KEXP (formerly KCMU) is a great commercial-free community radio station that your radio receives at the 90.3 FM frequency when you are in close proximity to Seattle. It is owned and run by the University of Washington, funded by listeners and the Experience Music Project. The station broadcasts from downtown Seattle. You can also listen to KEXP via computer / internet wherever you are in the world. All day long this station plays great music from a variety of genres and artists you may know well or may never have heard of. KEXP has actual DJs that actually live in Seattle and aren't piped in from some central command marketing center somewhere. (In the early '90s, a former station manager tried to bring commercial radio sensibilities and pre-programmed sets to KCMU. This man was tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail. This is an historical–and beautiful–fact!)

It's 2001 now and on many Seattle radio stations white and black artists are still "seperated into demographics" with R&B stations playing mostly music from black artists and alternative stations mostly playing music from whites.

KEXP, however, caters to everyone and is still the only station in Seattle that mixes hip hop and rap in with everything else it plays during its numerous and excellent variety mix shows.

And there is so much more...

Along with its variety mix shows (where the sets are designed by the DJs and requested by listeners), here are some of the stations popular genre shows:

Best Ambience (African music)
Wo' Pop (World music)
The Roadhouse (Roots rock, Blues and Americana)
Swingin' Doors (Alternative Country, Honky Tonk, anything that twangs)
Shake the Shack (Rock-a-billy)
Positive Vibrations (Reggae)
Audioasis/The Live Room (Live-in studio- and recorded music from Seattle and the PacNW)
Expansions (Electronic dance grooves)
Sonarchy Radio (Live in-studio performances from eclectic artists)
Preachin' the Blues (Blues, soul, R&B)
Street Sounds (Hip Hop)
Jazz Theatre (Jazz)

Mind Over Matters (cutting edge public affairs from today's influential thinkers)

Visit www.kexp.org for the times and schedules.

My personal favorite KEXP radio shows:

The Morning Show hosted by John Richards (Mon-Fri 6-10am PT)
John's Morning Show is perfect for night owls who have found themselves stuck in day jobs... for the accidental morning person who can't deal with true morning people. John's mix is progressive and guaranteed to turn you on to sounds you will want to hear again. More about the Morning Show below*

Mind Over Matters (Sat-Sun 6-9am)
MOM will blow your mind wide open with news and perspectives sorely lacking from nearly every news station in existence whether it's on TV or radio. If you've ever wondered what non-corporate news sounds like, you must bend your ears toward Mind Over Matters.

Dial it up on your radio contraption or link to it from your overgrown calculator. KEXP is a goldmine waiting for you to discover it.

-Mattro

 

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* Here are a few KCMU-era Excerpts from "Radio jocks make hay with a variety of shows in the hot morning market"
Seattle Times, March 19, 2000:

Zoom to the left, 90.3 to be precise, and listen as KCMU-FM's "John in the Morning" eases listeners into the workday with a mix of rap, trip-hop, acid jazz, alt country and just about every kind of underground music you've probably never heard before - with just 400 watts of broadcast power.

...

Morning DJs command the most loyal followings in radio. These are the men and women who take over Mom's reveille duties when you enter adulthood, and share a passenger seat on the dreaded a.m. commute. In many ways, they're some of the most important people in our day.

"Morning shows are foreground music," John Richards, host of KCMU's "John in the Morning" show, said. "They're your alarm, coming right at you, whether they're being obnoxious or just playing music. They're shooting through your radio. You're in your car, sitting with them. Literally . . . It has all of your attention because when you get up in the morning, there's no other distractions."

...

One well-known local DJ estimated that Seattle's best morning men and women can command anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 for their services, depending on their popularity and the ratings they rake in. Those big numbers aren't true across the board; Richards said he makes below $20,000, not surprising when you consider KCMU's a non-commercial radio station.

...

KCMU's Richards is an atypical radio personality, relying solely on his taste in music to build a following. He breaks into his sets about four times in an hour to run down the list of songs, plug the station's sponsors and joke around, all in an even deadpan voice.

"What I'm doing is 110 percent different," he says. "Trying to get people to listen to music in the morning is a very hard sell because people are programmed to stick with obnoxious DJs, no matter how irritated they get. The beautiful thing is, you can go to any city and get your `Ends' and your 'KUBEs,' People are seeking us out because there isn't a KCMU anywhere else."

...

Excerpt from "Seattle's most popular morning DJs"
Seattle Times, March 19, 2000:

KCMU-FM (90.3) John Richards. (6 to 10 a.m.) "John in the Morning" is the stimulant of choice for a growing population of listeners. Little wonder: He plays music you won't hear anywhere else - in Seattle or the rest of the country - while waking you up with his deadpan humor. Looking for a morning DJ who personifies Seattle's originality? He's it.

 

RELATED LINKS:

 

Radiohead: With a voice and a list, he makes it happen
Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine 01/05/03
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0105/cover.html

KCMU DJ John Richards is co-owner of this cool label:
Loveless Records

 

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2003 © Raptorial Media