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A media revolution? Why not? It worked once. Legendary DJ Jim Ladd and crew defined what music should be on the FM radio of the '60's and '70's. Now Ladd has turned his attention to the Internet. |
"The page is a worldwide radio station. It's a way to do FM radio that you don't hear much anymore," Ladd said. Using a combination of Web sites and RealAudio sound files, Ladd has put together a place where you can check in for the kind of programming that FM radio long ago abandoned.
Ladd does the music and history; partner L.D. Glover handles the technical details. Editions of his legendary HeadSet's radio program are archived at the page and updated weekly. Live concert broadcasts and music specials are on tap as well. With a modem, RealAudio, and a sound card, you can plug in. The site went up six weeks ago with Ladd's plan firmly in place. In a way, the Internet is much like FM radio was years ago. It's in the hands of a few people who are operating creatively with few rules and no "that's how we've always done it" mentality.
| "It is what FM radio was at the beginning, where nobody knew what to do with it," Ladd said. "What I'm trying to do is bring all the things we learned from FM radio Ñ the good parts of it Ñ to the Internet." And unlike an FM radio signal's limitations, there are no boundaries. "That's the beauty of this. You can do this and listen in Bangkok or in Torrance. It doesn't matter if you're in Orange County or London," Ladd said. "I had to get my mind around the fact that I'm not broadcasting just to Los Angeles. This is literally to the world." |  |
"Some of the people who made FM radio what it is today (Ladd, Cynthia Fox, Paraquat Kelly, JJ Jackson) have been left out of modern formats. They were more interested in getting music out than making money," Ladd said. Adding; "the Internet is a second chance. We're a bit older, we know a bit more about the business. With any luck Radio2000 will go live 24 hours a day, with a hand-picked crew of radio artists Ñ not just announcers."
They just did a live Styx concert through the Web page July 4 from Dallas. Coming shows include one from Bad Company on Aug. 4 and Peter Frampton on August 15.
Reprinted from the Orange County Register, (Southern California newspaper) July 21, 1996.
Interview by Michael Simone
As reported in REG issue number 13, in the article The End of KAOS, Radio Station KLSX in Los Angeles abruptly changed it's format from Classic Rock to Talk Radio. DJ Jim Ladd who was featured on Roger Waters' album Radio K.A.O.S., and all of the DJ's at radio station KLSX were summarily Fired in July 1995.
Since the end of KAOS, I have being trying to ascertain what had become of Jim Ladd, but had found no answers until I was sent the above article by REG member, Rod Le Cloux. It would seem that Radio KAOS is not dead after all. Jim Ladd has resurrected Radio KAOS upon a new medium, accessing a new audience, with a new concept, Radio on the Internet! Radio 2000, the radio of the future is here, now!
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Logging onto the internet with your computer you can now surf to the Radio 2000 World Wide Web site and peruse to your hearts content, find out what's happening with your favorite artists and listen to, or read interviews done by Jim, or listen to previous Radio 2000 shows and concerts, or order Jim's book "Radio Waves," or, actually listen to a real "live" concert over the internet, and all right on your computer. One of the highlights on Radio 2000 is the show Headsets, where you can actually hear rock and roll, like you used to in the days of free radio, and listen to Jim once again at his peak.
I called and spoke to Jim about the show: |
Mike:
Hi Jim how's it going.
Jim:
Great!
Mike:
I heard about you doing the Radio 2000 show on the internet and I'd like to do an article on it.
Jim:
That's great!
Mike:
Of course I want to give the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address for the web-site...
Jim:
It's www.radio2000.comMike:
...right. What are some of the highlights of the site?
Jim:
One is the Headset's show, and of course it changes every week. This week it's on God, but it changes every week.
Mike:
It's on God? (laughter) What God Wants, (laughter)...
Jim:
What God Want's, first song of the show...
Mike:
All right, that sounds cool. Um, I had recently sent you issue number 13, um one of our members in Los Angeles, contacted me and told me that he had contacted KLSX and he was told that you had left the station last September...
Jim:
Last July (1995)
Mike:
Oh, last July, so have you been getting the past few issues I've been sending you care of KLSX?
Jim:
I've only gotten one...
Mike:
Oh goodness... I'll have to send you the back issue's...
Jim:
Well, don't worry about that, you can send the issue you're going to do the Radio 2000 article on. That would be great!
Mike:
OK, well I want to send you the current issue also which has an article about your leaving KLSX and the station being one of that last free form rock radio stations... and that you were fired. And of course I'll send each new issue to your new address.
Jim:
That would be great.
Mike:
Was that accurate, that you were actually fired?
Jim:
Well, the whole staff was fired.
Mike:
Did you have any forewarning at all?
Jim:
Not from the management, I mean we could see it coming, but ah not any official forewarning no. The other thing I should tell you is that I was doing freeform radio, kind of, there, but the rest of the staff was not allowed to do it. They were perfectly capable of doing it, they weren't allowed to.
Mike:
Oh, Is that right?
Jim:
Oh, it was a formatted radio station, I was fighting every single day I was on the air to do the good kind of shows you heard.
Mike:
I didn't realize that. Oh my goodness!
Jim:
Absolutely.
Mike:
Someone had told me that you were doing a syndicated show somewhere nation wide. Was that true or not?
Jim:
Not right now, I'm doing the Radio 2000 radio shows and Webpage, and I'm writing a book.
Mike:
Oh great another book, Do you have a title yet for the book?
Jim:
The title is called: The ONE.
Mike:
Do you have a date for publication.
Jim:
Not yet, I'm writing it as we speak.
Mike:
Well be sure to let me know and I'll be glad to publicize it for you in REG.
Jim:
Great, thank you so much. I certainly enjoy your publication, I think you do a great job on it, and I'll look forward to the next issue.
Mike:
I'm working on a web site for the club... but it's not ready yet....
Jim:
Tell you what we'll do, when you get your web page up, we'll definitely put you in there as a link, on the Radio 2000 page for you and people can be linked right to you from us.
Mike:
Fantastic. But it will be a while before it's up. I want it to be as spectacular as possible. There is hardly any Roger Waters pages out there and a ton of Floyd pages and I want to cream um!
Jim:
Go for it.
Mike:
OK Jim, thanks alot, and good luck on the book.
Jim:
Bye brother.
Logging on to Radio 2000 you will see something like this:
How ya doing everybody, I'm Jim Ladd. Think back to a time when a particular FM station really spoke to you. When rock radio was exciting, irreverent and free, our conscience, and our friend.
Check out Jim's book "Radio Waves"If you grew up with FM Radio, You must read Jim's Book!
"Radio Waves" Life & Revolution on the FM Dial
click here to ORDER NOW!
"Deliciously subversive" (Ray Manzarek, keyboard player for the Doors)"Jim Ladd has told not only the story of FM rock radio, he has with an admirable amount of humor and affection, chronicled the U. S. of A., as it slides into the 21st century".(Don Henley, from the introduction.)
| "Reading RADIO WAVES took me back to those glorious, wondrous early years when there was no blueprints and very few rules. Radio still had room for free expression, and Tom Donahue was Moses"! (Bill Graham)
"RADIO WAVES" CHECK "FAN SPEAK" FOR DETAILS
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Your words may be reprinted on our page for you to read. Just go to Fan Speak and see if you are on the Internet! Fan Speak
"The whole world is listening"
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Lord Have Mercy! Are you ready to rock? Well than let's get to it! If you would like to know more about the guy in the upper left hand corner, click on "Jim Ladd". It's more than a bio, it will also link you to some very cool places.
LIVE IN CONCERT ON THE INTERNET Styx, Bad Company and REO Speedwagon official Tour Shirts now available through Radio2000 and Winterland. E-Mail L.D. Glover for information or keep checking the Radio2000 concert Guide
Radio2000 Presents
LIVE! Thursday, August 15 1996
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For more information on live concerts click here for The Radio2000 Concert Guide
This weeks Headsets" "Synapse Songs"
Other shows include:
Styx Interview (coming next week) really!
Bad Company Interview (coming soon)
This Week's HEADSETS Show is "Synapse Songs"
We are the cutting edge of information and entertainment, and as our first show. Radio 2000 proudly presents a truly unique rock experience called: HEADSETS
HEADSETS is a ninety minute musical journey that weaves rock'n'roll together with audio clips, sound effects and the spoken word.
Each week HEADSETS will take you on a new and exciting trek into the theater of the mind, as we explore topics ranging from space travel to mysticism, God to outlaws, and superstition to sex.
| Your host is Jim Ladd Click the logo to hear this weeks edition of HEADSETS, and if you miss one you can find all the previous shows under the HEADSETS Archive at the bottom of this page. Simply click on the title of the show you want to hear, and get ready to be blown away!
"How ya doing everybody, I'm Jim Ladd, Think back to a time when a particular radio station really spoke to you. When rock radio was exciting, irreverent and free. FM was more than a jukebox then, it was our inspiration, our conscience and our friend. For rockers who came of age in the sixties and seventies, the FM band was our cultural link to the extraordinary changes that were happening, not only in rock'n'roll, but in the country at large. It was nothing short of a revolution in rock radio, and it changed the medium forever. |
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In the nineties, there is a new revolution in the way we communicate. Those of us at Radio 2000 are very excited about a chance to be a part of re-inventing radio once again --- this time --- on line.
In the spirit of those early days of FM, we at Radio 2000 pledge to keep this spot on the emerging internet dial, exciting, irreverent --- and free! Together, we can invent a brand new medium for the next millennium.
REO Speedwagon, Foreigner & Peter Frampton "The Can't Stop Rockin' Tour" LIVE from The Coca-Cola Starplex on August 15, 1996
STYX concert page
BAD COMPANY concert page
Brought to you by Radio2000 & Radio2000 concept by Jim Ladd & L.D. Glover (Please feel free to e-mail us your comments and suggestions.)
Copyright © AudioNet, Inc., 1996, all rights reserved. AudioNet is a trademark of AudioNet, Inc.
Note:
Since this article in REG 14 was published, Radio 2000's name has changed!!! Jim Ladd's website is now called Station 2000. Why not visit his website and check it out for your self.