Around the Stations phantom

Between Kevin and Bean and Jed The Fish, we had a pretty good award run until Album Network, the trade publication, was bought by Clear Channel. I guess our competition couldn't bear to see us sweeping up awards, so they just bought the magazine. Now they are called I Heart. Do you think I Heart is a good name for a radio group?

His son Willam and I went to Beat Lab Academy in Eagle Rock together. Billy Idol was always great with me on the air, and I truly loved his music from the beginning. Willem tells me he was there that night with his dad, young enough at this point that he would have watched this photo taken. 1993.

Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes with -- I believe -- daughter Tatjana Rose at KROQ Acoustic Christmas. "This here is my Hammond Organ, Tatjana, I'm going to make you play this one day!" Not sure, maybe his wife at the time Julie Anne Friedman looking on. DD fans, help out.

Nick Rhodes backstage at Acoustic Christmas with -- I have no idea, but he seems a bit more interested in the keyboards than Nick's other observer. 1992

L-R, Asst. PD Gene Sandbloom (creator of the names for KROQ events) and I can't even tell which Ramones showed up that day -- Markie? Ritchie? -- random promo guy, Program Director Kevin Weatherly in the light shirt. Back on the left, Image Master John Frost, preparing to vomit, Sherri Trahan, Richard Blade, Tami Heide, and Jed The Fish in my favorite U2 shirt.

I got to meet the captain of the QE2. People said, "Oh, Jed, you're going on a cruise!" An Atlantic crossing is no cruise. Waves the size of hills made it feel as though we were sleeping on Viper. Robert Smith of The Cure at that time refused to fly to America.

The great Depeche Mode “riot,” 1990, when so many fans showed up at Wherehouse Records the band could not accommodate them all. God forbid they cut off the line and stay an extra hour. It did get dicey with enraged Dmode fans who pounded on the window in view of the band. Warner Bros. then called it a riot to regenerate buzz. As I recall it changed permitting policy in West Hollywood. We would do things like this several times a year with our bands. If KROQ supports you, you’re a KROQ band.

He was rumored to have a chandelier goldfish bowl, and sure enough, during a party, I found it. It was actually a terrible interview that day — I was sent all the way to New Orleans for a Nine Inch Nails interview with faulty equipment. I shall restrain myself from identifying the engineer who furnished a bad DAT recorder. I think his name was Paul. To make matters worse, because I had to use Trent’s studio gear, they edited out the part in which I asked him about Marilyn Manson.

And Scott Mason was there too. Nice to have an engineer along on a beach remote. Even better if he’s the Chief Engineer. That was our bitty microwave truck to get the signal back to Burbank in 1991. I don think we played John Wesley Harding since, but he was a quick wit.

We were lucky enough to be invited to a party at record mogul Jimmy Iovine’s house, and a certain KROQ DJ behaved poorly when speaking to Fred Durst. Our boss reprimanded her, saying “Save it for on the air,” not to his face at an exclusive party. Billy Corgan also thought she should “be a good party guest.” Hard to believe you could get in trouble for talking shit to Fred Durst.

Darkwave industrial rock artist Meg Lee Chin allowed me to both produce one of her tracks and play drums for her on occasion. I never got to know her in part because we were each handled by managers.

PJ Harvey in the Assistant Program Director's office in 1995. I think that giant black shape overhead was a robot. With ears.

When there was a Tower Records in Sheman Oaks, the corpselike countenance of Andrew Eldritch appeared along with two other guys in shades, Jed The Fish and Program Director Andy Schuon, already planning his escape to MTV. While a young lad living in Denver, Andy won a contest by AM/PM to name a thirty-two ounce drink. It’s STILL called the Thirsty-Two-Ouncer. A droll wit and brilliant marketer. 1990.

This was the Weenie Roast which was also called a luau. Tami Heide look on as we discuss various form of torture. This was the year Michael F. Glass and I did the event artwork.

It looks like I am failing to engage Suzanne Vega in conversation. At least I tried, backstage at the 1992 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas.

Did I mention that people said I was going on a cruise with the Cure. It was definitely not a cruise. When you can’t sleep because due to bad weather you feel like you’re on Viper, it’s a CROSSING, not a cruise. At the time, Robert Smith refused to fly. Lewis Largent, Scott Mason and I were in what you call steerage, whilst each band member had their own suite. This is the satellite uplink from, well, in the Atlantic near Greenland. From left, Simon, Lol Tolhurst, and Robert Smith of the Cure.

Edge and Bono did their first-ever streamed podcast from the KROQ control room in Burbank. They brought along Guinness, which was promptly consumed by non-air station personnel. I got Bono to imitate William Boroughs. Smoking like mad. September 19, 1997.