Tawn Mastrey
Encyclopedia
Tawn Mastrey was an American
disc jockey
, music video
producer, one of rock
radio's top media personalities
. She hosted a daily show on Sirius Satellite Radio
's Hair Nation
Channel 23, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific time.
Mastrey was heard nationally on Westwood One Entertainment
's Absolutely Live High Voltage every other week. Mastrey hosted, wrote, produced and syndicated her own radio specials, RockZone and Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Happy Hour, through Mastrey Productions, Inc. She did voice-overs, owned her own video production company, Ladies In Production Services, and wrote a cookbook, Eat This.
.
for KQLZ Pirate Radio in Los Angeles
, KNAC
in Long Beach
, KLSX
in Los Angeles
, KMEL
in San Francisco, and KSJO
in San Jose
, before appearing on KUFO in Portland, Oregon
, in the late 1990s, and at KXXR
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. At KNAC, Mastrey was known as the 'Leather Nun," a nickname she was accorded by a San Francisco-area radio station program director, who thought she resembled a character from a German comic book with that name.
Mastrey hosted MTV
's stringer reports when the cable TV music channel first launched. She also hosted television specials for MTV and local Los Angeles television programs, and starred as the featured host for the Metal Head Video Magazine series.
In film, Mastrey appeared as herself in The Blues Brothers
, Heavy Metal Thunder and Mud and The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years
.
She had been the long time imaging voice of WPBZ - 103.1 The Buzz
in West Palm Beach, Florida
.
Mastrey produced music videos including the Scorpions
' "No One Like You
", Greg Kihn
's "Happy Man", and Romeo Void
's "Never Say Never".
Mastrey was also the mid-day DJ on Hair Nation (part of the Sirius radio lineup)and although dropped her nickname, "The Leather Nun", she maintained the same on air persona she always had throughout her career.
Impact on Hard Rock, Punk, New Wave and Heavy Metal Music
Among the first to add new artists such as AC/DC, Cheap Trick, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Devo, The Police, Joan Jett, and countless other now legendary bands to the playlist while working as Music Director at KSJO, the San Francisco Bay Area Market’s highest rated Album Oriented Rock station during the late 1970’s, Tawn had a profound impact on the fate of Hard Rock, Punk, New Wave and later Heavy Metal music at KNAC where the subsequent Los Angeles Metal Band scene gave birth to artists like Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Gun’s N’Roses et al.
As a fairly open – minded Music Director and DJ at KSJO, Tawn was a deciding voice in which new artists would be played and added to the KSJO catalogue and decidedly liberal playlist which only required DJ’s to play “Star” artists after commercial breaks. This combined with the station’s history as a Progressive Rock formatted holdover from the 1960’s, allowed her to champion innovative, cutting-edge artists from 70’s Hard Rock Bands such as Montrose, Sammy Hagar, Rick Derringer, and Van Halen along with bands like AC/DC, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Thin Lizzy, to New Wave and even Punk Rock Artists.
“Breaking” AC/DC
Mastrey was arguably the first DJ to play AC/DC in the US, “breaking” the record T.N.T. by early 1976. When available only as import albums, AC/DC’s first albums High Voltage (Aus.) (1975), T.N.T. (1975) , and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Aus.) (1976) were immediately added for airplay following the successful heavy airplay of High Voltage (Int.) (1976) which always summoned a flood of listener telephone requests. Soon after several in studio and on air appearances by the band that preceded their first US tour, Tawn with KSJO developed a close relationship with AC/DC's Angus Young and Bon Scott who returned for several personal appearances around KSJO’s San Jose Market appearing in the KSJO Rock “n” Roll Circus”.
Nurturing Newborn Punk and New Wave Music
In 1976, after sensational news reports about violence and obscenity attributed to the Punk Rock phenomenon created a fear and panic in the already Disco threatened world of Rock music, artists like The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, and The Clash, along with early New Wave artists, were shunned and denied airplay by most commercial Rock stations in the United States. While continuing to feature Hard Rock and Heavy Metal during the height of the Disco era, Tawn Mastrey’s KSJO also championed Punk and New wave artists like The Ramones, The Clash, The Police and Devo giving them rare, vital airplay while showcasing them with on air studio appearances prior to their eventual popularity on newly formed Alternative Rock stations in the early 1980’s.
Breaking "Roxanne" By The Police
There is also evidence that with Tawn Mastrey as Music Director, KSJO was the first commercial station to add the import single of "Roxanne" by The Police. After 1st being played on KSJO's Sunday Evening New Wave "Outcasts Hour" the single was added by Tawn and first played by Paul "The Lobster" Wells on his regular shift in 1978.
Helping to Popularize Heavy Metal Bands in the 1980’s
In the Los Angeles Market which was arguably ground zero and home base for the most popular heavy metal bands of the 1980’s, her influence as the Leather Nun at KNAC also preserved Hard Rock bands like The Scorpions and help popularize Heavy Metal artists like Mötley Crüe from the mid 1980’s, through the mid 1990’s Alternative Rock takeover of the airwaves.
, which she contracted as a child. She left her Hair Nation show in June, 2007, when she became too ill to work. In July, 2007, a number of metal musicians staged a benefit concert to raise money for an anticipated liver transplant, and to help raise awareness of the need for organ donation
s, through support for the nonprofit group Donate Life America
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
producer, one of rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
radio's top media personalities
Infotainment
Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers." It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of...
. She hosted a daily show on Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
's Hair Nation
Hair Nation
Hair Nation is an '80s hard rock and glam metal radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 39 , XM Satellite Radio channel 39 , and Dish Network channel 6039. Until February 9, 2010, it was on Direct TV channel 829...
Channel 23, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific time.
Mastrey was heard nationally on Westwood One Entertainment
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
's Absolutely Live High Voltage every other week. Mastrey hosted, wrote, produced and syndicated her own radio specials, RockZone and Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Happy Hour, through Mastrey Productions, Inc. She did voice-overs, owned her own video production company, Ladies In Production Services, and wrote a cookbook, Eat This.
Education
Mastrey studied broadcasting at Ron Bailie's School of Broadcast in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Career
Mastrey had hosted radio shows in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for KQLZ Pirate Radio in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
in San Francisco, and KSJO
KSJO
KSJO is a commercial radio station in San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area on 92.3 FM. KSJO currently airs a Chinese format branded as "92.3 KSJO".-History:...
in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, before appearing on KUFO in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in the late 1990s, and at KXXR
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. At KNAC, Mastrey was known as the 'Leather Nun," a nickname she was accorded by a San Francisco-area radio station program director, who thought she resembled a character from a German comic book with that name.
Mastrey hosted MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's stringer reports when the cable TV music channel first launched. She also hosted television specials for MTV and local Los Angeles television programs, and starred as the featured host for the Metal Head Video Magazine series.
In film, Mastrey appeared as herself in The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
, Heavy Metal Thunder and Mud and The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years
The Decline of Western Civilization II
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a documentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene from 1986 to 1988. It is the second film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film The...
.
She had been the long time imaging voice of WPBZ - 103.1 The Buzz
WPBZ
WPBZ is located in the West Palm Beach, Florida area and broadcasts at 103.1 FM. Known as "103.1 The Buzz", it is an active rock music station with the slogan "The Only Station That Really Rocks"...
in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
.
Mastrey produced music videos including the Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
' "No One Like You
No One Like You
"No One Like You" is a song by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, written by band members Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine . It first appeared on the band's 1982 album Blackout, and was one of three hits from the album...
", Greg Kihn
Greg Kihn
Greg Kihn is an American rock musician, radio personality and novelist.-Music:Kihn is the front man for The Greg Kihn Band, which released several singles and albums that made the charts in the early 1980s...
's "Happy Man", and Romeo Void
Romeo Void
Romeo Void was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. The band went through four drummers, starting with Jay Derrah and ending with...
's "Never Say Never".
Mastrey was also the mid-day DJ on Hair Nation (part of the Sirius radio lineup)and although dropped her nickname, "The Leather Nun", she maintained the same on air persona she always had throughout her career.
Impact on Hard Rock, Punk, New Wave and Heavy Metal Music
Among the first to add new artists such as AC/DC, Cheap Trick, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Devo, The Police, Joan Jett, and countless other now legendary bands to the playlist while working as Music Director at KSJO, the San Francisco Bay Area Market’s highest rated Album Oriented Rock station during the late 1970’s, Tawn had a profound impact on the fate of Hard Rock, Punk, New Wave and later Heavy Metal music at KNAC where the subsequent Los Angeles Metal Band scene gave birth to artists like Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Gun’s N’Roses et al.
As a fairly open – minded Music Director and DJ at KSJO, Tawn was a deciding voice in which new artists would be played and added to the KSJO catalogue and decidedly liberal playlist which only required DJ’s to play “Star” artists after commercial breaks. This combined with the station’s history as a Progressive Rock formatted holdover from the 1960’s, allowed her to champion innovative, cutting-edge artists from 70’s Hard Rock Bands such as Montrose, Sammy Hagar, Rick Derringer, and Van Halen along with bands like AC/DC, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Thin Lizzy, to New Wave and even Punk Rock Artists.
“Breaking” AC/DC
Mastrey was arguably the first DJ to play AC/DC in the US, “breaking” the record T.N.T. by early 1976. When available only as import albums, AC/DC’s first albums High Voltage (Aus.) (1975), T.N.T. (1975) , and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Aus.) (1976) were immediately added for airplay following the successful heavy airplay of High Voltage (Int.) (1976) which always summoned a flood of listener telephone requests. Soon after several in studio and on air appearances by the band that preceded their first US tour, Tawn with KSJO developed a close relationship with AC/DC's Angus Young and Bon Scott who returned for several personal appearances around KSJO’s San Jose Market appearing in the KSJO Rock “n” Roll Circus”.
Nurturing Newborn Punk and New Wave Music
In 1976, after sensational news reports about violence and obscenity attributed to the Punk Rock phenomenon created a fear and panic in the already Disco threatened world of Rock music, artists like The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, and The Clash, along with early New Wave artists, were shunned and denied airplay by most commercial Rock stations in the United States. While continuing to feature Hard Rock and Heavy Metal during the height of the Disco era, Tawn Mastrey’s KSJO also championed Punk and New wave artists like The Ramones, The Clash, The Police and Devo giving them rare, vital airplay while showcasing them with on air studio appearances prior to their eventual popularity on newly formed Alternative Rock stations in the early 1980’s.
Breaking "Roxanne" By The Police
There is also evidence that with Tawn Mastrey as Music Director, KSJO was the first commercial station to add the import single of "Roxanne" by The Police. After 1st being played on KSJO's Sunday Evening New Wave "Outcasts Hour" the single was added by Tawn and first played by Paul "The Lobster" Wells on his regular shift in 1978.
Helping to Popularize Heavy Metal Bands in the 1980’s
In the Los Angeles Market which was arguably ground zero and home base for the most popular heavy metal bands of the 1980’s, her influence as the Leather Nun at KNAC also preserved Hard Rock bands like The Scorpions and help popularize Heavy Metal artists like Mötley Crüe from the mid 1980’s, through the mid 1990’s Alternative Rock takeover of the airwaves.
Illness
Mastrey died October 2, 2007 in Minneapolis at the age of 53. She had been suffering from the effects of hepatitis CHepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
, which she contracted as a child. She left her Hair Nation show in June, 2007, when she became too ill to work. In July, 2007, a number of metal musicians staged a benefit concert to raise money for an anticipated liver transplant, and to help raise awareness of the need for organ donation
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
s, through support for the nonprofit group Donate Life America
Donate Life America
Donate Life America, founded in 1992 as the Coalition on Donation, is a nonprofit alliance of national organizations and local coalitions in the United States dedicated to educating the public about organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life America is composed of national organizations and 47...
.
External links
- LATimes.com - 'Tawn Mastrey, 53; popular DJ was the voice of late-'80s L.A. heavy-metal scene: The KNAC personality lived the life of a rock star without losing her ability to "speak the language" of the fans', Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
(October 7, 2007) - MetalSludge.tv - '20 Questions with DJ Tawn Mastrey'
- MusicNewsNashville.com - 'Sammy HagarSammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
To Host "Sammy's Cabo Wabo Happy Hour" Radio Show With Radio Veteran Tawn Mastrey And Van Halen Bassist Michael Anthony' (April 19, 2006) - NYTimes.com - 'Heavy-Metal Mania: It's More Than Music', DeAnne Stillman, New York Times (May 12, 1991)
- PRWeb.com - 'Rockstar Musicians Come to Jam for Legendary Radio Icon Tawn Mastrey at Benefit Concert in Orange County California: Members of DioDio (band)Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
, Great WhiteGreat WhiteGreat White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
and XyzXYZ (metal band)XYZ is a hard rock band, formed in the late 1980s. XYZ started off as the unofficial house band of "The Whiskey", a nightclub in Los Angeles. The original members were, Terry Ilous , Bobby Pieper , Patt Fontaine and Joey Pafumi...
come out to rock with local Tribute bands Metal Knights, Masters of Reality and Lights Out to help raise much needed money for radio legend Tawn Mastrey at Martini Blues in Huntington Beach this past weekend.' - http://www.tawnmastreyfoundation.com/
- WestwoodOne.com - 'Tawn Mastrey'