Well, here it is...  The last show of Life to a Beat on KZSC.  Life to a Beat has been on KZSC for a full two and a half years, and has aired approximately 130 shows.  Over the years, Life to a Beat has been on the air in many different days and time slots, and has now come almost full-circle, airing directly before its original time slot on Monday afternoons.  Over this time, the show has featured a variety of famous trance sets by top DJs, cutting-edge independently produced electronica, and no less than four custom Video Game Remix sets.  This show has featured thousands of tracks from hundreds of  artists, and has showcased the kind of independent electronic music that you wouldn't have been able to hear anywhere else on broadcast radio.

Before I get into the main section of my remarks, though, I'd like to give you a little background on what inspired Life to a Beat.

I've been interested in electronic music since I was in high school, but mainly in a passive manner - the thought hadn't yet occurred to me to broadcast my taste in music to others.  I got started early on finding tracks on mp3.com, one of the greatest sistes for experimenting with musical tastes, and one that is unfortunately no longer available.  

I guess my interest in radio began with the advent of shoutcast streaming, starting with a relayed stream over an old dialup modem - just me, an Apple Plaintalk microphone, and my drive to share my music with the world.  While this was a fun project to try, it wasn't very serious until later on, when I took Geoff Dunn's Social Documentation course in my senior year of High School.  It was through doing an audio documentary, and having it aired on KZSC, that I was first exposed to the station.

I was briefly as UC San Diego during my freshman year of college, and naturally I checked out their radio station - and realized how good KZSC really is.  At the time, UCSD's radio station was housed in a gurngy building in a corner of the campus, someone had stapled unrolled condoms onto the ceiling of the lobby, and the station itself was so low-powered that you could barely recieve it outside of the building.  

When I returned to UCSC, now more than ever interested in radio, I looked into working with KZSC, helping out with the website and other things around the station.  Two quarters later, air-check tape in hand, I embarked upon my first-ever broadcast on KZSC Santa Cruz - and from those humble beginnings, Life to a Beat has now aired for two and a half years, one of the longest tenures for a student-based electronic music show on KZSC.

Looking back on my experience here, I have to say that doing a radio show has been one of the best and most enriching experiences in my college education.  Over the years that I've done this show, I've grown in more ways than I can imagine.  Working at the station has taught me many interesting lessons: I've learned that differences of opinion, even musical taastes, can be compatible; I've learned how to interact and become friends with people from a wide variety of backgrounds; I've learned how to speak up in front of others, even if I'm nervous; and I've learned that in radio, time runs slower than most people think.

Working at the station has been incredible - I've met a lot of good people, and made a lot of acquaintances and friends here.  For those of you who haven't looked into the station yet, do - in addition to being on the radio, you will also have a chance to interact with an incredible community on this campus, and I guarantee that you won't regret it.

I suppose that now is probably a good time to thank some of the people who have supported and encouraged me while doing this show.

-First of all, I'd like to thank the staff of KZSC, for always being interesting, and inspiring an incredible community.  

-I'd also thank my parents, for their support and encouragement, and for agreeing to listen to music outside of their usual tastes - I hope that you enjoyed the show as much as I did.  I'd also like to thank my brother, for his encouragement, as well as his occasional appearances on the show, and for tracking down the occasional hard-to-find eurodance track :)

-I'd like to thank Mark Collins, who I worked with on my original Social Documentation project, for introducing me to the world of electronic music - and yes, I still have plenty of Omni Trio hanging around on my hard drive.

-I'd like to thank Matt Sussman, the DJ for the show"Cowboy Robot Love Song," who was my mentor at the station, and who taught me many of the techniques that I've used on my show over the years.  Thanks for introducing me to the station, and inspiring me to expand my horizons and hear new and interesting electronic music.

-I'd also like to take a moment and thank all of the listeners who have called in over the years with words of encouragement and support - your words have been a great encouragement for me to stick with the show, and continue to provide the community with independent music.  Also, thanks to the local artists who called up or sent in music to be played on the show, and to the independent artists who wrote in as well.  I'll even extend some thanks to the callers who called up to complain, especially the ones who gave respectful critiques of the show - your comments helped me to make the show even better than it had been.

-I'd like to thank the crowd on #digitalplayground - Ian for being a good friend, and Ecky and PXR for creating some excellent audio programs - one which I used to mix and master a number of the shows, and the other which will allow me to easily continue Life to a Beat via the web.  

-I'd also like to thank SAMA, the Slug Anime and Manga Association, for providing something interesting to do on Saturday afternoons, and for helping me to track down some interesting anime music that occasionally made it onto the show.

-And, of course, I have to thank the pages down at Central - you know who you are!  Thanks for your continued support and encouragement, and I hope you've enjoyed the show over the years!  

I hope I haven't missed anyone in this list - If I have, I apologize.  And, of course, I finally want to thank you, the listeners - all of the people who have listened to and enjoyed my show over the years.  Thanks for your support, and I hope you enjoyed the music.

I'm sorry that I have to go, but that's the way it is with college radio - eventually, you have to graduate and movc on.  I'll admit that this show is somewhat bittersweet, as it marks the culmination of an incredible experience and chapter in my life.  Still, even counting the ups and downs, I have no regrets about doing this show - if I had to do it over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

However, for you diehard fans of my show, don't lose hope just yet!  As Life to a Beat has come full circle in many respects, so will it come full circle with the show itself.  While this will be the last broadcast of Life to a Beat on KZSC, Life to a Beat will still go on, as I mentioned earlier, in its primary incarnation - as a show streamed over the world wide web.  The show will continue at its normal date and time, in a more informal fashion - bringing you new selected playlists, classic mixes from old shows, and various other featured electronic music.  The one downside of this is that, due to my connection speed, I can only host a limited number of streams at a time - If you have a stream relaying server that you'd be willing to let me use, or know of any free or low-cost relaying services, I'd be happy to hear from you!  If I am unable to get more bandwidth and you are unable to connect, I will also be hosting archived recordings of the show on my website.  For more information about the new format of the show and for continued updates on Life to a Beat, check out the website at ell-tee-aye-bee dot eye-dee-ell-ee-cee-aye-are-cee-you-eye-tee-ess dot com. Thats ell-tee-aye-bee dot idlecircuits dot com.  

Doing this show has been an incredible experience, and I hope that you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  And who knows - maybe someday I'll return to KZSC.  Or perhaps, someday, somewhere, you'll turn on a radio, and suddenly hear my voice.  

Thanks to KZSC for allowing me to to this show.

At any rate, like I usually say when my show finished up a quarter, I'll see you on the web... and in the fifth dimension.

To everyone listening out there - hope you keep listening to all of the great shows on KZSC, I wish you luck...

And thanks, very much, for listening.

This is David Kibrick, signing off, on KZSC Santa Cruz.