KCSN DEBUTS “JOE WALSH OLD-FASHIONED ROCK N’ ROLL RADIO SHOW” BUT WILL IT BE DISTRIBUTED TO OTHER NONCOM STATIONS?

Los Angeles AAA duopoly 88.5 FM and guitarist Joe Walsh have launched a new weekly one-hour radio program The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show. 

The show airs on Saturdays at 6:00pm PT on KCSN/KSBR, the two stations that serve Los Angeles on 88.5. KCSN is the lead partner.

Walsh is known as the founder of The James Gang, the lead guitarist and singer in The Eagles and several hits as a solo artist.

KCSN general manager Patrick Osburn told Variety [link] that it was Walsh who reached out to 88.5 FM with the idea. Walsh said the reason he started the show was the cancellation of appearances, concerts and festivals. Walsh is a fan of public radio, particularly 88.5 FM.  

Walsh said in a press release: 

“This public radio station serves the community I live in and is funded by listeners. My show will be a mixture of music I love, music I think people will want to hear and stories behind some of these songs that I’m pretty sure no one knows about.”

Joe Walsh performs In the City at the Hollywood Bowl

Walsh controls the content of the show. Osburn had this comment about the arrangement: 

“[He] will have free reign to essentially take over the programming duties. “Being entertainment royalty and one of the many local fixtures of the SoCal/Hollywood community, we anticipate Joe’s Rolodex of potential guests runs deep, so we feel great about giving him the keys to the car.”

This may be the first time anyone gave Walsh the keys to their car.

What does The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show sound like? See the show’s playlist at [link].

88.5 FM coverage area

The audio stream of last Saturday’s show didn’t work when we tried it. But there is a playlist that shows the tunes that aired on the program. 

The list is filled with some of the most influential tunes and artists in rock history: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 by Bod Dylan; Take My Breath Away by Berlin; and a tribute to Betty Wright, who recently passed away.

Walsh combines the music with comments about the origin of the songs and why they are important.  The result is entertaining and educational. 

If KCSN decides to distribute The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show nationally, he will find that other public radio stations will enthusiastically carry it.

Walsh is no stranger to radio. He has done similar shows on WXRK in New York and KLOS in LA.

WILL WALSH CHALLENGE LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE AS THE COOLEST ROCK RADIO HISTORY SHOW?

In many ways, The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show is similar to Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage [link].

Van Zandt started Underground Garage almost 20 tears ago. 

It has won praise from fans, music critics and historians. Underground Garage is particularly popular with educators. 

Van Zandt has helped many organizations who want music taught in schools.

But you won’t hear Underground Garage on public radio. The show’s distributor, Sun Broadcast Group [link], only works with stations that play commercials. 

This could be an opportunity for Walsh and KCSN if they decide to distribute The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show to noncommercial stations.

United Stations Radio Network distributed Underground Garage for many years. About three years ago Sun took over the distribution. We aren’t certain if Sun still distributes Underground Garage because we could not find it listed of Sun’s website. However, on the Underground Garage’s website, it says Sun is distributing the show.

We assume the carriage list for Underground Garage was provided by Sun. If so, the list uses a “slight of hand” trick that distributors use to make a program appear to be more successful: Exaggerated carriage lists. 

For instance, the carriage list shows that people in Los Angeles can hear Underground Garage on KRHV-FM. But that station is located over 250 miles from LA.

It is the same shell game in San Francisco. The carriage list says KOZT carries the show but it is located over 80 miles from the Bay Area.

The list says people in Denver can listen to Underground Garage on KPAW. But KPAW is actually in Wyoming 140 miles north of Denver.

Let’s hope that Steven Van Zandt is aware that carriage lists from Sun are fudged. If not, he should know because it hurts his mission to educate people about the value of music.