New Show on Santa Monica Station Is Just the Cure for Disc Jockey Bernie Pearl’s Blues

For months, Bernie Pearl has been feeling the blues. Starting tonight, he’ll be playing them again.

Pearl, who hosted a Saturday and Sunday show--”Nothing But the Blues”--on KLON-FM (88.1) in Long Beach for a decade until his dismissal in September, will begin a new series, “The Blues Roll On,” from 9 to 11 Sunday nights on KCRW-FM (89.3) in Santa Monica. Pearl will stick with his usual mix of recordings and interviews.

“For me, it’s like going back to an old friend,” Pearl, 51, said. “This week, I’ve been preparing which records to play on the show, and I can’t wait to hear this cut or that cut. I’ve missed it.”

Pearl said he was shocked by the firing, and has not received any explanation. Rick Lewis, general manager of KLON, said it’s station policy not to discuss employee matters. Shortly before the firing, Pearl said, he was told the show’s ratings had been increasing, and the station had raised a lot of money from callers favoring the blues. He began at KLON in 1980. For his new show, he said he would play more live music on the air. “I’ll see how the audience reacts and then decide what other changes to make,” Pearl said. “I’ll play all the favorites.”

Pearl headlines his own blues band and runs Big Time Productions, which produces live blues shows in the Los Angeles area. In October, he produced “The Second Annual Battle of the Blues Guitars,” at the Music Machine in West Los Angeles. His band plays each Friday at Cafe Lido in Newport Beach.

Until September, Nite Rock, a Tujunga nightclub, was known for its regular diet of heavy metal music. But when Brent Hunsaker took over as the club’s manager, he put metal on hold.

The club now regularly features country, disco and mainstream rock ‘n’ roll.

“With the economy going the way it is, 30-year-olds have the money, and the kids are broke. I wanted to make the club appeal to a wider range of people,” Hunsaker said.

Under previous management, too much money was paid to untested bands who failed to attract enough fans, Hunsaker said. “I don’t want to lose the kids altogether,” he added, promising to provide metal music on an occasional basis.

Nite Rock offers a regular format: International Night on Sundays, country on Tuesdays, disco on Wednesdays, live rock ‘n’ roll on Thursdays and dance music on the weekends.

What about Mondays?

“That’s Monday Night Football,” Hunsaker said.

“Twin Sisters,” a 1985 spoken-word album featuring poet Wanda Coleman and X’s Exene Cervenka, will be re-released early next year by New Alliance Records, said Harvey Kubernik, who runs BarKubCo Music in Reseda.

Kubernik said the success of “HollyWord,” a compilation of spoken-word recordings from 46 artists which came out in October, has helped pave the way for the release of “Twin Sisters.” He said “HollyWord” has already sold 3,000 cassettes and a new printing has been approved. Among the artists on the album are Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner, actress Katey Sagal from “Married With Children” and Gavin McLeod, formerly of “Love Boat.”

“Twin Sisters” was recorded live at McCabe’s in Santa Monica in 1985, and was pressed only on vinyl. Kubernik said tapes and CDs will be made available.

“Over the years,” he said, “a lot of people have come up to me asking about the album. They looked for it, but couldn’t find it. Not anymore.”