Alternative Music

Jingle bells usurped by quirky Casio keyboards. Traditional carols transformed into raging speed-punk anthems. These may not be Everyman's idea of seasonal winter rituals, but for many concert-loving fans of KROQ-FM (106.7), alternative music and the holidays now go hand in hand. For some, KROQ's 7-year-old series of holiday benefit concerts, now officially called "Almost Acoustic Christmas," has become almost as integral to the season as winter break, Christmas trees and menorahs.

Ben Kweller is glad only a few hundred people showed up to see his band, Radish, on a recent Saturday night at the popular Liberty Lunch nightclub. It's only the third time the group has played here, and he doesn't want things to get out of hand. "We just played a radio show outdoors in Dallas and there were like 2,000 kids there," says Kweller, a kid himself. Though he's 15, his puffy red cheeks and pouty eyes make him look closer to 12.

Ben Kweller is glad only a few hundred people showed up to see his band, Radish, on a recent Saturday night at the popular Liberty Lunch nightclub. It's only the third time the group has played here, and he doesn't want things to get out of hand. "We just played a radio show outdoors in Dallas and there were like 2,000 kids there," says Kweller, a kid himself. Though he's 15, his puffy red cheeks and pouty eyes make him look closer to 12.

In an apparent first for Orange County's dominant movie chain, the 750-seat Edwards Mesa Cinema will host a biweekly series of alternative-rock concerts, starting Friday. Most of the acts will be ska- and punk-flavored bands with a Christian message--a key element in the Edwards chain's approval of the series. But the promoters say they will try to reach a general rock audience, filtering in suitable secular bands on three of the eight scheduled nights.

It's a time of great expectations on the local alternative-rock scene. It would be hard for grass-roots rockers not to get their hopes up after big breakthroughs by the Offspring, No Doubt, Korn and Sublime, coupled with contender status for many other bands on major labels and solid independents. Then there is Willoughby, a band whose expectations at the moment are as meager as its pop-rock artistry is great.

Deejays get paid to talk through anything. But at the end of her on-air shift Tuesday, Nicole Sandler choked. The Kinks wound down "Around the Dial" and as she started a goodbye to listeners and co-workers at KSCA-FM (101.9), Sandler's voice cracked. For a moment, before she put on Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," she stopped speaking altogether. "I really did lose it," she said later. "I never break down on the air like this." She wasn't the only one.

Deejays get paid to talk through anything. But at the end of her on-air shift Tuesday, Nicole Sandler choked. The Kinks wound down "Around the Dial" and as she started into a goodbye to listeners and co-workers at KSCA-FM (101.9), Sandler's voice cracked. For a moment, before she put on Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," she stopped speaking altogether. "I really did lose it," she said later. "I never break down on the air like this." She wasn't the only one.

The expected sale and format change of KSCA-FM (101.9) in Los Angeles isn't a done deal. But already fans of the so-called adult alternative outlet, recording artists who get played on it, record executives who rely on it and rival radio programmers in this competitive market--not to mention the station's staff--are preparing for life without it. "Some of us think this is the only station there is," Melinda Hughes of Van Nuys wrote in a pleading letter to KSCA owners Gene and Jackie Autry.

For years, radio station KROQ-FM has proudly referred to itself as "the World Famous KROQ." Now the alternative rock giant's latest competitor is trying to steal some of its thunder by poking fun at the slogan and station. Tune into Y-107--which can be found at 107.1 on the FM dial, just to the right of KROQ (106.