by John Incampo | Jan 28, 2019
I came from lily-white Orange County in Southern California. My upbringing was not as racist as it could’ve been. It was more “we-accept-the-blacks-but-they-should-keep-to-themselves” brand which could be more insidious for the lack of awareness it breeds. It...
by John Incampo | Jan 21, 2019
KROQ, known in the 80s for new wave, actually played quite a bit of classic rock. On the music key while under Program Director Rick Carrol’s reign, appeared — once per hour — “any Beatles, any Zeppelin, any Stones, any Who.” This meant that we could have our choice...
by John Incampo | Jan 14, 2019
Here was a black guy named Tony, who ventured in to a vastly white radio station to hand me an unheard single that would become a hit by the end of the week. I played “Wild Thing,” as my Catch of the day that Monday. I also played it an unheard of second day in a row....
by John Incampo | Jan 14, 2019
Tom Morello is great because his guitar phrasing is it’s own language. You want an instrument to transcend itself. Many of the best bands do not sound like individual instruments. It goes beyond guitar, bass and drums. When you hear Rage, Nirvana, Tears for...
by John Incampo | Jan 14, 2019
People think of Cobain as a genius, but most can’t spell out why. He has a thing he does with his drop-D chords: the power guitars would typically leave one note out. Kurt in his melodies would sing the missing note. Punk rock was not as sophisticated. Nirvana...
by John Incampo | Jan 14, 2019
Music has a history of being manufactural. 50s crooners, the Monkees, boy bands. In the eighties, it was gimmick songs. Women had not broken through the rock barrier, and Chrissy Hynde could not do it all herself. I asked Josie Cotton — she of the manufactured Johnny...
by John Incampo | Jan 14, 2019
Maybe you’ve seen gold or platinum sales awards. Typically they are given to band members, producers, and label executives. For a while, the recipients were people who helped promote the albums. I’ve been asked what happened to most of my gold records. Honestly, I...
by John Incampo | Apr 18, 2018
When a DJ is playing music we expect you to dance to, I think it’s important for the DJ to dance. The 80s and 90s gave us a boatload of bouncy tunes, so why hide behind the decks? It’s not that I’m a lithe and dainty dancer. No one who incorporates a golf swing into...
