Monday, August 9 from 2:30pm – 5:40pm
Monday, August 16 from 5:50am – 8:10am AND 7:45am – 9:20am

They could also use a few more people on:

Thursday, August 12 from 2pm – 3:30pm
Monday, August 16 2:30pm – 5:40pm

If you have the time, I really hope you’ll sign up as it is such a fun way to volunteer and support a terrific radio station. The station is at Santa Monica college and there is free parking, lots of delicious snacks and drinks and a lot of fun people to work with, all while helping the station meet its financial goals. I’m again practicing what I preach and have signed up for four shifts. I’m a morning person so I’ll be answering phone from 6:00 am to 8:00 am, 8/9, 8/11, 8/13 and 8/17. Join me!

Go to KCRW’s Drive Volunteer page and read more, then sign up.

If you can’t volunteer this time, consider becoming a member (if you aren’t already) or make sure to renew your membership. There are always amazing give-aways and special deals for your donation.

Thank you!

I’m practicing what I preach and have signed up for two shifts. I’m a morning person so I’ll be answering phones the next two Fridays (1/29 and 1/4) from 6:00 am to 8:00 am. I’ve done it once before and really had a good time. In fact, I found when I was volunteering last time, I never changed stations during the drive as I was so invested in the outcome.

Go to KCRW’s Drive Volunteer page and read more, then sign up. They especially need people for early morning shifts. The pledge drive lasts from January 29 through February 8. Plenty of shifts to cover! KCRW is located on the campus of Santa Monica College.

If you can’t volunteer this time, consider becoming a member (if you aren’t already) or make sure to renew your membership. Call before 8 this Friday morning and it might be me taking your pledge!

While K-Earth’s program director Jhani Kaye is taking credit for “expanding” the station’s music lineup – by adding 80s tunes to its rotation of 50s, 60s, and 70s music – it seems to this blogger that various other factors likely play the predominant role.

Mainly, “Top 40″ music listeners don’t listen to the radio anymore – they use mp3 players, cell phones, MySpace, etc. for their music fix. Additionally, “Top 40,” a cornucopia of musical styles, has become irrelevent for fans specific to one type of music – why wait through a number of dance and boy band songs when you can simply create an online radio channel specific to hip-hop?

It could also easily be argued that Top 40 music pretty much sucks nowadays, but that argument has been made for years, and the few decent songs that do make it on air will eventually be played on “classic hits” stations in a few decades.

As for me, I stopped listening to FM entirely around the time Indie 103.1 began sounding a lot like KROQ… and then a few months later, Indie shut down. And even then, it would usually only be when I was in a car I couldn’t plug my iPod into. Now, its traffic and news on AM, if anything – deejays and radio commercials between subpar music depresses me.

What about you, blog readin’ Angeleno? What are you listening to these days, and when?

Also, he's easy on the eyes.

So, my day job is at a radio station, and Eric Hutchinson’s coming in tomorrow to play a little live show in our in-studio performance space–and the viewing is so full that we’ve all been told there’s no more room. That’s the buzz on this guy–this show will sell out, and he’ll be playing way bigger venues in the future. (Haven’t heard him yet? Listen here.)

Then, totally unrelated to my work, Goldenvoice gave Metblogs some tickets to his concert Thursday, to give away! Lucky you!

A mellow evening of piano- and melodic-driven singer-songwriteriness, for fans of The Fray, Dave Matthews Band, the aforementioned Mayer, Jason Mraz, or Jack Johnson.

More info on the show can be found here.

To win tickets just leave a comment telling me why you want to see the show. We’ll randomly pick a few winners.

While I’ve already waxed poetic about the demise of R&R and the end of an era over at LAGenX, I thought it was important to mention here because R&R is local to Los Angeles. This is not case where a publication is only going to be offered online and not in print. R&R is closing up the ENTIRE operation.

The Nielsen Company, blaming the recession, had this to add:

The good news for some other companies out there is that we have many fantastic people who are now available to put their excellent talents, abilities and skills to work for someone else.

Nice.

The local economy will also take a hit with the loss of another convention. The R&R Talk Radio Seminar is held here every other year, billed as “the largest annual gathering of News and Talk radio executives, programmers and talent from across the country.”

I only occasionally catch Richardson’s evening show on Saturdays (8-10 PM), but maybe a mix of DJs on MBE would be an idea worth exploring. The woman has ears.

But then again, you would expect that after her music supervising work on projects like the movies Y Tu Mama Tambien (earning her a Grammy nomination) and Lords of Dogtown, as well as the dark TV drama Friday Night Lights and the Apple iPod “Silhouettes” ads.

Photo: KCRW

Starting tonight, and continuing through Sunday, at the Skirball Cultural Center, L.A. Theatre Works wraps up a 22-city, seven-month national tour of their Sci-Fi (no, not “SyFy” you numbskulls) radio drama double bill of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds–originally performed by Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre of the Air in 1938–and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (no relation to this) with a live recording for their nationally syndicated show.

And if a chance to hear what L.A. Theatre Works calls “the mothership of all space invasions” coupled with a time travel adventure set in the “time of dinosaurs and cave men” isn’t enough for you, tonight (and tonight only) you can catch an interview with Leonard “I Am Spock” Nimoy following the performance. Perhaps if you’re lucky, they’ll leave room for a Q&A and you can finally ask Mr. Nimoy to clear the air concerning his singing career.

Photo by magnusw via Flickr.

Here is your chance at getting some FREE exposure on LAGenX Radio.

Maybe you’re having trouble getting a label, or the local radio stations won’t give you an add. We think that sucks, because freedom dictates that every band should stand a chance. Especially yours.

We’re here to help.

LAGenX is a radio show with one musician and two actors, broadcast out of Los Angeles. We’re trying to make it, too. You and your band should come along for the ride.

Send your mp3s to LAGenXradio@gmail.com. We’re on live every Saturday morning at 11 at LATalkRadio.com.

* Mention Metblogs and we’ll put you in the short stack!

LeVar Burton

Reason #1 to see The Caterer: @levarburton is awesome. He called our fledgling little LAGenX radio show last weekend to chat about theatre, and to find out who we are. We’re not even sure who we are. But, we talked, and he tweeted about it. And we tweeted back. It was internet bromance. You can hear the interview here.

Reason #2 to see The Caterer: @levarburton is hosting an exclusive tweetup for audience members with tickets for Friday or Saturday night (Apr. 10, 11.) And you KNOW theatre tweeps like to party. From TheCatererPlay.com:

LeVar Burton will mingle and raffle off personal memorabilia.
Location to be encoded within program insert.
Must be 21 years of age to attend the after party.
Limited seating available.

See a show – Tweetup with the stars. Not a bad way to spend an evening.