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.