Arya

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2 years 22 weeks

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Biography

Arya has been a KPSU DJ since December 2005, and has since then fast become a fixture on the local Portland music scene, if he hadn't already been.

He has written for the music websites Tiny Mix Tapes(sometimes under the name yoursciencefictiontwin), and Crazewire, and also contributes to KPSU's web content as a member of the station's editorial team. He is considered a brilliant writer.

Arya Imig's Sound Judgment which airs at 10PM PT on Monday nights on KPSU began with the primary mission of profiling a particular artist over the course of an hour(not always enough time!). Shows discussed the roots and influences of any given artist, and what legacy they left behind, playing sets of music reflecting that knowledge. Artists profiled ranged from The Strokes to Charles Mingus to Kris Kristofferson to Crowded House to Bob Dylan to Echo & The Bunnymen.

He is eager to provide a platform on his show for local bands, and has hosted many on KPSU, including The Thermals, Sexton Blake, Bright Red Paper, The Wires, Nire, Junkface, Emperor Norton, The Whips and The Whales, Autistic Youth, The Shaky Hands, The Maybe Happening, Warcorpse, Horsefeathers, Hurah Hurah, Here Comes A BIG BLACK CLOUD!!, Cower, The Bustling Townships, John Callahan, Peter & The Wolf(Austin, TX), Bishop Allen(Brooklyn), Holy Ghost Revival(Bainbridge Island, WA), Clorox Girls, The Morals, The Revisions, Dinosaur Bones, The Shotgun, The John Grisham Experience, Crayonsmith(Ireland), Tiger Saw(Massachusetts), Nuclear Danger, Typhoon, Eskimo & Sons, The Black Black Black, The Estranged, World's Greatest Ghosts, Southern Belle, Newspapers, The Sun-Birds, Dirty Mittens, Jeffery Lewis(New York, NY), The Red River(CA), Johnny Bodacious & The Bad Attitudes(IL), Rachel Harrington(WA), Vib Gyor(UK), Blowback(D.C.), Delay(OH), PRF, The Wanters, Iraqasaurus, Adrian Orange, Hey Tiger!, The Vonneguts, Atole, Kiss Bank, The Golden Hours, Please Step Out Of The Vehicle, The Online Romance, IT the Living Collossus, The Ocean Floor, Chris Koza, The Rainy States, Rootvilla, The Old Believers, Red Dons, Starfucker.

In May, Arya and Ando were selected to take over KPSU's Live Friday, Fridays at 5pm PT on the station. Arya books and hosts the show a minimum of twice a month.

Many of Arya's friends make guest appearences co-hosting the show to discuss their favorite music with Arya. He is often forced to schedule as far ahead as two months in advance in order to accomadate requests for people who would like to guest host. He also foolishly makes invitations, only expanding an ever growing waiting list.

Arya also occasionaly finds the time to do a show that is a straight up mix. These shows have featured artists ranging from Lauryn Hill to The Replacements to Buck Owens to The Police to Bishop Allen.

Over the summer of 2006, Arya took on a second hour on Sunday afternoons at 2PM PT and took advantage of that extra time to host bands, profile artists, and have friends join him in the booth. He is often the first to take on extra volunteer hours to substitute host all over the schedule, so that he can provide as much content as possible. Be sure to listen when he tells you when he'll be on. The content of the programs he hosts is consistentally as high in quality as it is in quantity; he has racked up over 50 acclaimed hours on air since December 2005.

Arya has been called "the heartbeat of stumptown", "the king of Portland", "the root of all that's good in the world", "the center of Portland", "the centrifugal force that keeps things together", "the best thing that station has going for it", "man of the year", "God", "a totally swank gentleman", "well-connected[sic]", "the most popular man in town" "a big reason the Portland scene exists" "Portland Super Music Fan" "outlandishly credible", "Portland punk", "indie pop sensation", "indie pop superstar", "Portland heartthrob", "the John Peel of Portland Oregon", "an Indian social Godfather", "the Harold Bloom of Portland", "the only person that ever mattered", "The King of The Indie Scene", "everybody's big brother", "a superhero", "a man who can make or break any band in town" , "the quintessential man on the scene", "the grand chancellor", and other things, many of them true, and most of them said by other people.

In addition to hosting Sound Judgment and Live Friday, Arya also hosts the podcasts These Are The Days for Willamette Week's LocalCut.com, and Take Five for the website PC-PDX.COM.
He looks forward to being thanked in many liner notes over the next few years.

Favorite Bands

The National, The Bustling Townships, The Whips and The Whales, The Revisions, The Estranged, Eskimo & Sons, Swimmerspdx, Charles Mingus, Bishop Allen, The Police, Shotgun, The Thermals, Menomena, Peter & The Wolf, Bright Red Paper, Germs, Sexton Blake, Absolute Rulers, Autistic Youth, Clorox Girls, Sonic Youth, Beirut, Final Fantasy, Robbie Fulks, Hank May, Joni Mitchell, Jens Lekman, Jonathan Richman, David Byrne, Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Blur, Oasis, Bobby Bare, Bobby Bare Jr, Donovan, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, The Go-Betweens, Keith Richards, Gram Parsons, Flying Burrito Brothers, Sleater-Kinney, Nire, Emperor Norton, The Maybe Happening, The Morals, Dagger Of The Mind, Bottled Violence, Autistic Youth, Buck Owens, Billy Preston, Dr. John, John Lee Hooker, Gang Of Four, Pet Shop Boys, Riot Cop, The Re-Tros, Richard Thompson, Junkface, The Rolling Stones, Bee Gees, Holy Ghost Revival, Neil Young, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, John Cale, Richard Thompson, Brian Eno, New Order, Kris Kristofferson, The Wires, Squeeze, Ron Sexsmith, U2, Echo & The Bunnymen, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Spoon, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Sufjan Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Vek, Belle & Sebastian, The Strokes, Wilco, Elliott Smith, Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, David Abravanel

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Sound Judgment

Music & Talk on KPSU Monday 10pm-Tuesday 12am.