TL: How did you get from Boston’s WFNX to LA’s KROQ? WFNX is a small indie rock station while KROQ is a large scale alternative station, so was it the weather?

 

Weather was a big factor. I grew up on punk/indie rock so getting a gig at WFNX was a dream come true.  After years of growing pains and feeling like an outsider, I finally felt like I had found my people.  It was an amazing experience, but in 1997 music was changing.  Alternative music became a money making format and “consultants” were brought into the daily programming.  I became a bit disillusioned, so when a record-breaking cold front passed through in ’97, I knew it was time to get the hell out.  I quit my great job and drove cross country to Los Angeles with only $500 to my name and no job lined up.  It took me awhile to get a gig at KROQ, but I guess I was just enough of a pain in the ass to score a slot.  It was scary actually.  KROQ’s listenership is massive compared to WFNX, the format is less adventurous than where I had come from, and I worried I would feel stifled, or god did I sell out?  But, I realized I was tired of preaching to the converted.  It is so much more gratifying to be able to fight for bands and get them on a station like KROQ because it is a bit more high profile.  It’s my little way of trying to make a dent in the machine.

 

TL: Most listeners would consider a on-air gig at a hugely popular commercial station a celebu-job, meaning sweet industry hook-ups; partying with/like a rock star; and free shit. As insiders know, there is a job behind the swag, and I bet there is a down side. I’ve seen DJs get pummeled mercilessly by audiences when doing on-stage introductions for bands, for example. What do you love about your job and what could you do without and why?

 

Yes, that is all true.  We do get to hang out with rockstars and get the passes etc. but not the paycheck to afford the so-called rock n’ roll lifestyle.  I mean I’m not having dinner at Dave Grohl’s house, but when he sees me we have a great chat.  It’s the greatest job in the world.  I get to turn people on to music.  I get to fight to get bands played on the biggest rock radio station in the country.  I also have a great number of friends who work at stations all over the country, and we are constantly sharing new music with each other to try and move things along for bands.  It’s a ball of satisfaction and frustration that fuels me everyday.  One of the most satisfying things is hosting the local music show Locals Only.  I do not take it lightly when I listen to a cd and have to decide if it’s right for us to play. 

 

It sounds so petty to complain about playing music.  I’m sure someone who’s lifting blocks of concrete on a daily basis would tell me to shut the hell up.  I guess the least favorite part of my job is introducing bands on stage. The dynamic around the “on stage” has changed.  In fact, I am waging a one woman campaign to abolish them.  It’s not like it was back in the 70’s and 80’s when people revered the dj.  Now, you walk out and you’ll get everything from “yay, we love you,” to “show us your tits,” to “fuck off!”   It’s hard not to take it personally.  I’ve seen it happen to djs from all over the country at many other stations.  It’s a suicide run. 

 

But really, do I have any complaints?  No.  I love every minute of it. 

 

TL: Indie purists often condemn bands that make it to commercial radio as sell-outs; voices that do make a strong case that commercial interests either compromise the success of independent labels or the creative liberty of bands. What is your addition to this ongoing debate? What is your advice to bands / musicians who come up through the D.i.Y scene and, while they do not want to compromise the indie ethos, are working to make a living as artists?

 

KC: I always found that thought process was funny.  Music is made to be heard and not by just one little club but hopefully by everyone. I worked in indie radio for years and we would play music nobody else was playing, just trying to get support for these bands so they could play bigger clubs, pay their bills and etc., and the bands were so grateful.  With the spins they get more notoriety and can use that to propel them to the next city and the next radio station. People will bitch that your station is not playing band “A” and how could that be they’re the greatest band in the world!  Then when you start playing band “A,” those people scream and yell about how radio is going to wreck the band.  People with that sell out attitude clearly have trust funds and do not realize that artists need to pay their rent just like everyone else.  When we started playing Silversun Pickups in regular rotation on KROQ, I nearly cried. This LA band is so damn good, why shouldn’t everyone on this planet get to know them?  I guess people see it as a bad reflection on themselves.  If everyone loves it than boy my taste must be shite.  Time to find the next unknown precious band and sit in my room alone wearing all black.

 

Artists write songs because they are inspired, and if they get played on commercial radio it’s a gift to all of us who get to play it and listen to it.

 

TL: KROQ has always been a commercial station; yet, the Locals Only show that you do focuses largely on LA bands that are either unsigned or on indie labels. How does Locals Only fit with the interests of a commercial radio station?

 

Well, first, it’s a place where, hopefully, bands will drum up interest from labels, managers, music supervisors and booking agents.  Yes, we are a commercial station and regular rotation is full of powerhouse bands, but we can see the progress of some bands going from Locals Only into regular rotation (i.e. Silversun Pickups).  They are on an indie label, but the groundswell of fans and support from the scene elevated them to a whole new level. Everyone I work with at KROQ is a total music head.  This show is a collective effort, and it really fulfills our need to get new music out there.  Occasionally, I feel so strongly about a band that I will call up managers and label people I know and tell them to go check out this particular band.  They really appreciate it and hopefully good things will come out of it.