… a blog post from Chairman’s Corner.

Hey there music lovers. This week, we’re going to focus our attention on community radio DJ/musician/all around great guy ROSS BEACH!

Ross Beach is no stranger to Portland, Oregon’s music community. As a co-founder of the PDX POP NOW! festival, Ross is responsible for one of Stumptown’s very favorite annual local music celebrations. Additionally, Ross is deeply involved with the beloved community-driven radio station XRAY.FM, and he previews upcoming concerts on a weekly basis!

As you know, we truly love talking about music & physical media with the folks who are heavily immersed in it, so I decided to ask Ross a few questions about being a DJ and more. Here goes:

SPINNEY MEDIA: I’ve noticed that XRAY has a fairly large collection of vinyl and CDs. What compels XRAY to still work with physical media?  

ROSS BEACH: For me there’s something special about the physical artifact of an LP or even a cassette tape. I grew up reading liner notes, folding and unfolding inserts, and compulsively clicking cases open and closed. I suspect that’s true of many people who love music so much that they dedicate parts of their life to sharing it. For a lot of radio people today their early radio station experience included it being a massive, bottomless archive of physical music media. As more artists and fans begin stepping away from the predatory business model of streaming, it’s comforting to me that the station has a lot of really great records in their collection.


SPINNEY MEDIA: What are some challenges that come with being a DJ?

ROSS BEACH: For me, the main challenge of my radio show is simply keeping up! It feels like the weeks fly by and each one brings a host of concerts and new releases for me to pour through and research. Being an XRAYFM community radio host is a volunteer position, so all that work happens when I’m done with my actual day job.


SPINNEY MEDIA: What are a couple of pdx record stores that you like going to?

ROSS BEACH: I still love Portland’s stalwart institution Music Millennium. The owner Terry Currier has made a huge impact on local music behind the scenes for a long time. I also like Crossroads for their knowledge and world-weary attitude, and Mint Gallery Records on Mississippi for their curation.


SPINNEY MEDIA: How do you go about finding more music to showcase as a DJ (any particular approaches that you take while looking for artists, albums, etc)?  

ROSS BEACH: Unless reading the concert listings counts, I do not actively do this at all! Between the concert calendars and the weekly list of new releases that the station sends me, I already hear more music than I know how to process.


SPINNEY MEDIA: What do you enjoy more: being a radio DJ, or going out to DJ at local establishments?

ROSS BEACH: I prefer being a radio DJ. When I’ve DJ’d for public events at clubs, often the music wasn’t my only job at the event. So I’d have a playlist going that I would listen to with one ear while distractedly doing other tasks. I do enjoy spinning songs at house parties for friends, but again, it’s more likely to be a curated mix that I only occasionally adjust and rearrange.


SPINNEY MEDIA: When and where can we hear you DJ (on the air and/or at local establishments)?

ROSS BEACH: You can tune into my XRAY.FM show “Alive With Pleasure” on Friday afternoons from 2-4pm by going to xray.fm on the web, or by tuning your old-timey radio machine to 107.1 FM in Portland. My focus is previewing concerts, so that’s the spot for learning all about who’s playing where, why, and how – all around Portland during the upcoming week. Of course, I throw in a few curveballs from time to time to keep people guessing. I think the audience appreciates that. I think. Thanks for having me on the blog!

*Big THANK YOU to ROSS BEACH for chatting with us about all of these things that we truly love.

Cheers,

Jeffrey “Chairman” Couch

Music lover, creator & collector

chairman@spinneymedia.com

Chairman currently enjoys freaking out & creating panic with his spastic band Nasalrod, which is based in Portland, Oregon. He created this blog to share his serious love of music, the arts, and physical media.