The Demonstration 3

Album Art Design: Derek Heath For Fine Folks Design

"Music knows no color or race, it only knows energy.”

I owe my love and eventual professional pursuit of music to Radio. You know that kid who would camp out in front of their boombox with a blank tape in the deck, two fingers firmly placed upon the record and play buttons, and wait for the precise moment when “that song” would broadcast through the speakers? I was that kid. I spent many a summer vacation from school like this and in turn, created my own homemade radio shows. I would use my parents’ boombox or my Grandmother’s double tape deck stereo system with a $10 Sony microphone to record. I even, much to Grandmommy’s dismay, played with the volume knob and frequency levers pretending it was a crossfader. “Chuckie! Stop playing with that thing like it’s a toy,” scolding me between episodes of Matlock, Perry Mason, or The People’s Court. I thought I was only one who did this; until I started to meet more and more fellow DJs, only to discover we all had this same exact experience in our upbringings. There’s nothing like hearing yourself on the radio.

As I grew older, I started to recognize song structure and sequencing flow because of radio; listening to mixers on 92.3/100.3 The Beat and Power 106 like any LA raised DJ in the 1990s/2000s. These shows combined classic hits, fresh new cuts, and a hint of humor via production drops and sweepers to help form my concept of mixing.

Fast forward to 2014, and I have spent the last 7 years of my life in college and commercial radio. For this third installment of The Demonstration, I’ve drawn on my lifetime of experiences, knowledge, and love of radio. The presentation is amplified and the sonics push high definition range, just as if you were listening to it through an FM dial. These are my influences, past and present, wrapped all into a Lex Luger “Total Package.” This is AMP 97.1, KROQ, 94.7 The Wave, KDAY, Power 106, K-Earth 101, KIIS FM, KCRW, and KXLU all in 73 minutes.  This is the elimination of the boundaries, borders, and cultural segregation we place on music blaring through the airwaves. This is my “Demonstration” of radio… KHFP is now on the air.

Soul Claps & Salutes and Thank You For Listening,

DJ Chuck “thE oLd SouL”

Photography: Bernadette Rodriguez For B. Rodriguez Photography