Jed The Fish With Gary Numan At KROQ

Gary Numan on air with me at the KROQ studio. This picture is copyright (C) 2019 Joel Gelfland Photography, and is presented here with kind permission. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s Tags: #1980s #Gary Numan #new...

Dave Alvin at a gig

photo by Debbie Leavitt Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #1980s #rockabilly #KROQ #rock of the 80s #Dave...

The Clash backstage

photo bt Debbie Leavitt. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #clash #1980s #Joe...

Eddie Money and Bryan Adams

Eddie Money and Bryan AdamsBackstageDay on the GreenSF CA Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #Eddie money #Brian Adams #Day on the green...

KROQ Fall Calendar, 1983

Quay Hays was the 1983 KROQ Promotions Director, and organized this wacky photo shoot. He oversaw the logo transition from line drawing (a sticker just above the "Nov") to full color, which was the most beloved logo of all time. Categories: All Ephemera Tags: #1980s...

Jed The Fish’s Van’s special edition KROQ shoes

Right about the time the world was getting busted for counterfeit shoes, Van's did a promotion with KROQ, and all the Joqs got free shoes. Deese are dem. Cir.1989 Categories: All Ephemera Tags: #Van's #Jed the Fish #KROQ #shoes #tennis shoes #1980s #rock of the 80s...

Jed The Fish Ephemera: Danny Elfman’s Yamaha keyboard

The Weird Science/Dead Man's Party synthesizer. Danny actually asked for this back, and I tried several times to return it. I think it was Leon of Oingo Boingo who sewed the cover for it. If this isn't cool memorabilia, I don't know what is. Album: Everything Album...

Dusty and Jed, cir. 1980 (Photo by Debbie Leavitt)

Jed The Fish and Dusty Street at a party in Santa Monica. Photo Debbie Leavitt. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Around the Station Tags: #KROQ #Jed the Fish #rock of the 80s #Dusty Street #Santa Monica #Debbie Leavitt #Nightclub #b&w #backstage...

Vandalized KROQ billboard, Jed in foreground

My very funny girlfriend in 1989 had Calvary Baptist parents, who once had a sermon villainizing KROQ. Coincidentally, we had the first and only billboard campaign. (KROQ has never advertised since) But my billboard, located near her parents’ house was vandalized. By...

Jed in medical scrubs, cir82

Debbie Leavitt contact sheet from 1982, KROQ control room in Pasadena. Never a fashion trendsetter, somehow the DJs picked up on the medical scrubs look. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio...

Jed in Pasadena control room, cir83

Jed The Fish in the KROQ Control Room, Pasadena, 1983. The ubiquitous Sennheiser 421 microphones. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio #Pasadena #Control Room #1980s...

Jed in the Pasadena control room, 1982

Baseball shirts were a thing. Jed The Fish, Pasadena KROQ control room. There were carts everywhere. Similar to the old 8-track cartridges, these had a continuous loop with a stop tone (to stop the machine the last time someone played it) just before the beginning of...

Jed in the KROQ Pasadena control room, cir83

Silly grin. Jed The Fish, Pasadena KROQ control room. Turntables! Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio #Pasadena #Control Room #Turntables #1980s...

John Frost and Jed, cir89

John Frost was a legendary promotional announcement producer and sound designer. There’s another photo of him floating around here somewhere. Here we are mugging in front of a giant cart rack. He called me Jed The Pudding Fish. Album: Everything Album Categories: All...

Pasadena KROQ control room, 1982

Jed The Fish Pasadena KROQ control room. Various radio station stickers were everywhere. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio #Control Room #Stickers #1980s...

1985 Solana Beach appearance KROQ

DJ appearance at Sandpiper Square, Solana Beach. The chic facing me is so very 80s. Me? I look like I just went to see a dealer. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Events Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #1980s #new wave hair...

Jed The Fish and Gleaming Spires in the KROQ Pasadena studio

Where’s Josie? This is the day I asked her what her real name was, and she said, “Well, basically Josie Cotton is my name.” A dedicated bimbo. Pasadena control room. A fake protest was staged outside the Pasadena studios. None of the protesters were angry. Gleaming...

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Jed The Fish at The Circus

Elvira and I did a string of appearances together. This one was in Hollywood at a gay club called The Circus. She was on-air for KROQ in 82-83. Always a riot to work with. And of course look at. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Events Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ...

Plasmatics in-store appearance at Licorice Pizza cir81

Wendy O. Williams, of the electrical taped-nipples and porn past, was the perfect front woman for a punk outfit. They would destroy things. Cars, TVs. Wielding a chainsaw with a chainsaw voice, she always had political sentiment whether it made sense or not. I can...

Jed The Fish Us Festival onstage announcement 1983

Steve Wozniak, Apple computer innovator, had millions to throw a party, so he did it twice. Their stage manager was concert legend Bill Graham, who was a dick. My ex-girlfriend worked for him for years. He was pained to see me onstage at all, let alone speaking before...

Us Festival Jed The Fish stage announcement 1983

Me in my pannies in 1983 introducing Boingo at the Us Festival. This was the day I was used by Terri Nunn to make Richard’s first wife jealous. She picked at my nipple with her long nail. I could only watch. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Events Tags: #Jed...

Adrien Belew, Louis Largent and Jed The Fish

Backstage at the Bowie Glass Spider tour, the most amazing guitar player Adrien Belew, entertains KROQ DJs Lewis Largent and Jed The Fish, Dodger Stadium, 1987. This was the tour Peter Frampton played guitar as well. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags:...

Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode with Jed The Fish

By 1986, Depeche Mode were about to be huge. Here we display a listener license plate in the KROQ control room in Pasadena. Despite claims to the contrary, I played Just Can’t Get Enough the week after it was released in London. I played it because I had heard of the...

David Byrne with Jed The Fish in 1986

I think this was for the True Stories album, as David moved closer to a solo career. Always an impeccable dresser. Pasadena control room. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #David Byrne #1980s #b&w #Control...

Depeche Mode with KROQ staff and Jed The Fish

From left: Poorman (what a name) Van Johnson, Dave Gahan, April who couldn’t keep her clothes on, below her Martin Gore, whose guitar skills are vastly overlooked, Alan Wilder, Freddy Snakeskin (never one to push forward for photos), Andy Fletcher, Jed The Fish below...

Elvis Costello in the Pasadena studio with Jed The Fish

The one that almost got away was Elvis Costello. A fan since 1977, I thought of him as this elusive, difficult artist that would have nothing to do with me. Along came Trust and that changed a bit. True, the LP needed help, but I have rarely met such a gentleman. He...

Elvis Costello autographing for fans

Just after the interview, the station was swarmed with fans. Here is the boldly-named Elvis, before he got in his limo. Pasadena. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #Elvis Costello...

Erasure with Jed The Fish 1986

Just after the album, the band came to the Pasadena studio. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio #Control Room #Erasure #1980s...

Erasure in the Pasadena control room, 1986

At least I stood up for this one. Erasure with Jed The Fish. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio #Erasure #1980s #b&w #Control...

More shots from the Gleaming Spires interview.

Very seldom do I get a pro to photograph me at work, but Debbie Leavitt was there on Josie Cotton Day, without Josie Cotton. These are her proof sheets, not actual prints. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #KROQ Studio...

INXS Member Tim Ferriss and Jed The Fish

Muscle shirt, no muscles. INXS drummer Tim Ferriss is the clowner-arounder of the band, and I love that they didn't always send Michael Hutchence for interviews. Fun guy. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the...

Jennifer Beals from Flashdance and Jed The Fish

Jennifer Beals, eventually a Yale graduate, could carry herself well in an interview. Aside from Return of the Jedi and Terms of endearment, Flashdance was the highest grossing film of 1983. She impressed me so much, I asked her to take her bra off under her shirt...

Elvira and Jed The Fish at the Circus

Undoubtedly the only straight people with our hands on each other that night, I did not think of her as a comedienne. I thought she was just funny as hell. Ahh, the gays always loved her. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the...

Wang Chung and Jed The Fish, cir84

Before they got huge, Wang Chung stopped by the KROQ studios to promote Points on a Curve. I always thought Jack Hues was an odd sort of good-looking, like he was genetically modified. They actually made themselves into a verb, as in "everybody Wang Chung tonight."...

Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone with Jed The Fish

The Ramones were seven albums into their career when Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone visited the Pasadena studio in 1983. Never afraid of the hard work it takes even an established band to live on, I did tons of appearances with them, sometimes nights for in a row. Maybe...

Oingo Boingo and KROQ Joqs in Hawaii

Now this was audacity that could never happen today. KROQ took 200 listeners to Hawaii. Twice. The first time the GoGos played and Richard got hired. The next time Oingo Boingo played at Aloha Stadium. April Whitney, R, next to Freddy Snakeskin. Then Danny Elfman,...

Peter Gabriel at KROQ Pasadena in 1982

He was always such a genteel person. Shortly after this interview in 1982, he led a crowd of people from the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach across PCH into the Pacific Ocean. His last encore song that night was I Go Swimming, to be release the next year. Here, he's...

Michael Hutchence and Tim Farriss of INXS, with Jed The Fish

I know, how many photos of me in the Pasadena control room can you stand. But there I was with INXS shortly before the first US Festival in 1982. Great smile on Michael Hutchence. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Around the Station Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ...

Lou Reed, Rick Carrol, Scott Mason and Jed The Fish at KROQ

A rare photo of early 1980s KROQ Program Director Rick Carroll to the right of Lou Reed. Jeff Naumann, in the blue shirt, was a promo guy for Virgin in the 80s. Oh, my god. He got so yelled at by Lou that day when he asked him to sign his copy of Metal Machine Music....

KROQ Winners at a Depeche Mode show with Jed The Fish

Girl harvesters Depeche Mode with three winners at varying stages of innocence. I'm sure at least one wound up at the Sunset Marquis that evening. A truly legendary KROQ group -- and a favorite of Richard Blade's -- they did perhaps the most concerts for us. If guys...

Oingo Boingo in Hawaii with Jed The Fish and KROQ Joqs

Getting away with murder, Part Two. The second and last of two annual trips with KROQ listeners to Honolulu. I love it when Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo grabs me by the hair. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Events Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s...

Joan Jett and Jed The Fish in Beverly Hills for lunch

This reminds me of when I got in trouble with a girl I'd just broken up with. She got so mad at me she emptied a vacuum cleaner bag into my car, two weeks in a row. You see, the girl I'm with is her sister. I always liked hanging out with Joan Jett. I was in the...

Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode sips tea with Jed The Fish

I can only describe my ridiculous hair as a follicle fountain. Depeche Mode has been in the station more times than I can count. Andy Fletcher is probably the member least like a tempermental artist. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #KROQ #Jed the...

Andy Fletcher and Jed The Fish in the Burbank control room

We had whiteboards in the Burbank control room. Notes for the jocks and Kevin and Bean. Evidently on this day, I was overdressed. Andy Fletcher in the Burbank control room. Album: Everything Album Categories: All Around the Station Tags: #KROQ #Jed the Fish #rock of...

Martin Chambers of The Pretenders at KROQ Pasadena

Martin looks fairly normal with a leather vest and checkered shirt. It seems I was intent on being anything but normal.He was always very kind. Chrissie, on the other hand, was harsh. Somewhere along the line, she developed a habit of refusing to shake hands, which...

Warren Zevon with Jed The Fish, cir.1980

Warren Zevon I miss. Alcoholism. Just adore his music. To Warren's right is KROQ Music Director Larry Groves. Larry was Program Director Rick Caroll's Music Director. He was known for the saying, "Ricky don like it." That's what he would say to promotional people to...

Was (Not Was) with Jed The Fish

These guys were as weird as their music. Accomplished jazz musicians, they almost created the group as an insult to the music industry. Very fun to talk to, they relished their mystery. Mystery is something missing from today's art in general. Movies especially. So...

B52s Bouncing of the Satellites interview at KROQ

Kate and Fred stopped by for an interview after I had carved a jack-o-lantern in the KROQ control room. It was a sad time for the band with Ricky having passed just months before. They did not tour for the album. Warner Bros. Promotion person Paul V. was outraged at...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik with Jed The Fish in Pasadena

The KROQ mural in Pasadena. Tony James, left flat-footed by Billy Idol’s departure from Generation X, had to start a new band. No doubt inspired by the outrageousness of Malcom McClaren and his bands, they went big. Love Missile F1-11 was their only real hit. I bet...

Sting in the Pasadena control room with Jed The Fish, cir.1984

The day I asked him about the lyrics for Hungry For You. The part in question says “Mais non pouvons faire ce que nous voulons.” I asked him why the line said must I pooo poo fester on the poo poo lawn. The way he corrected me indicated it was a serious question. Very...

Backstage with The B-52’s at The Greek Theater, cir. 1983

During the Whammy tour, if you took a photo backstage with the B-52s, you had to wear a hat, a wig, or otherwise be goofy. Their last time out with Ricky Wilson, left. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the 80s #B52's #1980s...

Animation with Jed The Fish in the Control Room, cir. 1984

This was a group actually grateful for their success. This was when they were touring extensively with groups like Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, and INXS. Animotion was from Los Angeles. Album: Everything Album Categories: 80s All Tags: #Jed the Fish #KROQ #rock of the...

Bonnie Raitt with Jed The Fish in the studio, cir. 1982

Whadday know. Amazing who you run into in the KROQ control room. I can't figure out why Bonnie Raitt was there, other than to sniff something with our program director. I'm sure he did her the courtesy of actually playing her album for a week. She was sweet. Album:...