OVER THE EDGE
DON JOYCE

When I was In art school In 1965 I read Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media. 
All critical discourse on McLuhan has never shaken that first, clear realization 
that the electronic revolution can suggest and produce new modes of expression 
In the arts. Electricity Is fast and life Is slow. By the late 60's It was clear 
that this culture could be Infinitely more Interesting than the Isolated 
"problems" of object art. From 1970 to 1980 nothing happened but I always had 
the radio on—I had always had the radio on.

In '81 I began an all-nlqht shift at KPFA and called It Over The Edge.  I just 
play records.  I always suspected that this avocation could be more fun; there 
could be such a thing as radio art.  Through lan Allen I came in contact with 
Negativland (Mark Hosler, Richard Lyons and David Wills), and we decided to use 
our slot on KPFA to mix music, sounds and noise In a continuous flow which would 
be similar to the way they mixed their records.  We did the radio mix live and 
Over The Edge finally began to live up to Its name.  Fake Stone Age (Jeff Stoll 
and Tom Patrick) and the Refrigerator Lady (Helen Holt) soon joined our forces 
and, as core personnel, continued to present Over The Edge In a weekly, group 
mix format.  However, this could not last.

None of us were being paid by KPFA (a listener sponsored, non-commercial 
station); our program lacked focus and direction; we were running out of 
material and Ideas; volunteer burn-out seemed imminent.  Miraculously I was then 
contacted by C. Elliot Friday, a former film producer, who was interested in 
backing Over The Edge with certain provisions.  Mr. Friday offered to supply us 
with a wide variety of recorded material and financial compensation.  In 
exchange, we were to do the mix following "autoschematic" outlines which would 
accompany his taped material.  We agreed to do this with the stipulation that we 
could temporarily diverge from the outline when spontaneous conditions warranted 
it.

This is the form Over The Edge now takes.  Mr. Friday's taped material for each 
program arrives In the mall each week along with his autoschematic outline 
Indicating the order and duration of sound events.  Each of our broadcasts is 
taped entirely and, following each show, the tapes are forwarded to Mr. Friday 
on Howland Island In the Pacific Ocean.  This system continues to work well, and 
so far we have never met Mr. Friday.  Alt our communications have been by mail 
only, which he uses with clockwork regularity despite his remote location.  I 
have been unable to reach the island by phone and any queries as to his reason 
for supporting our program went unanswered.  According to a film Industry source 
In Los Angeles, Friday made Hollywood musicals In the 30's and 40's, became 
extremely wealthy as a collector and dealer of cubist and surrealist art, and 
moved to Howland Island In the 50's.  He has lived there, as a recluse in an 
underground complex, ever since.

The wide variety of audio artists now involved In Over The Edge find the more 
prescribed format still provides plenty of room for creative input.  I think 
this Indicates the genius of Friday's so-called "Recepticle Programming" format. 
The format retains many of the audio structures which we originally felt needed 
development.  I feel Friday's autoschematlcs have pushed our early, rather 
technical concepts Into new realms, far beyond our original intentions or 
capabilities.  Our show has become unique In the "objective," predictable, pre-
produced world of mass-media.

Over The Edge Is a random cultural sampling service.  We rely heavily on live 
phone-in's, which Mr. Friday emphasizes in his autoschematlcs.  His particular 
Interest In telephone input is rather curious.  Usually we are directed to 
respond to callers only with recorded, voices and sounds asslgned to phone 
response. This leaves callers In a callous, sound-filled limbo, talking to 
themselves.  While some callers become indignant, others revert inward, 
conversing on a more subconscious level. This is an effect distinctly different 
from other public participation formats.  Other callers use this open and 
undirected opportunity to play homemade tapes, musical Instruments, or other 
sound sources over the phone.

The Over The Edge broadcasting process continues to develop and with each 
technical modification, to improve. It also continues to expand the freedom of 
the live participants need In order to improvise. The long list of creative 
artists now booked to appear stand as a testimonial to the congenial interfacing 
now possible between art and technology.

Mr. Friday, perhaps because of his remote location, is a radio ham buff.  Many 
of the programs sent to us contain fragments of ham broadcasts, including the 
current phenomenon of illegal jamming.  After my many written suggestions that 
rebroadcasting this jammer materlal could jeopardize the entire program, I 
received the only reply to date which gives any insight Into Mr. Friday's choice 
of material for Over The Edge.

In a brief note accompanying a weekly set of program material, Mr. Friday 
related the history of ham jamming and stated his feeling that, '*It represents 
a sociological phenomenon which will inevitably spread to other forms of 
communications media as citizens gain access to more of the technology necessary 
to participate within channels reserved for a well-funded, technological elite. 
Local stations, following formats developed by national networks, produce one-
way channels which transmit material designed for passive feeding, sucking and 
selling. The "audience" has the "freedom" to take it or leave it.  In the near 
future, as our culture approaches real media access, the content of media will 
confront the thin line existing between pure democracy and anarchy.  Ham jammers 
are there now, and their attitude Is that commercial culture Is bloated with 
bias and suicidal In Its blind rocket race towards catastrophic self-
destruction."

I began to realize other examples of cultural jamming now In operation.  For 
Instance, fhe increasing art of billboard jamming; an unknowable number of Phone 
Phreaks tapping Into our planet's one, endless telephone network; pirate radio 
ships broadcasting non-state-controlled formats into Europe for years. 
"Unauthorized" political programming eminates from portable transmitters deep in 
the mountains of Latin America, where the penalty Is death.  In general, the 
jammer mentality pursues a fight-back attitude towards the access limitations 
now placed on communications technology by its government or corporate 
operators.

The history of jamming Is an underground history.  So far, because of the time 
of night, or the relatively subliminal nature of these elements In our mix, we 
have continued without legal repercussions.  Mr. Friday Informs me that he Is 
able to "post facilitate" any objections from the FCC; but I can only guess how 
long we have before the clamps come down and our artistic license expires.

In the meantime, this Information may be helpful In approaching Over The Edge 
and the concept of Recepticle Programming. For me, the show is best summed up in 
our motto:  What Do You Suggest?.