Bent By Nature - Ep. 2: Music Could Be Your Whole Life

Lost Notes: Groupies

KCRW

Music History, Documentary, Society & Culture, Music

4.7 • 721 Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Illustration of Deirdre O'Donoghue with birds and a cup of tea — Illustration by Meredith Schomburg

In episode two of Bent By Nature, co-producer Bob Carlson explores the life of influential and enigmatic DJ Deirdre O’Donoghue behind the mic. Born in New York City and DJing across the country before landing at KCRW to host "SNAP!", O’Donoghue didn’t talk much about her past or private life — even in the face of personal demons, and eventually, her deteriorating health.

But O’Donoghue’s fierce passion for music manifested in close friendships with those who came through her studio and beyond, from artists like Michael Stipe and Julian Cope, to record store owners, to young station volunteers she nurtured and mentored. Even amidst a kind of self-appointed solitude, O’Donoghue devoted herself to those she chose to let in, coming to the aid of artists in dire straits and offering solace within her record-filled apartment alongside a cup of tea and her cherished pet birds.

Her presence could, and did, change lives. Here, some of O’Donoghue’s closest friends, including Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano, Tricia Halloran, and the late Pat Fish of Jazz Butcher, reflect on O’Donoghue’s life away from the studio and the many stories they shared.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is in fact a snap on KCRW in Santa Monica, and it's Concrete Blonde who are playing live here on this Thursday night.
0:07.5	And all I'm going to do is turn everything over to you, my dear, and your extraordinary rock and roll.
0:13.4	This is for you, then.
0:15.4	From the producers of KCRW's unfictional and lost notes, I'm'm Tricia Halloran and this is Bent by Nature.
0:22.9	Deirdre O'Donohue and the Lost Snap Archives, episode two.
0:27.6	When I've had enough, I'll get a pickup truck.
0:32.1	Drive away.
0:35.0	I'll take my last ten bucks just as far as it will go.
0:40.3	Episode one introduced you to the World of Snap, a free-form music radio program on radio station KCRW from 1982 until 1991.
0:49.3	It was a center for alternative music and culture in the Los Angeles of the 80s.
0:55.0	It was hosted by Deirdre O'Donohue, and she reinvented the idea of live music on the radio.
1:01.0	And I'm Bob Carlson. Tricia and I both began our careers on SNAP.
1:05.0	And in this episode, I'm going to talk to some of Deirdre's friends about her life away from the microphone.
1:13.7	But I'll stop breathing today.
1:18.5	Because if I can't walk proud, I'd rather walk away.
1:24.4	I do all I can, and it's all I can do.
1:28.3	Oh, true. True. do oh true True
1:31.3	True
1:32.3	Oh
1:34.3	April 23rd
1:41.3	Oh wonderful
1:43.3	Wonderful sailing at there, Ms. Napolitano.
	...

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