June 4 Solano County A-E Source: Ozcat Radio celebrates 20 years on air

In the age where radios and newspapers are considered "vintage" relics of the past, listeners can still expect Ozcat Radio co-founder Katie Martinelli - DJ Katie "Cool Lady" to her listeners - to keep the studio lights and microphone on.

After 20 years on the airwaves, Martinelli is proud of how far the radio station has come.

"Nobody in 20 years, not myself, not anyone, has taken money for producing and creating Ozcat Radio," said Martinelli. "In exchange for their volunteering, it's certainly nice to offer a place where they can bring guests, be creative, and just have fun."

Ozcat Radio is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization with 36 DJs/volunteers. Its FM coverage includes Vallejo, American Canyon, Napa, Fairfield, the Carquinez Straits, and Suisun City.

Like many who remember Ozcat's early years, Martinelli has witnessed the station's evolution from turntables and traditional radio broadcasting to MP3s, streaming, and digital playlists.

"This was 2006. We didn't have fast computers, streaming, or Wi-Fi," Martinelli said. "The internet was much slower."

Ozcat Radio was founded in 2006 by Martinelli and her then-husband, David Martin.

Originally, Ozcat launched as a pirate station after Martin's 2004 single "Anyway" was denied airplay from every Bay Area station he contacted.

Martinelli said, "We bought a radio transmitter and an antenna from a nonprofit in Berkeley. We literally put that thing up on the building we were renting in Mare Island and thought we were the coolest."

Ozcat Radio received its Federal Communications Commission license by late November 2009.

Martinelli said their goal with Ozcat Radio was, and still is, to give local musicians more exposure and support.

When deciding on a name for Ozcat Radio, Martinelli was reminded of a collection of early-20th-century Oz books written by L. Frank Baum that belonged to her father.

Baum wrote 13 of the original Oz books and often included a preface. In one of them, Martinelli believed she saw a signature that read, "Ozcat in Hollywood."

"I thought that signature was so cool - like, he's an 'Ozcat,' he's 'ozzy', a cool cat and jazzy. We created this idea of an Ozcat, and that's how we see each other. We're cool cats, and we're in the Land of Oz," said Martinelli.

However, she discovered she had misread the signature.

"The funniest thing is, years later, when I found it and reread it, it didn't say 'Ozcat,'" Martinelli said with a laugh. "It said 'Ozcot in Hollywood.' Baum's home was called Ozcot, a play on the word 'Ascot.'"

Over the years, Ozcat's studio has welcomed a range of notable guests, including Grammy Award-winning R&B artist and Vallejo native H.E.R., Bay Area rapper Nef the Pharaoh, poet and activist D.L. Lang, and many others.

Times, however, haven't always been easy.

In the past decade, Ozcat has lost seven DJs - five during the pandemic and two within the past few months.

"We've been recovering from a lot of loss. Like many people, we're ready to move on from the COVID years. We've been trying to set ourselves up for the next ten years so we can continue to be Vallejo's radio station," Martinelli said.

It wouldn't be the first time Ozcat Radio has had to overcome setbacks.

Last year, the radio broadcast was out of commission for 8 months after the station was hit with a PG&E power outage that left the equipment burnt out.

This meant that their radio broadcast only spanned eight blocks instead of Vallejo and the surrounding towns.

"(Martin) was a former telecom engineer, and so he came a couple of months ago and got us rewired back into the booth. Up until then, we had been broadcasting in the hallway. Now we're back, and we can have guests again," said Martinelli.

In addition to highlighting local artists and musicians, Ozcat also promotes community events, history, and non-profit organizations.

Martinelli credits Tim Zumwalt, publicist for the Vallejo Symphony, for his continued support and for turning Ozcat Radio into the station it is today.

Ozcat has partnered with the Vallejo Symphony for 19 years, rebroadcasting past symphony performances for listeners.

"He found us before we were on FM. That support from the symphony means so much to us. For (Zumwalt) to put the Vallejo Symphony up there along with our Latin jazz, hip hop, and other music is an honor," Martinelli said.

Looking forward, her goals for the station are to upgrade the sound equipment and revamp their social media pages.

Although she recently bought three new microphones, Martinelli is still hopeful to upgrade equipment.

To raise funds, Ozcat will host an "Emerald Ball" at Red Men's Hall on Saturday, Oct. 24. Proceeds from the event will help pay for a new soundboard. Additional details will be announced closer to the event.

"All the DJs are ready to go another 10, 20 years. But our goal right now is to upgrade the equipment and really go the distance," said Martinelli.

In the meantime, for those who want to support the nonprofit radio station, Martinelli encourages the community to tune in.

"It's the best way to support what we've got going on," said Martinelli.

Those curious about the latest programming and upcoming guests are encouraged to visit Ozcat Radio on Facebook.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 7:18 PM.