'Morning Becomes Eclectic' turns 30

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 28 (UPI) -- Groundbreaking "Morning Becomes Eclectic" marks 30 years giving independent musicians airtime and providing free-form programming on U.S. public radio.

KCRW will celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on Labor Day with the three music directors from the Santa Monica, Calif.-based pubic radio station.

"Music is not a pastime, it is a necessity in my life," says Tom Schnabel, KCRW's first music director said in a news release. Schnabel, Chris Douridas and Nic Harcourt introduced independent artists -- such as Nina Simone, Maroon 5, Tom Waits, Beck, Norah Jones and Coldplay -- to a larger audience.

"There is a special type of person who ventures left of 92 on their FM dial, because you never know what you are going to find. But that is the beauty of it," said Schnabel, who introduced world music to public radio.

During his tenure in the 1990s, Douridas hosted then-unsigned artist Beck, who used a rope for a guitar strap, and Maroon 5 when it was a high school band known as Kara's Flowers.

He said he is proudest of the station's on-air talent who expanded "free-form programming at the station into what it is today."