Coming up on Radio Freedom this Saturday (January 31st) & Sunday (February 1st) it’s our guest DJ,
Kurt Augustine of Phoenix!
Kurt just discovered Radio Free Phoenix when he moved to Arizona from Minnesota six months ago.
For 10 years he was the curator of an annual rock festival in Rochester, Minnesota called
Kurt will present 15 hand-picked songs that bridge the past with the present – and many by artists you might not have ever heard — Just like RFP – A Deep Eclectic Mix of Rock & Roll!
This Christmas Eve on Radio Free Phoenix, join us for the 26th Anniversary edition of “A Rock ‘N’ Roll Christmas”. From 6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve through Christmas day at midnight. (MST). We will be playing an incredible deep and outrageous mix of Rock N Roll Christmas Tunes. Hosted by Andy Olson, this is the only show in the country that gathers together such a smorgasbord of absolutely cool Christmas Rock & Roll — Featuring top flight Christmas Rock mixed with a generous helping of parody & novelty holiday tunes along with great background information on the artists and songs. Since 1988 this show has been gracing the Phoenix Airwaves, first on KSLX, then KDKB, KZON and then back to KSLX and now on Radio Free Phoenix!
Jackson Browne – U2 – Adam Sandler – Greg Lake – Eagles – Pretenders – Dan Hicks – Sting – Jimi Hendrix – Smithereens – Blues Traveler – George Thorogood – Cheech & Chong – John Mellencamp – Old 97’s – Fountains of Wayne – Big Star – Ramones – George Harrison – Dave Edmunds – Billy Squire – Band Aid – Graham Parker – Heart – Payolas – Cheap Trick – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – XTC – John Lennon – Waitresses – Jethro Tull – REM – Ringo Starr – Kinks – DB’s – Paul McCartney – Bruce Springsteen – NRBQ – T Rex – Adrian Belew – Weird Al Yankovic – Squirrel Nut Zippers – Ramones – Bob Rivers – Shawn Phillips – Crash Test Dummies – Slade – Elton Duck – Leon Redbone – Tom Waits – Peter Murphy – Alice Cooper – Bobby Lloyd & The Skeletons – Mojo Nixon – Doug & The Slugs – Bruce Cockburn – Smoking Popes – Talking Meds – Andrew Gold – Keb’ Mo – Riders In The Sky – The Band – Aimee Mann & Michael Penn – Loudon Wainwright III – Smithereens – Andrew Gold – Band Aid – Fab Four – Brian Wilson – Blondie – Joan Jett – Brian Setzer – Chuck Berry – She & Him – Sex Pistols – Donovan – Shins – John Prine – Keith Richards – Billy Squire – Guster – Slade – Yello – Payolas – Roy Wood & Wizzard – Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Graham Parker – Dave Matthews – Flaming Lips – Jorma Kaukonen – and many more!
You will not hear a show like this on any AM/FM station nor anywhere else on the internet. This is a truly unique Christmas experience that has stood the test of time!
Click HERE to Listen
It is time again for our Radio Free Phoenix Pledge Drive. We need to ask for donations via the Radiothon so we can continue our mission of preserving this great music and sharing it with the world (while remaining commercial-free). This is out first call for help since August 2013!
* Help preserve one of the last GREAT underground rock radio stations in the country.
* Help us stay commercial-free. We will never sell-out by bombarding our listeners with 5-8 minute blocks of obnoxious commercials.
* Please help us to stay on the air. As an all-volunteer, private entity, we receive no public funding. Our only source of income is through CD sales on site and listener donations.
* Because our entire staff works on a volunteer basis, we have a very low overhead. However, listeners must donate to cover the essentials such as server fees, music fees, electric bill, office rent, etc.
* Listeners can donate on a one time basis or chose a 6 month subscription plan (such as $20, $40, $60, $80 or $100 per month for six months)
* Go to RadioFreePhoenix.com and click on the donation button to donate.
* Listeners can also send donations to Radio Free Phoenix 591 S. Fourth St Globe, AZ 85501
We will be running our Radiothon from Wednesday, November 19th through Sunday, November 23rd. Thanks for your donations!
Radio Free Phoenix welcomes the legendary Sharon Kelley, as she joins the RFP airwaves, beginning this Sunday at 4pm! In tribute to her 30 year career as the first female television director in Arizona, including helming the Wallace and Ladmo Show for many years (plus a subsequent Emmy Award), Sharon will be inducted into the Arizona Broadcaster’s Association Hall of Fame, later this month. We are so excited to be welcoming this professional, and true rock and roller, to the RFP family!
Starting this Thursday at 8pm (AZ time), RFP will begin airing a new specialty show called “The Ripsnort Radio Hour” The program is hosted by Tempe, Arizona based singer/songwriter Jim Bachmann.
On “RFP Presents” this weekend , It’s singer-songwriter John Stewart with one of his last in-depth interviews. This first aired on Radio Free Phoenix just days before his final show in Scottsdale on February 19th, 2006.
Join Andy Olson as he talks with John about his musical history (including his final album, The Day the River Sang) along with plenty of stories behind some of his most famous songs. This Saturday at 5pm & Sunday at 3pm (AZ Time/Pacific Time)
(note: John Stewart was 68 years old when he passed away on January 19, 2008 from a sudden stroke. He had recorded a final album that has yet to be released and might not ever be)
Join us for Radio Freedom this Saturday at 5pm & Sunday at 3pm (AZ-Pacific Time) on Radio Free Phoenix. Our in-studio guest DJ will be singer-songwriter, Dylan Gardner!
Dylan will be playing 15 favorite songs that have inspired him over the years!
Find out more about Dylan HERE
Whew, Radio Free Phoenix on air for 10 years — that quite a long time for a radio station, especially one playing a free form rock format, as this type of radio had all but disappeared from the airwaves. Phoenix had KCAC, the underground KDKB, K-15, K104, KSTM – The Storm and the original KZON. I had worked at several of these station (KSTM and KZON), but then, they were all gone. It was like this empty void – so much great music never to be heard again on the radio, until the internet!
The idea of creating a station like this, dates back to my second time around at KSLX in Phoenix in 1999. I was not prepared for how much it had changed – the restrictions were so tight, it was like having your hands tied securely around your back. No music to pull, no commercials to mess with and the same bunch of songs over and over in a repetitive circle.
This was the current state of radio then and somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was going to get much worse — and it did. As one program director fell for the next one – I knew I had to get busy. I visualized and formatted what a station like RFP would sound like. I spent many hours transferring music off my vinyl albums (that were not yet out on CD). I converted close to three thousands songs from vinyl in addition to burning a copy of every CD in the KSLX library that I didn’t have – along with dozens of trips to the Phoenix and Scottsdale libraries where they had a virtual goldmine of CD’s to check out!
I was about ready to go on-line with RFP in 2002, when the crushing blow came from the music industry that they were going to wipe out internet radio with some insane royalty scheme designed to tax these stations (or scare) off the net. Their main argument was that internet radio had no promotional value for the music it played, therefore there needed to be an outrageous performance tax from each and every song played by these stations. Thousand of internet Radio stations went dark (out of fear) that Sound Exchange would be coming for them. In addition, the majority of terrestrial radio stations that were streaming, pulled their streams, just in cause they would be next.
So fast forward to late 2003 when a more reasonable royalty rate had been designed for independent internet stations. By then, I had everything in place and on August 18, 2004, we went on air full time. It was a rush to have RFP alive and breathing and sending music out to the universe. Before we went live, I spend over 8 months formatting and fine tuning what the station would sound like and during this time. the station played non-stop in my home to an audience of one.
When I left KSLX in February 2006, the current program director (who is still there and holding on to his job as tight as he can) just couldn’t resist one more jab at me when he said, “Have fun with your little internet station!”
Well, he didn’t have any idea what I had and I wasn’t about to tell him.
The dullness and restrictions of terrestrial radio has taken away most of the things that made it engaging and enjoyable, not only for the DJ, but to the listeners as well. Many of these listeners grew up with great radio and had wonderful stories about it. All around the country there were stations that played to their local audience. They played songs that were unique to their area and in many cases, catapulted local bands to major stardom in their town(s) which many times lead to national exposure. In the present, most of these stations are but a shade of their former selves. Like USA Today and the local papers, they have been distilled down to just the basics. Listeners seldom have a favorite DJ today, most don’t even know their names. These stations are known for one thing — a generic sound and very long commercial breaks.
Thanks for listening to Radio Free Phoenix and all the great air-talent that communicates with you – as we will continue to play for you into the unseeable future.
Andy Olson
Now you can buy an official Radio Free Phoenix T-Shirt. These are nice 100% cotton preshrunk shirts. We have a regular shirt and the female v-neck. These excellent shirts were were provided and pressed by David Ogonowski of Dog House Graphics. The shirt graphic was created by artist Brian Brooks! Both are big fans of Radio Free Phoenix and we are proud to offer these shirts to all RFP listeners. Each shirt is $20.00 plus $4.50 shipping. Click here to buy
This shirt featuring our Facebook logo as designed by Artist, Amy Reynolds. This is a limited pressing – Get yours today!
These are nice 100% cotton preshrunk shirts. We have a regular shirt and the ladies v-neck. These excellent shirts were provided and pressed by David Ogonowski of DogHouse Graphics. The shirt graphic was created by artist Brian Brooks!
