Episode 34: Grateful Dead & Prog Rock Guru Barry Smolin

Barry Smolin has been a fixture on public radio station KPFK in Los Angeles for more than 25 years. His first show, “The Music Never Stops,” was a Sunday-night destination for Deadheads. His latest program, “Head Room,” is a wide-open venue for exploratory rock, be it psychedelic pioneers such as the Dead, contemporary jam-rock, healthy doses of vintage progressive rock, new music from myriad experimental, improvisational, accidental, avant-freak, arty-smarty pop, and psychedelic cabaret artists. On this week’s KMB, Barry talks about the music that shaped his tastes as a kid growing up in LA.