We fell in love with Emiliana Torrini’s Me & Armini back when it came out in September. So much so that we did a video interview with the charming Icelandic songstress during a brief stop over in the States. At that time she was just doing a press run and wasn’t playing any shows. Which is why we’re excited to announce three intimate U.S. shows that we’re proud to be a part of.

Emiliana is playing NYC, LA and SF in support of her Rough Trade release, Me & Armini, and while the LA show is officially being presented by the venerable KCRW, we’re lucky enough to be presenting her New York and San Francisco stops. But aside from just supporting Emiliana, we will be doing a ticket giveaway for all three markets — including copies of Me & Armini — starting next week, so be on the lookout for your chance to catch the Lord Of The Rings songwriter in person. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to hear her story about teleconferencing with Peter Jackson. Tickets for all three shows are currently available at Ticketmaster.

Emiliana Torrini tour dates
03.28.09 – New York, NY (Hiro Ballroom)
03.29.09 – San Francisco, CA (The Independent)
03.30.09 – Los Angeles, CA (The Troubadour)

Henry Rollins might not look like your average Jack-of-all-trades, but his resume sure fits the bill. Between his stint as Black Flag’s vocalist in the 80s, to IFC documentary maker, and even as an occasional blogger for Vanity Fair Rollins does it all. But after LA’s Indie 103 went down, we were wondering when we would see Rollins run back to radio. Thankfully, the outspoken “Liar” hasn’t disappointed, and is coming back to FM airwaves, starting in March.

Starting March 7, Rollins will have a Saturday night set on LA’s KCRW-FM (89.9 FM). The night-time show starts at 6 p.m., and in standard Rollins fashion, will showcase a wide variety of all different music, stories and surprises. Don’t fret if you don’t live in the LA area and want your dose of the holy Rollins. The show will be available online for all to hear, and even when it’s off air, you can still catch it on-demand throughout the week.

“I am very happy to be a new member of the KCRW family,” said Rollins. “Some of my first radio work I ever did was many years ago at KCRW under the guidance of Deirdre O’Donoghue, so it’s a great turn of events to be back over 20 years later with a show of my own. To say that I am excited is an understatement.”

If you want a taste of what Rollins will have to offer in March, tune in tomorrow [February 19] morning to KCRW, where he will  be making an appearance on Morning Becomes Eclectic, as a guest DJ with Jason Bentley.

Fresh off the folding of Indie 103 less than two weeks ago, another southern California indie music staple, KCRW is gearing up for its winter pledge drive, hoping its listeners will prove that independent music can be a viable (and profitable) radio format.

KCRW will be appealling to listeners starting Friday through February 9, and station administrators say they’ll be putting the demise of Indie 103 at the forefront of the discussion. “The demise of Indie 103 is the handwriting on the wall for radio stations trying to be a commercial success with an indie music format,” said KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour. “Just as the number one news service on radio in the U.S. is publicly supported, indie music too, if it is to survive, must be sustained by its listeners.”

In a press release issued today, the station said the 11 days of the pledge drive will be “a test of whether an audience, which can hear the programming for free, will be willing to step forward and support the station so that it can continue to provide some of the most original programming in the country.”

KCRW is National Public Radio’s flagship station for southern California, so in that sense it’s not like the local commercially owned rock station suddenly had to set up a phone bank for call-in donations. It’s public radio, and it is (and has always been) publically funded, particularly by drives like this one. But KCRW definitely makes a good point about the uncertainty of the survival of eclectic radio formats when corporate support seems nowhere to be found.

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