Indie 103.1 FM, the alternative music station that went off the air without warning at 10 a.m. January 15, has begun to revive itself online with several DJs agreeing to work for free.
Yes, that's "free" as in slightly less than the average blogger.
And while Indie1031.FM appears to have lost Steve Jones, host of the former station's most popular show, several big names are back, including singer-songwriter, author, activist, stand-up comic and former Black Flag front man Henry Rollins.
An LA Weekly article published last week offered Rollins' explanation for choosing to bring back "Harmony In My Head" for free.
"I asked, ‘I get to play more songs because there’s no commercials?’ They said yes. ‘And no FCC so I can finally play N.W.A?’ And they said yeah.”
Rollins and other former DJs have already begun taping shows, some of which began to play via the online stream this weekend, including "Reggae Smoke In" with Native Wayne.
Other returning shows include "Passport Approved" with Sat Bisla, "Barely Legal" with Joe Escalante, "Chaos" with Full Metal Jackie, and "Suicide Girls" with Missy Suicide.
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As for the closure of the on-air station, which is now called "El Gato," LA Weekly has since filled in some of the blanks of what happened that day, including the revelation that even the final two guests scheduled to appear on Jonesy's Jukebox that afternoon were left in the dark. LA Weekly says Lemmy Kilmsiter of Motörhead and Slim Jim Phantom, formerly of the Stray Cats, were both left standing in the lobby waiting with no idea that there would be no show. Jonesy had reportedly cleaned out his office the night before.
-- TJ Sullivan
