Windows Media
Kexp djs
Greg Vandy
Greg Vandy : The Roadhouse, Wed. 6-9PM
Time At Station:
Since 2000
Greg Vandy has been host and sole proprietor of The Roadhouse since 2000,
just prior to the station's transition from KCMU to KEXP. Greg is an avid
supporter of community radio and has been involved with many aspects of
radio programming and music production over the years.
Credentials:
Greg credits his first year in college as a turning-point in discovering
the world of alternative music. It was the non-commercial, campus-based
radio station, KUGS-FM in Bellingham, Washington which opened the doors
to a whole new world of punk-rock, reggae and Afro-Caribbean music. That
summer while residing in Seattle, Greg stumbled onto Positive Vibrations,
a reggae program on KCMU-FM by then-host Charlie Morgan, and was blown-away
by the show's presentation of the most current music from Jamaica. Soon
thereafter, Greg became involved with KUGS-FM and by 1985 began hosting
a variety of shows, including a Friday afternoon Jamaican show, Now Hear
This until 1991.
By 1993, while residing in New Orleans, Greg became involved with the
community radio station WWOZ-FM, and soon turned his musical attention
to the American traditions of the South and specifically of New Orleans:
jazz, soul, and gospel music laid a foundation for Greg's future taste
in producing The Roadhouse. Greg became a substitute DJ at the station
and was honored to broadcast New Orleans music to those living in the
Home of the Blues. The tradition of brass bands, parades and the beat
of the second-line made an impression. But a personal highlight was
helping WWOZ broadcast The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival live
from the Fairgrounds in which Greg stood in awe during an electric
performance (literal thunder and lightning) by Jimmy Smith.
In 1994 Greg moved to NYC where he worked at Sound Of Brazil as a talent
buyer and publicist for the Manhattan music club and production company.
While sporadically DJing (Nuyorican Latin Soul!) Greg fell into an
Americana Roots scene. It was there that Greg picked-up his first issue
of No Depression, the magazine, at a party of programmers from WFMU-FM.
Upon moving back to Seattle in 1996, he began working behind the bar at
Hattie's Hat, a historic Ballard nightspot which owned by a group of
investors which included, ironically, a No Depression staff member, the
former owner/booker of the now defunct Backstage, and the current
owner/booker of the Tractor Tavern, the alt-country, roots venue next
door. The bar was a meeting ground for a ripe and healthy Americana scene;
a destination for many local artists and a pre-function for bands on tour.
Greg was introduced to many great people, musicians, and drunks during his
stint at Hattie's and enjoyed controlling the music with an iron fist
– essentially an embryonic version of The Roadhouse every weekend.
In late 1999, KCMU program director (and margarita drinker - no salt!)
Don Yates recruited Greg (after Greg's shameless self-promotion) to host
the Roadhouse. Since then, KCMU has become KEXP, Greg has retired from
bartending (at least on a regular basis), and the music continues to grow.
He enjoys the creative outlet the show affords him and the challenge of
mixing the old with the new, the originals next to the revivalists, and
the known along-side the not so well-known. The tradition continues, and
The Roadhouse takes pride in turning-it-out fresh! Tune in on Wednesdays
from 6-9pm.