3 posts tagged “cassandra peterson”

Guest DJ banner

We’re on hiatus for a week during the pledge drive, but I’d like to highlight some guests who are big fans of the station. I can tell you a lot of them were wide-eyed as they walked down the hallways of our basement studios and many were happy to get lost in KCRW’s music library and didn’t want to leave. Here are just a few:

 “500 Days of Summer” and “G.I. Joe” star Joseph Gordon Levitt is an LA native and a longtime listener.

Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira) returned with her teenage daughter a few days after taping her Guest DJ session to watch MGMT live in our studio

“Twilight” Director Catherine Hardwicke asked to be escorted into the membership department and renewed her membership on the spot!

Chef Sang Yoon heard many of the songs he chose right here on the station, including a track by local band Helen Stellar.

Actor Jason Schwartzman, who’s starring in the new HBO comedy series “Bored to Death,” was thrilled to sit down with Nic Harcourt and talk music. 

Comedian Andy Samberg apparently didn’t want to leave the station, he was having so much fun chatting about music with DJ Jason Eldredge.

See them all here

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Elvira Haunted Hits_CDcover

Cassandra Peterson is best known for her on-screen horror hostess persona of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but she has incredible music stories to share. Did you know she was the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas history? That she dated Elvis Presley and had a fling with Jimi Hendrix? Neither did we! She’s also a big music lover, from the White Stripes to the Pretenders. Cassandra even reveals her biggest regret, which involves a band that changed her life.

You can hear it all (and read the transcript) HERE.

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MGMT

MGMT is one of the those bands that have catapulted to indie rock stardom in a rather short period of time thanks to “Time To Pretend,” a fantastic rock anthem, and “Electric Feel,” which could easily be a Prince song. The electro-rock band made their MBE debut today after months of touring and with many month more (alongside Beck) to go.

The day was pretty chaotic when it started – to sum up, the band’s equipment was delivered to the wrong place. Oops. But they didn’t sound rushed or off their game at all.

One of the highlights was a cover of the track “Roger” by an 80’s Danish synth band called Laid Back (most famous for their track “White Horse” – trust me, you know it. Look it up on You Tube). MGMT has played the cover a couple times live but this is the first time it’s been recorded. We love when bands do something special for us, so it was a treat.  

Speaking of trick or treats – Elvira was here! Cassandra Peterson (better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) dropped into the studio last week to record a set for the Halloween edition of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project and MGMT was one of her picks. I mentioned the show today, which happens to be her birthday. So she was rocking out in the studio with her daughter Sadie (a budding musician) and the rest of the KCRW crew.

Fun fun. Check out the set here.

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