KEXP DOCUMENTARIES

Education You Can Dance To

DJ Michell Myers

DJ Michelle Myers (“Nite Life”) is the production force behind KEXP’s new radio documentary series. She spoke to us between takes about radio imagery, learning to become a journalist, and the enduring appeal of Joey Ramone.

What kinds of topics do you and KEXP intend to cover?
I’ve come up with about 30 ideas for series. The first series “Streetwise: Classrooms That Rock” was on alternative music in education. It was a really hard subject for a first documentary series. I lost some serious sleep trying to find good stories and figure out what WAS a good story. But it all came out well. The subjects ranged from a UW class on Tupac Shakur, to a rock program for homeless youth, to a hip hop writing and performance class for 10-13 year olds. Some bands like They Might Be Giants and South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo use alternative types of music to educate as well, so they were in there too.

This second series, the one I’m doing now is “Punk Evolution.” The first episode was “The Roots of Punk” with The Velvet Underground, The MC5, The Stooges and The New York Dolls. The second one “Birth of Punk in The Bowery” was about alternative artists who inspired punk like Suicide, Patti Smith and Television and then the first real punks: The Dictators, Richard Hell and The Ramones.

The third episode in Punk Evolution, the one for this week is all about The Ramones. I fell in love with this band while doing research. Joey Ramone is the most unlikely rock star, a shy obsessive-compulsive sweetheart with a talent for catchy vocal punctuation. Johnny is a right-wing dude with an attitude, and he plays a mean guitar. Dee Dee was an army kid who grew up to become a junkie…but he’s really endearing somehow. Marky was the clown of the group. He kept things light and fun. And was the only one who could really deal with the media. The music of the Ramones too has invaded my soul, in a good way. It’s primal and silly and fun and unpretentious.

The next series after this will be Latin Flavor – in collaboration with EMP’s American Sabor Exhibit.

After that I’m doing a super secret series. One I’ve been working on for a long time. But it’s super secret.

The only parameters I have in making KEXP Documentaries are:
1. They have to contain KEXP-type music – they can also include music that sets the scene as part of pop culture and history.
2. They have to be 4-7 minutes long.

So basically I can do any kind of radio documentaries I want, as long as they educate and you can rock out to them. Our motto is: KEXP Documentaries: Education you can dance to.

What are the biggest challenges in producing these?
I’m doing journalism without a degree. I keep thinking I’ll get arrested. So I guess just doing a thorough and accurate job in researching and finding good stories.

It’s also hard to include every important fact. Five minutes is not a lot of time, but I believe you can do a good job of representing all the important stuff if you think about it carefully.

There’s also the challenge of making every documentary flow like a song. To me, each new sound that’s added is like an instrument coming in on a song. The rhythm of the feature should flow.

My main concern is taking the listener on the scene. Let’s say the feature is about the Bowery District in New York during the birth of punk rock. You should understand that most of the country was listening to sweet pop songs. You then should step into the Bowery, which at that time was like a desolate film noir setting. Drunks should bump into you. You’d see people shooting up in the hallway at CBGBs. And when The Ramones step onstage you should take in the shine on their jackets, the swish of their hair, the shy arrogance of their stances and the wall of sound should all but knock you over.

What is the production process?
Sometimes I go onsite and record audio. Other times I get audio from KEXP, EMP or from DVDs or the Internet. Sometimes people come into my studio for me to record them.

From there the review of all possible audio takes a lot of time. Choosing sound bites and music. Editing and narration happen together usually. I kind of talk to the feature and add my words in. Then I do a final narrative take for the final edit. Making it all flow like a movie: with a beginning, middle and end is essential.

In radio images cost nothing. So I lean heavily on visuals (which is funny because people think you don’t NEED visuals in radio, quite the contrary). I can build the most elaborate sets with no budget. For example: The lights flash and the air conditioning blasts on with big fans. Confetti blows around the room. Bodies throb and turn to a club beat. On the final chord the lights black out. Red beams search the room as the dancers stand still and stunned. The red beams find the stage and a 20-foot wide platform ascends. A drummer and his massive kit start to rise from the stage floor. The crowd screams as he bangs out the first chords to their favorite song.

Hell I can even add go-go dancers or evil clowns if I want…
But I digress.

Are you syndicating to NPR or other national networks?
We’re working with NPR on them airing our features. They are trying to reach a younger audience (to them that means 25-45) and that is definitely a mark in our favor.

Do you ever envision a visual component using KEXP’s website or other means?
You can check out the whole Streetwise series in the Learn section of kexp.org. I’d love to have video. Do you know any filmmakers who want to work for free? Send em my way.