Matt Pinfield will return to the airwaves in Los Angeles this weekend via rock station KLOS with a new Sunday show, “KLOS New & Approved,” which he says will shine a spotlight on emerging new artists as well as heritage bands with new music.
Pinfield (seen this past weekend handling the pre-show for the “A Bowie Celebration” livestream) will bring his vast knowledge of rock history to the two-hour show, expanding on a career that included his time as an on-air MTV personality and host of the alternative rock show “120 Minutes.”
“Rock is getting stronger again, from Royal Blood to Rival Sons, and there is a great trend in rock right now where there are new artists that can be superstars in the future,” Pinfield tells Variety. “And we have to expose the artists that will be selling out arenas when we finally have live music again. It’s an exciting time for new rock, and I’ve always loved turning people on to new music and updates on friends I’ve been interviewing for years, like the guys from Metallica or Guns N’ Roses.”
The KLOS show will include interviews with artists, with the inaugural episode centering on the Black Crowes, who are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1990 debut “Shake Your Money Maker” in February and will premiere a new track.
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Pinfield will also cultivate a countdown of the top 10 new rock songs in the country, as well as selected new “songs to watch,” artist interviews, local band salutes, and historical looks back at what life was like when some of rock’s greatest songs were new.
“New music is in my DNA and it’s my passion, and KLOS is a great heritage station for rock ‘n’ roll in Los Angeles,” he says. “And I am so happy to be on the air in the city where I live, with the opportunity to expose people to new rock ‘n’ roll that is bubbling under. 2021 is going to be a great year for rock ‘n’ roll, and streaming statistics show that more younger people are listening to rock, which is the No. 2 most popular genre of music. Also, more guitars sold during the pandemic in 2020, so rock is in a great place right now.”
Pinfield began his career as music director and PD of WHTG-FM in Eatontown, NJ, moving on to stints at WXRK (“K-Rock”) and WRXP in New York, KFOG in San Francisco, SiriusXM and VH1. He also hosted the USA Network show “Farmclub.com,” and in the early 2000s was tapped as VP of A&R and artist development for Columbia Records. He also hosts a YouTube podcast, “In a Lonely Place,” and this month is celebrating 10 years of his Westwood One/Benztown nationally syndicated weekly radio show “Flashback,” covering classic rock history on more than a hundred FM stations in North America and parts of Europe.
“I love doing ‘Flashback’ for Westwood One talking about classic rock history,” he said. “‘New and Approved’ will show another side of me that people know and people have always looked to me for years, which is discovering new music as I did as host of ‘120 Minutes’ or ‘The Buzz’ on K-Rock.”
“The time is right for this show and Matt is unquestionably the perfect host,” said KLOS PD Keith Cunningham in a statement. “After many years in somewhat of a slump, new rock is turning a corner. 2020 saw many great new releases from rock’s core artists and some exciting newcomers, and we believe the trend will continue. Just spend some time on social; it is hard not to notice the avalanche of young rockers on the horizon, and ‘KLOS New & Approved’ will be a powerful destination for them to get their music heard.”
