TEST SPINS

The Poorman will risk getting poorer to test the sort of free-form, genre-hopping approach to music radio long ago buried under an avalanche of demographic research and predictable, market-tested playlists.

His new concept, dubbed “Anti-Radio,” is scheduled to debut June 8 on KPLS (830-AM), an Orange station, and run for 12 weeks.

A veteran Southern California disc jockey and radio personality best known for his 12-year stint at KROQ, Poorman, a.k.a. Jim Trenton, said he is willing to wager some of his savings to see what might come of an anything-goes approach in which all forms of music are fair game: country, hip-hop, blues, dance music, modern rock--whatever he thinks sounds good.

What’s more, Trenton, who lives in Newport Beach, said he will play only music by artists who are unsigned or record for independent labels. He is excluding major-label acts and any songs previously played on commercial radio.

Trenton will lease the 3 p.m.-to-5:30 p.m. time slot weekdays; he said it will cost him $1,750 to $2,000 per week to run his experiment. He is lining up sponsors to offset the cost.

The Poorman was last heard on local airwaves in September. He had brief stints on KPWR (106.1-FM) and Groove Radio (103.1-FM) after his KROQ days, during which he originated the popular “Loveline” call-in show. (Trenton has sued the station’s owner, claiming he deserves compensation for starting “Loveline.” He said he has appealed a lower-court judgment that went against him.) He is earning his living these days mainly by filing Hollywood gossip reports for Australian radio.

“I’m sure I could get a gig on [American] radio someplace doing the corporate two-step, but that’s not what motivates me,” Trenton said.

The format for Anti-Radio will be to spin several songs, then invite listeners to react on the air. That feedback, and his own taste, will guide him regarding what to discard, and what to give repeat exposure.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent out there that can’t get through the process” by which a scant few contenders, usually with a well-greased promotion apparatus behind them, are awarded career-nurturing airplay.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Trenton added. “Maybe nobody will listen. Maybe everybody will listen. But I’m sure there will be hit artists and songs discovered on my show.”

Acts can get their music to Trenton by dropping off tapes, CDs and promotional material at area Guitar Center stores, which are among the Anti-Radio sponsors. They can also send their stuff directly to him at 177 Riverside Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663, or contact him at (949) 722-8785 (phone), (949) 722-7347 (fax), or e-mail: pooorman@aol.com (yes, that’s three O’s in “pooorman” for the online address).

A coalition of four Southern California music stores, the Local Independent Network of CD Stores (LINKS), is helping with Anti-Radio. Trenton said he has a distributor who will get copies of what’s played on the air into those shops for the public to buy, and store owners will pick some selections of their own to be featured on the program.

“I think it’s a neat idea,” said Rand Foster, owner of Fingerprints in Long Beach, which is part of the LINKS coalition (other stores are in Venice Beach, Riverside and Claremont). “It could go over really well, and it could be a major reality check for [musicians] who have aspirations. There’s potential for [listeners] to say, ‘That was awful.’

“Hopefully, there will be as many people calling to say, ‘That was great,’ ” he continued. “A lot of it has to do with how well [Trenton programs] the show, whether he’s picking stuff because it has merit and something [creative] going on.”

KUCI FUND DRIVE: Another oasis of eclectic radio (though with musical genres segmented into block programming rather than mixed together free-form) is KUCI (88.9-FM). The UC Irvine-based station, which has a weak 200-watt signal that fades out in parts of the county, is running its annual on-air fund drive Monday through June 8. The goal is to top last year’s record $10,000 in pledges. Donations will upgrade studio equipment. Information: (949) 824-4582 or on the Internet at www.kuci.org.