PORTLAND, Maine — It’s always nice when the word comes through that you’ve landed a job you really, really wanted. After Kurt Baker received that news several months ago, his reaction went well beyond the usual sense of pride and relief.
“I was like, I’m going to fry right now of happiness,” Baker recalls.
That’s right, he wasn’t going to simply die of happiness—he was going to fry of it.
His response is completely understandable when you know that Baker is a singer, music producer, and musician from Portland—a guy with a passionate love of music—and the job he’d been offered was as host of a show on the Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM satellite radio.
“I’ve been listening to Little Steven’s Underground Garage for quite some time, and I’ve been fortunate enough to actually be played on his show as well,” Baker said.
In addition, Baker has been signed to Little Steven’s record label since 2016 and he’s also worked with him on recordings and collaborated with him on some production.
A few years ago, Baker started sending demo tapes to the producers of the radio show, and in 2023 he got a job offer. “The Buzz Electric with Kurt Baker,” a show featuring rock, pop, punk, and more, now airs on Saturday mornings from 4-8 a.m.
“I do a lot of research to tell fun stories and interesting tidbits about the artists that I’m featuring,” Baker said. “So it’s a lot of work. But it’s fun because it’s playing rock and roll music, and if I’m not on stage singing and playing bass or guitar, I love to be playing music on satellite radio.”
There’s also the thrill of working for Little Steven (actual name: Steven Van Zandt), a rock and roll hero in his own right who for decades has been a dear friend and bandmate of Bruce Springsteen, not to mention an actor who was part of the brilliant cast of “The Sopranos.”
“He’s definitely always chimed in on what works, what doesn’t. His feedback is very valuable,” Baker said. “Whenever he says something to me, I always listen because he plays with the Boss, but he’s my boss.”