Preparing for a One-Night Stand

Friends, Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, and as such, it's time for me to reveal a lifelong crush of mine...

I'm talking about commercial radio. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. True, commercial radio is the beast that brought us shock jocks, Rush Limbaugh, and the ludicrous concept of a Top 40. But she also brought us War of the Worlds, Wolfman Jack, and Jim Ladd.  For 30-some odd years, I was proud to call her my special lady.

But as my regular Lost Moon Radio listeners know, this love affair has been on the skids since this past June, and it's been a humbling experience. Sure, I've had my dalliances in the meantime, broadcasting from a high school basement, ruminating into a dictaphone up here on the Lost Moon ... but they're just not the same. Just as Dick Burton couldn't stay long away from Liz, I can't resist the siren's call of wide-band FM. A love as grand as mine can only be measured in megahertz! I've gotta channel my broadcasts through the most powerful transistor towers outside of a U2 concert!

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm finally getting my chance! That's right, in just a few days, I'll be making a one-night stand with commercial radio.

On Saturday night, February 12, I'll be filling for my old industry buddy Ronnie Krantz (better known to many of you simply as "Veronica") on the home of Southern California's softest love hits, KUPD: The Cupid. Ronnie's got an unmissable date that night and she asked me if I could sub for her. Obviously, Love Notes with Veronica's usual blend of easy listening and power ballads is a little different from my regular format, but I'm confident that her base of female adult contemporary fans ages 25 to 54 will adapt comfortably to Lost Moon Radio's brand of psychedelic freeform rock. In the spirit of the approaching holiday, I'm building a set around the theme of "Love."

So set your dial to KUPD this Saturday, Angelenos! Or, if you prefer a communal listening experience, head down to Café-Club Fais Do-Do, where I know they'll be tuned into the broadcast. They charge a small admission, but I have it on good authority that all proceeds from the evening will go to benefit the advocacy and outreach organization Autism Speaks.

I hope you catch the show. While I'm only preparing for a one-night stand, I could be ready for a relationship in the right situation.  I'm putting myself out there.

Farewell Roosevelt High School

Well friends, I had a highly memorable Monday broadcasting psychedelic radio to the wonderful students and faculty of Torrance, California's own Roosevelt High School.  (Go Mascots!)  It was truly a pleasure to spend a morning riding the signal from 87.5 FM: The Sound of Roosevelt High.  If you'll indulge me half a pun, the experience was truly educational-- from the radio booth to the principal's office and back.  Many thanks to the day's co-pilot, Josh Redman, and to my niece Chelsea, who made the entire broadcast possible.  After three months spent off the radio, it was just a blast to be back on the air.

Granted, the Roosevelt High station has a pretty low wattage, so I believe my transmission was mainly confined to the school campus, most of its parking lot, and a couple of adjoining Torrance side streets.  (Although I was told later that apparently they'd been able to tune into my broadcast, with just a bit of static, at Café-Club Fais Do-Do, a full 13 miles away, a stroke of reception luck I chalk up to the vagaries of the FM band and to the conductive power of Fais Do-Do's aluminum superstructure.)  But I've never been one to quibble over the size of an audience.  As I don't currently have a 50,000 watt tower of corporate power to disseminate my broadcasts, I welcome any group of listeners with open arms.

I made a rare return trip to Earth for the show, and it was great to see Chelsea face to face (she's really growing up!) as well as to join my brother David and the rest of the family for dinner at the Olive Garden.  But now it's time to pack up my microphone and turntable, hop into my little rocket, and head home to the Lost Moon of Jupiter.  As fun as it was to be back in high school for the day, I'm eager to get back to the moonbase and resume my job hunt.  Three months is a long time for a disc jockey to be out of work.  I really should be sending out some more CVs, making calls, pounding the pavement, that sort of thing.  I mean, the Lost Moon may be a Jovian utopia where the idea of money is as foreign a concept as table tennis -- you wouldn't believe how many times I've tried and failed to teach the aliens ping pong -- but that doesn't mean I don't have bills to pay.  It's more expensive than you might think to maintain a functioning space station, and if you want to hit the really good vintage record sales around the gas giants, you've gotta spend an arm and a leg on rocket fuel.  Plus all the major carriers really screw you on cell phone coverage in the Outer Solar System.

But I'm confident that with a little bit of ambition and leg work I can definitely find a station to carry Lost Moon Radio by December.  After all, my annual Holiday Show is one of my favorite broadcasts of the year, and I can't imagine this temporary unemployment hiccup getting in the way of that tradition.

In the meantime, if anyone reading this works for the City of Torrance and can do something about a citation for parking in a school zone, please contact me directly.