Meet James Bishop of White Cube Radio in Highland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Bishop.

James, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In the Spring of 2015 I arrived in Los Angeles with a crisp diploma, eager disposition, and the lofty dream of “making it” as a cinematographer. Little did I know that within a month, I would reply to a Craigslist job ad that would alter the path of my entire life. The job itself was running the video department for a PR company that worked closely with the transformational festival scene. This job took me on a crash course through the west coast festival and underground scene. I was floored! It was everything I was looking for that I never knew existed.

That experience lit a fire for my friends and I, that culminated in renting a 10,000sqft warehouse in South LA. Our goal was to throw events, make art, and build community. We called ourselves the White Cube Society, and our motto was “A juncture in space and time, for creative frequencies to align and resonate.” Over the next two years of having the warehouse, we were blown away by all the amazing people we met, and the experiences we got to create with them.

After the warehouse closed, we were all searching for a way to keep the ethos of the Cube alive. At the time, I was dabbling in live streaming and that’s when I hatched the idea to create a web radio station dedicated to broadcasting and documenting the thriving LA music scene. With that idea in mind, I built a booth with CDJs and Turntables in my West Hollywood apartment, and used our connections from the warehouse to book artists for the monthly streams. After a year of running the show, it became apparent that we needed more space. We also felt the calling as a crew to establish a new home base, so we decided to rent a house in Highland Park. The house allowed us to build a fully functional studio, where we can shoot the episodes while doing live visuals. The studio has also allowed us to widen the scope of the acts we book to include live bands.

2020 marks the third year of running White Cube Radio as a nonprofit, and the goal is still the same as when we started. That being, to provide a platform for artists to showcase their skills and connect with like minds, while simultaneously creating a historic record of LA’s underground music scene. As we expand the station further, expect to see more recurring shows, live performances, and interviews.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
All good things take time, and our journey this point has certainly not been without its struggles. Operating a warehouse with eight other people and playing host to multiple events monthly is no easy task. It takes diplomacy, trust, hard work, and a whole lot of patience to make the machine tick.

The radio station itself has been a sort of never ending exercise in problem solving and ingenuity. Streaming is a fickle world, and the platforms controlling it constantly change what you can and can’t do. The world of data rights management controlled by ravenous internet bots, also makes it very hard to post or stream DJ mixes. Aside from the copyright issues, building the studio and fine tuning the setup, also came with its own hardships. I remember the first official stream we tried in the new studio complexity failed, leaving me to go back to the drawing board.

Another challenge that I didn’t foresee was the marketing side of running something like this. Along with keeping content coming out at regular intervals, I also have to make sure I’m making posts on Facebook and Instagram, along with paying out of pocket to promote on those same platforms. Not to mention, using other avenues like Reddit, physical flyers, and networking to generate interest.

It’s basically a full-time job that I do as a passion project, so balancing my time between this and paying work can be very difficult.

White Cube Radio – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The goal of White Cube Radio is to create an inclusive platform that reflects the thriving music scene here in Los Angeles. The station broadcasts throughout the month on YouTube, Facebook, and Soundcloud. One of the things that set us apart is our steadfast dedication to quality and diversity of sound. We have booked everything from ambient to indie, to slamming peak hour DJ sets. Another thing that sets us apart is the level of production we bring to our broadcasts. Every performance is captured with multiple cameras, and live analog feedback visuals that are projected on the artists to create an engaging broadcast.

However, the thing I am most proud of is seeing how genuinely excited the artists are to have an opportunity to showcase what they do in an environment that prioritizes them. Not to mention it is amazing to see how many new friendships have been formed between artists from playing these shows together.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success is a very hard thing to quantify on a personal level. It’s very easy to look at others and say “oh yeah they are successful” but a lot of times that person may not agree. To me, I try to quantify success through the lens of growing by pursuing mastery. Life is obviously a never ending lesson in growth, so I hope to be successful in my pursuit of growth.

As for the radio station, I hope to be able to get to a place where we have a solid audience for the show and can start fielding even larger acts to come perform.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WhiteCubeRadio.com
• Email: MEDIAvomit@WhiteCubeSociety.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/WhiteCubeSociety
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhiteCubeSociety

Image Credit:
Conner Coughenour, James Bishop

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