Mutiny Radio

Not to be confused with Mutiny Collective.

Mutiny Radio
Broadcast areaCalifornia
Programming
FormatEclectic
History
First air date
June 1, 2011
Technical information
Transmitter coordinates
37°45′26.46″N 122°24′37.65″W / 37.7573500°N 122.4104583°W / 37.7573500; -122.4104583
Links
Websitemutinyradio.fm

Mutiny Radio is an internet radio station operating from the Mission District of San Francisco, California. The station has an eclectic talk format, hosting local shows with interviews, as well as live performances of comedy, music, hip-hop, theater, storytelling, philosophy, and poetry. Shows are streamed live online and made available in podcast form on ITunes and other platforms.

Mutiny radio reports on progressive, alternative, independent news through their website. Their in-station gallery is available to local visual artists showcasing their work.

History

The legacy of pirate radio

Mutiny Radio was founded following an ownership dispute[1] of the station's predecessor, pirate radio station Pirate Cat Radio, in which DJs questioned the leadership and finances of the station,[2] the previous station's live stream and podcast archives were taken offline and the staff decided to reform as a collective with more oversight and accountability.[3] According to a March 2011 statement by the collective's members, "Our efforts from the beginning have been to extract ourselves from the ownership situation and focus on our core mission: making quality radio and building a supportive community. That is what we are focusing on now." They stated their plan is to work "more democratically."[1] This reformation initially consisted of putting podcasts up on the website Ustream to maintain radio operations and keep the community intact.[3] DJs continued to work from the former cafe.[2] The full relaunch was ready by the end of May, with programming director Aaron Lazenby stating that they were "tired of living in the wake of that drama" and adding that "we're ready to be something else." There was a closing ceremony on May 31, 2011, hosted by DJ Nylon.[4]

Relaunch as an internet-based station

On June 1, 2011, the station was relaunched as Mutiny Radio, a name chosen to reflect "the right balance of where we've come from and where we’re going," according to Lazenby, which "showed the scars" of the past, but also expressed their new future.[4] According to the website, the Mutiny Radio live stream "features the same eclectic mix of live music, interviews, DJ performances, news, and comedy the members of the collective have been producing for the past 6 years."[5]

Unlike its predecessor's illegal broadcast, Mutiny Radio is an online-only radio station. In 2012, the station successfully raised over $5,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to be used for rent and other expenses to keep the station operating.[6]

Local participation and event coverage

Past coverage of local events has included Occupy Wall Street West protests,[7] live screenings of the 2012 Presidential Debates in affinity with Occupy the Debates,[8] participation in the Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival,[9] and an annual block party in cooperation with the Box Factory and other local businesses.[10] Monthly broadcast events were coordinated with local bar Asiento and Oakland Art Murmur. Mutiny Radio also took part in San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's honoring of the 50th anniversary of Tony Bennett's recording "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" with other stations across the city.[11]

Musical guests

Guests have ranged from musicians such as George Clinton, Jane Wiedlin, Mary Wilson, Micky Dolenz, Belinda Carlisle, Toots and the Maytals, Roky Erickson and punk rocker Meri St. Mary[12] to a variety of local bands. The band Monkey appeared on the show Afternoon Delight in 2017.[13]

San Francisco Comedy

After starting at the station in 2008, in June 2013, comedian, poet, and feminist activist Pamela Benjamin became station director. Since 2016, the station has hosted an annual Comedy festival which airs 25 comedy shows in five days.[14] In 2017, there were approximately 100,000 downloads of podcasts per month.[14]

Many local and famous City, North Bay, and East Bay comedians have hosted or participated in Mutiny Radio shows. Mutiny Radio produced four comedy open mics and two showcases every week in 2017, and it has continued to offer a variety of comedic programming. Notable contributors include Aaron Atkins, Warhol Kaufman, Rachel Pinson, Ernest Evangelista, Nathan Loe, Mike Evans Jr., Luke Neumann, Mark Noyer, the cast of Sylvan Productions (Vice channel's "Flophouse"), Terry Dorsey (Cobb's Comedy Club), Matthew Quirk, Evelyn "Eerie" Diamond, Bernice Ye, Sunny Dennis, Marty Cunnie (F-Bomb Comedy Train), Chris Ferdinandson and Mike Nordstrom (Like An Adult Podcast), Kala Keller, Alyssa Westerlund (StorySlam Oakland), Steve Poggi, Timothy Renato-Piaza (Fourteen Threes, ToggleDownfall), Kelly Evans, and David Stolowitz (KSCO 107.9 FM Santa Cruz).[citation needed]

The 2019 Comedy Festival was covered in the San Francisco Examiner.[15]

Director Pam Benjamin has produced outdoor/parklet comedy shows for various venues in the Mission District since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.[16]

Awards

Merry Toppins and Vaperonica Dee's weekly podcast Cannabis Cuts won "Best Smoke on the Air" from San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay 2012.[17] DJ Tweaka Turner and The House of Pride Show(WED's 6-8PM) were nominated 5 times for a BESTIE AWARD by The Bay Area Reporter 2016-2019.

Mutiny Radio hosted local activist and poet "Diamond Dave" Whitaker on the Friday afternoon Common Thread Collective, who was honored in 2016 by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. February 2 is officially Diamond Dave Day in San Francisco.[18]

Current shows

[when?][citation needed]

  • Mike Spiegelman and Carl Haupt's Let's Watch a Full Length Movie on YouTube Sundays 2-4 pm
  • Joke Workshop with Pam Benjamin and the San Francisco Comedy Community Mondays 6-8 pm.
  • Uneek Radio with Queen Uneek and Calikoo Mondays 8-10 pm
  • AllWays Free with Rachel Pinson Tuesdays
  • Sean Martin's Bughouse Square Folk Tuesdays 6-8 pm
  • Pam Benjamin's AltaCast Poetry on Wednesdays 12-2 pm
  • Some Call Me Tim, Religion and Spirituality Discussion with Pam Benjamin Wednesdays 2-4 pm
  • Michael Cerchiai's House of Pride, LGBT and House music Wednesdays 6-8 pm
  • Racer's Alley Thursdays with Alex Torres
  • Roman Rimer's "Weekly Review" News program Fridays 12-2 pm
  • Bill Morgan's Labor and Love, Union News, Gospel and Jazz Music, and Labor History Saturdays 10am-12pm
  • Scott Walker's "Flat Black Plastic"—classic vinyl albums Saturdays

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Waits, Jennifer (March 3, 2011). "Questions Raised at Pirate Cat Radio and KPDO after Leader Leaves the Country". Radio Survivor. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Eskenazi, Joe (February 23, 2011). "Pirate Cat Radio Walks the Plank". SF Weekly. San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Heather (February 20, 2011). "Founder Says Pirate Cat Radio is 'Closed for Now'". Mission Local. Mission Local. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Waits, Jennifer (May 31, 2011). "Goodbye Pirate Cat Radio, Hello ? Tune in Tomorrow…". Radio Survivor. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  5. ^ Waits, Jennifer (June 1, 2011). "Pirate Cat Radio Relaunches Today as Mutiny Radio". Radio Survivor. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  6. ^ Hernandez, Rigoberto (March 13, 2012). "Former Pirate Radio Station Goes Legit". Mission Local. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  7. ^ "Affinity Organizations". Occupy Wall St. West. January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  8. ^ Flowers, Margaret (September 27, 2012). "Mutiny Radio to cover the debates". Occupy The Debates. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  9. ^ "Scenes from the Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival". The Bay Bridged. July 20, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  10. ^ Bohan, Bernadette (July 15, 2012). "The Box Factory presents the Florida Street Block Party!". Bernadette Rocks. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  11. ^ Waits, Jennifer (February 14, 2012). "SF Mayor Asks Radio Stations to Play "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at Noon Today". Radio Survivor. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  12. ^ "George Clinton Visits Mutiny Radio". Mutiny Radio. July 10, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  13. ^ ""Afternoon Delight 2017/07/13" (Podcast).
  14. ^ a b "SF's Mutiny Radio Laughs to Stay Afloat". March 2017.
  15. ^ "Mutiny Radio brings comedy fest to Mission". February 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Gentile, Dan (May 27, 2020). "Mutiny Radio hosts Sidewalk StandUp in the Mission". Sfgate.
  17. ^ "Best of the Bay 2012: BEST SMOKE ON THE AIR". San Francisco Bay Guardian. July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Diamond Dave is improbably turning 82". November 8, 2019.