Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

NUG: Homegrown Radio

Ras Mike (left) hosts The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20.
Ras Mike (left) hosts The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20.

“We’re not just a weed station that talks about weed all day.” Michael “Ras Mike” Callahan is co-owner of Nug Radio (NugRadio.com), an offshoot of marijuana advocacy publication NUG Magazine. Call­ahan’s broadcast partners include NUG publisher Ben G. Rowin and Justin Rivera, owner of another internet venture called the Slang Media Group.

“I’m the music editor of NUG Magazine,” says Callahan. “I’ve been writing for the magazine since its inception. We’re coming up on our one-year anniversary in July.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

When it comes to ideology, Callahan says that Nug Radio is bipartisan. “We want to be able to speak on both sides, so people can make their own opinion.” Regular programs include Marijuana Is Medicine, hosted by local activist Eugene Davidovich. Callahan hosts a music segment called The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20 p.m.

Nug Radio encourages San Diego musicians to submit demos for possible radio play. Some of the locals who have benefited include deejays Sunny Rude, the River Bottom Rockers, TRC, Sleeping Giant, and Zion Gates.

“People send in music all the time,” says Rivera. “Bands like Stranger, Grand Zlam, and Southern Dynasty — they’re up for an SDMA award,” he says. Already in rotation are South Bay’s Roots Covenant, Without Papa, and Subliminal Trip.

“Some of those guys have actually written songs just for us,” says Callahan.

“And we play the South Bay Wailers, South Town Generals, and Revival,” says Rivera.

Is Nug Radio skewed toward reggae bands? Yes.

“I think it’s because of our logo,” Callahan says.

“The colors,” says Rivera. (Their banner is red, green, and yellow.)

“We’re getting into dub step, too,” says Callahan, “and, country. I have that one song in the play list that’s, ‘WTF?’”

“You have to switch it up a little bit,” says Rivera, “to make sure the listeners stick with us.”

Callahan’s media background includes working as a deejay and production assistant for Makeda Dread at 91X. He also worked at SDSU’s KCR campus radio station in 1992. Nug Radio began life months ago in a spare room in his house. The studio moved recently to a Chula Vista office complex, into what was once a medical marijuana evaluation clinic.

“We’d like to see it grow to the point where we don’t have to come in every day,” says Callahan, “like any other radio station.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Ras Mike (left) hosts The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20.
Ras Mike (left) hosts The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20.

“We’re not just a weed station that talks about weed all day.” Michael “Ras Mike” Callahan is co-owner of Nug Radio (NugRadio.com), an offshoot of marijuana advocacy publication NUG Magazine. Call­ahan’s broadcast partners include NUG publisher Ben G. Rowin and Justin Rivera, owner of another internet venture called the Slang Media Group.

“I’m the music editor of NUG Magazine,” says Callahan. “I’ve been writing for the magazine since its inception. We’re coming up on our one-year anniversary in July.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

When it comes to ideology, Callahan says that Nug Radio is bipartisan. “We want to be able to speak on both sides, so people can make their own opinion.” Regular programs include Marijuana Is Medicine, hosted by local activist Eugene Davidovich. Callahan hosts a music segment called The Ganga Block, which airs daily at 4:20 p.m.

Nug Radio encourages San Diego musicians to submit demos for possible radio play. Some of the locals who have benefited include deejays Sunny Rude, the River Bottom Rockers, TRC, Sleeping Giant, and Zion Gates.

“People send in music all the time,” says Rivera. “Bands like Stranger, Grand Zlam, and Southern Dynasty — they’re up for an SDMA award,” he says. Already in rotation are South Bay’s Roots Covenant, Without Papa, and Subliminal Trip.

“Some of those guys have actually written songs just for us,” says Callahan.

“And we play the South Bay Wailers, South Town Generals, and Revival,” says Rivera.

Is Nug Radio skewed toward reggae bands? Yes.

“I think it’s because of our logo,” Callahan says.

“The colors,” says Rivera. (Their banner is red, green, and yellow.)

“We’re getting into dub step, too,” says Callahan, “and, country. I have that one song in the play list that’s, ‘WTF?’”

“You have to switch it up a little bit,” says Rivera, “to make sure the listeners stick with us.”

Callahan’s media background includes working as a deejay and production assistant for Makeda Dread at 91X. He also worked at SDSU’s KCR campus radio station in 1992. Nug Radio began life months ago in a spare room in his house. The studio moved recently to a Chula Vista office complex, into what was once a medical marijuana evaluation clinic.

“We’d like to see it grow to the point where we don’t have to come in every day,” says Callahan, “like any other radio station.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader