C89.5 Staff Q&A: Keano Martinez

When I first met Keano Martinez, he was about 14 years old, really quiet and really skinny. I kept trying to sneak food into his backpack when he would come to radio class. That didn’t work because I didn’t realize he was vegan.

As I said, he was quiet. He was into metal, which I respected, but didn’t know a whole lot about, so it was hard to find common ground on things to talk about, until I discovered he liked My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (a 90’s techno/industrial band). It was at that point I was able to corrupt him with electronic dance music. Or at least that’s the story I convinced myself was reality. Haha.

Fast-forward about 10 years later. Here I am talking to Keano in 2016.

Richard: Hey Keano! What time does that Bassment run on C89.5?

Keano: The Bassment happens Thursday nights, 11pm-1am.

Richard: What kind of music can I catch on the Bassment?

Keano: Bass heavy electronic music. Dubstep, Trap, Drum & Bass and more. Featuring new and local music plus DJ mixes from the PNW and around the world.

Richard: What’s your favorite style of music?

Keano: I love all bass music. I grew up as a metal head then coming into c89.5 as a student I was introduced to electronic music. My first records were Gabber and Hardcore then I quickly got into Drum & Bass with Dubstep soon following. After graduating I started The Bassment and started throwing shows and spinning out. With more gigs and time involved in music my interests expanded. I took a large liking to Future Bass, Glitch, Footwork, Hip-Hop, and the U.K. Grime scene. Now it’s more common then not to hear me dropping a bit of everything in a set.

Richard: What’s the best part about being on the radio?

Keano: I love hearing how people are getting into a new style of bass music or something they hadn’t heard before because of what the listened to on C89.5fm. Shows like mine The Bassment as well as The Vortex, The After Party, and Electrobox love pushing boundaries and showing people something they may never have heard before.

Richard: What’s an awesome C89.5 experience that’s stuck with you?

Keano: KJ Sawka may be local but he is an OG. KJ has always been someone I loved watching and having him come perform for the station since I was 14 and even before my C89.5 days has been awesome to watch. He now is the drummer for Pendulum and Destroid! Dude is no joke and probably the coolest memory is seeing him on play for Drew on The Vortex back in the day before the radio station got remodeled. It was a small area and he had a full drum set… Epic!

Richard: Thanks Keano!