11PM PDT, and continuing for five consecutive Fridays. Each evening opens with a set by one of the KCRW DJs – Aaron Byrd, Dan Wilcox, Novena Carmel, Mathieu Schreyer, or Jeremy Sole – back on-air for the first time since the safer-at-home order was implemented. Then, our special guest DJ takes over the airwaves with an hour of freeform radio, combining music, personal anecdotes, reflections on the current times, and plenty of surprises. Freeform Fridays will be anchored by KCRW DJs Garth Trinidad and Travis Holcombe who will close the evening with their own killer DJ set.

Freeform Fridays can be heard live on-air, at KCRW 89.9, online at KCRW.com, and via the KCRW app.

KCRW’s Freeform Fridays Schedule:

May 15
8pm Aaron Byrd
9pm Cut Chemist
10pm Garth Trinidad

May 22
8pm Dan Wilcox
9pm Reggie Watts
10pm Travis Holcombe

May 29
8pm Novena Carmel
9pm TOKiMONSTA
10pm Travis Holcombe

June 5
8pm Mathieu Schreyer
9pm Ceci Bastida
10pm Garth Trinidad

June 12
8pm Jeremy Sole
9pm SURPRISE GUEST TBA
10pm Garth Trinidad

More about Freeform Friday special guests:

As well as being one of the ablest solo turntablists on the globe, American DJ and producer Cut Chemist (born Lucas MacFadden) was also a member of two highly rated crews: underground rap kings Jurassic 5 and the Los Angeles Latin funk band Ozomatli. With J5, he contributed “Lesson 6” to the group’s eponymous EP and produced the entire record. In mid-1997 Cut Chemist recorded his album debut, Live at the Future Primitive Sound Session, with Shortkut of Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Two years later, he teamed up with DJ Shadow for Brainfreeze, and in 2001 the duo followed with Product Placement. In 2004 he issued Litmus Test, a remixed collection of his previous work. It was followed in 2006 by an album of his own productions, The Audience’s Listening (Warner Bros. Records). The next year, he released another collaboration with DJ Shadow, The Hard Sell, recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl. A more concise mix, The Hard Sell (Encore), arrived in 2008. In 2010 he released the mix album Sound of the Police, which featured Ethiopian and Afro-Brazilian recordings. He returned in 2017 with the singles “Work My Mind” (with Chali 2na and Hymnal) and “Madman.” His long awaited follow up artist album, DIE CUT, was released in March of 2019 and featured Tune Yards, Biz Markie, Deantoni Parks, Myka 9 and more!

Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned Musician/Comedian/Writer/Actor who currently stars as the bandleader on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden. Using his formidable voice, looping pedals, and his vast imagination, Watts blends and blurs the lines between music and comedy, wowing audiences with performances that are 100% improvised. Watts’ first Netflix special Spatial released to massive critical acclaim, with the New York Times calling it “a giddy rush of escapist nonsense” and dubbing Watts “the most influential absurdist in comedy today.” As a solo performer, Watts brand of musical/comedy fusion has led to sold out headlining tours in the U.S. and Europe, including festivals such as Bonnaroo, SXSW, Bumbershoot, Just For Laughs, Pemberton and more. This year, Watts released his own content app called “WattsApp,”  a techno-savvy look into his life, work, and techno junk drawer. WattsApp has all original content including a show called, Droneversations where he interviews guests while it’s filmed by drones along with other fun content.

Born and raised in Tijuana and now living in Los Angeles, Ceci Bastida was just 15 when she joined the iconic Mexican ska-punk band Tijuana NO and became one of the first women to rise in the ranks of contemporary Latin rock. In 2000 she spent eight years as part of the touring band of acclaimed singer Julieta Venegas, including a featured role in her 2008 MTV Unplugged special. Bastida embarked on her solo career in 2006 with the ep Front BC, and in 2010 released Veo La Marea (I See the Tide), a mix of electronica, rock, and hip-hop that The Fader dubbed “bodacious, clicky, and gongy” and the Los Angeles Times described as “a marching-band traipsing through the Amazon rainforest.” The album, which included hot-button songs about immigration and the drug war, featured guest spots by Diplo, Rye Rye, and Tim Armstrong. It earned her a Latin Grammy nomination, appearances on NPR’s Weekend Edition and KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, and a spot on the 2011 Lollapalooza bill. Her solo album, La Edad de la Violencia (The Age of Violence) was produced by Luke Top (Fool’s Gold) & XXXChange (Spank Rock) and includes songs inspired by the rise of everyday violence in the US and Mexico—from the drug war to the Sandy Hook shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing—and by Haruki Murakami’s novel Kafka on the Shore. Her latest album, an EP featuring collaborations with Aloe Blacc, Mexican Institute of Sound, Spoek Mathambo, and Mariel Mariel “Sueño” is out with Nacional Records. Bastida is also a member of the all-star band Mexrrissey, a Mexican homage to the songs of Morrissey and The Smiths. She is currently finishing her fourth album.

Over the last decade, the Los Angeles producer and Young Art label boss, TOKiMONSTA has helped define the sound of modern dance and beat music. In the process, she has received the co-signs of the biggest names in electronic and repped for the West Coast underground at the Grammys — all without sacrificing the purity of her vision or relying on exploding glowstick bombast. The secret is that there is no secret, other than the compositional genius and futuristic melodies embedded into the gleaming, technicolor mandalas of hip-hop instrumentalism, pop, R&B-soul, house, and IDM that encompass the TOKiMONSTA sound.

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For more information about KCRW please contact:
Laura Cohen, LC Media, lcmediapr@gmail.com

About KCRW

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways—on the radio, digitally and in person—to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Berlin, Germany, and worldwide via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrw
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/kcrw

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KCRW Music Announcement, Programming

KCRW + Henry Rollins Announce New Long-Form Online Radio Experience,”The Cool Quarantine”

KCRW + Henry Rollins Announce The Cool Quarantine

Long-form radio experience now available exclusively online at KCRW.com

SANTA MONICA (April 7, 2020) – Henry Rollins announced today a new long-form radio experience titled, The Cool Quarantine, offered as an aural respite from these stressful times. The first episode is now exclusively available online at KCRW.com, and features personal stories, deep cuts, rarities, bootlegs, full albums, EPs, and much more. It clocks in at more than four hours and features live bootlegs of the Cramps recorded by Ian MacKaye, a story about the time Henry and Ian saw Led Zeppelin in 1977 (plus a bootleg recording from that performance), audio from original Joy Division album pressings, stories about the early days of Black Flag and Dischord Records, and so much more.

Henry Rollins on The Cool Quarantine:

For many years, I’ve had this idea for a long-form show. I mean really long-form. Like hours. To do it terrestrially would be difficult because I would be crowding other shows out. But if it was online, hey. It’s as many songs as I want, language issues are not a factor, and if anyone gets bored, they can just turn it off or mark the time they checked out and resume later. The idea is that you’re in your room and Engineer X and I come over with a bunch of records. We play you songs, I tell you stories, and we do time together. Now that many of us are under some kind of confinement, we might as well get some good listening happening. Let’s go long! It’s kind of like the show we do on Sundays but without time constraints or worrying about FCC compliance. It’s an extra slice of pizza. It will be completely indulgent. Fanatic, of course, and hopefully, as Iggy Pop, the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Of Rock And Roll says, “a real cool time.” 

The first episode of The Cool Quarantine is available on-demand at kcrw.com, and via the KCRW app. Subsequent episodes will be released in the coming weeks.

For the most up-to-date information, visit: http://www.kcrw.com/henryrollinslongform

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For more information about KCRW please contact:
Laura Cohen, LC Media, lcmediapr@gmail.com

Henry Rollins is a last row of the classroom, no-count and a presenter on KCRW. He is the author of several books. He travels extensively and collects music from almost every location, which he faithfully brings to his listeners. He’s at that age where he often yells, “What the hell are you people talking about?! Do something!” He thinks he’s testifying before Congress. Too bad he’s alone at the grocery store, addressing the soup section. If you see him, call the number on his sleeve and someone from his office will come fetch him.

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways—on the radio, digitally and in person—to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Berlin, Germany, and worldwide via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrw
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/kcrw

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KCRW’s Lost Notes, Season Two, Episode One – Now Available

KCRW’s Lost Notes, Season Two, Episode One, “Teenage Offenders” Now Available

Hosted by Music Journalist and Author Jessica Hopper

“People make mistakes on their way to learning the right thing.” – Clif “Hanger” Croce of The Freeze

Santa Monica, CA (April 25, 2019) – The first episode of the 2nd season of KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast Lost Notes, “Teenage Offenders,” is now available. Hosted by celebrated music journalist and author Jessica Hopper, “Teenage Offenders” tells the story of two members of the early American punk band The Freeze, now forty years later, reflecting on their lyrics and their legacy in the #MeToo era.

Rob Rosenthal and his buddy Clif Croce were in high school when they founded The Freeze, a Boston punk band, in 1978. One of the definitive compilations of music from Boston’s 80s hardcore punk scene was named after a Freeze song: “This is Boston, Not L.A.” The band opened for the likes of Black Flag, Fear, the U.K. Subs, and toured across the U.S. and Europe. The Freeze remains Cape Cod’s longest running punk band. Like most punk bands from this era, they sang about what they were against: religion, jocks, and conformity. But they were bratty, too, and aimed to offend. Now, forty years later, Rob and Clif examine their own feelings on what they wrote decades ago.

Season two of Lost Notes examines untold stories from music history, and explores the idea of legacy. Episode two will be released Thursday, May 2, and features author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib exploring Cat Power’s storied album The Greatest.  Lost Notes is available for free on Apple Podcasts, KCRW’s website and all other major podcast platforms.

@KCRW, #LostNotes

For more information please contact: Laura Cohen, LC Media, lcmediapr@gmail.com

About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, and Berlin, Germany, and worldwide via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/user/kcrw

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KCRW Announces Details of Lost Notes, Season Two

KCRW Announces Details of Lost Notes, Season Two

Acclaimed Podcast Welcomes Music Journalist and Author Jessica Hopper as Host and Executive Producer

“Each episode of Lost Notes is an in-depth view of a story you had no idea was so essential until you start listening.” – Complex

Santa Monica, CA (April 3, 2019) – KCRW is pleased to announce details of the second season of the acclaimed podcast Lost Notes – a series of music documentaries – launching on April 25, 2019. For season two, Lost Notes welcomes celebrated music journalist and author Jessica Hopper as host and executive producer.

Lost Notes examines untold stories from music history, and, this season, explores the idea of legacy. What can a song inspire in its listeners or its creators, years or even decades later? What happens when a previous generation’s art is held to a younger generation’s moral standard? Who is obscured by the shadow of an artist’s greatness?

“With this season of Lost Notes our aim was to deepen some of the conversations around legacy,” says Hopper. “We asked for story ideas from folks who had previously contributed to Lost Notes, as well as writers who I had worked with before, with no particular prompt for what sorts of stories we wanted. Many of them came back to us with stories that were retrospective, and worked to reconcile music’s present and its past. This season approaches questions of artistic legacy with openness and real curiosity, and offers up stories that are new and nuanced. These episodes get into whose work, and whose story is considered worth remembering and why. Every episode gives context around the cultural forces that shaped, and in some cases, complicated an artist’s career. I’m someone who is fundamentally interested in the stories of artists who have been relegated to the footnotes, so working on this season of Lost Notes has been hugely satisfying.”

Lost Notes, season two episodes:

  • Fanny were the first all-female rock band signed to a major label; they ruled the Sunset Strip in the 1970s, and they were supposed to be the next big thing. They’ll explain what it felt like to be so ahead of their time, then, and how they feel about being recognized for it now.

  • John Fahey’s guitar playing influenced the sound of the American underground for generations. But how does that legacy change when his story is told by three of the women who knew him best?

  • Author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib explores Cat Power’s storied album The Greatest.

  • Nermin Niazi and Feisal Mosleh, teenage siblings in London, made Disco Se Aagay, a fusion of Pakistani folk-pop and British new wave, in the early 80s. Arshia Fatima Haq tracks down their lost masterpiece.

  • A profile of Suzanne Ciani, who balanced her pathbreaking commercial work scoring Coke ads in the seventies with her work as a pioneering avant garde synth composer.

  • The Freeze were an early American punk band. Now, forty years later, two members attempt to reckon with the lyrics they wrote as teenagers.

  • In the decades since his death, jazz pianist Billy Tipton has been celebrated as a trans pioneer. Allyson McCabe looks at Tipton’s mysterious life with artists he’s influenced, to find the ways his story resists any simple telling.

  • Jessica Hopper looks at how gun violence has changed the concert going experience, but why so few people in music are willing to talk about it.

The first episode of Lost Notes will be released April 25, 2019. Additional episodes drop every Thursday. The podcast is available for free on Apple Podcasts, KCRW’s website and all other major podcast platforms.

A sneak peek of what’s to come on Lost Notes, season two, can be heard here.

Episodes from Lost Notes’ first season were listed among the best podcast episodes of 2018 by Audible Feast, The Bello Collective, and Indiewire, praising its “outside looks at some of the best music-related tales of decades past.”

More about Lost Notes season two host and executive producer:

Jessica Hopper is a Chicago-based journalist and producer. She is the author of The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic (2015), The Girls Guide to Rocking (2009), and most recently, the memoir Night Moves (2018). She was formerly Editorial Director at MTV News, Senior Editor at Pitchfork, Music Editor at Rookie, and was the longtime music consultant for This American Life. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Elle, GQ, Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, as well as Best Music Writing for 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2011. She is editor for University of Texas Press’ American Music Series. She is currently at work on No God But Herself, a book about women in music in 1975 (FSG x MCD, Spring 2021). (http://jessicahopper.org)

More about Lost Notes contributors:

Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, cultural critic and author based in Columbus, Ohio.  His latest book Go Ahead In The Rain (University of Texas Press, 2019) debuted as a NY Times Best Seller.  (http://www.abdurraqib.com/bio/)

Allyson McCabe is the creator of Minimum Rock n’ Roll, and regularly reports on the intersections of music, gender, and technology for Morning Edition and All Things Considered. (https://www.allysonmccabe.com/)

Michelle Macklem is an independent producer and sound designer based in Canada and Australia. Her work can regularly be heard on CBC, BBC, ABC RN, Radiotopia, and Re:Sound. (http://michellemacklem.com/about/)

Rob Rosenthal is an independent producer, lead instructor of the Transom Story Workshop, and host of the HowSound podcast about radio storytelling for PRX and Transom. (https://twitter.com/howsoundtweets)

Robin Linn is a radio producer, editor, and writer for PRX’s How to Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black, Illinois Public Media’s The 21st Show, and an alum of WBEZ’s Sound Opinions. (https://twitter.com/robnlnn)

Carla Green is a print and radio reporter for KCRW and The Guardian, among other outlets, and the managing producer of KCRW’s documentary podcast UnFictional. (http://carlaflournoy.green/)

Dylan Tupper Rupert is a journalist who covers music, culture, and wine. A longtime columnist for Rookie, she is currently based in Los Angeles. (http://www.dylantupperrupert.com/)

Arshia Fatima Haq is a film-maker and visual and sound artist originally from India, currently based in Los Angeles, and a returning contributor to Lost Notes. (https://arshiahaq.com/)

Nick White (creator and executive producer) is an award-winning radio producer and editor based in Los Angeles. His work has been heard on various outlets around the world including NPR, the BBC World Service, Marketplace, WBEZ and WNYC.

Myke Dodge Weiskopf (producer) is a radio producer, field recordist, and songwriter who records under the name Science Park.

Paulina Velasco (associate producer)is a multilingual journalist based in Los Angeles. Her work focuses on immigrant communities and appears in public radio and print.

Marion Hodges is a KCRW DJ and digital contributor.

@KCRW, #LostNotes

For more information please contact:
Laura Cohen, LC Media, lcmediapr@gmail.com

About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, and Berlin, Germany, and worldwide via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, or online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/user/kcrw

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KCRW Music Announcement, Programming

October on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic Starts with a Stellar Line-Up

KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic

October Starts with Stellar Line-Up

The first two weeks of October on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic boasts a stellar line-up; a rocking live set from Queens of the Stone Age, Dhani Harrison in his first live radio appearance in the U.S., current U.K. chart-toppers Wolf Alice, Grizzly Bear’s return after a five-year hiatus, and the live radio debut of Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile. And, Jason Bentley interviews mastermind director, and big KCRW fan, David Lynch.

Queens of the Stone Age
Thursday, October 5, at 11:15 a.m.
October kicks off with a full on rock set from Queens of the Stone Age, highlighting tracks from their latest album Villains. Produced by Mark Ronson, Villains is glammy & groovy, and packs the rock ‘n’ roll punch we’ve come to expect. The live QOTSA performance is in advance of their appearance at Cal Jam.

Dhani Harrison (Live U.S. Radio Debut)
Friday, October 6, at 10:00 a.m.
Dhani Harrison is rock royalty. After ten years of releasing music as part of a band, the son of the late George Harrison is finally striking out with his eponymous debut album. On the day of it’s release, Harrison performs selections from his forthcoming record — performed with a full band and strings — marking his first live radio appearance in the U.S., and first full band appearance worldwide.

Wolf Alice
Monday, October 9, at 11:15 a.m.
Wolf Alice, hailed by NME as the “best band in Britain” has been a KCRW fave from the beginning. In 2015, the band played the station’s SXSW showcase. Less than a year later, they were nominated for a GRAMMY®. Their sophomore album Visions of a Life, is a bold move forward for a band that came out of the gate with confidence and determination. They are currently locked in a tight battle with Shania Twain for the top spot on this week’s UK album chart, and perform live on-air in advance of their appearance at Cal Jam.

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile (Live Worldwide Radio Debut)
Tuesday, October 10, at 11:15 a.m.
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile are two gifted songwriters who joined forces for a collaborative project, Lotta Set Lice. The result is a perfect representation of their collective talents. The duo make their live worldwide radio debut just days before the album’s release. They entertain not only with their music, but with their funny/deadpan/stream of consciousness storytelling. The performance is in advance of their appearance at Desert Daze.

David Lynch
Wednesday, October 11, at 10:00 a.m.
David Lynch has had an immeasurable influence on television, film and music. His groundbreaking series Twin Peaks returned this summer for it’s third season after a quarter-century hiatus. Lynch’s conversation with Jason Bentley addresses the show’s revival, his upcoming Festival of Disruption, how meditation can bring about world peace, and how musicians are a lot like children.

Grizzly Bear
Thursday, October 12, at 10:00 a.m.
Grizzly Bear took five years to craft their fifth album, Painted Ruins. It’s a grand return, jampacked with the gorgeous harmonies and complex orchestration the quartet are known for. This week, they kick off their first tour in four years in Europe, which culminates in L.A. on December 13 and 14 at the Wiltern. Recorded at Apogee Studio, this exceptional live session sees the band exploring tracks from their latest album, as well as digging deep from their catalog for a fan favorite or two.

Morning Becomes Eclectic, hosted by KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley, is the station’s signature daily music program (9:00 AM – Noon) featuring new releases from emerging and established artists, underappreciated gems, live performances and interviews.

About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, and online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw
YouTube | youtube.com/user/kcrw

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KCRW and WNYC Studios Announce “There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles”

KCRW and WNYC Studios Announce

“There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles”

An Eight–Part Podcast Series

Examining Gentrification in LA in 2017

Hosted by KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez

Inspired by WNYC’s Original Podcast Set in Brooklyn

TGTN: LA to Debut on Tuesday, September 26

Preview Episode Available Today

 

(New York, NY & Los Angeles, CA – September 21, 2017) – Today, two major public radio producers – KCRW and WNYC – announce the launch of There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles, an eight-part podcast series examining the winners and losers of neighborhood gentrification, and the forces driving it in Los Angeles.

The series is a new season of WNYC Studios’ original There Goes the Neighborhood podcast, which featured an in-depth look at gentrification in Brooklyn at a time when the borough had come to symbolize the phenomenon.

Debuting Tuesday, September 26, There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles will explore how LA has gone from the place to chase your dreams to one of the least affordable cities in the country. The series will take an unsparing look at urban development and soaring housing prices that are expanding into previously unaffected neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park, Inglewood, and Elysian Valley.

In the preview episode, Kai Wright – who hosted the original podcast – hands the series over to Los Angeles host and KCRW reporter Saul Gonzalez. Additional episodes will tell the stories of people dealing with the realities of gentrification on an intimate level: long-time residents, property owners, and community organizers, as well as developers and neighborhood newcomers, including:

Photo by Saul Gonzalez

  • Cesar Vega, a native Angeleno whose bungalow in Hollywood is surrounded on three sides by enormous new apartment buildings. “The way the city approaches [all the new construction] is that it’s an improvement, it’s a benefit to everybody. That the rising tide lifts all boats. But I’m not sure people in small boats wrote that, you know?”
  • Erin Aubry Kaplan, an Inglewood resident who welcomes new businesses but wonders why it’s taken so long. “People have been asking for decades for certain things, improvements, better this, better that… and somehow it only happens when this gentrification process starts. Until that happens nothing happens.”
  • Michael Parker, an artist living downtown who’s facing eviction. “If I get pushed out of the Arts District with the name of the neighborhood named after me, then I’m going to go gentrify somebody else and push somebody else out. That doesn’t make me feel good.”
  • David Schwartzman, president of Harridge Development Group. “I think there’s a very negative connotation to the word developer. I mean at least the way I look at it is, I’m trying to create jobs, we’re changing lifestyles, we’re upgrading an area. And that’s the thing, I think we are making the country better.”

In addition to Gonzalez, There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles will feature reporting from KCRW contributors, including housing reporter Anna Scott, data and investigative producer Miguel Contreras, and Design and Architecture host and producer team, Frances Anderton and Avishay Artsy.

“Wherever I go in L.A., I hear people talk about how worried they are about the cost of housing and just how hard they have to work to keep a roof over their heads. That fear is only heightened by gentrification and this feeling that Los Angeles is becoming one big playground for the rich, a great place if you have money, a terrible one if you don’t. I think the fundamental question facing Los Angeles is whether working people can still create decent lives for themselves and their families here. If they can’t, we all get hurt,” Gonzalez says.

Sonya Geis, KCRW’s Managing Editor, says “Whether you own or rent a place to live in L.A., you can feel the changes. Prices are skyrocketing, new building is everywhere, this is not the Los Angeles of 20, or even 10 years ago. The intention of this series is to look hard at why this is happening now and to listen to the voices of the many people who are anxious about whether they will have a place in the L.A. of the future.”

“With shows like ‘There Goes the Neighborhood,’ WNYC’s newsroom has strived to bake deep, local reporting into the surge of podcasting that is among the most vital forces in media today,” said Jim Schachter, Vice President of News, WNYC. “To partner with another public radio station on a new season of one of our signature podcasts is a mark of the kind of leadership WNYC aims to demonstrate.”

“We started ‘There Goes the Neighborhood’ in our own backyard because Brooklyn is ground zero for many of the trends and tactics developers are using to rapidly transform urban neighborhoods,” said Karen Frillmann, Executive Producer, WNYC. “But, in fact, the ‘Brooklyn-izing’ of cities is happening all over the world and Los Angeles is another example of how the swiftly changing economy of a city can make it inaccessible to its own residents. This partnership with KCRW allows us to bring these stories and perspectives to light.”

There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles premieres Tuesday, September 26 at kcrw.com/theregoestheneighborhood, wnyc.org/shows/neighborhood, Apple Podcasts, and all other places where podcasts may be downloaded. The preview episode is available here.

There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles is funded by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation as part of a multi-year reporting project to tell stories of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable communities. It follows “KCRW Investigates” and “Below the Ten: Stories of South LA,” documentaries about the lives of Los Angeles workers and residents who find themselves on the edges of society.

ABOUT KCRW

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways – on the radio, digitally and in person – to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Berlin, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via the KCRW smartphone app and online at kcrw.com | twitter.com/kcrw | facebook.com/kcrwradio | instagram.com/kcrw

ABOUT WNYC STUDIOS

WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio, home to some of the most critically acclaimed and popular podcasts of the last decade, including “Radiolab,” “2 Dope Queens,” “Nancy,” “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” “Freakonomics Radio,” “Death, Sex & Money,” “Here’s the Thing” with Alec Baldwin, “Note to Self,” “On the Media,” and “A Piece of Work” with Abbi Jacobson.  WNYC Studios is leading the new golden age in audio with podcasts and national radio programs that inform, inspire, and delight millions of intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms. Their programs include personal narratives, deep journalism, interviews that reveal, and smart entertainment as varied and intimate as the human voice itself. For more information, visit wnycstudios.wnyc.org

 

Press Contacts:

KCRW: Connie Alvarez, Communications
310.314.4673, connie.alvarez@kcrw.org

WNYC Studios: Camille Ortiz, Publicist
646.829.4331, cortiz@nypublicradio.org

 

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Programming, Station Announcement

Warren Olney Going Deeper Into the Critical Issues Shaping Our World

WARREN OLNEY
GOING DEEPER INTO THE CRITICAL ISSUES
SHAPING OUR WORLD

KCRW MOVES
SIGNATURE NATIONAL PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOW 
TO THE POINT
TO PODCAST PLATFORM NOVEMBER 13

KCRW announced that starting November 13, 2017, To The Point, the signature daily national public affairs show, will be moving from the broadcast platform to a weekly podcast platform.

The final daily broadcast of TTP will be November 10th.

To The Point joins a comprehensive set of exclusive podcasts that bring a wealth of ideas and topics to KCRW listeners, including  Scheer Intelligence, Unfictional, The Organist, Here Be Monsters, Off the Block, Below the Ten, Celestial Blood / Sangre Celestial, and The Document.

Warren Olney said of his tenure at KCRW, “After 25 years in commercial TV news and 25 years in public radio, I’m getting a rare opportunity for another phase in my career. To the Point is becoming a weekly podcast. Without the tyranny of the radio clock, I’ll have time to explore issues that underlie the 24-7 onslaught of daily information. I think listeners will be glad to hear probing conversations about those issues without artificial limits.

“Over the years, on To the Point—and, before that, on Which Way, LA?– I’ve interviewed pundits, politicians, scholars, business leaders, scientists, writers, activists and comedians—representing America’s diversity in multiple ways. After every program ends, I’ve talked to these guests, and they always have something new and interesting to say, something I wish the radio audience had been able to hear. Podcasting will allow my audience to share extended conversations that are informal, direct, engaging and informative. I’m eager to get started the first week of November.”

KCRW President Jennifer Ferro called Warren Olney, “the voice of reason for multiple generations and the pinnacle of credibility for KCRW and Los Angeles.” Ferro added, “He has helped us all through confusing and often frightening world and national events with calmness, clarity and intelligence.  The podcast platform is perfect for his style of thoughtful conversation and what I love is that Warren is still going to be our voice of reason in a format that is growing more powerful each day. I can’t wait to hear what’s next because the truth is that he is truly irreplaceable.”

Ferro continued, “We are building a parallel broadcast universe with podcasts. Whether they are part of our regular programming, or exclusive to this platform, they give our producers full creativity to explore stories and ideas to their potential, especially in terms of length. It gives our listeners the freedom to listen whenever it is most convenient to absorb these ideas.”

Olney also plans to step up his live Los Angeles appearances. He will host a live event series in partnership with Zocalo Public Square, diving into similar issues that he will tackle in his podcast. The first event will be held on October 10th at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo.

To subscribe to Warren Olney’s To The Point podcast, go to kcrw.com/podcasts.

ABOUT KCRW

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. KCRW is driven by the spirit of Los Angeles and delivers in innovative ways – on the radio, digitally and in person – to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via its KCRW-developed smartphone app and online at KCRW.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

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Events, KCRW Music Announcement, Programming

KCRW Announces Live Broadcast Schedule from SXSW

KCRW Announces Live Broadcast Schedule from SXSW
plus
Two Official Showcases Wednesday, March 16

Santa Monica, CA (March 10) – Los Angeles-based public radio station KCRW has announced the live broadcast schedule from the 2016 SXSW conference in Austin, TX. KCRW will broadcast live from FLOODfest at Cedar Street on Friday, March 18 during Morning Becomes Eclectic (9AM – Noon PST) and Saturday, March 19 (Noon to 6:00 PM PST) with DJs Anne Litt and Raul Campos.

KCRW also kicks off the convention with two official showcases on Wednesday, March 16.  The first features White Denim, Declan McKenna and Lapsley on the Radio Day Stage from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. In the evening, KCRW is proud to present the very first nighttime showcase at a brand new venue, 3TEN at Austin City Limits, featuring Ra Ra Riot, Eliot Sumner, Joon Moon, Cloves, Marlon Williams and Sofi Tukker from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am. Both showcases are open to anyone with a festival badge or wristband (no RSVP required).

KCRW LIVE FROM SXSW IN AUSTIN, TX BROADCAST SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 18:
9a – Noon PST — Morning Becomes Eclectic live from SXSW *

Saturday, March 19:
Noon-3pm PST Anne Litt live from SXSW *
3-6pm PST Raul Campos live from SXSW *

* KCRW is the radio sponsor for FLOODfest and will be broadcasting live from FLOODfest at Cedar Street.  View the Floodfest lineup and RSVP here:

http://floodmagazine.com/33203/floodfestaustin2016/

KCRW OFFICIAL SHOWCASES AT SXSW

Radio Day Stage, presented by KCRW
Wednesday, March 16, Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D

Set times:
White Denim 3:00 pm
Declan McKenna 4:00 pm
Lapsley 5:00 pm

3TEN at Austin City Limits Live, presented by KCRW
Wednesday, March 16, 310 Willie Nelson Blvd, Suite 1A

Set times:
Cloves 8:00 pm
Marlon Williams 9:00 pm
Joon Moon 10:00 pm
Eliot Sumner 11:00 pm
Ra Ra Riot 12:00 am
Sofi Tukker 1:00 am

About KCRW:

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via five KCRW-developed smart phone apps and online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

 

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Programming

KCRW’s Below the Ten: Stories of South LA continues with “Local Hires”

KCRW’s Audio/Visual Reporting Series on L.A.’s Vulnerable Populations Continues with “Local Hires,” the sixth chapter in Below the Ten: Stories of South LA

Series focuses on people who live and work in neighborhoods south of the 10 Freeway, including Watts, Jefferson Park, Inglewood and Compton

“Local Hires” premieres Thursday, January 14, on Morning Edition

kcrw.com/belowtheten

Los Angeles, CA (January 13, 2016) – The sixth chapter of KCRW’s Below the Ten: Stories of South LA titled “Local Hires” is set to premiere on Thursday, January 14, on Morning Edition. “Local Hires” tells the story of a union carpenter Anthony Fagan and his mentor “Big John,” a man whose mission it is to use local construction jobs as an opportunity to reduce violence in the South Los Angeles community. Across South LA there are a number of large developments under construction, including the $650 million dollar USC village, the expansion of the Crenshaw Metro line, and a new NFL stadium. Many of these city-changing projects have local hire initiatives, with a goal to hire a set percentage of people from the neighborhoods that surround these developments. The question is, will these new developments change South LA so dramatically that the people who constructed them can no longer afford to live there?

Each chapter in Below the Ten: Stories of South LA is produced documentary style, and focuses on the neighborhoods south of the 10 Freeway, including Watts, Jefferson Park, Inglewood and Compton. Produced by David Weinberg, the series examines these changing communities through intimate, personal stories of those who reside there. The audio premieres on KCRW’s airwaves, and complementary photo and video features are available online at kcrw.com/belowtheten.

Many of the people highlighted in Below the Ten: Stories of South LA are poor – some are undocumented, and some lack basic shelter, safety and opportunities to get ahead. The first chapter, “The New Compton,” tells the story of the changing face of Compton. Chapter 2, “Grace of the Sea,” follows Luis Jesus Gutierrez Sanchez – a gay, undocumented immigrant residing in Jefferson Park who is in danger of losing the garage he calls home. Chapter 3, “After Katrina, Finding Refuge in South LA,” chronicles Cassandra Cousin’s relocation to South LA after the hurricane hit New Orleans and left her homeless. Chapter 4 highlights one of the last remaining juke joints in California, “The Barnyard” – part junkyard, part music venue, part shelter – located on South Main Street not far from Watts. Chapter 5, “The Long Commute,” chronicles the Chambers family, who achieved their lifelong dream of homeownership by leaving South Los Angeles for the desert community of Palmdale, keeping ties to the old neighborhood by making a long daily commute to work and school: four hours “on a good day.” Additional chapters in the series will be unveiled in the coming months.

In August, 2015, KCRW announced the development of a multi-year documentary and reporting series on issues affecting the lives of Los Angeles residents who find themselves at the edges of our community. The series, supported by a generous grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, will explore Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations. Below the Ten: Stories of South LA is the first set of programs in the series.

For more information and online access to full audio and video, please visit:

kcrw.com/belowtheten

 

About KCRW

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via five KCRW-developed smart phone apps and online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw

Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio

Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw

Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

About the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $1.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants, distributing $100 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2014. The Foundation’s current assets are approximately $2.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org.

 

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