Lorraine Petel
Los Angeles radio host Lorraine Petel is Iggy Pop's go-to for new music. How’d she earn the trust of a music legend like Iggy Pop? Well, she’s honed her music curation skills for years, first through college radio at KALX while a student at the University of California - Berkley. Following her collegiate radio career, Petel joined the London-based NTS Radio as the host of a punk-centric program called Yesterday’s News. Now, Petel is launching a new program called Famous Last Words as part of Sonos Sound System’s network of original curatorial content. In the vein of the late John Peel, Famous Last Words is an hour-long radio show that highlights new and up-and-coming rock, indie, punk, and guitar-driven bands. The show aims to create a space for the listener where they can discover the underground of independent, newly released demos, and anything else in between in the rock world.
We recently caught up with Petel to talk about her background in music and radio, what listeners can expect from Famous Last Words when compared with Yesterday’s News, and more:
Hi, Lorraine! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where’d you grow up and what are some of your earliest music-related memories?
I was born and raised in Miami Beach, Florida. I was always really interested in music, at a really young age. One of my earliest music-related memories was when I was either in pre-school or Kindergarten. My mom got the Chumbawamba Tubthumper CD and brought it home, played it, and after that, I legit would not let go of it. I kept on playing “Tubthumping” over and over and over again and would not stop. I brought it in the car, I played it in my room. It went everywhere with me. That sort of listening ritual that I did when I was little followed me when I was a bit older and discovered Green Day. I listened to every song over and over again to really understand the lyrics, and how the music sounded.
What was the last year and a half like for you given the pandemic? Did you find yourself diving deeper into music? How’d your relationship with music change, if at all?
I really threw myself into work and projects during the pandemic. I wanted to find what voids there were in the organizations I was a part of, and made different projects that filled those voids. The real aim was to connect everyone during a time of isolation, even if virtually. I created an IG live series with shesaid.so, called The Radio Chat where I brought on many people that worked in the radio industry to discuss their roles and journeys in the radio world, to give accessibility to those that don’t know how to start their careers in it. I continued to dig and find what was new or super rare and old in the music world. It sort of never stopped for me, and I’m really glad to see more and more new releases coming out recently. It’s refreshing to see that people are still making new and exciting things.
You’re clearly very passionate about music. When do you first remember getting really into music - like realizing it was more than just a casual hobby/ interest?
Green Day honestly was one of the biggest influences in my life. They sort of changed my life, to be honest. I went to UC Berkeley as an undergrad because of East Bay punk and joined KALX, the college radio station maybe a few days after I moved into my dorms my freshman year. When I joined KALX, that’s when I realized that there are really important roles that support artists and the creative voice, and it could become a career. I mean, I honestly wouldn’t be doing radio as a career if it wasn’t for KALX.
You have a long-running show on NTS called Yesterday’s News that focuses on the “finest in punk, noise, garage and other ratty guitar sounds from the past few decades.” Take us through a typical show - is it a more of a deep dive into older music or do you try to highlight newer stuff, too?
With any show I do on any station, I really think about the musical journey. How does each song speak to one another? How can I take the listener through an understanding of why post-punk turned into 80’s dream pop, then turn to current indie, then turned into power pop can happen? Historically, Yesterday’s News focuses on the weird, unheard, and encompassing. I like to find records that not a lot of people have heard of, which tend to be relatively older, and weave them into relatively newer bands that compliment or have a notable influence that makes sense to the older records.
Since you’ve been doing that show for quite a bit now, how has your approach to curation changed since you started doing it?
I really learned how to listen to music when I was at KALX. It was the starting point of how to connect different records and bands with one another, no matter if they’re not really in the same world or not. I took that skill and then really crafted it at NTS. As time went on, I found my voice, through music and mic breaks that made sense to me. You can listen to my shows throughout the years and hear my music taste change, my mic breaks change, and myself as a human change. In the past couple of years, I think I really found what genuinely works sonically for me and how to create a cohesive show from it each time but also allowing each show to be exciting and challenging.
When’d you first start doing radio? Were you involved with it at all before NTS?
I first started in radio when I was in my freshman year at UC Berkeley at their college radio station, KALX. I actually swore that I would never join the DJ training classes where we would do a slew of 3AM - 6:30AM slots and went through months worth of DJ/ FCC training lessons. I wanted nothing to do with it. But, my Spring semester of my freshman year, I signed up and did the whole thing, and here I am still using those skills I learned when I was 18/19 years old at different stations.
You just launched a new program on Sonos Radio called Famous Last Word. How’d you link up with Sonos Radio? And for listeners of Yesterday’s News, what can they expect from Famous Last Words when compared to that show?
I’m super stoked about Famous Last Words on Sonos Radio. The concept of this show has been in the works for a couple of years now, and I honestly can’t believe it’s actually happening and it’s out in the public. I got in touch with Saidah, who is the Executive Producer of Sonos Radio. I wanted to have her on as a guest on The Radio Chat that I was doing with shesaid.so. We got on our first meeting ever to talk about The Radio Chat, talked some more about what both of us were up, and what we wanted to see in the radio space. I told her there’s been such a void in rock, alternative, indie, punk music for years now, and there hasn’t been a person that has really presented and represented all of these underground and independent bands, especially in the radio sphere for a while. She loved the idea, and here we are today…
Famous Last Words is different from Yesterday’s News. Famous Last Words focuses on all new bands. I want that show to be a place of discovery of what’s going on presently. What are artists saying about the current climate, what are people feeling and dealing with now, what sounds are they creating now. I want people to realize that we still have really exciting bands happening and fall in love with their new favorite band. I want that feeling to happen again for those around me, listeners, and even myself on a bigger platform.
What’s your favorite part about doing radio/being a music curator? What do you see your role as a music curator as?
I really like to connect music together. It’s sort of like a game for me. Figuring out what makes a good opening song, and how you can build the rest of the show off of that. And what’s a good closing song. It’s fun to find songs that make you feel something is beginning, still happening, and then ending. It’s an art of sorts. I also really love recording my mic breaks. I like to let listeners know that I’m a human being that goes to the grocery store, and have random things happen to me as well, and share those on-air to truly connect with the listeners — sort of talking to the listeners as my best friends of sorts.
For your new show, you’ve cited John Peel as influence for the format. What about Peel in particular stands out to you? Do you have a favorite Peel session?
There hasn’t been a singular person that brought the underground and independent together in radio since him. There have been pieces here and there, and highlights of rock music being celebrated, but nothing like he did. He really understood that there were smaller bands out there that were changing the sound of music, and truly celebrated that, and I think it’s still worth being celebrated and championed. There are sooo many Peel Sessions! It’s hard to choose. I would have to say that Girls At Our Best!, The Only Ones, Young Marble Giants, and Scars are some fun ones.
You’ve developed a kinship with Iggy Pop. What do you remember about first meeting him? What’s your relationship like?
Oh my god. What a ride. Iggy is one of the coolest and most inspirational people I know. I hold so much respect for him. I think I told him that only once, but it honestly will forever hold true. I was in my hometown of Miami in Summer 2017 and I got in touch with Iggy through his BBC 6 producer, Adam, and then Henry, Iggy’s manager. Iggy emailed me personally and asked what new bands I was listening to, I emailed him back immediately with a couple, and then he emailed back immediately, asking if I could come into the studio to record some BBC 6 shows. I went to the studio a few days later and got there a bit before him. Iggy walked in not long after, saw me immediately, hugged me while excitedly greeting me with “Hurricane Lorraine!!!!”. It was honestly like we knew each other for a while already. I hung out for the recording of a couple of episodes for the BBC 6 show and we just talked about everything. It was incredible. After that, we developed a relationship where I share new and upcoming bands with him for this BBC 6 show. It’s a relationship of mutual respect for each other, a relationship I hold very dearly.
Who are some of your current favorite artists?
Rata Negra is always a favorite, Hearts Apart are super fun as well, and Poison Ruïn and Powerplant are both super exciting.
Are you a record collector? Any prized pieces of vinyl that you have?
Yes, definitely. The majority are in Miami, though. They unfortunately don’t live with me permanently just yet. A lot of the 80’s East Bay punk 7”s I have are very important to me, especially the original pressings. The one and only LP Neon Piss ever put out is also mega important to me.
What’s next?
I’m focusing a lot of my time and creative energy on Famous Last Words. I want this show to make a positive impact on people and bring something new to the table. After, that we’ll see what’s next.
The second episode of Famous Last Words drops today! You can stream it via the Sonos Radio Mixcloud page. You can also check out Yesterday’s News via NTS.live. Keep up with Petel by following her on Instagram and Twitter.
