Something I am sometimes asked - more in the past, really, than in recent times - is "Why isn't your show more political?" It's a question that puzzles me. I suppose there are people on the right who listen to noncommercial radio, noncommercial music, but the right wingers in my family have never paid any attention to the music I like & have at their most charitable called it "weird." If it hasn't appeared on commercial radio, they wouldn't have heard it, let alone approved of it. & frankly I have very rarely met conservatives who volunteer or do radio shows at the stations I am at - & usually those do country shows.
Mostly I've hoped that people would think, oh he's on a left-leaning radio station, he must also feel that way, & that's certainly true, although I have disagreed with my stations in the past. But the company I keep should surely be a clue - yes, I might have silly improvised interviews about pigeons, but that doesn't mean I am not antifa.
Ultimately I end up saying something like, "I personally think noncommercial radio is an incredibly revolutionary thing." & I believe it. I volunteer at the stations at which I deejay, I ask for listener support on the air, I wear clothing that promotes them, & I support them financially. Because it may seem like oddballs in a little room playing their favorite music or sharing their opinions, but it's so dramatically unlike the current media landscape that we have ventured as far out as the Dadaists did at this point.
Noncommercial radio is my passion & I have given so much of the last thirty years of my life to it, & will continue to do so. That means every show on a station like KBOO or XRAY or Freeform Portland is inherently political. It's about freedom of expression. It's about challenging the status quo. It's David versus a Goliath as tall as a tower.
So perhaps if ever I am asked the question, "Why isn't your show more political?" I should just answer, "Honestly, I don't think it could get any more political!"
During the summer I began to be regularly approached by bold crows to beg for dog treats from me. One of them seemed quite grizzled & was braving some kids playing soccer so when he returned a few times I started calling him David Peckham. David disappeared over time but many different crows now swoop past & land next to me & wait for me to crumble something to toss to them. (The dogs are usually led away by my wife or they will lunge for the treats - & scare the birds.)
Reflecting on this, I thought, you know, I should do a show about crows. Sadly, I have already done one - way back in 2016. I was lamenting this on a dog walk - not through the park but in a neighborhood - & my wife pointed to some pigeons gathered on some wires & said, "Why not do a show about pigeons?"
That was the inspiration for this program - a show about pigeons inspired by crows.
We'll fly the coop tonight on KBOO from midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm in town, & kboo dot fm everywhere. Dang it, I don't have a pigeon pun to end this - but I had a lot to crow about.
