Tonight is the most excellent show, Open Road on KCRW, which begins at 9:00 p.m., ending at midnight. DJ Gary Calamar mixes roots of Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, and Soul with new releases that you can most see on his peer's lists. Calamar got his start at KCRW as a volunteer, moving his way to DJ after literally begging on his knees to Chris Douridas for a show. Douridas made a great choice. 1)......

If you totally dug the soundtrack to American Beauty (not the orchestral score by Thomas Newman, which is amazing too), then you must know that KCRW DJ Chris Douridas was behind it. His choices in music for that movie led to a Grammy nomination, but that is only one of many movies and accomplishments under his belt. As a DJ, Douridas hosts New Ground on Saturdays at noon for three hours. In September, we......

Last week we celebrated the 30th anniversary of KCRW's flagship show, Morning Becomes Eclectic with interviews with Jason Bentley, Chris Douridas, Nic Harcourt, Anne Litt, Liza Richardson, and we conclude our special with Gary Calamar, the host of KCRW's Sunday night staple, The Open Road. For those of you who might be watching tee vee at night instead of listening to the radio, you might not know it but you were probably listening to......

Jason Bentley spends four nights a week in the basement studios of KCRW at Santa Monica College. 20 years ago that was virtually the job description of a DJ, but Jason's one of those DJ that didn't exist 20 years ago. He's as likely to be found talking music on the radio as he is to be spinning to four city block's worth of dancing revelers in downtown Los Angeles. If you've enjoyed "Metropolis"......

They say it's who you know. They also say, you have to be at the right place at the right time. For many KCRW DJs the "who" to know is Chris Douridas and the right place is standing next to him. A chance meeting at a party with the host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, set Anne Litt down a path that would eventually lead to her hosting "Weekend Becomes Eclectic." Now the host of "The......

When Chris Douridas moved from Dallas to take over "Morning Becomes Eclectic" at KCRW, his first hire was Liza Richardson. Liza's had a varied career at the station, hosting multiple shows over the years and her musical choices are as varied as her resume. She currently hosts Saturday night's "The Drop" from 9pm to midnight. She specializes in underground music and limited releases on vinyl. Continuing our series on the occasion of the 30th anniversary......

Chris Douridas can currently be heard as the host of "New Ground" on KCRW 89.9FM (Saturdays, noon-3pm) and on the online only version of "New Ground" at KCRW.com (Monday-Friday, noon-2pm & 8pm-10pm and Tuesday-Saturday, 4am-6am). From 1990-1998 Douridas hosted "Morning Becomes Ecelctic." Continuing the celebration of MBE's 30th anniversary, we had a chance to bounce some questions off Chris about MBE, being influential, and new technology. LAist: By definition, MBE gives a DJ wide latitude......

While public television has a reputation of stuffiness with TV classics like "Masterpiece Theatre" and "Nova" documentaries, public radio, especially here in Los Angeles, is on the cutting edge of music and news reporting. Keeping that edge sharp on the music side is KCRW's (89.9 FM and KCRW.com) morning music show "Morning Becomes Eclectic." MBE celebrates is 30th anniversary this week. To celebrate, the station is offering special programming today. The three DJs, Tom Schnabel,......

LAist Editor Tony Pierce has blogged here non-stop for more than a year deserving a well-earned vacation (and did he ever earn it). While out of town, we decided to have a little fun and bring some guest day editors in from around the blogLAsphere. Monday we had Green LA Girl and Tuesday saw Fred Camino of MetroRiderLA.Zuma Dogg took Wednesday and LA City Nerd yesterday. Today, former LAist Editor Carolyn Kellogg makes a comeback!......

It’s difficult to argue that KCRW, 89.9 FM, isn't one of the better things we, the citizens of Los Angeles, get to experience firsthand. Yeah, the station offers podcasts and streaming radio, but it’s not the same as actually living in the city the station is broadcast from. Not only does the station play some of the most innovative and unique music in the world, but broadcasts daily news and cultural information unable to......

We were excited to hear that KCRW is taking its music shows online in a brand new 24-hour music website. How smart: KCRW isn't just a station, it's a brand. Take a formerly local radio broadcast and leverage it as a national online brand and soon they'll be raking in even more donations from all over the country, not just Santa Monica and Brentwood and Silverlake. KCRWmusic.com launched today after the close of music......

Should an earthquake come our way, California bridges will be falling down. The LA Times reviewed official records and found that 600 bridges don't meet earthquake safety standards. Snow days! Some schools in Lake Arrowhead and Hemet will be closed due to snow today. Cool. UCLA students want the UC system to divest from companies with business operations in Sudan. The UC trustees are expected to vote on the issue when they get together......

Seventies teen idol Leif Garrett has been arrested, according to cnn.com. He is being held without bail after authorities said he was suspected of carrying narcotics and not having a subway ticket. Garrett, 44, was arrested by sheriff's deputies on the platform of the Pershing Square Red Line station when he didn't have a ticket. Have you ever tried not having a ticket? They take that very seriously. Then, he was searched and they......

So when we heard that KCRW's Chris Douridas was arrested, we figured it was for the usual Hollywood fare -- drug possession, drunk and disorderly, etc. But Douridas, who's been with KCRW 15 years, was arrested on Jan. 6 outside the Circle Bar in Santa Monica for allegedly drugging and trying to kidnap a 14-year-old girl. That one we didn't expect. According to the LA Times story this morning: Douridas, 43, was arrested shortly......