Earlier this year Jamie Coffis became a DJ at KPIG Radio, one of Santa Cruz’s finest institutions in our opinion. On Saturday September 30th we will be headlining KPIG’s Swine Soiree as it returns to Scotts Valley after a long hiatus. With that on the mind, Jamie graciously wrote a piece about the time he has spent at KPIG this year. Here’s what he said…
With the Swine Soiree coming up this weekend I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my first few months as a DJ at KPIG. Still sounds weird to say, but I’ve been rolling around in the mud here at the sty for long enough now that a look back seems appropriate.
Laurie Roberts reached out to my brother early this year saying she was looking for “freshblood” as I believed she put it, and was looking for younger DJ’s on KPIG. Kellen mentioned myself and McCoy Tyler as possibilities. To my great surprise, Laurie responded by saying these were good ideas. I got back to her before telling McCoy about this in an effort to snake my more talented and easier to like friend. (Don’t worry, we told McCoy eventually and he considered joining the team until ultimately having to turn it down due to schedule conflicts) Laurie brought me into the sty, and the next thing I knew, I was going to be on air in a little over a week. This was a very awesome development in my life. I had been listening to KPIG since I learned to drive. One of the first public performances I ever had was when Kellen and I went on John Sandidge’s live show “Please Stand By,” and I can still vividly remember the first time I heard our song on KPIG, as we drove down to San Luis Obispo to open up a show for Jackie Greene at the old SLO Brew. We turned up the volume all the way and all got our cell phones out to document this life altering occasion. KPIG had been a big part of my life, and now I was a part of it.
I was certainly proud, but I couldn’t help but also be incredibly nervous. The truth was, and is, I don’t really know what I’m doing. Sure, I love rock and roll to death and I’ve always been a bit of a control freak when it came to what was being played in my home and cars as well as in others’ homes and cars. I’ve been known to wax poetic every now and again. Sometimes even making sense, and Ill never stop trying to make my friends chuckle at my dad-like sense of humor even if I rarely succeed. Seemingly, I had some applicable skills, but its a different story when you get in front of a microphone and talk to who knows how many loyal listeners, all with very high expectations for the brand that is “The Pig.” That was an intimidating thought. I’d expect it would be to someone with years of radio experience. I did not have much radio experience. Actually, I had exactly no experience. No matter, I dove in head first and I’ve been having a blast since I got here in March. The nerves were certainly present in the first few weeks and they like to pop in every once in a while still, but for the most part I got comfortable pretty quickly. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I believe that I have stuttered and stammered my way to a respectable level of competency, if I don’t say so myself. I attribute that to the staff and fellow DJ’s here at the sty and also the many listeners I’ve chatted with on the phone, via email and in person at gigs. The encouragement I’ve received has been surprisingly abundant and really crucial to my success (relative!) here at the sty. I always knew KPIG had a pretty special community of listeners but I’ve been blown away by how uniquely cool everyone has been. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to be a part of this radio station.
One of the first nights I was in the studio just before a shift, Mark Mooney was ending his shift and we got a chance to chat briefly. He summed it up pretty well I thought when he looked at me over a stack of CD’s and in a very matter of fact manner said “Its the greatest radio station in the fucking world, man.” I’ve yet to find any reason to disagree with him and don’t expect I will. Thank you sincerely KPIG and KPIG listeners for being so accepting of me even when I play the Coffis Brothers, like a lot. See you at the Soiree!
KPIG Swine Soiree
September 30th 1pm-5pm
MacDorsa Park, 1 Civic Center Drive, Scotts Valley
Taylor Rae – 1:00-1:30
Jesse Daniel & the Slow Learners – 1:50-2:25
Naked Bootlegers – 2:40-3:30
The Coffis Brothers & the Mountain Men – 3:45-5:00
Admission
$15 – 21 and over
$10 – 8-18
Free – 8 and under
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