Recently at KMSA Radio, Colorado Mesa University’s own radio station, DJ John Leet received calls from the Mesa County Jail. The call informed Leet that the inmates often listen to KMSA Radio.
Leet hosts a radio hour called V-Rock Radio every Monday and Wednesday from 2-3 pm. The music that he generally focuses on is Classic Rock and Indie Rock, but he does add in some electronic for good measure, according to Leet. He hosts the show for the Greater Western Slope area.
Leet has recently accepted a new job that is going to conflict with the hours in which he was normally hosting his show. So, the week before CMU’s Thanksgiving break, he announced on the air that due to his new job he would not be able to host his show at the regularly scheduled time. “I thanked the listeners for tuning in and said that I hoped they enjoyed the music I curated for them,” Leet said.
About five minutes after he made the announcement, he received a call from a Mesa County Jail employee. She had told him that there were some inmates there that were requesting that he play a particular song. They were emphatically requesting Charles Bradley’s “The World (Is Going Up in Flames).” Leet said that this was an easy task as he already had the song in his phone.
Before the song was played Leet said, “Ladies and gentleman, we’ve just received a request from the Mesa County Jail for Charles Bradley’s “The World.” So, to all you boys and girls currently in County, this one’s for you.”
After the song finished playing, Leet thanked them for their song request and encouraged them to continue to call in.
“I spoke a little bit about how music has a way of ameliorating your current situation, and how I can understand how prisoners might get a heightened sense of release from music that is otherwise rarely afforded to them.”
While Leet was playing another song by Bradley, titled “Changes,” he received a call directly from one of the inmates, who was using his own phone time to call in to make a request. Leet said that the inmate told him about how much they loved listening to our college radio station, as well as how he agreed that music can elevate you and make you forget your surroundings. The inmate then made the song request “Take the Money and Run” by The Steve Miller Band.
Leet said that he gets these types of calls 2-3 times a week, and that the times the calls come in can be during the midday or even late at night. Most of the songs that are requested are mainly Classic Rock and he hasn’t received any repeated song requests.
