Welcome to The Deep End. It's time that each of us introduces himself. I'll start.
My first experience of college radio was at KZSC at UC Santa Cruz at the end of the 70s. It was the beginning of the punk scene, when the tools of rock and roll were suddenly accessible to anyone with the nerve to try using them, with wonderfully diverse and weird results. By 1980 I was involved in two radio shows (one punk/post-punk/indie, one reggae) and filling in for other DJs when needed. College radio had become one of the last bastions of the spirit of early-70s freeform FM radio, and it still is today. A good DJ is an artist, combining songs and sounds in a way that entertains, communicates, and surprises. Hits are fine, but if you are not exposing the audience to new experiences, you are not doing your job (in my not so humble opinion).
I also have my own online radio station, Ear Candle Radio, and make my own music which you can find on Ear Candle Productions, the label I run with my wife, Davis Jones. We also make videos, which you can find here and here.
So what about The Deep End? Well, in this show I work with two other DJs to create an hour each week of "classic rock" radio with a difference. Most classic rock stations will draw from the same small pool of songs from the same small pool of artists. Where's the fun in that? We are committed to finding the hidden corners in the catalog. I mean, yeah yeah, everybody likes the Beatles, but when was the last time you heard "The Inner Light" or "I'm Down" on the radio? Thus, The Deep End.
My role in this trio seems to have settled into being the wild card. I will throw in delightfully odd cover versions, dig up overlooked personal favorites, and dip occasionally into what's happening right now. I'm not particularly respectful of genre boundaries, either. You might hear soul, indie, Krautrock, or reggae on occasion because any of it is legitimately classic rock as far as I'm concerned. Add the aesthetics of my co-DJs to this mix and you have a tug-of-war worth tuning in to.
Join us every Friday, from 7 to 8PM Pacific Time at KSFS.
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