Freedom of the Airwaves
Other Manned Pearl Jam Radio Shows
When asked to describe "pirate radio", Radio Free Berkeley's Steve Dunifer says in this article that he prefers to call it "free radio or rebel radio.... 'Pirate' implies stealing something that belongs to someone else. We feel the airwaves belong to the people of this country." It's odd that you have to say that a radio show where the DJ plays his own choices and shares his experiences with his listeners is "uncommon". Being forced to play a time-defined and payola-defined playlist at a radio station doesn't seem very "free".
One can only speculate as to when the idea for a radio show where the band called the shots actually came about. Most people's first experience with Pearl Jam's free-form radio format was the first "Self-Pollution Radio" broadcast in 1995. This however wasn't the first time that members of Pearl Jam took over a radio station.
A year prior to Self-Pollution '95, the band utilized their extra satellite time on April 3, 1994, in Atlanta to spin records. There wasn't much chitter-chatter, partly due to the fact that Ed had just belted his lungs out for two-and-a-half hours. Another reason - and this is realized after looking at all their radio shows across the board - is that the band subscirbes to the notion of "more music, less talk". They often chastise themselves for talking too much and not "getting on with the music". Ok, so this show is the "first Monkeywrench Radio". Maybe not.
A radio show that has layed low on the circulation radar is a radio show from October 18, 1993. We're not talking about "Rockline", though, so read on. It is known that Ed and Jeff were on "Rockline" that night, but they were on the show via satellite from KISW studios in Seattle, because "Rockline" is recorded at KLOS in Los Angeles and Pearl Jam was a week away from starting their "Vs." tour. After "Rockline", KISW listeners in Seattle were lucky enough to have Ed and Jeff broadcast with Cathy Faulkner of KISW for 90 minutes following the live "Rockline". Pearl Jam was allowed to spin their own records on a predominantly classic rock station. One can sense the empowerment they felt with the Radio Waves at their control. During these ninety minutes, the seed was probably planted for all Monkeywrench Radio broadcasts to follow.
Pearl Jam continued to extend their legacy of manning the airwaves following a November 3, 1996 broadcast from Germany where Ed was welcome to spin his own records and take calls with the help of a Radio Fritz DJ and a german language interpreter. Ed by then sounds so comfortable doing these types of shows and this translates into fun radio shows.
Their latest Monkeywrench Radio broadcast was from January 31, 1998 and hopefully there will be more in the future - a past Rumor Pit alluded to the possibility of a future show. Fans can only hope that Pearl Jam will do this again some day and continue to promote that fact that "the airwaves belong to the people of this country".
Here are the known Radio Shows - other than the two Self-Pollution and 1995 Tour shows - that Pearl Jam has overseen.
Monday, October 18, 1993
KISW Studios
Seattle, Washington, USA
Post-Rockline KISW Radio Broadcast
| Sunday, April 03, 1994
Fox Theater
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Easter Show Broadcast
| Sunday, November 03, 1996
Deutschlandhalle
Berlin, DEU
Radio Fritz Special
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All the above links are also accessible from the left menu by clicking on "Radio Waves".
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