HIP THERAPY MUSIC

https://rikroberts.com/event-planners Mike Z has been a fixture on https://thehouseofdisco.com/magnier-take5 Inland Empire airwaves for more than 20 years. A “metal kid” at heart, he insists on staying fluent in all types of music that are simply good, regardless of genre. With his current show “ Wired In The Empire” on Pregabalin 300Mg Buy Online KCAL 96.7/Redlands-San Bernardino, Mike guides listeners to all the shows that matter in the IE, highlighting bands on the air in the days leading up to their SoCal live performances. Mike is an ideal source of info for new music and where to see it.

I spoke with Mike recently about who’s new, who’s under-appreciated and how he came to be so “wired.”

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1.  Tell us about your radio journey, your work and how you came to be on the air in the IE?

I fortunately had a high school radio station at Diamond Bar High School. It wasn’t an actual radio station, really just speakers in the lunch area but it started my love and appreciation for radio. A good friend who I met at the station got a gig on-air in Bakersfield and eventually got me a weekend gig which grew into a full-time gig doing late nights, nights and eventually assistant program director. Left there around 2000 and got a weekend gig at Buy Zanaflex Online Without Prescription KCXX/X103.9 which led me to becoming the promotions director for four years. After being let go, I got the weekend gig I’ve had since November 2004 at https://bisousmagazine.com/about KCAL-FM, thanks to our mutual friend and old boss https://roaringwriters.org/groups-locations Kelli Cluque.

2.  Tell us about your musical tastes and if they’ve evolved over time.

I’ve always been a hard rock/metal kid, played drums in high school and in college and then gave it up when I got serious about radio. That’s not to say that I don’t have an 80’s/90’s hip hop/rap love, as well as love for 80’s new wave and 90’s alternative rock. Most of my time in Bakersfield was working at a “Hot AC” station playing all the chick rock/ Eszopiclone Lunesta Buy Online Lilith Faire bands which I have love and appreciation for, but my passion has always been — and always will be — hard rock and metal.

“I play everything from rock to death metal and have interviewed everyone from Alice Cooper to Rob Halford to Perry Farrell to Corey Taylor…”

— Mike Z

https://goghummo.com/corporate-tour-package 3.  Tell us about Wired in the Empire and how it came to be.

https://www.storwellsystems.co.uk/mesh-security-storage-cages Wired In The Empire is the second new music, interview and metal show I’ve hosted at KCAL since 2016. This was after relentlessly hounding https://sbmg.org/volunteering Daryl Norsell at KCAL to do a show after he became program director and the contract on Eddie Trunk ran out. My old show, https://www.containerkingsthailand.com/container-styles/accommodation The Mosh Pit, ran from 6-11 and was a straight-up live METAL show. Wired is only two hours with a much more diverse playlist than just metal. I play everything from rock to death metal and have interviewed everyone from Alice Cooper to Rob Halford to Perry Farrell to Corey Taylor and everyone in between, as long as they ROCK

4.  Do you get input into the music you play on Wired In The Empire, and do you give song suggestions to the PD in the same way?

There is a format and there are guidelines I have to play within but I pretty much decide the new music that gets played. Every once in a while Daryl will send me some music or recommend artists to listen to.

5.  When you’re looking for new music, for Wired In The Empire or for yourself, what is your first resource?

Resource for new music, typically emails via publicists. I’ve been doing this so long that I have a pretty extensive network of publicists who I work with who reach out to me or send me new singles and albums as they are being released. I also have bands that reach out to me directly via email and social media.  Beyond that, metal websites, my own social media feed, and web and satellite stations as well.

6.  What band, old or new, has surprised you most about their popularity in the IE?

Code Orange is headlining the Glasshouse in Pomona (as I write this). We gave away tickets and had their singer Jami Morgan on my show, they are an upcoming band that listeners seem to be really getting into. Can’t wait to see them on their headlining tour tonight.

7.  Can you talk about three new bands that have gotten your attention and why?

I’ll stick with Code Orange since I’m getting geeked up about their show later on tonight.  They are a hardcore metal band with industrial elements and both a male and female singer. I think they are definitely bringing something new and different to the metal genre. 

Joyous Wolf, a garage/classic rock sounding band out of Orange County who are currently on tour with Dorothy, another up and coming female singer with that classic rock sound. Definitely one of those bands that you must see live as their singer Nick Reese is a maniac on stage doing everything between dancing and back-flips. 

Third, I’ll go with Tetrarch, an Atlanta-to-LA metal band who just released their second album last year. They are bringing back that “nu metal/early 2000’s/Roadrunner Records” sound to their music with their own identity. Lead shredder Diamond Rowe is a force to be reckoned with along with front man Josh Fore who started this band when they were in junior high school. Another “must see” live.

8.  Any predictions for musical trends in the IE?

I don’t really have any predictions although I hope this trend of new classic-rock-sounding bands continues as well. I think that will be the key for bringing rock back to the mainstream.

9.  What bands — old or new — do you think deserve more attention? Tell us about them.

I’ll throw out a couple of bands I’ve seen recently who I absolutely love and the world needs to pay more attention to, one from each of the last three decades: from the 90’s, Sponge; 2000’s, Sevendust; and a current band, Black Map.

10.  First song that comes to mind: what’s your pick for “song of the week?”

Lorna Shore’s “To The Hellfire.” I’ve given a lot of love to the classic-rock-sounding bands and hope that sound continues. This is the other side of the spectrum, the newest, most brutal music ever. Wait for the very end of the song and let me know what you think of those pig sounds. (Editor’s note: Dayum. Maybe the heaviest thing I’ve ever heard. Melodic yet crunchy as a mouthful of cement. And pig noises. Yes. Pig noises. –WH)

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HipTherapyMusic.com has huge respect and gratitude for Mike Z, who will receive a HipTherapyMusic poster for his generosity of time and spirit. Check out Mike’s social sites for even more ideas about great music and up-and-coming bands:

Twitter & Instagram: @mikez967  Website: https://www.kcalfm.com/mikez/

Podcast: “Radioactive with Mike Z” Spotify: Playlist Spotify: Podcast

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