Tune into Hell's Kitchen Radio, with John Hell, every Monday night 8-10PM (Pacific), on Radio Valencia (https://radiovalencia.fm) in San Francisco. You can find my playlists and links to the podcasts right here.
I take all the responsibility. Blame me. It's OK, I've been blamed before. No need to carry all of this on your shoulders. I took the night off before the election to go see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and I was not able to share with you how to vote. I know, I know, I'm to blame.
Shower me with your insults.
What now? How do we carry forward knowing half of our country thinks the other half is bat shit crazy? This is the most polarized our nation as been since the civil war. This is no hyperbole!
How long is it going to take until those who voted for he-who-shall-not-be-named realize they've been duped? And how many will continue to defend him even when their own house is on fire? This remains to be seen.
In the meantime, you didn't come here to receive a politicized tantrum, you came for the music. And the music I shall deliver. Yes, the first set is a bit pointed, but then again, isn't everything political in the end?
New music from Amyl and the Sniffers, GOAT, OSEES, Dale Crover, and False Flag. I also play a sweet suite from the King Gizzard show I attended at The Frost last week. Holy Hell that was one fine show.
Monday, November 18th I'm hosting my 14th annual Annual Annual! This is when I focus two hours on one great year in music. This time around I'll be throwing 1994 up against the wall. Tune in and reminisce 8-10PM Pacific.
I'll see you on the radio.
Enjoy and please share.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
The Common People: Leonard Nimoy Nazi Punks, Fuck Off: Dead Kennedys Fascists Eat Donuts: Pop O Pies
Big Dreams: Amyl and the Sniffers The Green Manalishi: The Flesh Eaters
Grinder Man: John Lee Hooker
One More Death: GOAT Tour de Force: Dizzy Gillespie
Lears Ears: OSEES
Hitler Was A Vegetarian: The Residents
Ziggy Stardust: Bauhaus
Spoiled Daisies: Dale Crover (ft. Ty Segall)
You're Gonna Get What's Coming: Thee Headcoatees
Red Cobra #9: The Mummies
Where Eagles Dare: Bratmobile
Green Hell: Misfits
Welcome to the Dust Ward: Fear
Gone Sexual: False Flag
Fly on the Wall: Jesus Lizard
Get Me Religion: Scott H. Biram
I'm In Your Mind/I'm Not In Your Mind/Cellophane/I'm In Your Mind Fuzz: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Live at The Frost Amphitheater - November 4, 2024)
Well Hell, here we go again. There was a time, from the age of about 5 - 30 that I really thought I wanted to be a professional radio DJ. I loved the thought of playing my favorite music for a wide audience. If you grew up in the 70s and 80s, then you loved your local DJ, who you thought was programming their own shows.
Silly me. And silly you if you thought they had total autonomy. I learned by the age of 18, when I was interning at KRQR that it was up to the Music Director, or Program Director what was going to be played. They also told you what you were going to say.
DO. NOT. DEVIATE.
Damn.
Still, I wanted in on the game. The way I figured, it was more about me calling the shots after I'd been there 10-20 years. And I wanted to be there for life. By the time I left KRQR I knew I wasn't going to love all of the music being played, but I also thought I would have more say about programming once I was in the chair.
I couldn't have been more wrong about that.
I ended up a button monkey (board op) at Alice-97.3 (KLLC). Coincidentally the same station that was once KRQR. This time I actually had a show. Still, here's what you play and here's what you say. And after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, companies began buying up the competition, so there was no need to take the risks they once had.
Here's what you play. Here's what you say.
DO. NOT. DEVIATE.
This was in 2002. And this is when I decided to leave my dream of corporate radio dominance behind for the greener and much more poor pastures of non-commercial radio. I was actually still at KFJC when I was at KRQR. And I was hosting a show at the now-defunct pirate station San Francisco Liberation Radio when I was at Alice-FM. You can take the boy out of the subversive medium, you can't take the subversive medium out of the boy.
Once I left KLLC I dove head first into SF non-comm/pirate culture, and I'm glad I did.
I may not host a daily radio show, but that also means I don't have to pretend to like the Eagles and AC/DC, or some pop crap. Can you even imagine?
My air name would probably be something like "Mike Alan". HA!
At least I can sleep peacefully knowing that all the Music and Program Directors have been replaced by Spotify and AI.
I'm not bitter. I'm a DJ who programs their own show and you get to benefit from that. I guess I really am living the dream.
Enjoy and please share.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
This is one of those times when I really count my blessings. Everyone has their struggles, so don't let me start getting into my own. Does any of it really matter? No. None of it matters. Holding a grudge does nothing but take the time away from having a really good time. And isn't that what we want: to have a really good time?
Why suffer? What does it bring? What have we gained by our own suffering? Experience? Isn't there any other way to grow? I've learned more lessons than blah, blah, blah. Is this what life is all about: learning lessons so as not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? What if I learned a lesson, put in my best effort, asked all the right questions, opened myself up to scrutiny and vulnerability, articulated my boundaries, and still tripped?!
What then?
Throw it all away? Remain alone for the sake of caring for my heart? Risk appearing aloof or uncaring just so I don't have to clean up a mess that I worked diligently to avoid happen in the first place? We're not a solitary species? But what's so bad about being alone? I have my music to keep my warm. Even the kids grow up to live their own lives.
Enjoy the moment. That's all we have. Meditate on that. You can do your best to make up for the past. Take accountability even when it feels impossible. Make amends. Speak your truth with the most compassionate head and heart. Be the best listener. Ask the deeper questions. Be vulnerable and available for the criticisms that will come your way (and they will come!).
Prepare for the future, knowing as hard as you do, life has a way of throwing a lot of curveballs at you. Be calm through the storm. Flow like water. Respond, don't react. Breathe. Always breathe. And know that everyone else is going through the shit too.
All we have in now. It's only now. It's always now. Bring your best now. Now. And do not beat yourself up if the best you have now is not the same as what others are bringing. Never compare yourself to others, ever. You'll lose that battle. So don't do it. Rise above that. You're not rising above others, you're rising above the idea that others are above you. No one is above anyone else. We're all treading water in our own way. Our job is to do it as calmly as possible. Don't fight the waves. Don't fight the tide.
Flow like water.
Forgive.
Love.
Be. Here. Now.
And listen to good music.
There's some pretty good music here. New The Jesus Lizard, Ty Segall, Dale Crover, WAND, and a bunch of other stuff I think you're going to love. I love it, anyway.
And if you want to support what we're doing, please consider donating. This is labor of love, and we all pay monthly dues to keep the lights on and the turntables spinning. We need help maintaining the equipment we have, and regularly replacing worn out parts. We also have a deep desire to update our website. If you know anyone that can donate items for a raffle please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Enjoy and please share.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Kasalefkut-Hulu: Mulatu Astatke Sevda Olmasaydi: Altin Gün
Theme de Yoyo: Art Ensemble of Chicago Down Home Girl: The Coasters
Help Save The Youth of America: Billy Bragg Youth of America: Melvins Bang Bang: Nancy Sinatra The Tide is High: The Paragons
High Time: WAND Enemy Destruct: Thee Oh Sees
Teenie Weenie Boppie: Free Kitten Purple: Ken Nordine Golden Gate Park: The Catheads 2 Drunk 2 Fuck: Avenue D Fuck the Police (edit): NWA Rudy, a Message to You: Dandy Livingstone
Lord Godiva: The Jesus Lizard Blood Like Cream: Red Fang
I Waited Forever: Dale Crover (ft. Ty Segall) Killer: Alice Cooper Gathering of the Ancient Tribes: GOAT
The Dance/Walk Home Pt.2/First Touch: Ty Segall Rise: PIL
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Some nights I like to play music for you like we're hanging out on the floor in front of my dad's Hi-Fi, and I'm really excited to pull this record out, hopefully to blow your mind. I hope there are moments during this show that blow your mind. I hope that you take a moment to search out these bands, and support them by purchasing their music.
I am damn lucky to be able to do this every week.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via Subscribe to my Spotify Podcast HERE!
What will you do now that the orange cheeto has fallen from grace? I wouldn't bet him out. He loves a good comeback. Will the next season be worth watching? Stay tuned.
In the meantime, take a look at this juicy set I have just for you and yours. There's something here for just about every member of the family. You got your blues for the teens. Stoner metal for grandma. Sexy vocal stylings for your overweight stinky uncle who's missing teeth and hair. There's funk for white neighbor who swears he was Black in a previous life. And anything else that dad enjoys. For mom there's plenty of polyester dance hits to cover the couch.
We all need a creative outlet to get us through these tough times. What's yours? Need one? Just look at the contest I'm throwing and participate. Deadline is Friday, February 12th.
RUN FOR THE LILLIES 2021
The rules are simple:
You choose ten celebrities (from any industry) you believe will meet their demise by December 31, 2021.
The only rule: you may NOT contribute to their passing.
Email the list by January 31st (no one on your list may have passed before you get me your list) to mrjohnhell@gmail.com
I know this is morbid; my name is HELL
There will be a prize for the most names "collected", announced January 2022
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via Subscribe to my Spotify Podcast HERE!
The end is nigh. And what are your plans? Are you going to head out and revel with your friends, sans mask, giving hugs, kisses, high fives and COVID to each other, and your beloved Nana upon returning home? Good for you for removing yourself from the gene pool. Unfortunately, you're also risking others just to play around on amateur night.
Stay home, watch a movie, drink a glass of bubbly (alcoholic or non), and head off to bed without anything to regret. We have next year, and all of our loved ones to consider.
Thanks in advance.
This here is my year-end show. There's a bunch of my faves from 2020, but this isn't a "Best of..." show in the least. There's a bunch of other tunes tossed in from across the ages. In retrospect I really should have played "I Want To Be Sedated". Hmmmmm, just pretend I did, and click on the video link at the bottom.
Let's all just agree that 2020 was relatively bad for everyone around the world, and move on, shall we? I mean really now, a pandemic puts everything else into perspective. You had a bad year? Oh, I am so sorry. WE ALL HAD A BAD YEAR. Your year sucked extra special bad? WOW! You must really want to win some award. This show is for you then. And only you.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Download the History HERE! Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
It's December so it's time for my obligatory BEST of show...kinda. If anything it's a chance to play great music! And isn't that why you tune in week after week? You do tune in, don't you? That's interesting. I just realized that I asked "don't you", and not "do not you". Huh.
My show isn't all about 2018 music, however. Just take a gander at the playlist below and you'll note the diversity in the sets. Yes folks, we here at Radio Valencia believe the only good radio is diverse radio. Why I play all kinds of diverse genres: metal, heavy metal, death metal, speed metal, stoner metal, and doom metal. Don't be fooled by our competitors, they only program to the lowest common denominator. We have discovered a way to much much lower.
That being said, there was a lot of great music in 2018. Albums by King Tuff, Oh Sees, Mudhoney, Sleep, and of course a few by Ty Segall, are just a glimpse into what was another stellar year for the indie rock/garage scene.
I encourage you to tune in to Radio Valencia throughout the rest of 2018 for more Best of shows from some of the finest DJs west of East Orange, New Jersey.
I'm taking the next two weeks off to celebrate family and friends. I suggest you do the same. I'll be scheduling some of my favorite Hell's Kitchen Radio programs to play in my absence. I encourage you to have it playing in the background during your family celebrations. I'm available for Bar Mitzvah's too!
Happy Holidaze to you and yours from me, and all of us at Radio Valencia. See you in 2019!
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Download the Desire HERE! Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
How old were you when you fell in love with music? Do you remember your first love? Who was it? The Beatles? Sinatra? Led Zeppelin? Patsy Cline? Who spoke to you? What did they say? Why did it resonate so deeply?
When I was eight years old in 1978, my aunt bought me four KISS LPs: Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, Alive 2, and Double Platinum. I was hooked from the first grunt. I couldn't get enough of the imagery and the riffs. And yes, I fantasized that I was Peter Criss singing "Beth" to my imaginary girlfriend. I joined the KISS Army, dressed as either Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley for consecutive Halloween's, and overjoyed when I found a discarded copy of Destroyer laying on the street, still in playable condition (playable for a ten year old, anyway). I had posters that covered my walls, and like all of my friends, strongly anticipated the broadcast of "KISS Meets the Phantom Of The Park".
They are the first band that I wanted to know everything about. Where they were from? What they did before they were a band (Gene Simmons was a school teacher!!!)? Why they chose KISS as a band name? Why they didn't stick with Wicked Lester? Of course everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of them out of makeup. But I could not hide my disappointment when they decided to ditch the makeup altogether in 1983. What the hell was that all about? Even before the unmasking, the band had moved so far away from their riff-centric rock, full of stories about partying down and getting the girl, and I had discovered another band that would hold my attention, and continues to do so.
When I was 8 or 9, around 1978 or 1979, I was introduced to The Beatles. I was floored. I jumped ship a year or two later from KISS to the Fab Four, and honestly I felt like I was breaking up with someone. I didn't know at that tender age that I was allowed to have more than one favorite band. Shortly thereafter I added Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead to my ever-growing list of faves. After that the flood gates were open. I started buying my own records when I was 13, and my collection grew by leaps and bounds.
Though much of my record library consisted of what would be "classic rock" by today's standards, I was really proud of what I had amassed in just a few short years. It wasn't just quantity in my mind, it was quality too. I joined KFJC in late 1988 and tired very quickly of what was sitting, collecting dust, in my own library. I hungered for more. More genres, more obscure artists, more "classics" waiting to be discovered. In 2010 I purged about 5000 LPs that were taking up too much space in my home and my psyche. Most of this music could be heard on any commercial radio station anyway, so why would I hold onto it all? What I kept (about 1000 LPs) and what I continue to purchase is inspired by my time in non-commercial radio and local artists.
There are too many musical gems waiting to be encountered by the masses. I continue to be involved in radio to share my discoveries with you. Take a look at the playlist below, and all of my playlists. Much of what you see, you have never heard before. Give it a listen. If I play it that means I like it enough to want to share it with you. Hopefully you will like it enough to support that artist. Buy their music. See them live.
Enjoy...I know I do.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Download the Mystery HERE! Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
It's another one of those nights where I just have to do a deeper dive into my cast library of music. There's something old, something new, something ripped off, something I don't think I've ever actually listened to before.
That's fair, isn't it?
Should a DJ give a listen to EVERYTHING before they play it for you? How much preparation do you require from your DJ? How OCD are you, anyway?
I used to know a DJ at a former station I was at who would spend hours writing out his playlist. We hosted four-hour shows at this particular station. I would watch him work meticulously on his playlist. Draft after draft. He would write down songs/artists, and then scratch some out and and fill it in with another. I would tune in from time to time and could really appreciate the effort, but it also felt a little stiff. Maybe it was his mic breaks, but it never felt that authentic to me.
More often than not I'm inspired by the events leading up to my show, and I pull my music a few hours beforehand based on this. I enjoy playing new music more often than not, but I also love peppering some older "library" tracks in for good measure. Some shows, like the one from two weeks ago, take on a life of their own, and I get inspired during the show itself. Thank goodness I bring along my trusty external HD with 100GB of music.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Lauson spent the night in Hell's Kitchen this past Monday night and was more than her usual kooky self. Little Lauson Hell is about to enter 8th grade and I'm not really certain how I feel about all this growing up stuff. She knows that when it comes to the playlist to make make her choices a wee bit more left of maintstream. That being said, she's her father's daughter: she just knows what she likes. Almost all of her selections (designated by "L") are fairly outside the norm of what a 12 year old probably listens to. Does your kid flip for Nina Simone?
Some new music from Ty Segall from an oddly digital-only release (where's the vinyl, Ty?), and Dale Crover has graced us with what he claims is his first full-length solo effort, Fickle Finger of Fate, but I consider the classic Kiss-style Melvins solo EP of his to be his real first solo release. Whatever. Speaking of the Melvins, their documentary, Colossus of Destiny is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray and we're all better for it. I saw the film at a s showing at the Swedish-American Hall in SF last Fall and the boys performed an acoustic set and did a Q&A following the film. It's chock full of great interviews and music. Check it out!
I've got way too much music to share with you this coming Monday night. Two hours really isn't enough time, but it'll have to do. See you on the "radio".
If you care to check out the previous shows featuring Little Lauson Hell check out the links below:
It's a total shock to have any idea where or when any of my shows may or may not be listened to, if at all! I say this, because it hit me a long while back that since you can download these shows, it's always possible, albeit a slim shot, that you are listening to this show in the far distant future on some media player, deep on the outskirts of a space system, having never even stepped foot on Earth. You've only heard passing mention of this long-dead orb. And what you've heard are meager little bits of nonesuch info that has honestly left you responding "meh". And who can really blame you?
I can!
This planet has had its ups and downs, but it's the only planet we have at this time. So you can float there all smug in the Aldebaran system with your flying everything, and ability to beam everything and anything anywhere at any time, but for me and my friends and family in July of 2017 we'll keep on fighting the good fight, making love, rocking out, and flying like an eagle, thank you very much.
Little Lauson Hell joined me on the air this past Monday, for what was her 9th visit to the Radio Valencia studios. Below I link to her previous shows. It's a trip watching her grow up on the radio. I remember how shy she was the first time she was with me. I think she was maybe 7 years old. I always say about that first episode "she was shy until she was no longer shy". Lauson didn't bring much music to the show on this night, but we spoke about her recently completing 7th grade, her fun-filled summer, and her goals for 8th grade. She's got wit, I'll give her that.
Once again I streamed video via FB Live. Thanks for all who tuned in. I honestly don't see what's so fascinating about watching a DJ cue up records, but knock yourself out. My buddy, and musical realization of a childhood dream I had all gone to pot, Adam Mackintosh tuned in and gave me permission to play his recent cover of the pat mAcdonald classic "Future's So Bright". If you recall the Timbuk 3 tune, then you really do need to listen to this latest version, which is about to make it onto a huge 100 song compilation at tribute to Pat. Brilliant!