• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Monday, June 1, 1998

Poorman's playlist shifts to music's underground

RADIO: Los Angeles' No. 1 DJ hopes to revamp airwaves, display talents of local unsigned bands

By Vanessa VanderZanden

Daily Bruin Staff

How many times can a poor soul hear "MMMbop" before going mad? And does anyone really know the difference between "Everclear" and "Third Eye Blind"? When will there be a music revolution to save the late '90s?

In the spirit of this tradition, Poorman has decided to start his own new music show, Anti-Radio, Mondays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on KPLS 830 AM. The small station has a wide broadcast, from Los Angeles to Orange County, and San Bernardino to Riverside counties. Through this medium, he hopes to display the talents of local unsigned bands that wouldn't have a chance in the bureaucratic world of corporate radio.

"There's like eight companies that own like every radio station in Los Angeles," radio personality Poorman (a.k.a. Jim Trenton) claims. "I call it commercial rock. They all want to follow the lead of something we started at KROQ 15 years ago, which was to play new music and play it first."

Poorman only has a 12-week period, between June and September, to change the face of rock 'n' roll. After that point, KPLS will be taken over by the Catholic Radio Station of America, which bought out the station's failed childrens' format, Radio Oz, in January. The 30-member, state-of-the-art station has been depleted to a two-man team, assisting the various random, self-run radio shows currently on the air.

"There's sports shows on there and Beat Radio, which has an electronica sound," Poorman describes of the other syndicated programs. "I would keep Anti-Radio show going if it weren't for the Catholic radio station taking over, but Guitar Center told me they'd want to be the sponsor of a syndicated thing. So, why not syndicate this thing on AM stations all over the country?"

But that's looking ahead. Right now, Poorman will use Guitar Center as a drop-off point for the demo tapes of local bands hoping to receive airplay. His next move will involve hooking up a small, independent record store from which to distribute the show's playlist, so that listeners have access to the albums played on Anti-Radio.

"I'm going to play songs and then I'm going to go to the phones," Poorman explains. "Within two weeks I'll have an Anti-Radio playlist with the hopes of making it, eventually, an unsigned top 40. I figure there's probably enough good songs out there that I can have some really killer stuff that no one else even has any access to."

Though this format may sound like merely an underground version of KROQ, with songs repeated to listeners' indigestion, Poorman claims it will build an audience. Otherwise, it may prove difficult for any unknown band to grab the audience's attention. And Poorman would be the first to want to help out struggling locals and build a community.

"What I'm putting together now is getting one-op record stores, not chains, but five or 10 independent record stores together and have them distribute the music on the playlist," Poorman giddily relates. "And, on top of that, I want the owners of these record stores to call in with a song that they think is really hot, once a week. Since they're always dealing with unsigned bands, they'd know that market better than anybody."

Luckily for Anti-Radio, Poorman knows his end of the market inside and out. His 12-year stint as the No. 1 rated DJ in Los Angeles has included the conception of the now-famous radio and MTV show, "Loveline." Unluckily for Poorman, his rights to the show have since been denied, leaving him engaged in a messy five-year court battle.

Always a survivor, Poorman has since moved to KIIS, Power and Groove. However, the bureaucratic edge to the commercial stations has left the DJ craving his own fresh, creative time slot.

"That's what disturbs me about radio in general," Poorman says. "You think you're calling in when you make a request, but your request never goes on. The play list is already pre-printed. They find a song that's already on the playlist and put the person on the air that requests that song. The other callers, with the obscure requests, get eliminated."

However, Poorman recognizes that such control stagnates the exciting world of new music. Some demos set to play on his show include that of a swing band, a crooning big-band act reminiscent of Nat King Cole, a punk band, and a standard alterna-rock group. The open-minded DJ continues to look for demos, accepting all genres and levels of professionalism.

"You could theoretically have a modern rock song followed by an R&B song, followed by a country song, followed by jazz, followed by punk, followed by swing," describes Poorman of his show's genre-less format. "I'm just going to play all kinds of new music and quite honestly, I have no idea where it's going to go. It may end up a proving ground for modern rock."

"I'm not saying what I'm going to do is necessarily discover new styles of music, but it's kind of refreshing," Poorman continues. "At least this little guy, who's struggling, who's not part of a record company promotional campaign, will have a chance to be heard."

RADIO: If you would like to have your band on Anti-Radio, send demos to: Jim Trenton "The Poorman", 177 Riverside Ave., Newport Beach, Calif., 92663.

Comments

Post a comment