Three More Radio Shows
Compiled by Lukas K.
Recently in two columns, 3/18/98
and 3/31/98,
we featured stories from our readers on film music radio shows they have
produced. Here are some more tales from soundtrack buffs who have broadcast
our favorite music...
From: "Christopher J. Malone" <malone@ist.flinders.edu.au>
The first time I opened up the mike and said "Good evening ladies
and gentlemen and welcome to 3 Out Of 5 Stars..." was in early September
1997. It was a warm evening in the 5UV building - it always is, the air
conditioning is way too warm - and the moments preceeding those now monumental
words were tense. We had barely started on time to the strains of "Thus
Spake Zarathrustra" when I realised that the panel was laid out differently
to the rehersal studio we spent the previous hour in! But all went well,
despite a little nervousness in my voice.
3 Out Of 5 Stars began as the brainchild of three 19 year-old students
at the Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide. We wanted to present
a show on our local community station, 5UV 531AM, that said something about
ourselves, yet also did something that hadn't been done before. For me
this was easy, two of my great loves are films and film scores. There could
be no better way to fill my 20 minutes of our then piddly 40 minute timeslot
at 12:50 AM!
I was (and still am) the host and panelist for 3 Out Of 5 Stars, allowing
for some great freedoms as to how I approach the film music portion of
the show. How? As a budding music recording engineer myself I would edit
together interesting music to talk over and play enriching the community
to the lovely world of film music.
I guess you're wondering what the other two do on the show: Oh they
just play boring rock-and-roll music, but remember the whole mission of
3 Out Of 5 Stars was not to blindly play music, but to hopefully entertain
the listener too.
Each show had a theme in the early days, so I wanted to review scores
that were familiar, but not too overheard. The first show featured music
from Star Trek II, the second Jaws, the third The Living Daylights... I
also wanted the reviews to be interesting and the music to be enjoyable.
Upon moving to our weekly hour programme over Summer I wrote more lengthy
reviews which would be synchronised to music playing underneath. At particular
spots I'd bring up the music, highlighting what I had just been explaining.
Finally I wanted to write the reviews in such a way that the novice would
glean something from them, as well as the expert. Whether or not I succeeded
is another matter!
Now we're in our second 'season' of the show and have been given 90
minutes to present a diverse amount of material. Film music fans need not
worry, because the music that is closest to my heart still takes pride
of place; lot's of it and early in the show.
As an added incentive for the average listener to appreciate film music,
CDs of reviewed or played music have been given away. Tie-ins with upcoming
or presently showing movies have also been made with my mission being:
"If I can win over one more person to the world of film music, then
I've succeeded."
Listening to, relaxing, enjoying and studying film music is one of my
favourite past-times and I get a great deal of satisfaction presenting
reviews and commentary on it. Film music is a neglected beast here in Australia
and I believe that we are one of the only shows that promotes it. (I am
certain we are the only programme in South Australia that does.)
3 Out Of 5 Stars airs each Sunday fortnight on community radio 5UV.
We begin our programme at 12:10AM CST - which yes, technically means Monday
morning - and finish at 1:30, just in time for the World Radio Network.
Past reviews of scores broadcast can be heard via RealAudio on the Fascinating
World of Film Music Web site: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/9045/.
If you would like more information please contact myself at malone@ist.flinders.edu.au
or radio 5UV at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/5UV/
From: Chris Kinsinger <76263.2355@compuserve.com>
I've been a lover of film music since I first watched BEN-HUR in a theatre
in 1960 at eight years of age. The music of Miklos Rozsa remained fixed
in my heart and mind for years. The following year I experienced Hitchcock's
PSYCHO. Bernard Herrmann's score played havoc with my sleep for nearly
a decade. Two years later came THE BLUE MAX. Now I was totally HOOKED by
movie music.
During the years that followed, I became the NERD who was out of step
with all of his classmates. They all listened to Pop music. I had no idea
what Pop music was. After my high school years,I enrolled at the York Academy
of Arts, because my illustration abilities pointed me toward a career in
commercial graphics.
There I was introduced to the only other student at the Academy who
shared my WEIRD LOVE for films and film music. Two years later we married.
(She was the only person I had ever met who had an LP of Goldsmith's THE
SAND PEBBLES in her collection. I HAD to marry her!) That was 1974. We'll
celebrate our 24th year together in November. I had a dream for years about
hosting a radio program of film music, but I had no idea how to make it
happen. In my home town of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at that time, there
were two FM stations featuring a format of classical music. One was the
typical NPR, PBS station, the other, a home-town station owned & operated
by a wealthy Presbyterian Church. The church station was the one that I
listened to, because they played classical music without any commercial
(or fund-raising) interruptions.
One day, as I was driving past the broadcast headquarters of this FM
station, I noticed an empty parking space, and I simply parked my car and
walked into the building. I first spoke with the secretary, and she referred
me to the "DJ", who was at that moment scanning the daily news
while Beethoven's 7th Symphony played on the air. He gave me a "screening"
interview, and when I proved musically literate, I was sent into the office
of the Program Director. Here I was, just someone "off the street",
and I was being ushered into the presence of THE BIG CHEESE!
I told the PD about my idea for a program of film music. He asked me
ONE key question: "Do you have the score for "Raintree County"?
"YES!" I replied. He told me that as soon as the station had
an opening in the programming schedule, he would notify me. One week later,
the DJ who occupied the Saturday morning 9 to 11 AM slot died. I received
my call the following Monday.
The next Saturday morning, August 29, 1987, I was quite literally THROWN
into the studio, LPs in arms, to perform on the air. My first program was
TERRIBLE (I have it on tape - it SUCKS BIG TOES!). I continued to tape
my programs each week in an effort toward self-improvement.
After a few months, I began to improve, and I felt confident enough
at the control panel to ask my wife to co-host the show with me. Our chemistry
on the air became the ratings draw that brought listeners into our world
of movie music, and we enjoyed a constantly growing Saturday AM audience
until the FM station was sold three years later, when it became another
"oldies" station.
P.S.: Two other radio stations in the Harrisburg Metro Area asked us
to continue on their airwaves, but we declined. I still enjoy listening
to my tapes of the show.
From: RobtEmmett <RobtEmmett@aol.com>
A long time ago, I got the radio bug. At my high school, they had a
small radio station setup. I wasn't cool enough to hang with the radio
crowd, not looking enough like Crispin Glover, I guess. There was enough
time spent hanging around in the corners, to infect me with that archaic
technology.
From my very first day at college I got involved with the radio station.
They put me on the weekends because I didn't want to play the formatted
playlist. Weekends were for the misfits and the weirdos.
I moved to California, and got involved with radio again. Again, I found
myself on the weekends, but at least this time around, the whole station
was peopled with weirdos and misfits. I had always loved movies, and it's
music, and little by little it took over my show.
The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show airs weekly on KFJC 89.7 FM
in the San Francisco Bay Area. For three hours on Saturdays from 9 am to
12 noon, I play a variety of music from film, television, and stage. (Yes,
the dreaded Broadway songs that soundtrack purists hate!) There is no set
playlist. I bring up a couple of hundred CD's and LP's from my collection
and just head where my muses take me.
Who is my audience? Well, it's regular folks who never thought to listen
to what they watched. It's also people who feel like they have lived in
a closet, as lovers of film music. Finally, a show for them. The show has
been heard in Hobby shops, equipment rental stores, a Tower bookstore,
and a lot of houses and gardens in the Bay Area. One long time listener,
when transferred to Minnesota, started listening on his laptop! (KFJC broadcasts
in real time over the internet, www.kfjc.org).
Since the station is non-commercial, we have yearly fundraisers. As
an incentive for contributing, donors can spend an hour on the air with
their favorite DJ. The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show has about
30 people a year who take us up on the offer. They had ranged from computer
programmers, ( one who wrote the program that Hans Zimmer uses on his computer),a
news announcer from another radio station, a writer for a film music quarterly,
a hard core film music collector and the art director of Film Score Monthly.
As well as teachers and business people all happy to share their love of
film music.
I encourage anyone doing a film music radio show to meet their audience,
and invite a few on with you. It's an amazing experiance. Just last week,
my guest DJ had a theme: music from 1962. We played music from Freud
(Goldsmith), Barabbas (Nascimbene), How the West Was Won
(Newman), Sodom and Gommorah (Rosza), The Days of Wine and
Roses (Mancini), and the James Bond Theme to name just a few.
Each week at 10:30 am the show has the KFJC Television Mystery Theme
of the Week. The audience is called on to identify a TV theme. Many people
call just to see if they are right, others win tickets to movies or issues
of film music magazines.
Last year, I did a 6 hour special on the music of Christopher Young.
I had interviewed him for this special and used segments of his comments
between the music. It was great fun and I got a lot of great feedback.
My station is very supportive of my show. I also have been very involved
in the station's operation. I have been program director, (twice), and
director of fundraising. I also host a weekly public affairs talk show.
It is important to be active with station projects, and to create your
own.
I couldn't tell you this show's ratings. Most non-comms can't afford
to buy the ratings books from Arbitron and we are no exception. I can tell
you that when I got to introduce the film Return to Oz and director Walter
Murch at the Cinequest Film Festival, (which was a real dream come true),
the applause I received showed that a lot of the audience knew who I was
too.
The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show is eclectic. For years it's
been my weekly ritual, and I no longer have to explain who IS Norman Bates.
Robert Emmett, Host/Producer, The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show,
KFJC 89.7 FM, Saturdays 9 am to 12 noon (PST); see http://www.kfjc.org
or write robtemmett@aol.com
***
That's it for this time. If you have a show you'd like to tell us about,
write in! MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
| 
