In the Crates 1: Johnny D Versus JFA

In the early '80s, skate punk roared out of Phoenix, led by a group of teenagers called Jodie Foster's Army. On JFA's 1983 full-length debut, Valley of the Yakes, vocalist Brian Brannon rails against preps, gossipers, cops, and Reagan. But he saves some of his gnarliest lyrics for a local radio deejay, a guy named Johnny D. This is In the Crates—conversations and wild stories from record collectors—only on WASTOIDS. If you're serious about collecting records in the southwest, you've likely heard the name John Dixon, or Johnny D. Since the ‘60s, Dixon has worked every angle when it comes to music: drumming in bands, broadcasting, promoting shows, and working at record labels. He was on the ground in the UK when punk hit and did A&R for artists like Kraftwerk and Kate Bush. These days, he’s focused on archiving musical history—working with labels like Rhino, Numero Group, Light in the Attic, and Ramco. Record collectors have stories. Here’s one of them, about the founding of Phoenix's first alternative station—and how it pissed JFA off so much.