Interviewed:
Jim Ladd - JL

Jim Ladd, a well known veteran LA radio DJ has interviewed Roger Waters and Pink Floyd on many occasions, since the late seventies. Having become personal friends with Waters, in 1987 he became an integral part of Roger Waters' Bleeding Hearts Band. Portraying himself, a DJ working for a renegade Los Angeles radio station, he was featured on Roger Waters' second solo album, Radio K.A.O.S. Jim Ladd also toured with Roger on the "Radio K.A.O.S. On The Road" tour.

[REG]: some un-imperative parts of the interview have been deleted for space sake

Q: First I wanted to ask you how old you are, and if you're married and have any children?

JL: Well, I'm 47, I am married, and I have no children, although my wife and I raised three adopted children.

JL: They're already raised and moved out of the house.

Q: Great, and what made you decide to start in the field of radio and become a DJ?

JL: Um, well it's all pretty much explained...I wrote a book called Radio Waves.

Q: Right, I have it...

JL: Yea, and it's all pretty...you can pretty much find all that in there, but it was a love of Rock Ôn' Roll, and ah, ya know, being a child of the sixties and um being swept up in all of the...the movement, the sixties, and all of that, and I was lucky enough to get a job at a little radio station in Long Beach just as FM was starting up...

Q: Do you have any role models in the radio or entertainment field that you look up to?

JL: Well um, I wouldn't say role models in radio per say, because when I started in radio there...this was all changing, you know what I mean, it was...we were inventing this thing as we were going along, so ah what I would say in radio, it is pretty much everybody that I've worked with, you know, that I've learned from or borrowed from, or that kind of thing. And ah, as far as role models in my life, would be Dr. King, Martin Luther King would be one, and um certainly when I was growing up ah, John Lennon, and Jim Morrison, were two others who had a great influence on me, ah as well as Mr. Waters.

Q: Ok, speaking of him, when did you become a fan, and when did you first meet Roger?

JL: Well I first became a fan ah... you know I played their music, pre Dark Side of the Moon, and liked some of it, but it was Dark Side of the Moon that really got me to focus on this band as being something really really special. And that's when I became a huge Pink Floyd fan. Ah, I met Roger in 1979 just as The Wall album was released and he was out here to do the live show in Los Angeles. And I interviewed him for a radio show I was doing called "Innerview." And we did a, what was kind of a very different thing, and at the time the Innerview program was a kind of free flowing show that you would talk about all kinds of topics, but because I was so impressed with The Wall album itself, ah, rather than do a Pink Floyd interview, and I'd already done one of those with David Gilmour, we took The Wall cut by cut in order. And I think that Roger appreciated that because, you know, the album was new, and it was... his whole life's work was into this thing, and we got along pretty good on that occasion and then went on to become friends.

Q: Um, you mentioned that you interviewed David Gilmour as a Pink Floyd interview, um, you interviewed Floyd a few times was it?

JL: Well when I interviewed David Gilmour, he had a solo album out..

Q: Oh I see, you didn't interview...

JL: ...and so we played alot of his solo album, and Pink Floyd music as well.

Q: I see.

JL: OK, so then it was after that, that I interviewed Roger. And I interviewed him for The Wall, then I interviewed him for um The Final Cut. I interviewed him for the making of The Wall, the movie, and then I interviewed him for his solo albums after that.

Q: So that's when you became friends and um, and developed a real relationship?

JL: Right.

Q: I see.

JL: Ya.

Q: OK... What were the circumstances that led up to you recording on Roger's album Radio K.A.O.S with him? Was it Roger's idea to have a disc Jockey on the record with the radio station format? And ah, how long did it take to do the actual recording?

JL: Well of course, all of it was Roger's idea, you know, that all came from Roger, and he was just kind enough to ask me to portray me, you know, he was gonna have this character of the Disc Jockey, fighting for free form radio, so he asked me to portray myself which I was more than happy to do. Obviously I was honored to do it. And that's how it developed.

Q: Ahh... And he just happened to ask you because he already knew you, and how long did it take to record the album?

JL: My parts didn't take very long at all, we did it in an afternoon at his home in England. And as far as how long it took to record Radio KAOS, I don't know. I also recorded, here in Los Angeles, some sound effects for him...

Q: I see...

JL: ...some of which got used, some of which didn't. Um but, I don't know how long it took from writing to release of the album, but my parts we did in an afternoon.

Q: Did you read from a script or have any freedom...

JL: We just started riffing...

Q: Oh OK, all right, um what are your favorite songs from the KAOS album.

JL: Well, that's, you know, hard to say because the whole thing means a lot to me. But I think my number one favorite song would be "The Tide is Turning," and then it would be "Radio Waves," and um, "The Powers That Be," although... although I have to say "Sunset Strip," because it, you know, mentions me in the lyric, and I kind of dig that.

Q: (Laughter) yea! Um, Shelly Ladd was credited as one of the characters, the Monkey and Dog Lady, is she related to you?

JL: That's my wife.

Q: Oh, great...

JL: Those pieces of business ah, were recorded here in Los Angeles, you know the stuff about the fish, and ah, I want to be home with my monkey and my dog, That was all recorded here in LA. And that was all Rogers idea. What he had me do was, he had me write up questions on 3X5 cards, there was about ten questions I think, and the people were not allowed to look at them until they went in there, and they...they would turn them over one at a time, read the question and then respond. And then I sent him the...you know the tape, and then he would take those responses and use them as he did. (Roger, reportedly did this same thing with roadies during the making of DSOTM -ed.)

Q: Oh, that's neat. Um, how, uh...did he just ask you to tour for the album after the album was made, because you were a natural part of the album so of course you had to tour, and um, when you toured did you have to quit your present job?

JL: No, I was ah, only working part time on the weekends, and they were kind enough to let me ah, you know, go out, and I called several of the shows in from the road, when I could. In other words, if time permitting, if I wasn't on stage that night, I would call in the show ah, from the road, and do reports and that kind of thing. (Radio KAOS on the road for REAL! - ed.)

Q: Ah, that was the first time that you'd ever toured with a band then?

JL: Yea, oh, yea!

Q: I'll bet it was a really neat experience!

JL: It was a wonderful experience, I made some good friends, ah, Andy Fairweather Low is...just turned out to be one of the nicest guys, everybody on the tour was very nice, and ah, you know, I just, I kept pinching myself thinking what...what am I doing here.

Q: Uh huh...

JL: ...and I really enjoyed it.

Q: Was there mostly good relations among the band members and roadies and stage crew? Did everyone get along well?

JL: Yea, everyone got along good.

Q: I heard that Paul Carrack and Roger had some disagreements, and after the tour Carrack said a few unkind words about Roger.

JL: Well, I don't want to comment on that. That's between the two of them.

Q: I see. Ah, Jay Stapley was the lead guitarist, um, do you have any idea why he is no longer with The Bleeding Hearts Band?

JL: No, I have no idea.

Q: OK, um, during the KAOS tour, Roger went to the Bahamas to do some recording for a KAOS II album, which years later became parts of Amused To Death. Did Roger discuss the possibility of doing a KAOS II album with you? And did you go to the Bahamas to record with him?

JL: The answer is no on both counts.

Q: Oh.

JL: He didn't discuss it, and I didn't go to the Bahamas.

Q: OK, um, lets see...Would you consider working on the Radio KAOS album and tour, ah, to be the highlight of your career?

JL: Well certainly it is a highlight of my career absolutely! Ah, you know, there's nothing in my career that compares to that experience, and I'd just like to say that I was, you know, treated really well, and was a member...you know, taken in as a member of the band kind of. It was a wonderful...just a wonderful experience for me. And I have a lot more respect for people that go out on the road now.

(Laughter)

JL: I, um, during the days when I did "Innerview," which I did for about 11 years, and I would hear all these, you know sometimes there would be people who would come up and they'd complain about being on the road, and I'd always bust them on it, saying come on, you know, you get born with this talent, you're a rock star, you've got women at your feet, you've got all this money, what do you...what's a little inconvenience about being on the road? Well, (laughs)about two weeks of being on the road, and I figured out what that was about so, it's not a... I mean it's fun, but the fun part is the playing, or the fun part is being on stage, that's great. The ah, standing at the airport, and ah packing your bags everyday, and that kind of stuff can get a little grueling, and I was only out for three months.

Q: Were there any interesting stories about...ah, during the tour that you'd like to share with us?

JL: Ah, no. (Laughs)

Q: (Laughter) Ah, you're just like Roger with your answers some times. I remember a lot of interviews I've heard with Roger that you've done where you would ask Roger these questions and then he would come up with these one word answers that would leave you like...speechless.

JL: Yea exactly, it would take me 30 seconds to ask the question and he'd answer in a one word answer, yea.

Q: Um, I really enjoyed your book Radio Waves...

JL: Thank you.

Q: ...how well did the book sell?

JL: It seemed to do pretty well, it went into two printings, and paperback so it did pretty well.

Q: Oh, great, I've never found the paperback. I could (laughter) have saved some money if I'd have found it. How long did it take to write?

JL: It took me two years.

Q: Wow!

JL: Yea, two years to write that.

Q: Wow, That's a lot of work.

JL: It is, it is, I'll tell you writing a book is a...is a lot of work, and ah, a lot of it is research, and even though, you know, I'm writing about something that I lived, I did a lot of interviews with people, ah, so their stories...you know I didn't want to make it my story in particular, although you follow my character through the book. But I made sure that ah, the people I worked with got a voice in it.

Q: Roger's album ah, came out in 87, and your book was published in 92, did the title of your book come directly from the title of the song?

JL: Yes, I asked him permission for that. I think the book came out in 1991 actually...

Q: Oh, I see...

JL: ...and ah, yes it came directly from the title of the song.

Q: OK, and again the idea and concept for the book came from... you used from Roger's album?

JL: No, no no no, no no. The idea and concept for the book was... ah came from KMET, which...which oddly enough the album was partially based on or inspired by, you know, in a way, the narrative is about KMET. But the book was...was my idea, and that was because when KMET...when they shut down KMET, I felt that the...that free form radio was in grave danger of being lost...

Q: Right...right exactly...

JL: ...which is what's happened. You know, I do a free form radio show, but there's not many people in the country that are allowed to do it.

Q: Right, I used to myself...I grew up listening to underground radio ah when KSAN in San Francisco used to be underground, and KSJO up here (in San Jose, California), and ah, in fact KSJO used to be "KSJO Light From Below," way up here on a hillside in a little dinky shack.

JL: Yea...

Q: And it was really great...great radio at that time, and so I really remember those days.

JL: Right.

Q: Radio Waves was sort of written as an epitaph for free form radio, like you say in your book, and ah, and given the take over of format radio and corporate interests playing music strictly for profit instead of enjoyment, ah, this is kind of what the overview of your book is generally about then?

JL: Yea, it was to celebrate what FM Radio stood for, and to... and it hopefully left the reader with a sense that we need to preserve that kind of freedom on the air, which has not been done to a great extent.

Q: And in your book you changed the actual names of the stations. Ah, Radio KAOS was one of the fictitious names. Was ah, this station in fact KMET?

JL: Yes.

Q: And you also had KASH, (cash), and you had ah...What was that ... there was Radio KAOS and KASH... was this...

JL: KASH was a station down here that is still going called KLOS.

Q: Oh, I see. OK, I was just wondering, um...In Radio Waves you write about the commercialization of FM Radio in the late '70s and early '80s, and how FM lost it's underground movement. Do you see a change in the industry, a turning back or more commercialization?

JL: Well, um, it's hard to tell, ah, first off, it was commercialization then, I mean it was always, you know, except for those people who worked in public radio, KMET was a commercial radio station...for profit station. The thing was, we were able to make them huge profits while doing exactly what we wanted, that was the trick. Um, and now a days, that's...that's been lost, they don't seem to know how to...or trust people enough to know how to do that anymore. We made them more...or that station made more money and higher ratings than anyone that's come along since, yet it's hard for these people to see how that was done, you know, because they are hiring people that weren't there.

Q: Right, exactly, I understand exactly what you mean. Ah, so what would you do to change radio if you had it in your power to change it.

JL: Well, I would try to combine the business world with the world of how to present good radio and make good radio commercially viable. So in other words, you would want to get people who knew how to do free form radio and make that a profit making situation, which is what we did at KMET. Now...that's how you change it, there are some now, in that...Now in talk radio which is, you know, pretty much free form, in the context of...it's pretty much all conservative talk, but they're seeing that personality radio is the way to go instead of this mindless format.

Q: Right, um, let's see, so you're still working as a DJ down there I know, in Los Angeles...

JL: Correct...

Q ...and uh, do you still play Pink Floyd, and Roger Waters music.

JL: Oh, yea! Every night!

Q: (Laughter)Cool!

JL: And I get a lot of requests for Roger you know, it's great, cause a lot of his fans down here really differentiate between the Pink Floyd without him, and Pink Floyd with him, and I get a lot of requests for his solo stuff.

Q: Um, let's see, ah what are your favorite Roger, and Floyd songs?

JL: Uh, that would be, ah, hard to tell, but I mean they would run anywhere from "Fearless," to um...you know, to "What God Wants." He's got so much work, and such a great body of writing that it would be difficult for me to pick the song. It would really have to be what kind of mood I was in at the moment would be the song that would be my favorite song at the time. Um, the thing with Roger is, that with all the success that he's had, and all the money he has made with Pink Floyd and everything, I don't know that he's still not recognized for how great of a writer he is. In other words, because of the Pink Floyd, you know, banner, and because he was so inaccessible during those days, I don't know that enough focus has been placed on what a great writer he is. I mean I think he is certainly in the rarefied league of Bob Dylan, and John Lennon, and people like that. You know there are very few of those born in a generation, and Roger Waters is one of them.

Q: Well, that's exactly why this club exists. To try to, ah, give his fans a kind of rallying point...to get together and share with each other, the...and try to get Roger more...as much recognition as possible.

JL: Well, that's great! That's good, he certainly deserves it.

Q: Well, we all agree exactly with what you were just saying. Ah let's see, do I have any more questions, I know we're probably out of time already, ah...

JL: Let me just say this in closing...

Q: OK.

JL: ...that I feel really privileged to know Roger, and to call him my friend. And for those of you who are reading this article, you should know that this is a good person who cares very deeply about the things that he writes about, it's not something...I mean it should be obvious to anybody that's a fan of Roger's that he really cares about this stuff, and I don't know that I've ever met another artist who is more intent on really making the music absolutely as perfect as he can do it. You know, he accepts absolutely no'oh well that's good enough,' that don't...that phrase has never come out of Roger Waters mouth, you know, it's done right or it doesn't make the record.

Q: Well, I really appreciate your time, and uh, talking to us here, for the Fan Club, and uh, it's been an honor for me to have had the opportunity to talk with you and to interview you. I... like I said I've never interviewed anyone before and uh to...

JL: You did a great job!

Q: Oh, thank you so much, I really appreciate all of your time, and I hope I didn't bug you too much trying to get this interview together.

JL: Not at all.

Q: And I'll keep my radio always tuned and listen for you whenever I'm in the LA area.

JL: I hope so.

Q: Thanks Jim.

JL: Thank you.

Q: Bye bye now.

JL: Bye bye Michael