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Hi friends,
This week marks 30 years since I arrived in Los Angeles.
How I ended up here after finishing high school is a long story that begins with a friend from Brooklyn who had moved west. Technically, he didn’t even live in what I thought was LA at the time. He lived in Altadena. My idea of Los Angeles was probably similar to everyone else’s: Hollywood, palm trees, the Beach Boys, and some vague promise of sunshine. I came planning to stay for six months.
Thirty years later, I’m still here.
Musically, LA in 1996 felt like a city the rest of the world had somehow stopped watching. I mean that as a compliment. Stones Throw was just getting started (Celebrating 30 years in October with KCRW), and a loose network of musicians, labels, venues, and parties was quietly shaping what would come next. Bands like Strictly Ballroom and Further ruled the underground. Jabberjaw and No Life Records felt like cultural institutions. The Root Down was beginning to throw the parties people still talk about today.
I arrived with a handful of demos that, looking back, were atrocious. Somehow, that didn’t stop me from repeatedly showing up at KCRW’s basement studios. Chris Douridas took an interest and turned me on to Eels and Beck’s Odelay. On another visit, Jason Bentley remembered me from my previous incursions and welcomed me back. Once, I wandered in and found Suzanne Vega preparing to perform live, which left me completely frozen and tongue-tied.
Los Angeles had the perfect conditions for experimentation. Rent was cheap, communities overlapped, and there was room to try things without knowing exactly where they might lead. There’s an old line that “LA is the only city in the world where you can die from encouragement.” Thankfully, I survived. Instead, the city gave me space to follow ideas, explore dead ends, make mistakes, and occasionally stumble into the things that would define my life.
Through all of it, KCRW was there. Sometimes close, sometimes in the background, but always a kind of guiding star. A homegrown Los Angeles institution made by Angelenos and somehow broadcasting far beyond the city itself.
To revisit some of the music I was discovering during those early years, I put together a member-exclusive mix available on the KCRW app.
Thirty years later, I’m still discovering this city alongside all of you here with KCRW... and still waiting for Chris to play my demo on his show.
Thank you! - Ale
Now Spinning On My Turntable Julia Holter - Materia
I’ve known Julia Holter since her early days as a musician. Back in 2007, I met her while she was interning at Human Ear Records, the small LA label that helped launch the sound and careers of so many adventurous artists in the city.
Listening to Materia nearly 20 years after first hearing Julia’s music, I’m struck by how her sound seems to be expanding and deepening at the same time. The album revisits ideas from Something in the Room She Moves, but stretches them into something more physical, mysterious, and immersive. “Dreamy” would be the easy word. It’s also the wrong one. This is music with weight, texture, and its own internal gravity.
Rather than try to explain it, I’d encourage you to step inside and find your own meaning. Tonight at 7:00 PM, KCRW will host a listening party and conversation with Julia at In Sheep’s Clothing HiFi.
More Music Moments
Leenalchi “Live on KCRW”
Trying to neatly categorize LEENALCHI feels like a near-impossible task, and that’s exactly the point. The Seoul-based band takes pansori (Korea’s centuries-old tradition of powerful musical storytelling)and brings it starkly to the present, building a widely kinetic sound. With minimal production, supported by two basses and drums laying down a deceptively deep pocket, LEENALCHI’s four vocalists trade phrases, emotions, answer one another, and occasionally collide in exhilarating bursts of harmony. Watch LEENALCHI turn KCRW HQ into their own wonderfully funky, sensationally hip, cool weird world.
King Gizzard in the building!
On the day of their 28th album release, Alien Metal, Stu Mackenzie and Joey Walker of the prolific King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard chat with KCRW DJ Tyler "Boogie" Boudreaux about their new bandmate "Nathan," a "Eurorack" modular synthesizer setup manned by all six bandmates, and what inspired this new foray of their repertoire. Check it out here!
Join Us this Sunday in conversation with James Spooner and KCRW’s Henry Rollins about James’ book “It Starts With Anger: A Punk Beginning. An AFROPUNK Ending”
The Skirball is thrilled to welcome acclaimed novelist and filmmaker James Spooner this Sunday, August 23rd, for a special event celebrating the release of his new book, It Starts With Anger: A Punk Beginning. An AFROPUNK Ending., featuring a conversation with special guest: KCRW’sHenry Rollins! The afternoon begins with a screening of Spooner's award-winning, newly remastered 2003 documentary, Afro-Punk, followed by a discussion between Spooner and Henry Rollins, former Black Flag frontman, writer, and activist — exploring punk's cultural impact, its ongoing evolution, and the communities it continues to inspire. Hang out with us after the conversation for book signings and a DJ set by Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde.
Nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES. Legendary comedian Deborah Vance and rising comedy writer Ava Daniels continue to navigate the highs and lows of show business as they push each other to new creative heights. Sharp, witty, and emotionally resonant, HACKS explores ambition, reinvention, and the complexities of an unlikely partnership. Don't miss the critically acclaimed comedy series The Hollywood Reporter calls "ONE OF TELEVISION'S SHARPEST COMEDIES." HACKS is now streaming on HBO Max.
VinylCon!is a community celebration of collecting culture and new music discovery, and it’s happening this weekend! There will be 100+ individual vinyl sellers from all over the region to set up a massive music selection you can’t find anywhere else. There will be a full bar, food trucks, and some vinyl-only DJ’s to provide killer tunes while you dig. Plus, our KCRW Street Team will be onsite on Saturday with our own collection of vinyl and other goodies!
Today is California Public Radio Day! Join us in celebrating the vital role public radio plays in connecting communities across the Golden State. If we raise $10,000 in donations, KCRW Champions Linda Lichter and Nick Marck will donate an additional $10k. Donate to help us reach that goal, and you can choose an exclusive thank you gift designed by KCRW’s Magnolia Casey.
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