A brief look at the 'No Other Radio' Program
Since 1981 John Gullak, through his radio program "The No Other Radio Network," has pioneered and provided a forum for underground, electronic, industrial, psycho acoustic, and technogrunge music. His weekly midnight program on Berkeley radio station KPFA gives public access to musicians who would not be able to get their sounds heard because they do not conform to the commercial, conservative, censored, make believe media mold in the USA..Listeners to the program can also send in their contributions, giving a true validity to the home taping music scene. (paraphrased from Brian Lustmord)

From UNSOUND magazine:
US: How did the radio show, 'No Other Radio' come about?

JG: The radio show came about the because of the Public Hearings. With the second Public Hearing Don Joyce and Jane Hall, Mark Hosler got some space on KPFA to do a little Public Hearing special to play some tapes over the air, that went over pretty well. Charles Amirkhanian liked it and realized that there was a real good outlet for music. I had already developed this kind of network and he was looking for something like that for KPFA. He asked me if I was interested in taking over this time slot that was opening up. I guess Tim Yohannan had something to do with it also in terms of encouraging him to ask me, that was in '80 or '81.

US: Has the show changed?

JG: Yes. At first I did just strictly real underground music. A lot of it was really hard to listen to but I thought, 'this is great, these people are here and why shouldn't they have their moment on the radio?"

US: How did you choose what tapes to play?

JG: I try to find things that are just really unusual in terms of what you normally hear on a radio station.

US: Although, now there is this history and there are all these people doing this and you have to look at it on another level.

JG: That's true, but the basic idea is that you still don't usually hear that music on the radio. I like things that are interesting, that somehow conjure up different emotions, things that are emotional, or make you think of certain images. It's really hard to talk about. The program's changed now to where I play records, as well as the cassettes, but it turns out that a lot of the people that I used to play who did cassettes now have things out on records.

Now I'll play more historical pieces, things that were maybe done twenty years ago, or more and they sound contemporary. I don't have a good experimental background in terms of all the different composers, but people will give me records and tapes that they think I'll enjoy, and I usually do. It's become more educational instead of being a curiosity attraction, or a refuge for things that have now where else to play. It seems to be so much better now because people are getting out more and writing to each other, trading tapes, etc.

Some of the artists that have appeared on No Other Radio:
DAEVID ALLEN, AMK, ARCHITECS OFFICE, ATOM SMASHERS, BLEVIN FROM BLECTUM, BLACKHUMOUR, BREATHER, KIM CASCONE, MONTE CAZZAZA, CLUSTER, CON-DOM , CRASH WORSHIP, CRAWLING WITH TARTS, CHRIS CUTLER, THOMAS DIMUZIO, DER PLAN, NON , DOLL PARTS, D.D. DOWNER, EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN, FACTRIX, STEVE FISK, JOHN GIORNO, ANNIE GILLIS, GREG GOODMAN, HAFLER TRIO, PHAUSS, BILTING/KARKOWSKI, JOHN HUDAK, BROOK HINTON, HUNTING LODGE, IAO CORE, ICEPLANTS, IF BWANA, KINGSHOUSE, LAIBACH, LEATHER NUN, LEGENDARY PINK DOTS, LESSER, LITTLE FYODOR, LUSTMORD, MERZBOW, MSBR, NATIONAL DISGRACE, NEGATIVLAND, DEATH IN JUNE, NULL SET, BOB OSTERTAG, PHILLIP PERKINS, SHIRLEY & SPINOZA, STEEV HISE, MR.MERIDIES, PHAOSS, PLATEAU, POST BAND, PTV, STAALPLAAT, MILES STANDISH, SUCKDOG, THESSALONIANS, TUXEDOMOON, 2 ORDINARY GUYS, UNIVAC INDEX, MONOPAUSE, WE NEVER SLEEP, WOBBLY, ACHIM WOLLSCHEID, YOUR HOST BOBBY, ZOVIET FRANCE, DER BLUTHARSCH, DEUTCH-NEPAL, ANENZEPHALIA, XOME, 15 DEGREES, STIMBOX, HATERS, POISON GAS RESEARCH, ALLEGORY CHAPEL

Biographies:

Randy H.Y. Yau is a curator, sound artist and designer who has been active in the sonic arts since 1993. He has produced multiple solo and collaborative audio works which have been distributed internationally. He has also performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Japan with upcoming performances in China, Australia and Peru. Yau founded and continues to co-curate Activating the Medium, an annual sonic arts festival which travels through Universities, museums and alternative art spaces across California including The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Beyond Baroque. He also founded Auscultare Research, a record label releasing sound works from artists all over the world. He has conducted radio programs focused on sound art for over 11 years and continues to broadcast on KPFA's "No Other Radio Network." Since 1999, Yau has served as Vice President and Curatorial Director of 23five Incorporated, a non-profit sonic arts advocacy group based in San Francisco.

Scot Jenerik is a conceptual artist who primarily works with the mediums of sound, fire, performance and instrument building (as a solo artist and as a member of F-Space). He has performed and lectured extensively in the United States, Europe and Japan, and has produced multiple internationally distributed audio and video works. Mr. Jenerik is a co-founder of 23five Incorporated and currently serves as the organization's Executive Director. (23five is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the development and increased awareness of sound works in the public arena, while providing support and education for artists working with and discussing the medium of sound.) He is a co-owner and CTO of Mobilization Records and co-hosts the No Other Radio Network program on KPFA 94.1. Scot Jenerik holds an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute, in Performance/Video, and a B.S. from Weber State College with a double major in Photography and Printmaking.

Russell Kent got involved with Radio Broadcasting in 1990 with the goal of giving a radio voice to the unusual artists he was interested in while introducing the Experimental/Industrial genre to the artistically open minded. He hosted a weekly late night program on KFJC 89.7 FM (Foothill College) from 1992 through 2000 which was an extremely thorough four hour investigation of the culturally extreme music underground. The show concentrated on current and brand new releases and featured regular Live Mic performances/interviews with local, national and international experimental artists and a semi-regular line-up of guest dj's. In 1995, John Gullak invited him to join the No Other Radio Network team as a co-host and fill-in.

dAS is a musician, producer, and engineer with more than twenty years of experience in print and broadcast media. Before coming to Pacifica, he was a music director and production instructor at KZSC in Santa Cruz as well as producer of three programs, including a scripted live radio comedy show, and a Sunday afternoon live 20th century classical program, which included guests such as Lou Harrison, John Cage and Aswin Batish. But perhaps dAS is best known as the host of the Ub Radio Network, which for a decade pushed the limits of art on the air. He has also had programs on KALX and started his radio pranks years ago with a overnight slot on KNAC, playing only records the station had thrown away. A long time colleague of No Other Radio, dAS simulcast the show on KZSC throughout the 80's as well as making at least 40 appearances on the show during John Gullak's tenure. dAS now resides in Alameda, CA where he composes and engineers for the long-running arts group Big City Orchestra.