Gia DeSantis
| Gia DeSantis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gia DeSantis March 21, 1965 Long Beach, California, USA |
| 💼 Occupation | DJ, VJ, Record Executive, Producer |
Gia DeSantis is an American DJ, VJ, record executive, and producer, best known for the award-winning[1] TV program Request Video on KDOC-TV. DeSantis is also known for the TV program Are-Oh-Vee, featuring Will Ferrell.[2] She is currently working as the DJ and producer of Cocktails in the Kiddie Pool on Indie 103.1.[3]
Career
Request Video
DeSantis joined KDOC-TV in the Production and Creative Services Department in 1984. In 1987, she helped launch the music video show, Request Video, first as producer, and then as VJ and producer. The show was described as "the antithesis of MTV's slicker fare."[4] Request Video initiated the format of taking video requests from viewers, first by mail, and then live via telephone, and then playing the daily most-requested videos.[5] It has been suggested that MTV "in fact, took note of the way Request Video regularly beat its programming during the same time slot, and developed the hugely successful Total Request Live by copying the formula."[4]
The show followed an alternative format initially, and was "required viewing for the budding music geeks of the late 1980s and early 1990s."[6] Many of their featured artists, including Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Sisters of Mercy, and more, reflected the alternative and goth music scene of the time.[7] The producers were also willing to play controversial videos like Nine Inch Nails' Happiness In Slavery, which was rejected by MTV.[8] Request Video expanded its format later in its run to include more mainstream artists, in an attempt to boost ratings.[9] During her tenure as VJ, DeSantis also interviewed artists live on the show, including Nirvana, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Morrissey, The Cramps, and others.[10][11][12][13] The success of the show and its format led to winning the Billboard Music Video Award for best music video program in 1992.[1] Request Video was canceled later that year when KDOC abandoned all in-house programming.
KROQ, Capitol, and Reprise Records
In 1993, DeSantis became a DJ at legendary Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM, where she joined her former Request Video colleague Poorman, as well as influential DJs Jed the Fish, and Rodney Bingenheimer.[14][15] She continued at the station until 1996. Concurrently, DeSantis worked as a video promotion executive at Capitol Records, reuniting her with many of the same artists she had interviewed on Request Video.[16] After leaving Capitol for Reprise Records in 1995, she returned to Capitol in 1997 as their director of marketing.[17]
Cocktails in the Kiddie Pool
Since June 2015, DeSantis has been the host and producer of the music show Cocktails in the Kiddie Pool on Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Music Video's Leading Lights in B'board Spotlight". Billboard. 104 (48): 39. November 28, 1992.
- ↑ "Are-Oh-Vee". IMDb.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.indie1031.com/2015/06/16/cocktails-in-the-kiddie-pool-gia-desantis/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 LeRoy, Dan; Relic, Peter. For Whom The Cowbell Tolls. p. 102. ISBN 0692262377. Search this book on
- ↑ Boehm, Mike (June 22, 1989). "Home-Grown MTV on KDOC Mixes Live Lunacy, Local Talent". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "The Good". Orange Coast Magazine. 18 (12): 96. December 1992.
- ↑ Ohanesian, Liz. "Goth For Life? A View From The Darkside". LA Weekly.
- ↑ Russell, Deborah (December 5, 1992). "Reznor Nails Down Extreme Clip". Billboard. 104 (49).
- ↑ "'Request' Runs With Hits". Billboard. 104 (29): 37. July 18, 1992.
- ↑ "List of Interviews". Live Nirvana.
- ↑ "When Mozmania Swept The Soutland". L.A. Weekly.
- ↑ "Siouxsie and the Banshees Interview".
- ↑ "Robot Monster". Dangerous Minds.
- ↑ "Where Are They Now?". LA Radio.
- ↑ "Today's KROQ Flashback: The First Song KROQ Ever Played". KROQ.
- ↑ "Executive Turntable". Billboard. 105 (28): 7. July 10, 1993.
- ↑ "Production Notes". Billboard. 109 (21): 98. May 24, 1997.
External links
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