Ep. 49 • Tim Pyles • 30 Years In The San Diego Underground Music Scene

This week we sit down with Tim Pyles - San Diego's "Mayor of Local Music" - for a long-form conversation that feels less like an interview and more like closing down a bar with someone who's seen every version of this city. Tim walks us through a 30-year run in radio that started with construction jobs and a late-in-life internship, then turned into a career at 91X, FM 94/9, KGB and beyond - all fueled by a genuine obsession with local bands and weird British records. We talk about the early days of The Casbah (local legendary small music venue), Tijuana in the wild '80s when Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins were playing at Iguanas, the mod scooter scene in La Jolla, and the underground rave era where you got an address, a Thomas Guide, and hoped you found the party before sunrise. We get into how deregulation changed radio forever, how "The Pyle Sessions" became a proving ground for local artists, and how Tim somehow survived a DUI, job losses, industry shifts, and still ended up back in the building decades later. Of course, because it's us, the conversation drifts into many side quests. 😂 We go from vandalized parking meters to AI-generated music, conspiracy rabbit holes, media distrust, and whether we're watching the slow collapse of journalism in real time. There are plumbing disasters (more than one), septic tank trauma, rave culture innocence, and a few stories that probably shouldn't have been recorded. At its core though, this one's about culture - how scenes are built, how cities change, and why the weird local stuff matters more than people think. It's part San Diego history lesson, part music nostalgia trip, part unfiltered chaos. Three hours. No script. Just fun stories with fun people. Thanks for being here with us!   🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Our Patreon page is LIVE! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands. Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk    Get to know Tim & his ventures more at the links below! ✖️ Tim Pyles Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelocalpyle  ✖️ The Pyle Sessions - https://www.thepylessessions.com    Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts   Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc