Welcome Michael:
We’re joined on the Starline by a documentary director who started out as a college radio station manager. Coincidentally, if he wasn’t intoxicated and came down the Murdough hall looking for someone to keep his college radio station on, I wouldn’t be here. He’s been a DJ, photographer, and now is creating a documentary on college radio. We welcome director of “35,000 Watts” Mike Millard.
Mike, let’s go Beyond the Mic. You are working on a Kickstarter campaign to create a documentary on college radio. Why is this project so important to you?
You’ve started to interview bands, station managers and people involved with college radio from around the country. How welcomed were you? Did people just start telling stories?
You are based in Spain. Now you had to come back meeting people networking and building this documentary
Director of the upcoming documentary “35,000 Watts: The Story of College Radio” Mike Millard joins us Beyond the Mic. Mike, who are some of the people you want to get in touch with to make 35,000 Watts even better?
Explain what CMJ did back in the 90’s.
The Rockin’ 8:
You might be a friend, but it’s time for the Rockin’ 8, 8 random questions; answer with the first thing that comes to your mind. There is no Pressure.
1. Band that you thought of playing first but delayed for one reason or another?
2. One piece of memorabilia you have from the old KTXT-FM?
3. What would your old faculty advisor Dr. Clive Kinghorn think of this project?
4. Favorite place to take photos in Spain?
5. What drains your energy really fast?
6. One thing people don’t know about you that they would be surprised to find out?
7. What do you prefer to buy secondhand?
8. If you had an extra hour in each day, how would you spend it?
The Back Half with:
Favorite memory you haven’t told from college radio?
College radio had to transform. They went from carts and records to cd then computers. There were several vinyl I remember seeing in the old studios that because of language had stickers put on them, scratched so you couldn’t play them.
How has technology helped you with this project?
35,000 Watts is working with The Film Collaborative to make this project work. What do they do and how do they make it easier for you?
If someone would give to this Kickstarter, what do you want them to see when the final cut comes out?
How has Maggie and John helped you with this project and how did they react when you pitched them?
What three things have you done since graduation from Texas Tech that you are most proud of? Why?
Other than the documentary, what do you do for a living?
One Big Question:
If you could bring back one college era show that you didn’t host for one day, what would it be?
Where can people find the Kickstarter?
How many hours of tape do you have in the can already?
The Wrap:
Loves taking pictures in Grenada and once sold shoelace on Fremont Street. We thank director of “35,000 Watts: The Story of College Radio”, Mike Millard for taking the time to talk with us.
And that my friends is Beyond the Mic.
Opening Lines:
Where does your mind go when you hear that minor chord at the top of Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” or the opening riff to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”?
Did your college late nights involve David Letterman’s infamous Top 10 Lists? Were you telling all your friends “You Look Marvelous” in the vein of Billy Crystal’s Fernando Lamas? Do you consider “Weird” Al Yankovic a comic genius?
Remember the first time you heard “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s or “Radio Free Europe” by R.E.M.? Do you always have to play “New Year’s Day” on January 1st?
If those moments make the hair on your neck stand up or unlock core memories – you can thank college radio.
If the soundtrack of your life involves bands like U2, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Pixies, The Police, Fugazi, The Smiths, The Cure, Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, The Ramones or Talking Heads – thank college radio.
The College Radio Pitch:
Help us make a film worthy of the stations that played the soundtrack of your life. Please consider sharing a small token of thanks to support “35000 Watts: The Story of College Radio”. Your financial support will allow us to talk to more people, visit more stations and uncover more amazing stories. This untold-tale has been sitting on the shelves of your memories, and ours, and deserves to be unsleeved and played at full volume for the world to hear!
Support the Kickstarter by clicking the image above or here.
Listen to other Beyond the Mic conversations with directors here.
