State Controlled Radio (SCR) is a weekly internet-based radio program that premiered on Valentine’s Day of 2006, ceasing production in the spring of 2010.
“There is a format on radio that I have wished to hear all my life, but it never quite materialized,” says the series host and producer Jon Kanis. "So I thought: better to light a candle than to curse the darkness—and that I would have to be the one to initiate the undertaking.”
During its five-year run, Kanis produced over two hundred and forty programs (for a complete listing of all SCR programming click HERE). Although the idea had been with Kanis since his childhood, it took Rod George of (the now defunct) BZoO Worldwide Radio to suggest that Kanis produce a radio show for his homegrown web outlet.
Kanis: “What I have always wished to focus upon is the idea of promoting EXCELLENCE in music, no matter which corner of the globe or universe it originates from. I see my role as a combination of entertainer, scholar, curator/librarian, and impresario. I also feel that capturing people’s oral histories is paramount and vital to the understanding of where an artist is coming from with their work—which led to interviewing over thirty different musicians and artists during SCR's five-year run. And after amassing over 200,000 songs in my archive, I felt a desire to present this unique resource with anyone who shares my passion and curiosity about our collective culture. Plus, there are few things in life that are more fun than spinning records at a fabulous party, and that’s what SCR is at the end of the day: the soundtrack to a fantastic party!”
Archival episodes of SCR are now available for streaming on-demand. For the week of November 21–27, 2016 we are offering an encore presentation of Episode #140: 11.22.63, a special two-hour program honoring the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy with soundbytes from the podium—along with music from the calendar year and on-the-scene reportage to contextualize that dynamic, tumultuous season that was Thanksgiving, circa '63.
Kanis: "State Controlled Radio has strictly been a not-for-profit venture that for a period of five years offered the demands of a 60-hour work week without any compensation for the effort. And yet, it remains a joy to share this deep and passionate resource of information."
If you have enjoyed State Controlled Radio and would like to help underwrite the effort, feel free to click on the DONATE button at the bottom of this page. All donations are gratefully accepted. Thank you!