Wokingham Today

A NEW SOUND ON THE AIRWAVES

- By LAURA SCARDARELL­A lscardarel­la@wokingham.today

IT’S TIME to turn up the speakers and tune into a new punk and reggae radio show.

Way Out Radio is a weekly show hosted by DJ Paula Frost.

In it, she plays iconic punk and reggae songs along with interviewi­ng special guests in the music industry.

Wokingham-based Paula started out as a musician playing the drums in local youth club shows.

Through her interest in punk, she was encouraged to begin a career as a live DJ.

Since then, she has performed across 14 countries, played in over 50 venues in the UK and has written her own dance music.

Before lockdown, Paula had hosted a range of live gigs across the UK including a show in the Midlands presenting to more than 3,000 people and a large event in parliament, which was her favourite show to date.

Paula said she has missed seeing the “beautiful connection” of people getting together and dancing.

She added: “It’s so hard to not get any feedback or audience interactio­n at the moment, the hardest part is not being able to walk into a pub and entertain everyone.”

Paula created the radio show through her passion for punk and expressed how she finds the genre of music empowering for women.

The show itself has been going for six years on Kane FM, though it can now also be heard on 16 different radio stations where it has gained around 80,000 listeners per week.

Having recently interviewe­d music icon Alice Cooper on the show,

Paula hopes that the listeners can enjoy a range of punk and reggae music along with insightful conversati­ons with artists in the industry.

“You’ll dance and you’ll also feel a sense of inclusion when listening to the show,” she says.

“We also have lots of guests coming on the show to talk about mental health, new music and how different cultures have come together over the years.”

Paula is also taking part in a fundraisin­g challenge to raise money for Tonic Music for Mental Health.

While calling for help from the Wokingham community on social media, Paula is encouragin­g residents to show their support and to get in touch if they want to get involved with the show.

Paula says: “I love being in Wokingham, we’ve got a little office here and it’s really nice to work in the place I grew up in.

“I love to try and include local people in my show by posting on Facebook groups asking budding photograph­ers and videograph­ers who want to try and expand their skills.”

She adds: “Being here is a great location to travel down to different cities, it’s very central and quite handy when touring around the country for shows.”

To listen to the show or join the fan club for £5 per month, log on to wayoutradi­o.com.

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