Written by: Matt Sloan

Alex Green’s radio show The Heart Goes Boom is in its fourth month and things couldn’t be going better.

Not only has the program premiered tracks by Parquet Courts, Wheat, Santigold and Robb Benson, it’s also featured an old interview Alex did with David Bowie, station I.D.’s from various musicians and a game called Coldplay or Child’s Play (where the listener has to decide if the poetry being read is a Coldplay lyric or a poem written by a lovesick 15 year old).

While ratings are beginning to rise, the audience is also becoming more varied–Alex reads letters from his listeners every week and they come from all over the world.

Trained by his teacher Tom Wilson in radio theory and production when he was just fifteen years old at the famed KVHS program in Concord, Alex developed an early love and respect for the medium. “Mr. Wilson taught me that when the microphone gets turned on, it’s showtime,” Alex recalls. “But he also taught me that it has to be done with professionalism and respect.”

Alex was the Music Director of KVHS and later KSMC in Moraga, and after stepping away from the microphone for a few years, he’s thrilled to be back.

“I took a break to write books and teach college,” he says, “but I always knew I was going to return. Radio is the thing I love more than anything in the world and Primal Radio is a perfect fit–they’re supportive, encouraging and enthusiastic. I love being back.”

“And,” he adds, “let’s face it: nothing beats sitting by yourself in front of a microphone in a dark room.”

This week Alex plays tracks by The Fratellis, Justin Currie, Garageland, The Palma Violets and more.