Salad Days

WRIR-LP 97.3 FM - Richmond Independent Radio - "Radio For The Rest Of Us"

Dacoit Dan | Every Friday - 7pm - 9pm

Salad Days is a show dedicated to punk. I believe that punk is not just music, but a state of mind. Not fashion or art, but a way of thinking and expression that eliminates any pretensions. It is honest music made for and shared by friends. If they like it, then that is enough satisfaction. Music for the people played by the people. I stumbled on to the D.C. punk scene in 1976. I had been griping about how bad music on the radio was and a friend of mine said, "you play drums, start your own band". He hooked me up with a guitarist who wrote his own songs and in a month we had a band playing to 5 people on a Monday night at the Keg. The band split up and I got a job as drummer for the Slickee Boys. This band was led by Kim Kane who was a true punk visionary. They had already released a DIY E.P. and were working on an LP when I joined. This was the start of a DIY punk scene. Gigs were impossible to come by, so we had to make our own. We played to a small group of friends and eventually they all started bands. Eventually a "scene" was created. This is how it was done in the beginning and thirty some years later it is still how it is done. Even with the internet, I still find out about the best bands through friends. I played drums in that band for 25 years without any financial success, but they were some the best times of my life. I have been around, done and seen some things, as Ian Hunter once said. I moved to Richmond 15 years ago and found that music was a big thing missing from my life. I heard about WRIR a few years ago and became a volunteer dj. I was offered the punk show and was excited about it. I named the show Salad Days and did my first show on September 6th of 2007. I chose the show name and theme song from a Minor Threat song. The lyrics of which mean to me that there should be no good old days to dwell on. All of your days should be your Salad Days. I pay homage to great punk from the past, but my focus is always on the new punk of today. It turns out Richmond currently has one of the best punk scenes on the planet, so this makes my job doubly exciting. I don't narrow my playlist to one specific punk genre. If it is punk to me and passes my "must rock balls" litmus test, I will play it. If it is pretentious or dreary crap, I will toss it. Trust old "Dirty Dacoit Dan" and tune in. Think of me as a friend playing some good music for you that I probably found out about from a friend.