Laguna music lore, one playlist detour at a time.
On The Rocks treats songs as portals into Laguna memory, scene gossip, and music-history side roads. Episodes move from ska, reggae covers, surf culture, and 80s takeovers to local band stories and friendly cross-talk with other KXFM voices.
PRESS PLAY
On The Rocks sounds like a Laguna record shelf with sand still in the corners. It is playlist radio, but the playlist is only the starting point. A theme can be as simple as songs with Jimmy in them, reggae versions of familiar hits, an Echo Beach conversation, or an 80s takeover. From there, the show starts connecting dots. Green Day can lead to Rancid, Rancid can lead to Quadrophenia, and Quadrophenia can circle back to mods, rockers, and the strange usefulness of a name like Jimmy in punk songs. The surf episodes have a different charge. They look at localism, Echo Beach style, Newport and Laguna identity, and the way old surf culture could feel funny, tribal, glamorous, and ugly all at once. The local music pieces are the strongest fingerprint. Billy Sherman talks through Panamints and El Caminos history, Common Sense gets treated like Laguna home turf, and the Blue Hawaiians surface as a bridge between older beach scenes and modern tiki revival energy. The Lineup episodes keep adding recurring rituals. Emma's Pick brings in newer bands like The Warlocks and The Gully Boys. Tribute to Fallen Artists turns music news into a quick moment of remembrance. Other KXFM shows are part of the texture too, with mentions of Rabbit Hole Radio, Breakfast with Curtis, Alive We Ride, and Women of Music making the station feel like a small, overlapping ecosystem. The show is casual, sometimes messy, and better for it. Technical slips, duplicated station material, quick corrections, and side comments are not polished away. They become part of the rhythm. The result is less like a documentary and more like sitting near someone who knows which band played where, who was in which project, and why one cover version matters more than it first appears. It is for listeners who want context, memory, and local flavor wrapped around rock, ska, reggae, punk, garage, surf, and new-music discoveries.
Made for: Best for curious music fans who like local radio energy, surf-town history, ska and reggae tangents, punk references, and stories behind the songs. It especially suits listeners who enjoy imperfect, conversational shows with real community texture.
What sets it apart: On The Rocks stands apart by making Laguna's music community part of the format, not just a backdrop. Its playlists double as oral history, station cross-talk, local-band preservation, and musical rabbit-hole digging.
My show “On the Rocks” is intended to have music serve as a time capsule to capture memories, places, times, genres, events and eras that swept through Laguna’s histories.That said, it is not a “Classic Rock” show, (there are plenty of DJs here on KXFM who cover that). Instead through interviews with local legends, friends and musicians, we are going to play relevant music to the genre or time frame of the topic we’ve chosen to explore each week. You can expect a varying array of music – some old, some new, and some you may never have heard of!Each...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Themed playlists become an informal history of Laguna Beach, connecting records with local bands, surf culture and the people who remember them.
On The Rocks turns themed playlists into a running account of Laguna Beach's musical life. The host connects records to local bands, surf culture and memories of past concerts, while conversations with guests give the music a lived-in setting.
Laguna's musical memory lane lets you surf from Celtic punk to half-forgotten local bands.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A Jimmy-themed playlist linking punk characters, mod style, and a teased path toward Quadrophenia.
On The Rocks treats Jimmy as a loose thread running through punk character work, mod style, and the station's collaborative spirit. It moves from Green Day's St.
A loose local radio hour that keeps turning music into connection.
This hour moves like a station shift, starting with local news and community notes before settling into music that feels tied to the scene. The Warlocks get a clear introduction, Pacifica sends the show on a Buenos Aires detour, and the tribute and local-band segments widen the…
Laguna news, surf memory, and music talk that feels lived in.
This Laguna hour feels like a civic scrapbook: a $3 million gift to the Laguna Art Museum, a weather update, and then a loose, funny pass through surf culture, local tribes, and the pull of "Echo Beach." It does not sound staged.
An Irish-music hour that mixes local news, Celtic punk, and neighborhood radio texture.
The hour moves from Laguna news and springtime notes into traffic and Irish music without feeling crowded. Dave handles the shift from civic updates to Celtic punk with a steady hand, and the Dropkick Murphys land as a clear high point rather than a passing bit.
Laguna memory, local folklore, and the kind of conversation that keeps a town audible.
The segment has a loose, local rhythm as it moves from weather to old businesses to Laguna memory. The best stretch is the one about the lost wheatgrass stand and Have a Chips, where a simple taste opens back onto Main Beach and the people tied to it.
Banking change, explained from inside the industry.
Practical strategy for modern banking decisions.
Apple details, software habits, and everyday technical friction.
Records worth hearing, reasons worth arguing over.
Chad Gibbs uses “Jimmy Songs” to examine Jimmy as a recurring musical character: a restless working-class everyman, drifter, rebel, lover, soldier, or outsider.
The episode opens with local news and community announcements.
Laguna gets the full treatment here.
This episode reports on a $3 million gift to the Laguna Art Museum from the Quilter family to establish the Anna Hills Curator Position, the museum's first endowed curator role.
This episode provides local news and event information for Laguna Beach, including Easter services, dining recommendations at The Cliff restaurant, and community celebrations.
Chad Gibbs hosts The Lineup on KXFM 104.7, combining music selections with commentary about XTC, Big Audio Dynamite, U2, ska, reggae, and local bands.
Janice Murray opens with Laguna news and a proud shout for Thurston Middle School.
This episode covers local news in Laguna, including a hospital closure announcement and upcoming comedy theater productions like 'The Shark is Broken' and 'I Love My Wife'.
The show opens with KXFM weather and then drifts into a Laguna conversation that keeps circling old places, old habits, and old friends.
This episode announces upcoming classical and contemporary music events in Laguna Beach, including a free string trio performance and the annual music festival, followed by a weather update.
This episode of Breakfast with Curtis previews an upcoming interview with Billy Sherman about common sense and Laguna Beach topics, while also sharing New Year's Eve event details for the local community.
A fourth-generation banker discusses his family's community-focused banking philosophy and announces a new branch in Laguna Beach, followed by a brief news update about local business relocations.