Matthew Lasar has a nice piece on the Radio Survivor website about the film. Have a look:
“I Am What I Play”: Documenting the Rock DJ
http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/01/30/i-am-what-i-play-documenting-the-rock-dj/
Tag Archives: rock radio
The Spirit of Radio
Since we started shooting the film, I have obviously been posting here and there on this blog, at least trying to capture bits and pieces of the process. Now that we are finished the rough cut – the editor, post-production supervisor and I finally watched it on a big screen last week and it looks good (whew!) – I plan to update this space more frequently and I realize to this point, I haven’t talked about why I made this film.
I graduated from University just over 20 years ago. One day I skipped an early morning history class because the local rock radio station was going to play the new Robert Plant single for the first time. Being a die-hard Led Zeppelin/Plant fan, I had to hear it now. And my only option for doing so was to tune into this one radio station at the exact right time. I simply had to cut class.
This likely seems absurd to people born in the year I graduated. Not the skipping class part but having so few options for accessing new music. This was part of the excitement and power of rock radio. I think mine is the last generation that understands that, or has any real connection to radio. Might be the last generation that even owns a radio!
I see lots of blogs and hear lots of podcasts about what’s wrong with radio now – why this connection to younger generations has been lost. And I know the standard line is to blame corporations. While it’s true that many corporations have tried to control the message and the music, I think where radio sits today is the result of a number of factors besides just the present-day radio execs not understanding the charm of the psychedelic era.
I prefer to focus on what was right with radio when it did have a hold on generations of listeners. It’s the job of those of us who were moved by the medium to pass that torch – to sing the praises of the originals still doing their thing (and they’re still out there, if you’re paying attention), to take note of ways in which “the spirit of radio” is still alive and well – or could be – and to bend the ears of younger generations without sounding bitter or out of touch.
I try to capture “the spirit” when I talk about how much time I spent with rock radio. Those DJ’s were the ambassadors. They didn’t just play the records. They gave me an entry into the world of that band and they lived the music. They drew links between bands, between songs, between what might be said in a song and what you might do in the real world: politically, sexually, culturally…or just whatever on a Saturday night.
There was no quicker way to connect to the public than through radio. DJ’s could move music, and occasionally public opinion. I just loved hearing intelligent voices discussing the bands I love – and spinning stories about the music and what they did after the show. A talented DJ would spin an evening for me – it was an event. “It was never a shift, it was a show.”
Their identities were wrapped up in the music they played. With few exceptions, there is no way a top radio jock would put a record on the air that he/she didn’t believe in. Which is why I’ve always liked the David Bowie line from his song DJ: “I Am a DJ – I am what I play.” And in the spirit of that lyric, I decided to make a film.
Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama at Charles’ old digs
Here’s a fun piece about the house Charles Laquidara sold to Oprah which she uses to host Michelle Obama:
Lucas Said It All
We started shooting this film in the fall of 2011 and on the first day of 2014, I can happily report that except for about a day’s worth of edit tweaks, it’s ready for test screenings. Those who have made a film before will chuckle at that “except for…” as the George Lucas quote is so applicable: “A film is never done, it’s just abandoned.” (This is actually a paraphrase of a Leonardo Da Vinci quote about art)
We’ll be doing some test screenings in mid-January and then I’m going to pound the pavement to get a movie deal. Wish us luck. I’ll keep you posted.
Here are a few pics from various shoot days:
Production Manager David Jermyn and his wife Becky Keigh in a re-creation scene of a 1950's couple on the verge of breaking up while Pat O'Day's radio show plays in the car.
Interview with Meg Griffin. New York City, July 2012.
View of the Charles River from the top of the Prudential Tower in Boston.
Inside The Marsden Theatre. David Marsden radio show, The Rock, 94.9.
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Well, this week marks a year since we first went on the road to Boston to interview Charles Laquidara and shoot all our Boston footage. I’m happy to report that the Detroit Tigers are once again playing in the American League Championship Series so we’ve come full circle.
We’re heading into the 6th week of editing now so the mad dash for photos, archival footage, musical rights and radio air checks is in full swing. I’m mostly enjoying the process though I must confess that on any given day, you could either find me championing the film in my mind as a brilliant artistic contribution to modern society, or in a bundle of self-loathing on the floor, convinced no one will give up two hours of their life to see it. Most days though, I’m somewhere in between but much closer to the positive end, all things considered.
I am enjoying the process more often than not. The joy of discovering a new photo or snippet of archival footage that perfectly suits the segment. The satisfaction of watching a suggested edit that actually works. The relief of cutting a chunk out of a scene and seeing that it still makes sense after the chop. And being able to watch scene assemblies and send notes to the editor from the pub!
When a film is working but is not complete, it requires a solid amount of discipline not to immediately screen it for friends and family. The waiting is the hardest part, as Mr Petty once said. But I think this film is going to rock. And given the subject matter, that would be fitting.
Meg in Manhattan
It was a productive five days in Manhattan this July where we spent a day with the great Meg Griffin at Sirius XM radio studios. Meg is our 4th and final DJ in the film and is just a great pick for the flick! She started her radio career in the early 70’s in Briarcliff Manor, New York alongside some guy named Howard Stern. Within a couple of years, she was at New York City’s legendary WNEW and her career just took off from there.
In our interview with her, we heard great stories about the 1970’s New York punk and new wave scene, the beginnings of MTV, her long-standing friendship with the aforementioned Mr Stern and of course her take on the evolution of rock radio, including her current work with Sirius XM. Meg is great on camera and we can’t wait for people to hear/watch her story.
We also talked to Sirius XM CEO (and former CEO of CBS) Mel Karmazin, as well as Rita Houston at the very cool WFUV in The Bronx and Allan Pepper, the owner of the legendary Bottom Line night club. All have long and deep connections to Meg and have great respect for her work and musical knowledge.
We of course took in a little of New York City too: drinks in the village, great Mexican food in Soho, a photo exhibit opening on Central Park West and half price wine between 8-10 pm every night in the bar of our hotel, The Shoreham. The city that never sleeps indeed. Or at least only turns in early before film interview days!
On to editing we go. Don’t touch that dial! (sorry – couldn’t resist a lame, dated phrase there)
Meg Griffin, with our Production Manager, David Jermyn. Sirius XM Studios, New York City. July 8, 2012.
Inside Pat O’Day’s Brain
Here’s a Seattle TV news feature on Pat O’Day’s brain operation. The interview clips with Pat were just four days after his surgery!
Megless!
We decided there was something noticeably missing from our documentary – the perspective of a female DJ. Though there were only a handful of women active in rock radio in a major market during the 60’s and 70’s , we have found one who definitely qualifies. Meg “Megless” Griffin did the free form thing at legendary New York City station WNEW during its glory years and she went on to spin tunes at WPIX, K-ROCK and now still plays what she wants on three different Sirius satellite radio channels.
She was hired as one of the first VJ’s on MTV but quit one week in because they wanted her to give up radio. She has been honored by the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. Her close friendship with Howard Stern has lasted almost 40 years since they both began their careers in White Plains, New York. In short, we think she has some stories to tell and can’t wait to sit down with her in The Big Apple in early July. Stay tuned!
Boston’s WBCN back from the dead – on HD
An interesting New York Times piece below on the return of Boston’s WBCN – on HD. It doesn’t mention our man Charles Laquidara but we are tracking any news connected with WBCN and free form radio in general so it is posted here:
Sojourn to Seattle
We are back from a week in the Pacific North West. This was Pat O’Day territory. As Charles Cross, the well-known Seattle music writer, told us, there isn’t a generation in Seattle that doesn’t know Pat O’Day for something. Whether it’s his legendary on-air and then management stint at radio powerhouse KJR or his dance and concert promotion business in the 60’s and 70’s, or his 47th year in a row doing the TV play by play for Seattle’s Sea Fair, or as part owner and chief spokesman for The Schick Shadel Hospital (“Give us 10 days and we’ll give you back your life”), O’Day is a Seattle legend.
We spent 2 days on the San Juan Islands, where O’Day now runs a successful real estate business and a solid 5 hours at O’Day’s beautiful home on the water, running down all the stories from a life of peaks and valleys. We covered O’Day’s relentless promotion of the local Seattle music scene which laid the groundwork for the grunge scene that would come decades later, his friendship with Jimi Hendrix, an attempt on his life early in his radio career, his brush with the mafia during his concert promotion days, his alcoholism, anti-trust lawsuit and Chapter 11 flirtation, and his time in Russia, helping to train the next generation of DJ’s. And this only scratches the surface!
We spent time at The Space Needle, the Hendrix grave site, Pioneer Square, the always enticing Pike Fish Market, Kerry Park and the oldest Japanese restaurant in Seattle, to name a few locales. And the aforementioned Schick Shadel Hospital where we talked with some addicts who are literally learning to get sick of alcohol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPfL4LGALx4&feature=related. The biggest challenge is going to be condensing O’Day’s story to bite size pieces in the edit. His life could be a film on its own!
Left to right: Kevin MacKenzie (Sound Engineer), David Cain (Director of Photography), David Jermyn (Production Manager), Roger King (Producer/Director). Middle: Pat O’Day
