The Ozcat Radio DJs

Golden Lady plays a savory blend of conscious Reggae and world beats from the extensive music library she has collected over her many years in the music business and from her many travel adventures. She got her feet wet in the music industry working for Motown Records. She has since focused her musical career primarily in Reggae music.

Golden Lady has been responsible for many of the Bay Area’s first Reggae festivals and concerts.  She was one of the founders of Out of Many One Productions in Oakland, California, well-known for their local Reggae productions in the 1990s, including the Peter Tosh Birthday Celebrations.

Golden Lady has worn many hats in the music business from publicist to promoter, including artist management  for Tony Rebel and Queen Ifrica, Sister I-Live, Sylvia Tella,  and currently Queen Omega.  She brings an amazing insider knowledge to her show.  She has interviewed artists such as reggae great Everton Blender, Queen Omega, Black Lung, Streets to the Hill, Val Serrant, Rankin Scroo and more.

In addition to her efforts in the Reggae music industry, Golden Lady loves to throw and style fabulous events. She also enjoys Caribbean cooking, interior design, maintaining her extensive pineapple collection and hanging out with her trusty dog, Marley, aka Toto “The Ozdog”, and Catfish her personal “Oz-cat”.

Mike Vinyl came to the Ozcat with his record collection one afternoon and soon became a permanent part of crew. Mike has shelves full of mint-condition vinyl records that he spins for his Ozcat audience.

A great storyteller and Vallejo native, Mike has been a rock ‘n roll fan from back in the day. He has attended many concerts at such legendary venues as The Filmore Auditorium, Winterland, The Avalon Ballroom, and The Keystone Corners, just to name a few. Mike has had encounters with man, y famous rock stars such as Chuck Berry, Taj Mahal, Steve Miller and others. Mike and loves to share his memories and musings of rock and roll history and trivia.

The Grateful Siren (aka Chari Garrett) starts her show each week with the music of Grateful Dead, live shows as well as studio recordings. But that’s not all you are going to hear; She is also a huge fan of all types of music ranging from Blues to World Music and brings that love to her shows.

An added treat is her son Mose (aka Benjamin Garrett), who brings his own preferred flavor to Ozcat, from Punk to Reggae and Ska…you might even hear some Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin! Their show brings variety and diversity each week along with spunk and personality. They have so much fun sharing the show and their enormous CD collection with their listeners.

Siren and Mose are frequently joined by Incognito AKA “the man who shall remain nameless”. Igcognito often spices up the Stickam chatroom with a story or two. Another frequent visitor is “Q Sauce” who is in charge of bringing treats.

The Grateful Siren is also known in the belly dance world as Saiedeh and co-owns Sirens In Sanity Multi-Cultural Arts Center in Benicia where she is Director/Choreographer for the Sirens In Sanity Dance Company as well as instructor of ongoing classes in belly dance. A lifelong dancer, she has been teaching for more than 35 years.

Ras Kola’s musical passions were ignited as teenager in Richmond, Virginia–the so-called “Greenwich Village of the South”. Washington DC in the 70′s had become a central hub for the punk, reggae and hip-hop movements.

As Kola puts it, “everything was crackin” at the same time. I listened to Mad Professor KRS One, Bad Brains and Prince Far I. I discovered revolutionary underground bands like The Stooges, Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators, Black Flag, Minutemen, Dead-Kennedys, M.D.C. and Meat Puppets.

I became especially interested bands that were fronts for political and revolutionary movements. The people around me were immersed in a 50′s type of mentality—you could be a factory worker or a college yuppie. Music taught me I could be who I wanted to be.”

This blog is more a workspace than anything else, but if you follow the show, it should be pretty interesting. Every week when I research the show, I check multiple sources to find out about the international artists we play. I can be a bit forgetful (creeping CRS) so I often do it more than once. Now, I’ll just ScribeFire it onto this blog, which will both make it easier on my poor aching mind and provide the resources and research to the web-wide world.

So this will be clips about artists, pieces of charts, music resources, stuff like that. Enjoy it if you can.

Latin/Jazz Mecca host C’Tone takes listeners through the worlds of rhythms and harmonies of African and Caribbean influences on jazz and contemporary musics.

From Yoruban chants to Afro-Cuban Hip-Hop, Bomba y Plena to NY Salsa, Danzones to Descargas, or Samba, Timba and Latin Funk, The Latin/Jazz Mecca explores “The Roots and Branches of the Afro-Latin Musical Diaspora”.

Damon Williams was born in Nashville, Tennessee where music played a part in his life from early on. He made his professional debut as a vocalist performing in the Bay Area nightclubs, festivals, as well as corporate and private events as a member of the R&B vocal trio, Infinity. Williams has also performed throughout state as one of the Temptations in the B. Edward’s Motown Revue.

Williams became the front man for Northern California’s Urban Bushmen in 2003. A high energy, crowd pleasing act, known locally as “The Soul of Vallejo”, the Bushmen know how to get people up on the dance floor. Williams smooth vocals have earned him respect as a hard-working session artist; his full range and harmonizing skills can also be heard on various CDs released by Bay Area artists.

Music has been a main influence in DJ Bruce Bruce’s life long journey for over 40 years. An avid music listener, DJ Bruce Bruce loves to listen to “Old Skool” music as well as the now sounds of Hip Hop and rap. He also also listen to Blues and jazz.

On the performance side of things, DJ Bruce Bruce is also a professional drummer who has performed worldwide. He gigged throughout Minneapolis with musical greats such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alexander O’Neil and Morris Day just to name a few.

Additionally, DJ Bruce Bruce has worked in local entertainment, producing concerts, working in the studio with local Bay Area artists and deejaying at Ozcat Radio here in Vallejo California. DJ Bruce Bruce brings this wealth of experience the local artists who come through Ozcat. Many come to see him as a mentor. DJ Bruce Bruce is one of the key instructors of Ozcat’s Stage Time program.

DJ Triple J AKA Jerome Widman was born in Philadelphia, PA. Triple J has been a professional disc jockey since the age of 15 years old doing parties in Philly, New Jersey, New York and even Washington D.C. He also played sax and trumpet in local jazz bands. His desire to be around music even led him to work part time for Philadelphia International records as a record cleaner.

After attending college at Norfolk University in Virgina, Triple J entered the Navy, specializing in the medical field and communications. He still continued working in music and broadcasting assistance,and even managed to take on a couple of theatrical stage role as well.

Triple J earned praise as a backup singer for various groups throughout his Navy career. While stationed at Mare Island in 1987, Triple J discovered Vallejo for the first time. He made a name for himself by deejaying for local parties and still sings occasionally for weddings and special events. Among his favorite artists are: Grover Washington Jr., Ronnie Laws, Steely Dan, Time, Chaka Kann, Frankie Beverly, and Howard Hewett.

El Nino is Ozcat Radio’s resident djembe master, and a drumming fool at the drop of a beat. Every Sunday evening 6-9 PM he treats Ozcat listeners to a unique mix of musics, varied and eclectic, but always heartical.