Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Secret Public Radio

The very nature of pirate radio is to be undercover, underground and especially under the radar of the FCC. But, in order to remain on the air, pirate stations must have listeners, deejays and community support. It's a thin line to walk, and KFAR 90.9 FM is making it even thinner by hosting local bands at the station and inviting listeners out to their covert location.

Cricket the Ferret—that's his radio handle—created The Ticket, a one-hour show that airs live on Fridays from 7 to 8 p.m. Local musicians come into the clandestine South Knoxville studio and play tunes over the air. The first few guests brought a handful of friends, but the space can accommodate a limited number of audience members in the adjacent room (if people don't mind sitting on the floor, Cricket says). He wants to increase the station's visibility through these interactive radio shows, but he admits it's hard to serve the community while you're hiding from the authorities. They won't print directions to the station, just an email address for interested parties to contact. The band du noir and audience members meet Cricket at the Disc Exchange parking lot on Chapman Highway and carpool to the station.

"We know that the FCC knows about us already, so it's just a matter of time before we get shut down," Cricket says. "We're always racing against the clock, so we're focusing on being more open and serving the community."

Broadcasting the show via Internet is in the works, and outdoor seating will be offered during the warmer months, if the station lasts that long (and it has lasted two years, so far). Several local acts have signed up to play, including The Rockwells on Nov. 21, Todd Steed on Dec. 5 and Oh!Muse on Dec. 12. Pleuroma, Jodie Manross and the Westside Dardevils are interested in filling future slots.

Cricket stresses KFAR's commitment to the local music scene and KFAR's desire to participate, even with limited resources and the risks associated with a pirate station. But there is strength in numbers; Cricket wants more listeners, more volunteer deejays and more community awareness. Most shows in the future will be limited to the band's guests, but prospective audience members that approach offering donations might be accepted with open arms. Unless you're from the FCC.

Neo-Guitar God

Though his hair mostly obscures his face, those of us who remember former Knoxville guitarist Mick Murphy from his days in the Bearden-based Hypertribe/Movement instantly recognized his picture on page 49 of the December issue of Guitar Player magazine.

Murphy moved to Los Angeles along with his Movement bandmates in the mid-1990s, and has been making his bones since 2000 in the L.A. heavy metal outfit My Ruin.

Guitar Player Editor Michael Molenda was apparently impressed enough with Murphy's stellar fretwork on the band's latest album The Horror of Beauty to spotlight the guitarist in a three-page article in the new issue (look for the Strokes on the cover).

Murphy drops another Knoxville name in the course of the interview, that of former Movement-mate Nick Raskulinecz, who is now a big-time L.A. record producer (with a Best Rock Song grammy to his credit for his work with Foo Fighters), and who helped the Ruin record four of the tracks on Horror.

Says Molenda of Mick: "If you name-check Murphy to your buddies, you'll get all the cheese you deserve for turning them on to an emerging guitar hero before he ends up all over-exposed and cruising with the champagne-and-limo set." Sal-ute.

Postcards From Paradise

Jag Star is back from its second USO tour, but this one was nothing like the first, which took them through the Middle East shortly before the invasion of Iraq.

"We got home from an amazing month-long tour in the South Pacific a few days ago," says band leader Sarah Lewis. "We're still fighting jet lag, but we're happy to be home again. The tour was more like a vacation, since we lived like beach bums in between all of our concerts! Needless to say, it was quite different from our Afghanistan experience. I'll take the beach over mortar fire any day.

"We played some impromptu gigs in Singapore and met with some program directors of pop radio stations. I just want to be able to say, 'We're huge in Singapore,'" Lewis says with a laugh.

While there, the band picked up a copy of the November Vanity Fair's American music issue. A Budweiser advertising section—starting on page 299—led off a page-long feature on Jag Star.

Go.

Thursday: Help the Pilot Light raise money so it can keep bringing cool bands to Knoxville.

Friday: Lucero makes damn good bluesy honky tonk. With Glossary and Stroller opening for them at Blue Cats, this show is hard to beat tonight.

Saturday: Divorce is getting quite a buzz around town. See them at the Longbranch.

Sunday: Go hiking and enjoy the East Tennessee's fall colors. Bring along a thermos of tea or miso soup!

Monday: Sleep

Tuesday: Palm Grease at 4620.

Wednesday: The Salvation Army needs your help rebuilding. Check out this benefit at Barley's.

—Paige M. Travis, Mike Gibson, Joe Tarr, and your mama!