Chris Galvan is hosting KRTU and is playing music on a record
KRTU Host Spotlight: Chris Galvan
Chris Galvan is the host of Nu Standards and an indie overnight show at KRTU

Chris Galvan is the host of Nu Standards and an indie overnight show. He has been with KRTU since 2012. Chris is currently working as a web developer and software engineer here in San Antonio. Pre-COVID, he enjoyed going to see live music and DJs in San Antonio or Austin usually at the Paper Tiger, Emo’s, or the Moody Theatre. His favorite out of state venues, however, are the Red Rock Amphitheatre in Colorado and Terminal 5 in New York. Post-COVID, he has taken to riding his bicycle outdoors at least 6 days a week. His favorite authors are Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and James Baldwin.

Chris’ journey with jazz and indie music began when he was in school. In middle school he joined the jazz band on drums. Naturally, he started listening to the genre and heard John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” He was overwhelmed when he heard this record for the first time and it “was the start of music allowing him to feel like a part of something larger than himself.” Then in high school, a friend introduced him to bands on the Kill Rock Stars and Dischord record labels such as Unwound, Fugazi, Huggy Bear, and Bikini Kill. These bands introduced him to the Riot Grrrl and post-punk scenes. This developed his taste in artists that were part of something bigger than music, artists that created “a soundtrack to larger social movements.”  He also appreciates artists like Coltrane and the Nation of Ulysses who had “forward movement in their sound” from album to album. Since high school Chris has been growing his record collection and musical knowledge.

JJ Lopez, KRTU’s general manager, introduced Chris to KRTU when JJ started his show, Digging Deep Soul Shakedown. Chris “had spent countless nights on the dance floor listening to JJ spin records, so when he brought those sounds to KRTU, Chris was hooked”. They have been friends since 2001 and DJ’ing together at local bars since the mid 2000s alongside House Nation host, Leonard Trujillo. In early 2012 KRTU was looking for a host to fill the Saturday evening slot. JJ told Chris about this opportunity because he believed Chris could fill a gap in KRTU’s programming by playing current releases from lesser known, independent record labels. He “brought some Jazz and Afrobeat records with him to the studio to play for Kory Cook and that was the start of Nu Standards.”

Chris still plays new music from small labels on his jazz show because he believes these artists “occupy a space where Jazz is expanding or mingling with other genres. These are the Jazz undercurrents that will eventually bubble up to the larger Jazz record labels.” This is why he likes to play jazz artists who are influenced by genres outside of Jazz like Paul Bryan, Jeff Parker, Otis Sandsjo, Erimaj, and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. During this show he builds up the energy over the course of two hours. On his Saturday night indie show you can hear anything from “distorted crunchy guitars” to dance music, old and new releases.. The time slot is officially called Stoically Stoic, but he didn’t know this until later and never officially rebranded: so it stuck. He likes to curate this show like a mix-tape, allowing a feeling or emotion to govern the selection and order. For both shows, he plays music from his own rotation and allows the music to evolve with his own musical taste over the years.

Chris supports KRTU because he believes it is important to support radio curated by the people in our community. He believes the station covers a diverse range of music while educating listeners about the history of jazz as well as its “living, breathing, and ever expanding artform”.

“Among the many things that I miss as a result of Covid is going into the KRTU studio to do my show live and attending the many events that KRTU hosts for the members. I hope that it will be sooner than later that KRTU can resume events like Rooftop Jazz at Artpace. In the meantime, I will continue to volunteer as a host for as long as KRTU will have me, I consider it a great privilege to have this opportunity.” – Chris Galvan

"For as long as I can remember Chris Galvan has always had positively eclectic tastes In music, going back to our time together When we were DJs, working at various night clubs. We all knew that we could count on Chris to bring really eclectic and just wonderful selections to the evening and I thought about that when I learned that Chris was also a drummer and a jazz fan and I had an opportunity to welcome him to KRTU. I’m so happy that he is a part of the team he continues to bring that wonderfully eclectic pallet to the station and to our audiences and in our in the overnight programming and so grateful that he is a part of the team." - JJ Lopez, General Manager of KRTU

Catch him on KRTU

Nu Standards - Saturdays - 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Stoically Stoic - Saturdays - 11 p.m. to midnight 

Chris’ current favorites:

Indie album – Sugaregg by Bully

Indie song – A Beast by Maita

Jazz album – Cri$el Gems by Paul Bryan

Jazz song – Azure by Lucia Cadotsch

Nu Standards Sample Playlist

Indie Sample Playlist 

KRTU is a leader in commercial-free, listener-supported radio specializing in diverse music programming that is locally-curated and showcases regional musicians, with a focus on community outreach and education.

KRTU.Org Website

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