Joe Walsh Launches Rock Show On 88.5
• With the Eagles currently sidelined, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Joe Walsh, who is housebound along with the rest of us mere mortals, has decided to wisely use his downtime to launch his own weekly rock radio show on Southern California’s public, member-supported Triple A 88.5-FM, starting this weekend — The Joe Walsh Old-Fashioned Rock n’ Roll Radio Show debuts at 6pm this Saturday, May 21.
Walsh is a longtime listener and contributor to 88.5, and is delighted to have his own show — in fact, it was his idea. After the COVID-19 pandemic grounded Walsh and his Eagles bandmates from a planned summer tour, the self-proclaimed “Analog Man” realized that the virus would make 88.5’s fundraising efforts more difficult. He reached out to see how he could help, and offered to host a one-hour show while he was homebound. “This public radio station serves the community I live in and is funded by listeners,” Walsh said. “I like that men with ties don’t decide what I listen to. My show will be a mixture of music I love, music I think people will want to hear and stories behind some of these songs that I’m pretty sure no one knows about. Hopefully, the show will generate some more listeners and support for the station, and we will have a lot of fun in the process.”
88.5-FM GM Patrick Osburn is grateful for Walsh’s longtime support of the station, and was pleasantly surprised when Walsh suggested the show. “While we hate seeing all the shows and festivals cancel this summer, we are thrilled to have Joe killing time on 88.5’s airwaves. It will be great for Joe, the station, and listeners!” 88.5 PD Marc “Mookie” Kaczor remarked, “Joe has been a longtime contributor and friend of the radio station, but now that he has his own show, he’s truly part of the 88.5-FM family. I can’t wait to hear his stories. Joe Walsh is rock royalty.”
Osburn added, “Joe will have free reign to essentially take over the programming duties for 88.5-FM for his hour,” Osburn said. “His playlist and blend of stories and anecdotes should make for an engaging 60 minutes. Being entertainment royalty and one of the many local fixtures of the SoCal/Hollywood community, we anticipate Joe’s Rolodex of potential guests runs deep, so we feel great about giving him the keys to the car! It’s flattering to have rock legends listening and financially supporting the station.”
88.5 is a combined effort of KCSN at California State University, Northridge and Saddleback College’s KSBR, which began simulcasting as 88.5 FM in October 2017, linking L.A. and Orange County signals.
