Matt Pinfield, a renowned Southern California rock radio host and former MTV video jockey, is finally on the road to recovery after waking up from a two-month coma following a stroke he suffered in January.
Pinfield, 63, was released from the intensive care unit in late February, his manager Susan Ferris confirmed with The Epoch Times on Friday.
“I was unresponsive for two months,” the “SoCal Sound” radio host said. “Friends were thinking they were coming to see me for the last time. The doctors never expected me to speak or to walk again.”
In a statement shared with Radio Ink on March 14, Pinfield said he is “overwhelmed and humbled” by the public’s outpouring of love.
In addition to “The SoCal Sound,” Pinfield hosts the rock radio shows “New & Approved,” on the Los Angeles station KLOS, and “Flashback,” syndicated by Westwood One. The television personality told Radio Ink that he looks forward to getting back to his radio gigs.
“We were told I might not speak or walk again and my voice is back and I am doing five hours of physical therapy a day and my walking continues to improve,” he said. “There is nothing like my radio community. I love you all.”
Pinfield was hospitalized after suffering a stroke on Jan. 6. In the wake of the radio host’s alarming health scare, many of his fans and entertainment peers took to social media to wish him a speedy recovery.
Shirley Manson, the lead singer of the rock band Garbage, penned a lengthy message on Facebook, writing that she was “crushed to hear about the health struggles of [the] beloved musical guru.”
“He has championed so many artists over the decades who would have otherwise been ignored by mainstream media and the American music scene would be very different indeed without his taste and influence.
‘Power of Song’
According to Pinfield’s online biography, he developed a passion for music and radio at an early age, “gravitating towards the tunes like a moth to flame.”Pinfield, who hails from East Brunswick, New Jersey, launched his radio career as a music director and on-air host for WRSU-FM, Rutgers University’s official radio station, going on to work for a number of radio stations over the course of his more than 40-year career.
Pinfield added television to the mix in the mid-1990s, hosting MTV’s indie and alternative music program “120 Minutes.” In 2001, he became a music executive for Columbia Records, working as the vice president of artists and repertoire. Ten years later, he resumed his hosting duties at “120 Minutes” when the show returned to the channel’s sister network, MTV2.
In his 2016 memoir, “All These Things That I’ve Done: My Insane, Improbable Rock Life,” Pinfield chronicled the songs and artists that inspired his storied career. In the book’s introduction, he fondly recalled one of his earliest memories: rocking out to The Beatles at just 3 years old.
On his website, Pinfield said music has always been a driving force in his life.
“The power of song is everything. It’s universal and keeps evolving. There’s a creative force with music — it keeps changing,” he wrote.
“New music keeps getting written because people want to have that outlet of expression. There is always going to be somebody who wants to pick up an instrument and write a song. That’s why I am so grateful that I’ve been able to have this incredible soundtrack throughout my life that I can share with other people.”
