Welcome back, Rodney; he'll return to the airwaves on SiriusXM on July 16

(SiriusXM flyer and photo by Mark London)

By Andy

Rodney Bingenheimer is the man with the crucial tunes.

If you reside in the Southern California area and have KROQ 106.7 blasting through your speakers, you know Rodney's voice and chuckle and relish his unbeatable playlists. At least you did, until he was recently booted from the station after 40 years of manning the microphone.

For us growing up down in those parts long ago, we were glued to our radio speakers on Saturday and Sunday nights, waiting for "Rodney on the Roq" to guide us along our punk path. It was the early '80s for Cat and I and we were elated when he played songs like X's "White Girl" and Sham 69's "If the Kids Are United," both of which careened into our eardrums for the first time.

The songlists go on and on -- you get the idea, the vital stuff: from punk, to power pop, to rock and more. His enthusiasm is contagious and you felt lame if you missed a night of his tunes, stories and interviews with your favorite artists.

I even got to see Rodney DJ live once, during breaks of my first punk gig at the Starwood in 1981 with the Circle Jerks and TSOL tearing up the stage.

But never fear, Rodney will return to the airwaves and bring the tunes once again to the masses via SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage channel, according to a Sirius XM press release issued today.

Rodney's comeback will be on July 16 (6 p.m. PT, 9 p.m. ET) via satellite on channel 21 and through the SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices. He'll get the online treatment as well at siriusxm.com.

"I'm so honored to be on the same SiriusXM channel as Little Steven," said Rodney in the press release. "He has also championed some of the greatest music of our time, both past and future. With both of us now at the same channel we're gonna keep great music alive. Especially for me, being on at an earlier time, I can have more listeners who don't have to worry about missing work or school the next day. To be on in primetime on the East Coast as well is also exciting."

"Rodney was one of my first calls when I started the channel," said Steven Van Zandt in the press release. "We are honored to have him. This is where he belongs!"