Radio Pirate

Pirate Radio is an indie rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area whose roots grew from Lewisburg, PA where guitarist / vocalist Brentt Brown and bassist / vocalist Ryan Keeley were randomly selected to be freshman-year roommates. They later moved to San Francisco where they recruited drummer Brian Stein and recorded their self-titled garage power pop debut at Tiny Telephone studios. Oren Williams (drums) and Ian Shaul (guitar, lapsteel, vocals) joined to help finish the band’s sophomore album. 2007’s Welcome Home saw the band experimenting with a wider palette of sounds, including a number of country-tinged songs with strong harmonies and horns. Pirate Radio returned to the studio in 2009 to record Fires in the Woods which proved to be an even more ambitious album. The cowboy reggae “Ride Wild Hearts’ epitomized a new direction for the band. As Brown says, “[Producer] J.J. [Weisler] really pushed us to play fewer notes and let the drums take the lead. It left us with a canvas of silence that we could paint on later.” Williams agrees, “My fondest memory is of us all playing percussion on ‘Hearts’. It took like 30 takes but we got it. It was one of those nights where you couldn’t sleep afterwards because you were bouncing off the ceiling.” ​ Shortly after the release of Fires, Jarret Cooper (keyboards), a long-time friend of Williams, joined the band to replace Shaul. “Jarret has helped us diversify,” says Brown. “He gave us the chance to return to more of a garage rock / single guitar sound, while also driving us in completely new directions with a real bonafide keyboardist.” In 2013 the new lineup completed their 4th album, Plainview. ​ In 2024 Pirate Radio put forth their most ambitious outing to date with the release of Big Big Moon. The 18 track double LP is now available on streaming services, CD, and multi-colored vinyl. For booking information please email: pirateradiosf@yahoo.com.