Synopses & Reviews
When law office receptionist Sue Carpenter first asked how she might start her own radio station, everyone laughed. Getting on the air (legitimately) in San Francisco was a multimillion-dollar ambition. But in 1995, with the help of a few subversive techies and pirate-radio gurus, Sue built her first transmitter in her hilltop San Francisco apartment and launched KPBJ, enlisting friends as DJs. A few months later, Sue landed a magazine job in Los Angeles, took her transmitter with her, and established KBLT.
From these humble beginnings KBLT emerged as one of L.A.'s best-loved radio stations, staffed with more than a hundred DJs and supported by major music labels eager to reach a different kind of audience. The station expanded its playlist from indie rock to an eclectic mix of jazz, hip-hop, electronica, and countless other styles. In the three and a half years before the FCC finally caught up with Sue, KBLT went from interviewing unknowns to hosting live performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- without ever leaving Sue's apartment.
40 Watts from Nowhere is Sue's frank and hilarious account of her bizarre double life during the height of California's pirate-radio boom: journalist by day, counterculture icon by night. It's an amazing true story, one that will instantly appeal to music fans -- and free spirits -- everywhere.
Review
Mike Watt,
founding member of the Minutemen and former KBLT DJ
After many, many years of being a guest on lots of radio shows, I was finally able to be on the other side of the mic, the one picking the tunes and spieling thoughts of my own making. This experience was profound upon me. The two
years I had 'The Watt from Pedro Show' on KBLT were quite the hoot for me, big time....It's the reason I continue today via internet radio [http://twfps.com]. Paige's [aka Sue Carpenter] righteous commitment to creating an environment where folks could let their freak flags fly was truly a wonderful thing, and it's something I'll always feel very honored to have been a part of....So many parallels to being like a young minuteman in the early punk movement. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh...D. Boon would've been proud.
About the Author
Sue Carpenter is currently a feature writer for the Los Angeles Times and a senior contributor to Jane magazine. Her writing has also appeared in such publications as George, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Los Angeles.