Radio Sloan

Radio Sloan is a musician and audio repair technician. Radio moved from Portland to Olympia in 1997 after forming the queercore duo The Need with Rachel Carns, who had also been a bandmate in the long-distance collaboration CeBe Barns Band. While living in Olympia, Radio operated a guitar repair shop inside the store Dumpster Values. The Need was a seminal queercore duo who collaborated with numerous Pacific Northwest musicians of note including recordings with Joe Preston, Miranda July, and Nomy Lamm, as well as national tours with bands including Sleater-Kinney, The Ex, Le Tigre, Fugazi and Blonde Redhead. Sloan, Carns and Lamm wrote the music and screenplay for The Transfused, a large-scale rock opera that was focused on gender identity politics. The production ran for eight nights and is considered a milestone achievement in Olympia’s music history. Radio moved to Los Angeles shortly after The Transfused commenced, and continued to play music with artists such as Courtney Love, Peaches and Scarling. Radio returned to Olympia in 2023 and currently co-owns Photosynthesis, a shop specializing in flowers and synthesizers.