KALX 90.7 Berkeley

On July 16, 2026, KALX DJ Velvet Einstein interviewed Josh Rosenthal of Tompkins Square Records to discuss the label’s recent release,1925 Songs. Velvet Einstein: [00:00:00] All right. And it is a few minutes before 2:00 PM. I’m very excited to have Josh Rosenthal here with me to talk about Tompkins Square’s recent release collecting music from 1925. So that’ll be up in just a moment. But to get us in the mood here, I thought we would start with a little bit of music. Mr. Johnson’s Blues.

Join Velvet Einstein on Thursday, July 16th at 2pm when he hosts Josh Rosenthal of Tompkins Square Recordsto discuss the label’s recent release, . 1925 marked the advent of electrical recording, the dawn of the “Jazz Age”, a pre-“big bang” country recording session in Asheville, and a few landmark blues recordings. Tompkins Square’s new compilation brings it into focus.

On the next Fiat Lux Redux, Tuesday, July 21 at 9 AM, host Sarah Harrington, Program Manager at the UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix, speaks with researcherand sociologist Sarah Payne to dissect what higher education actually does for—and to—our society beyond the classroom. Universities act as powerful hubs for sorting social classes, building networking cartels, and reinforcing existing inequalities under the guise of meritocracy.

Here’s a blast from the past! Larry Kelp wrote this profile of Doc Pelzel and KALX in April, 1979, in the Oakland Tribune. Doc rose through the ranks to go from student DJ in 1969 to station manager. He moved to KFJC at Foothill College where he remained until his passing in early 2026. Doc never really left KALX though; he remained on the station’s advisory board until he passed as well.

Play Doe hosts Bay Area duo Half Calf for KALX Live! on Saturday, July 18th at 9pm. Tune in for a live performance, interview, and more! Hear it from Half Calf themselves; We are two lesbians who like to play loud music and travel around playing said loud music to all kinds of crowds. We met in Santa Cruz four years ago, are proud to call the East Bay our home, and LOVE the practicality and lack of major coordination required to keep a two piece band running.

We welcome The Pranks to the KALX Live! studio onSaturday, July 25th. Ears of Maize will host the night kicking off at 9pm and going all the way to midnight with a performance from the local trio, interview, and more. San Francisco-based The Pranks draw you in with hypnotic bass-lines, gang vocals, and reverb-drenched chords, to drown you in sonic annihilation through vintage fuzz, swirling delay, and maraca-beaten drums.

Review and photography by Sophia Risin After a two year hiatus, the Castro theater has once again opened hosting musicians, movies, and all sorts of events, and on June 13, I got the chance to visit the venue for the first time. Most times you see shows in the Bay, the venue fades into the background and the music is the center of the show, but the Crane Wives put on a show that made the theater feel part of the performance in a way few shows I have been to have done before.

Last Will and Petra Core will host a tribute to Ian Curtis of Joy Division on their Wednesday, July 15th show from 6-8pm in honor of the 70th anniversary of his birth. The duo will also feature guest appearances by Davey Bones of the Joy Division cover band Dead Souls and D’mitra Dawn aka Siouxsie Black of black Siouxsie tribute band Voodoo Dolly ahead of their upcoming show on July 17th at The Chapel. And there is still more to pack into the show.

Join us in Alameda Saturday, July 18th as we participate in Radio Day by the Bay! The event is presented by and benefits the California Historical Radio Society. Come on down for the annual festival and celebration of radio and wireless communication featuring live music, a live radio play, museum tours, auctions and more.

On the Saturday, August 8th edition of KALX Live! we have Remedy & Wren, hosted by Sunspot. Tune in for a live performance and interview with the band and trips to the past through the Live! archives all the way til midnight. San Francisco based Remedy & Wren is the new project of producer and songwriter Alicia Vanden Heuvel, founding member of indie pop groups Poundsign and The Aislers Set.