Projects
I Am What I Play
From the 1960s to the 1980s, the rock radio DJ played an unprecedented creative role in the rock music world. I Am What I Play profiles four DJs in major markets during this period: their programming, their politics, and their deep connections with musicians and fans in the heyday of rock radio. Where are they now — and how did they reinvent themselves as the medium changed?
I Am What I Play combines material shot on location in the 4 cities (Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles and Toronto) with rarely seen archival footage of the disc jockeys, the radio stations and well-known rock performers, all complemented by a soundtrack that features many great rock songs of the era.
For more on the film, follow our blog here.
The Stars
Jim Ladd has dominated the Southern California airwaves for four decades, first at The Mighty Met, KMET, for most of the 1970s and 80s and until recently as the highest rated evening DJ in California at KLOS in Los Angeles. Ladd is one of North America’s last free-form DJ’s, refusing to work from a play list. He was the DJ character on Roger Water’s Radio KAOS album and tour, and the inspiration for Tom Petty’s “The Last DJ”. Ladd was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.
David Marsden first ruled the Toronto airwaves as David Mickie, a motor-mouthed DJ who was the subject of an entire chapter in Marshall McLuhan's book “Understanding Media”. Later he would carve out his own identity on powerhouse CHUM-FM in the early 1970’s and then as program director of one of North America’s first alternative rock stations, CFNY, known as “The Spirit of Radio.” He is the subject of an exhibit at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and was recently given the lifetime achievement award by the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.
Charles Laquidara was the morning man for groundbreaking WBCN in Boston for over 25 years and has been cited by Howard Stern, among others, as a major influence. Laquidara was one of the first morning show hosts to have a staff of writers and a cast of comic characters but was also known for using his radio show to take on major issues like the Vietnam War and Apartheid in South Africa. Laquidara was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2009.
Pat O’Day was a DJ and Program Director at legendary Seattle station KJR for the better part of 15 years. His friendship with a young Jimi Hendrix was instrumental in the launching of Concerts West, O'Day's concert promotions company which at its peak represented big names such as Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and Elvis Presley. O’Day is credited with putting the Seattle music scene on the map and is a member of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.