Kevin Diers was the voice of Seattle. Whether or not he was turning listeners on to new, exhilarating bands as host of 99.9 KISW’s Loud & Native and Metallic Store reveals or excitedly asserting DEFY wrestling matches to crowds of a whole lot, he spent a lot of his life behind a microphone. However for somebody who talked a lot, it was not often about himself. He discovered pleasure in selling native bands, creating alternatives for brand spanking new musicians, and championing the artists he liked. The group liked him for that.
He handed away on Wednesday on the age of 39. Lots of of individuals—colleagues, pals, followers, and artists—have been sharing an outpouring of affection since listening to the information.
Kevin was additionally my buddy. We bonded over our style in music, in addition to the struggles of freelance journalism. He at all times threw my title into the ring for picture work and genuinely celebrated my wins. In September 2023, he invited me to the KISW studio to doc his interview with Mike Herrera from MxPx, a band he unabashedly liked since he was a teen. Kevin was so nervous previous to the interview that he was shaking within the elevator. To witness Diers develop visibly giddy earlier than assembly his idol was heartwarming. Regardless of being a grasp of his craft, there was no entrance with Kevin—on air or off. He was an expert, however he was additionally a fan, and his enthusiasm was infectious and uncommon on this enterprise.
Alongside together with his radio work, Kevin was additionally a contributing music journalist for The Stranger. He was who we relied on when trying to cowl Seattle’s experimental punk, hardcore and metallic bands, new and outdated—he approached every task with refreshing optimism and honest respect for his or her artwork, shunning the stereotypical rock author bullshit. Botch, Fastbacks, Tacos!, Melvins, and Lovely Freaks. The louder the higher. He turned managing editor Megan Seling on to bands like Hulder, Witch Ripper, and Flesh Produce. (Kevin liked pun.) I bear in mind how particularly proud he was of the TeZATalks interview he did, and the way refreshing it was to see the normally humble Diers rejoice his personal work for as soon as.
I reached out to loads of group members after I began gathering tales for this piece. Over and over, folks had been honored to reward Kevin and to rejoice his unmatched contributions to town. Inside a matter of hours, my inbox was flooded with private tales about him. Under are only a handful of the numerous messages I acquired.
After I first began scripting this piece, my preliminary intuition was to name Kevin and ask for recommendation. Isn’t the mind humorous? I hope that by no means adjustments. Shifting ahead, I problem you to like like Kevin and to search for him within the music—he’ll be there.
Says Herrera, “One thing about Kevin felt comforting, greater than every other business of us. He was heat and caring, and so good to everybody. He gave folks time and helped so many native bands. He mattered to lots of people.”
“He had a coronary heart of gold,” says Danny Vigil, producer at KISW. “He needed to be a part of your success. That’s who Kevin was. He was a genuinely good man with no ego.”
“Kevin championed native bands with genuine ardour,” says KISW on-air host Taryn Daly. “Going to a live performance with Kevin was like attending with an A-list superstar. He held the torch for native musicians and was chargeable for spotlighting so many abilities within the PNW and past.”
Musician Hannah Duckworth agrees. “Kevin was such a considerate and caring one that made everybody really feel like they deserve the most effective. I knew that so long as Kevin was round, I at all times had a cheerleader in my nook.”
Nevertheless it wasn’t at all times nearly music. “He was the type of human who confirmed up for folks when it truly mattered, he was quietly serving to individuals who had been struggling,” says radio DJ Marco Collins. “After I was going by way of it with my sobriety and posted one thing uncooked on social media, he barely knew me, however he instantly reached out. Supplied to seize espresso, take me to a gathering—simply be there. That’s who he was.”
“He was each recognized and accessible, which is a uncommon mixture on this enterprise,” explains musician and podcast host Nate Louis. “I believe in Seattle, particularly, his work was essential. In an age the place music was changing into yet another factor that siloed folks aside, Kevin was like a diplomat attempting to deliver us collectively.”
Longtime buddy Jay Middleton says, “Kevin had a ardour for folks. It wasn’t simply the music, it was the folks making the music, working the venues, selling… He cared about supporting those that put their hearts into it.”
“Kevin was actually one of many good ones. He lifted up my band to no finish and helped me really feel a confidence in myself that I couldn’t actually discover for a very long time,” Nicolle Swims of Black Ends shares.
“I don’t assume he ever believed that individuals would cry over him when he’s gone,” shares journalist and KEXP host Martin Douglas. “Kevin Diers wasn’t simply revered, he was beloved. That phrase isn’t bandied about freely in Seattle.”
