Henry Rollins News

"Radio has become a restaurant with horrible food and great service," says Doc Holiday, host of the weekly "Watusi Rodeo" on Indie 103.1 (KDLD-FM). "Here, sometimes the service isn't so good, but the steak is excellent."

Holiday has served his cut of top sirloin -- American roots-rock, with an emphasis on Los Angeles talent -- on the renegade free-form station every Sunday since March 7, 2004.

Friday night, he'll celebrate a year on the air with a show at Hollywood club King King. The gig will feature John Doe, Steve Wynn , Randy Weeks, Remedy Motel and an essential singer-songwriter who must remain unnamed.

Although he's the host of the only Americana show on L.A. commercial radio, Holiday -- like such other high-profile 103.1 jocks as ex-Sex Pistol Steve Jones and former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins -- had no previous radio resume. "My only on-air experience was p-ssing around in college radio," he says.

However, Holiday (real name Mike Whited) did do a long tour of duty in radio promotion. He worked at Elektra Records for 13 years and later served at Priority and ArtistDirect. Indie 103.1 program director Michael Steele was a close friend. Not long after the station debuted its alternative format on Christmas Day 2003, Steele talked to his pal about hosting a show.

BEYOND LABELS

Holiday recalls: "I said, 'I don't want it to be called an alt-country or Americana show. Those boats have been in the water for a long time, and none of them has sailed. I'd like to be able to play a Waterboys track next to a Patsy Cline track next to a Ministry track."'

That's precisely what Holiday has done since his first one-hour show, which was delayed by 30 minutes due to traffic gridlock on the day of the 2004 L.A. Marathon. (Indie 103.1's Miracle Mile studio is adjacent to a main marathon route.)

"Watusi Rodeo" expanded to two hours after two months on the air. The popular and well promoted show has spun a broad diet of old and new roots music. It also has secured some noteworthy on-air guests: Doe, Steve Earle , Dave Alvin , Peter Case and a host of local artists have played live on the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. program.

"I thought it was important to play local acts," says Holiday. "The guy onstage at (the Fairfax bar) Molly Malone's on a Monday night is the next guy with a major-label deal."

He also acknowledges a continuity between L.A.'s contemporary roots acts and such famed '80s precursors as Dwight Yoakam, Lone Justice and the Blasters. "There's such a rich history in roots rock, country rock, cowboy rock in Southern California," he says. "It's never really been magnified."

Hopefully, Holiday's freewheeling approach will continue after March 31. On that date, radio giant Clear Channel Communications' sales relationship with Indie 103.1 owner Entravision Communications will end, through a mandate from the FCC that limits radio chains' investments in individual markets.

Steele has said Entravision, which operates Spanish-language stations, remains committed to the format. Says Holiday: "There's an inherent value to this radio station. I believe Entravision will stay in this game."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter