On Thursdays from 12:00 to 2:00 PM, Davia Schendel runs the SF Retro, a deep dive into this city’s rich musical history. An extremely talented musician, writer, and artist, Davia’s own creative work outside of the station explores themes of surrealism and existentialism, reflected in both her music and her newsletter, Zeitgeist Deterrent. Here’s a deeper look into her inspirations and the making of San Francisco Retro.

Tune into San Francisco Retro every Thursday 12-2pm!

Where did the idea for your show come from?

Well, when I was thinking about a show concept, I really wanted to do something that honored the history of San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area, and there's so much music history that is not known. And I really wanted this to be a sort of project for me to learn more about my birth city and the place I grew up in, because all over the city, there are these little pockets of history and culture that you would not really pay attention to.

Has working on the show affected your songwriting process?

Listening back to all the music that I play reminds me that you just have to do your own thing and then let history do the work for you. It’s definitely made me more present and able to appreciate the present moment.

Do you feel your music has changed more recently?

Looking back, I was really obsessed with a lot more avant garde movements and a lot more electronic elements in my music. Now I feel like I'm not obsessed about trends, really. Which is good. There's a lot less pressure to assimilate to the scene and I really feel like I'm in my element. I feel like I'm swimming in my pond.

How did you first get connected with BFF.fm?

I found out about it because my friend was doing a performance at The Complex in South of Market. George Rosenthal runs that studio, and he was doing these live broadcasts during the pandemic, and there are these interstitial commercials, and one of them was BFF! So I was like, oh there’s a station that’s local, that sounds interesting!

What would you tell someone who is interested in volunteering at BFF.fm?

Please, please take the jump and get connected with the community, because the community is very strong and very friendly, and people really care about not only what they're doing and how they're connecting BFF to the greater creative community, but they care about the people working within the community itself, here at the station. There’s a lot of genuine passion and care here, so if you want to get connected and involved, don't hesitate. Just join.

You can tune into San Francisco Retro every Thursday 12-2pm!