Pink Kitty Radio: Put A Little Meow In Your Week

By Jared Cox

It's time to face the music that traditional radio is old news. With the rapid growth of personal players, listeners have more variety and options when it comes to what and when they listen. A large part of this change can be attributed to the rapid growth of podcasts. Listeners have the power of choice to decide what they want to listen to. Who hasn't been driving down the road with one hand on the wheel and the other on the scan button? With podcasts, there are now thousands of options to choose from. If you have never heard of a podcast before, a podcast is an audio show that can be streamed over the Internet or subscribed to and downloaded through programs such as iTunes. over the last few years, there have been several popular LGBT podcasts launched. Most recently, Long Beach has seen the beginning of a new choice in listening selections with the inception of Pink Kitty Radio.

Pink Kitty Radio is a new and exciting online entertainment-broadcasting network for the nation LGBT community. They provide shows focusing on education, events, news and music. Jennifer Booker and her partner Chrissy Casillas founded Pink Kitty Radio in November of last year. The two women met through a nontraditional style of dating... MySpace. On September 23, 2007, they celebrated their blossoming relationship with an ocean-side commitment ceremony followed by a fun-filled reception with family and friends. Chrissy has been part of the LGBT community for 14 years. While Jennifer states that she was, "recruited" and has "only been in the scene for three years". Jennifer kids that Chrissy, "did in fact receive her toaster for bringing in a fresh recruit".

Pink Kitty Radio was created after another radio network approached them both to do a lesbian-themed show. After recording the debut show, the duo felt that the direction the producers were going was contrary to their own objectives. After researching it, Jennifer calculated the required costs in launching their own network. Shortly after determining their dream was a real possibility, the two launched their website on November 14, 2009. One week later, Jennifer and Chrissy had recorded their first show and officially began streaming on the web. Jennifer describes the show as, "just Chrissy and I being our stupid selves, with a little music thrown in". Stupid or not, these two have great chemistry and provide an entertaining perspective to the Long Beach LGBT community. Pink Kitty Radio has brought in some exceptional interviews from the local community. Interviews have included Jewels of Long Beach and Psycadella Facade. The two have also interviewed Tammie Brown of RuPaul's Drag Race as well as lesbian comedian, Patricia Villetto.

When asked about how they came up with the name for their network, Jennifer explains, "We wanted something memorable that created a visual image that is easy to remember. I love the color pink and the word 'kitty'. In the lesbian community, well, these have a lot of meanings. Bingo! Pink Kitty was born". Jennifer adds, "The possibility to create original content, tailored to the LGBT community and the possibility to share that with the world is a great bonus for Chrissy and her artistic side". Although "Pink Kitty" may sound as if the show is tailored towards the lesbian community, Jennifer states that their audience is, "a quite diverse mixture of ages, sexual orientation, nationalities and gender. So far we have listeners in Canada, France, Serbia, Australia, and across the U.S.".

Pink Kitty Radio has become increasingly involved in the local Long Beach community. They were a major sponsor of the Cut & Paste Rock & Roll Festival in February of this year which features all-gay bands, artists, performance art, spoken word and drag interpretations. Pink Kitty Radio has also sponsored The Ho Must Go On! benefiting Courage Campaign and Restore 2010. Most recently, Pink Kitty Radio was a major sponsor and provider of prize packages for Gaze on the Go! Speed Dating for Gay Men, hosted at Metro Q in Huntington Beach. The event benefited the SoCal Human Rights Campaign. Combined, Pink Kitty Radio has helped raise over $2,500 for these groups in the very short time they've sponsored local events. Pink Kitty's main focus as Chrissy says, "is a way to celebrate, educate and strengthen our LGBT family".

Pink Kitty Radio can be heard 24 hours a day online at pinkkittyradio.com. Listeners can also subscribe free by searching for Pink Kitty Radio at the iTunes Music Store.

GetOutLB.com - March 2010

Meet The Pink Kitty Girls

By Laura Wiley

"It's really just her and I being our stupid selves, with a little music thrown in," says Jennifer, one of the founders of Pink Kitty Radio. If you wonder how two women with no prior radio experience can put together a hit radio show, then you have yet to meet Jennifer and Chrissy. As I arrived at their place to interview them I wasn't sure what to expect, but as soon I walked in I was instantly at ease. The place smelled of vanilla and had a warm, cozy vibe to it. Between the beautiful wood furnishings to the hearth red accent wall, their home exudes comfort. "Well, I'm originally from Phoenix," says Jennifer, "so our place had to have that nice, warm, cozy feeling."

What also makes it such a comfy home is Sierra, their chocolate doggie, and Polar and Jinx, the yin yang kitties. Their pets somehow became our main focus of the night. Especially with Sierra, or as the girls refer to her, "Diva Doggie." Sierra was begging for attention through most of the interview, and it was hard not to give it to her. "She gets in on a lot of our recordings," says Jennifer. "It's all about her. I have to announce [on the show] that the dog is with us because at some point she will bark or growl to let us know she's there. She is the doggie diva."

Jennifer and Chrissy got the idea to do a radio show after one of their friends approached them to start a lesbian podcast. At first they agreed, but then it wasn't what they expected. "It wasn't our show, it was her show," says Jennifer. They decided they would rather just do their own program, and thus Pink Kitty was born. "Our first show was so bad," says Jennifer about their first airing in November. "We took a lot of shit for it, but we've grown into it. We found a rhythm with each other, and we have good chemistry."

"I should hope so," chimes in Chrissy with a laugh. The two have been married for three years and have a naturalness together that makes it seem like they've known each other their whole lives. When they moved in together, Jennifer brought Sierra and Chrissy brought Polar and Jinx. It made me laugh when I found out that they are both allergic to cats, or rather, they're both allergic to Polar. Chrissy thinks maybe it's because of the Siamese in her but they don't know for sure. "We call her our dumb blonde," says Chrissy. They sleep with the bedroom door closed and each of the animals has their own "spot" on the couches. I can't keep my eyes off the four-story cat tower in the corner. Polar sits atop one of the pedestals, high above us all. Perhaps the cats may have a bit of diva in them as well.

I was thinking the cats might have inspired the Pink Kitty name. "Well my favorite color is pink and kitty is just one of those words in the lesbian community that means lots of things," says Jennifer. Also it makes for an awesome logo, created by a graphic artist whose drag queen calendar they enjoyed. Their show has only been around for a few months but they are quickly gaining steam in the LGBT community and are no doubt on their way to becoming a household name. The last episode they posted was downloaded in France, Australia and Serbia, among other places. "Now we can officially say we are international," says Chrissy. They were both surprised when they realized they had a following that went beyond their friends. After tonight, I'm not.

There is something very infectious about these two ladies. Between our chats about American Idol and musical theater and Disney (after Jennifer's phone went off to a "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ringtone), I'd been laughing hard for most of the night. They are just a couple of silly, fun women who have a great sense of humor and a friendliness that puts people at ease. Our own GetOutLB team members, Sal and Brian, went to dinner with them and found themselves chatting for hours. So what is their show really? It's all about them and their take on things. And it makes for one entertaining program. If you'd like to check out their show, visit pinkkittyradio.com and have a listen. As for me, I think this may be the start of a beautiful friendship.