Anna Pirhana : One Of The Original KUSF Radio Station DJs

Interview By: Ginger Coyote

Anna was one of my favorite people from the early ‘punk days’ in San Francisco…..

We are both October babies, making us a LIBRA. I spoke with Anna about the origins of the once-great Radio Station KUSF. Anna was one of the founding DJ’s who helped many of the San Francisco bands get their just due recognition…… Please enjoy my interview with lovely Anna.

Punk Globe: Happy Birthday, Anna… You were one of the original DJs at KUSF when it was supporting the real San Francisco scene. Who were the other DJs?

Happy Birthday, Ginger. There was my partner George, Epileptic, along with Philippe, my other partner. I won’t put his last name as I don’t remember if he had a radio name. Rick Stuart was part of our crew, along with Marie London, Steve Spinalli, Suzee Sponge Ramona, Dim Tim, and Peter Standish. My friend Sabyl also subbed for times when necessary.

Punk Globe: How did you get involved with starting an institutional radio station? That will always be remembered as monumental. Were you a student at the College?

I was a student at the University of San Francisco. I first met Suzee at an orientation for aspiring journalists for the USF Foghorn, which was the student paper. Aside from Steve, we were all part of the paper back then. It was Denise Sullivan who pushed to revamp the paper to include a pull-out entertainment section called “Escapades”. That particular pull-out section allowed us to really focus on local punk music.

I don’t remember who came up with the KUSF idea. I just know that the radio had an enormously strong signal, so one of them (not I) came up with the idea. They asked me to join because I was a bit of a music writer for the USF paper back then, and I also did PR for Mark Plummer and Paul Rat. That allowed me to make good professional connections with local bands, and we wanted that to help grow the station.

While everyone knew of British punk, we wanted to focus on the local bands.

Punk Globe: Was KSAN still playing Rock when you started as a DJ at KUSF? What other radio stations were operating?

KSAN was still playing rock at the time. I remember it being such an influence to some of other DJs. But there was also KALX out of UC Berkeley, and I thought they were wonderful and quite authentic. I think KROQ (Los Angeles) and Rodney Biggenheimer were playing some punk back then, but it was primarily British stuff.

Punk Globe: I remember Paul Rat at KABOO and Denise Demise and Steve Spinelli in Berkeley at KALX. Howie Klein, the wonderful Beverly Wilshire, and Richard Gossett eventually came to KUSF after KSAN went country; what a horrible mistake. Mimi Chen had a show on KFOG that was cool.

Punk Globe: When you first started as a DJ, did you have any prior experience? Did anyone train you? I was a frequent visitor along with Julie Stein and Danielle Bardazzi. We had so much fun.

KUSF was my first gig as a DJ. I really had no aspirations for doing any sort of radio work, but Geo was willing to be my partner so I could do it with confidence. He was so talented and was such a great DJ with his sense of humor and energy.

You were one of the primary supporters of KUSF back in the day. You were always promoting all of us, and even featured us on the cover of your anniversary edition. I remember that Julie Stein did a huge, in-depth article on KUSF in Punk Globe. I thought it was just wonderful. So it was always a joy to have you and Danielle at the station.

Punk Globe: Tell the readers about the different shifts you had at KUSF. What shift did you enjoy best?

We were on Harmful Emissions, and this was a very late-night gig that went from 11 to 3 or 11 to 2. I wasn’t really doing the early show, which was more of a campus-only thing.

When I left Harmful Emissions, I moved on to San Francisco Scene (also KUSF) with Patty Gamiz. The head movie guy from San Francisco Scene would toss all the independent or foreign movies my way to watch and critique, and that helped me in my career as I moved into film.

Punk Globe: Tell us, who were some of your favorite guests?

Hands down, the Kinman Brothers. I did an article on them for the KUSF paper when they were The Dils, but they came to the station as Rank and File. I love the brothers, and they brought their guitars in and began singing live. It was just amazing.

I also loved The Young Canadians. Those guys were so talented and were just very nice people. They always had interesting things to share. I really liked them and made sure to have them on whenever they were in town.

Then of course, the great Nyna Napalm. She was more of a guest for Dim Tim, as he was managing the VKTMS. But Nyna was real and so powerful.

The other interview I remember was with some musician who imitated wrestler Peter Maivia on the air for about 15 minutes. I was a huge fan of Big Time Wrestling when I was a kid, and this guy had the best Peter Maivia imitation.

Finally, the Witnesses. Whenever Dave and Bill were there, it was like having your siblings over to have fun.

Punk Globe: What led to you leaving KUSF?

I quit USF for financial reasons. My family was broke, and I really felt like a student should take on that slot at Harmful Emissions. George had already left the show, so there was no incentive to remain. However, I did move on to San Francisco Scene.

I remember getting involved in a church back then, and they always insisted that my time as Anna PIrhana was some Satan-induced moment. That might have been another reason why I quit. However, I knew they were wrong about the Satan part. The church people came to destroy my punk records. Instead, I gave them a bunch of those .99 albums I collected from the Columbia House over the many years. I made sure Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever” was on top of the list. But my punk records were always safe.

Punk Globe: Anna, I had planned for this interview to be shorter, but so many memories. Were you sound for the end of an era of KUSF?

Was I ever sound? KUSF was wonderful and truly iconic. I am so proud of what we accomplished at the station. I could not say that for a long time, because I’ve encountered people who have tried to belittle that experience. However, I’ve also managed to meet people who remembered and loved KUSF.

Those were really the days, Ginger. I’m happy we went through it together.