SST Plugs Into Irreverence on ‘Screw Radio’

In a bid to restore some of its lost cachet on the independent-rock scene, SST Records has launched a weekly, hourlong radio program on Santa Ana radio station KWIZ (96.7 FM) that takes a humorous, anti-Establishment stance while spotlighting the music of SST acts.

“Screw Radio,” as the show is dubbed, airs from 9 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and is repeated Sundays from 7 to 8 p.m. The show’s producers hope its local run will lead to broader syndication.

The program, prerecorded at the Long Beach studios of label owner Greg Ginn, includes special features and commentaries, including a legal-advice segment called “Screw the Law,” along with the music.

SST is home to such interesting bands as the veteran L.A. garage-punk Flesheaters, the O.C.-spawned jazz-rock power trio Bazooka, and Skin Yard, led by Jack Endino, a cult hero from the Seattle grunge-rock scene.

However, the label, based in Los Alamitos, has lost a good deal of the luster it enjoyed during a remarkable run in the mid-’80s when it was the very heart of American independent rock, issuing definitive albums by Black Flag, Husker Du, the Minutemen, Sonic Youth and the Meat Puppets.

“There’s a certain amount of snobbishness in college radio land about SST. The attitude is, ‘Oh, well, that’s past stuff,’ ” says “Screw Radio” host Andy Dunkley. Screw Radio “is an opportunity to get us a little more of the exposure we deserve.”

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DEEP IN THE HEART: A year and a half after giving up on San Clemente as home base in its quest for rock ‘n’ roll success, the all-female band Denim & Lace reports that it has found better pickings in Austin, Tex., a town with a considerably higher profile on the musical map.

After five years of plying the Southern California club scene without much success, Denim & Lace moved in January, 1992, to Austin, which none of the band members previously had even visited.

D&L; singer/co-founder Julee Dennis reports that the group found club gigs, media attention and, as of two weeks ago, a recording contract with Jostlin’ Records, a new independent label being launched by a wealthy Austinite.

The band, which is weaving some country influences with its garage-rock approach, hopes to release its first album in the fall and to return to Orange County on a subsequent tour.

“We’re so happy here. It’s the best decision I ever made,” said Dennis, who started the band in Nebraska with guitarist Stacy Tyner before they moved to San Clemente in 1987.

“It’s been fabulous, and so cheap to live here that you wouldn’t believe it. I can’t say enough about Austin. But I don’t want all those L.A. people to move out here.”