Bleep Bloop! KFAI’s Fall Membership Drive is Powered Up!

 

Radio Robot Autumn dawns, and KFAI’s Fall Membership Drive bursts up from the leaf pile to say “Hello!”
We come to you a few times a year to ask you to affirm and reaffirm your financial support of your local Noncommercial Community-Powered Radio station. With that support, our DJs can bring you their hand-crafted programs week in and week out. Look to the top of this page and hit the Donate button, or connect with a staff person or volunteer at 612-375-9030 right now, which is mostly: weekdays 7 am – 9 pm & weekends 8 am – 8 pm!!
Read More ›

[fa2] Disco Demolition: Pushback on July 12 – All Day Disco and Skatetown USA Premeire

July 12,2023 marks the 44th anniversary of Steve Dahl’s Disco Demolition promotion at Chicago’s Comisky Park. Dahl and his radio station – WLUP, The Loop – offered attendees a steep discount on admission to a Cubs’ double-header in exchange for a disco record (though, in many cases, patrons simply showed up with records by black and gay artists on the cover) to “blow up real good.”

The crowd of 50,000 used the opportunity to storm the field, start fires and stage a riot led by the chant “Disco Sucks.” Much in the same way Woodstock (or Altamont) are painted as The End Of The Sixites, the Comisky Park riot is often refered to as The Death of Disco.

This, of course, is nonsense.

Disco never died. Not in Chicago. Not in the United States. Not even on the music charts. The pulse of a music and culture birthed from queer and BIPOC dance parties in early 70s lofts and warehouses continued beyond the backlash of its dalliance with the mainstream and kept growing underground. Disco is as alive today as it was on the 11th of July and more relevant than anything Steve Dahl ever came up with.

On the anniversary of Disco Demolition, Studio FA2 takes over the KFAI Second Stream with a full day of disco sounds from 1972-2023, from the East Village to East Timor. Plus, at 2pm, we’ll celebrate the relaunch of Skatetown USA, where DJTJ takes you the best roller disco in town, wherever that town may be.

Read More ›

KFAI’s Metal Meltdown Turns 5 🎉 ☠️
The METALHEADS are gathering to take over the KFAI airwaves to play nothing but METAL METAL AND MORE METAL on TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023.

For the FIFTH year in a row, the ROOT OF ALL EVIL crew will power the station with 24 CONSECUTIVE HOURS of metal in honor of the late great and much beloved Earl Root.

Not only will they burst eardrums from midnight ’til midnight, but local bands Loki’s Folly and Visceral Reaction will PERFORM LIVE ON AIR.

So, tune in to KFAI 90.3 FM in Minneapolis or listen online from anywhere at KFAI.org or with the KFAI app, and help us keep the station metal as all hell!

(…pssssst! The legends foretell that if you toss some coin to your Witcher—ahem, donate to the station—during the Meltdown, you can get some awesome and totally unique Metal Meltdown swag!)
ICYMI: BIRTHDAY BROADCAST TRIVIA
We’re celebrating our 45th birthday with an interactive trivia game over the airwaves!EVERY WEDNESDAY in MAY, during Pardon My Dust (2-4 pm) and Radio Pocho (8-10 pm), listeners hear a trivia question about KFAI’s history. Each correct answer is an entry to win a collection of handpicked 45s from five local record sellers and a new portable scratch switch record player—The Sccrrraaaattcchhh Paaaaaack!Submit your answers to hello at kfai dot org or call (612) 887-5070 to leave your answer as a voice note.

If you missed the clue, you can catch it through the archive at kfai dot org or check for details on KFAI’s mobile app.

A warm thanks to our record store friends for contributing to The Scratch Pack!
🎂 Agharta Records at 2512 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55114
🎂 Barely Brothers Records at 783 Raymond Ave, St Paul, MN 55114
🎂 Down in the Valley at 8020 Olson Memorial Hwy, Golden Valley, MN 55427
🎂 Hymies Records at 3820 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
🎂 White Bear Lake Records at 4775 Banning Ave, White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Active volunteers, board members, and staff are not eligible for the drawing.
CHECK OUT THE KFAI APP!
YOU’RE INVITED to the May Board Meeting!
This is a virtual meeting; participants can participate online or by phone.
It’s Nora’s Birthday, so be sweet and drop in to wish her well!If you have questions about the meeting or wish to add an agenda item,
please email [email protected] before the meeting. In addition, the Board roster, contact information, previous board minutes, and financials are available at kfai.org/board.KFAI Board meetings are open to the public, and everyone interested will be encouraged to attend. The meeting begins promptly at 7 pm.

Meeting Details
Monday, May 22, 2023, starting at 7:00 pm (CT).

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqcemgqTksH9Mi4MeC2_uO1UPXSAoYLRFv

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The packet of public documents for this month’s meeting can be found at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14qZch4HrRbkeBlH_sqHEEJd5Q-GVmfvv?usp=sharing
Read More ›

Turtle Island Voices Rising – May 2023 Archive

Read More ›

KFAI’s 45th Anniversary Celebration

Founded in 1978, KFAI’s volunteer-powered 24/7/365 broadcast is known for its eclectic entertainment and public affairs programming, which features nearly 90 programs in nine languages, with 84 programs produced locally and in-house. People of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and a multitude of intersectional identities lead more than 60% of the programs on the broadcast schedule, making KFAI one of Minnesota’s most culturally and socio-economically diverse broadcast media outlets.

Beyond the broadcast, KFAI supports community development through on-site mentorship, budding educational offerings, and hosting, presenting, and sponsoring arts, entertainment, and cultural events across the Twin Cities.

As a registered 501(c)(3) noncommercial educational (NCE) media organization whose operating budget is powered significantly by the generosity and goodwill of its loyal listenership, KFAI’s persistent endurance and generative resilience serve curious and adventurous socially engaged community members who value the dynamism of KFAI’s unique brand of social connection.

Broadcast Event: KFAI is celebrating its listenership with an interactive trivia game hosted over the broadcast at 90.3FM. Listeners will tune in to hear the clues starting on Wednesday, May 3, and recurring each Wednesday at approximately the same time. In addition, eligible participants will be added to a drawing for a Numark PT01 Scratch DJ Turntable and a travel case of hand-selected 45s from five local record sellers.

In-Person Event: KFAI is giving thanks to its volunteers and members with a night of music at the Hook & Ladder on Friday, May 5, 2023. Starting at 6 pm, the free event includes performances by post-punk, dark-wave duo The Muatas, garage-rock, trash-pop quartet Mad Mojo Jett, and funk-rock collective The Real Chuck NORAD. There will also be limited edition hand-printed party hats for the first 45 guests and delectable sheet cake for everyone—all are welcome!

 

KFAI’s 45th Anniversary Community Celebration 

with The Muatas, Mad Mojo Jett, and The Real Chuck NORAD

 

KFAI is giving thanks to its volunteers and members with a night of music at the Hook & Ladder on Friday, May 5, 2023. Starting at 6 pm, the free event includes performances by post-punk, dark-wave duo The Muatas, garage-rock, trash-pop quartet Mad Mojo Jett, and funk-rock collective The Real Chuck NORAD. There will also be limited edition hand-printed party hats for the first 45 guests and delectable sheet cake for everyone—all are welcome!

 

About the Bands

The Muatas (Ayanna and Cam Muata) are a duo that writes, produces, and performs their own music. Their style is a mix of post-punk, trip hop, dark wave, shoe gaze, and electronic with a mixed sound of sampled and programmed beats, layered with synthesizer, guitar and bass guitar, ambient strings, and vocals that often range between the melodic and spoken.

 

The Real Chuck NORAD is a Minneapolis based musical group providing a soundtrack to a dystopian future we deserve. They try on the music of bands they like because it’s fun. They also like playing songs for the future that they  write on their own spaceship. Band members include Chris Hepola drums, Paul Perez percussion, Josh Granowski bass, Albert Perez guitar, Matty Harris tenor, Nathan Berry trumpet/trombone, and Jenna Wyse vocals.

 

Mad Mojo Jett is an all-star party-rock, garage-trash, doom-pop quartet from Minneapolis. The band features Mady and Monet from The Toxenes, Joe from Low Rats, and Eric from JettKick.

In-Person Event Details:

Friday, May 5, 2023 at The Hook & Ladder, Under the Canopy

Doors 6 pm | Music 7 pm | No Cover (free entry with registration- click here)

 

 

Read More ›
International Women's Day

#IWD23 – The Archives

KFAI is making history by celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 with 24 hours of broadcast programming produced and delivered by Trans Women and Transfeminine people on Wednesday, March 8, 2023—starting at midnight on 90.3FM in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and online at https://www.kfai.org.

This is the first continuous broadcast event where content from Trans Women and Transfeminine people is exclusively featured.

KFAI has a long tradition of celebrating women from all walks of life on International Women’s Day. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity, and KFAI is taking an anti-discrimination approach by uplifting the lives and experiences of Twin Cities Trans Women and Transfeminine people to increase understanding, decrease bias, and champion inclusion and acceptance

Trans people have faced nearly constant systemic injustices and public ridicule since the first person who ventured beyond the protective comfort of concealment, seclusion, and silence and was brave enough to share themselves with the world.

Today, society continues to be at war with itself over the acceptance of Trans identities. Because storytelling/story-sharing is a core principle of community building and acceptance, experiencing the lives of others through the act of hearing them tell their stories creates the potential for bridging the gap between fear and love.

Read More ›