The Brief

Any musician who’s ever jammed with a group knows the deep connection that can form between players.

Jam sessions can be a moment of clarity, when all the pressures of the world are drowned out and you commune with other people through the language of music.

That’s part of the idea behind a new effort that seeks to bring people with autism together through the sounds of bluegrass.

There’s something about bluegrass... 

John Frizzell has had a long and successful career as a composer for film and TV.

If you’ve ever seen the 2002 cult horror classic “Ghost Ship,” you’ve heard his eerie scores. And the score for 1997’s “Alien: Resurrection”? Frizzell worked on that one too, among a long list of other TV and film credits.

As a multi-instrumentalist, Frizzell became interested in bluegrass later in life. But he’s attended many jam sessions and festivals within the community.

“I kept noticing at so many bluegrass events, there seemed like a lot of people on the spectrum,” Frizzell, who got a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 as an adult, said.

“There’s something about bluegrass about maybe the patterns. It’s such pattern-oriented music, it’s [so] detail oriented. The hyper focus is so effective in practicing and learning bluegrass. It just seems like a natural fit,” he said.

That got Frizzell thinking about what an inclusive meetup for fellow musicians on the spectrum might look like.

Enter Spectrum Bluegrass, a new group dedicated to connecting neurodiverse people through bluegrass music.

The Spectrum Bluegrass Band

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Steve Sidney

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The idea is something that made perfect sense to Spectrum Bluegrass co-founder Steve Sidney, whose 43-year-old son, Joel, has autism and is an avid bluegrass player.

“You know, people with [Autism Spectrum Disorder] oftentimes tend to get an obsessive disorder. At 9 years old, he became obsessively interested in bluegrass music. He’s probably one of the most knowledgeable people, I’m guessing in the world. ... He reads everything about it,” Sidney said.

Building confidence through music

Spectrum Bluegrass has had a few meetups at festivals and other events, with more than a dozen people participating in jam sessions over the past year or so.

This spring, the Spectrum Bluegrass Band performed at the Greek Theater for the group Autism Speaks’ “Light up the Blues” concert. They were in good company with performances from Neil Young, Cat Power and others.

Joel got to play on stage with the Spectrum Bluegrass band.

Sidney says being part of the bluegrass community has been extremely important for his son’s social life. Playing bluegrass with other people has been soothing and centering for Joel.

Joel Sidney, left, L and John Frizzell perform at the Greek Theater.

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CBA File Photo

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“To me he was clearly pleased. He looked very happy and relaxed on stage, which was pretty amazing because he’s never been in front of an audience like that ... a nearly full Greek Theater down in L.A.,” Sidney recalled.

Spectrum Bluegrass recruit Melanie Biesecker brings her experience in the nonprofit and charity world to the new endeavor. She said part of the idea is to have open invite jam opportunities at California Bluegrass Association events.

She’s also working to put together resources for jam leaders to be more inclusive and even have people come in to talk about employment opportunities.

“On the spectrum or not, if you go to a jam and you’re able to play along and call a song and lead a song, everybody’s really excited for you. That’s a really great feeling to have and can build confidence in or outside that social interaction,” Biesecker said.

And it’s not just the Spectrum Bluegrass folks noticing how music can be life changing for people with autism.

Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, a clinical professor at UCLA, says it’s no secret that music can be a really powerful form of communication.

“But this can be particularly true for those who have difficulty with spoken language or social interactions, which is true for many autistic people. And so there have been many studies which have shown that things like music therapy can improve things like social engagement,” Laugeson told LAist.

There’s also research showing that many people with autism can have natural musical talent too, Laugeson said. They often have excellent auditory memory, heightened pitch perception — and sometimes even perfect pitch — at rates that are significantly higher than the general population.

And she said the benefits of playing with a group can stick around long after the jam session.

“For a lot of autistic people who have experienced peer rejection or social exclusion, difficulty connecting with other people, participating in a group with some sort of shared purpose like music-making can be very empowering,” Laugeson said.

Frizzell said that’s really the goal for Spectrum Bluegrass, even if they’re just getting started.

“I’d love to look back in 10 years and go, ‘Hey, you know, there’s this many hundreds or this many thousands of people on the spectrum who had a great time playing bluegrass and just clocked in a lot of beautiful hours of feeling good,” he said.

Next event

The next Spectrum Bluegrass meetup is slated for Nov. 8 at the South State 48 bluegrass festival in Carlsbad.

You can learn more about Spectrum Bluegrass on their website — and sign up for their newsletter.

Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Herman J. Schultheis

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM

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Larry Leach

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Los Angeles Public Library

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.