Susan Gatschet interview

This week I’m going to share my Susan Gatschet interview. Susan is on from 9-noon on week days on KUVO radio 89.3 FM. I met her during my internship. A friend of mine, Brenda Mosby, introduced me to her through e-mail. When I started my internship at KUVO I really thought she was a host that I would like to interview. I had been trying to schedule an interview with her for a couple of years. After a couple of weeks of my internship I e-mailed her and told her I was the same Jeremy Levy from the Colorado radio blog. It took a little time, but we were finally able to schedule this interview which I am really glad about. I have also heard her sometimes during one of the pledge drives on KUVO and she is one of my favorite people on KUVO because she has a gentle voice. I also love her knowledge about jazz music that she shares on her show. During the pledge drives she makes a lot of sense with the way she gets people to call in and support the station. During this last pledge drive I supported the station because of her encouragement. I am very proud to say that I am a member now of KUVO radio. I would encourage everyone to check out her show and you will learn a lot about jazz music just like I have done.Here is my interview with Susan.Jeremy Levy: It says in your bio on the KUVO website that you have been a fan of jazz music since you were 14. What got you interested in jazz music?Susan Gatschet: I would say growing up in Kansas City, Missouri was very influential. I saw Count Basie there. I was able to attend a lot of concerts that peaked my interest. I also have to say that my brother Charlie who is a guitar player he started playing guitar when he was 11 years old. He was playing rock but, after a year he started playing Wes Montgomery and Charlie Parker. I used to listen to him practice because our bed rooms were next to each other. I used to listen to him play scales and play different songs. I started to really like it a lot. A big thing that really made the difference was in the 70’s early 80’s the Kansas City recreation center had free concerts in the summer time. They would be at different parks in the city. I saw Dave Brubeck, I met Dizzy Gillespie. There were so many great jazz musicians that came. The community would gather together, and we would have picnics and listen to the music. I also started hanging out at record stores.JL: in 1996 you started working at KUVO radio How did this start? Also did you have any experience in radio before this?SG: I had absolutely no experience in radio before that. I had moved to Colorado in 1988. The first thing I did was I set up my stereo and found KUVO radio. I loved it! I thought Oh this is going to be my station. As I listened I noticed that there weren’t females on the station. I thought well, I know the music but I bet I could learn how to run the board. I came down to KUVO and I talked to Bob Burke who was the morning guy at the time. He introduced me to Carlos Lando I told Carlos you need more women on the station. He said you’re right. I said I would love to learn how to do it. He let me come in and hang out with some of the on air hosts. I learned how to run the board. After doing this for 6 months I believe I sat in for Andy O’Leary on a Sunday night. I was really nervous. It was fun. I really loved it. Then I just kept doing it. I started out as a volunteer Carlos gave me the Thursdays 9-12 slot. Then a position opened as a receptionist at KUVO radio I got that job Carlos wanted me to be on the air during the week Monday through Friday9-noon That was my first full time gig.JL: I started listening to KUVO radio in 1996, but I didn’t start listening to you until the 2000’s era what makes KUVO radio such a wonderful place to work?SG: I would have to say the people. Being able to play music is another thing. I think it is a very special job. I don’t take it for granted at all. The thing that I love about all of the people here is that everyone is so passionate from the weekend hosts to the hosts on during the week Everyone loves the music. I think that you can hear that when you listen.JL: You have worked with a great team like you mentioned Carlos, Matthew, Andy, Steve Rodney I have also noticed from my time with my internship this summer everyone is so helpful and so pleasant What is it like working with this great team of people?SG: It’s inspiring! That is the best word for it. Every morning when I wake up I am so excited to get to come to work and play music. They have also shared their knowledge with me. Sometimes if I have trouble pronouncing a word in Spanish I go to Carlos or Arturo and they will help me with pronunciation of Spanish words. Rodney is really good with names from Portugal. Cenr is really good with her language. It’s just a great group of people I am proud to be a part of it.JL: It also says in your bio that you have interviewed some famous jazz artists from all over the world. Are there one or two artists that stick out as being your favorites?SG: Monty Alexander is an interview that is one of my favorites. I was extremely nervous I did a lot of research I like to ask a little bit of the artists past. There is also something new going on as well. I’ll try and ask questions about that. Monty Alexander was so nice and he brought in his wife. She was a singer so I had to interview both of them. This interview lasted for an hour. At the end of the interview I felt so good about it like I had shared some wonderful information with the listeners. They got some insight into who Monty was. Another one would be drummer Jeff Hamilton. Jeff played with Ray Brown. He has played with so many people. We just had a lot of fun. This interview went for an hour. Those 2 interviews I am really proud of. It was a real joy to get to know them.JL: You have done interviews with Colorado jazz artists as well. Are there 1 or 2 that stick out as being your favorites?SG: I really enjoy interviewing Paul Romaine the drummer. He has an organization called the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts. They mentor high school students from different schools. It is a great program. The students that I have met through this program have gone on to be great musicians. Paul has just some wonderful stories. He is a funny cat as well. Another one is Rich Chiaraluce the saxophone player. He told some wonderful stories about his journey getting into jazz and him growing up back east. He was at a fair once and this big truck comes pulling a flatbed that had Cannonball Adderley’s Band on it. He knew at that moment that he wanted to play jazz. Also, that the saxophone would be his instrument of interest. He is just a wonderful saxophone artist that lives here in Colorado.JL: I have heard of him when I was doing research back this summer. I am a big fan of piano jazz music. Are there any favorite interviews that you have done with any jazz pianists?SG: I have interviewed Orin Evans. Freddy Cole is another one that I have interviewed. That was probably the worst interview that I have ever done. He came from the airport. He wasn’t in a good mood. He answered all of my questions with a yes or a no. I was so scared at that point. He was playing up at the Mount Vernon Country Club and I was there that night and I went up to him and I apologized. He said that it wasn’t a bad interview. He came back a couple of years later. I was going to interview him again and I was so nervous. We ended up having the best time. He opened up and shared a lot of stories. That really made me happy.JL: Have you interviewed any Blind jazz musicians?SG: Henry Butler. He just passed away a couple of months ago. Henry moved to Colorado from New Orleans after Katrina. He moved up to Boulder. I just did a show dedicated to him with performances from the performance studio. He taught me a lot about life. He was just such a wonderful man. We just miss him so much. I have interviewed him about 5 times.JL: Another blind musician that I have known over the years is Karen Karsh. She is a wonderful person.SG: She is a wonderful person and I have interviewed her a couple of times.JL: It also says in your bio that you are a voice over artist. What got you interested in voice over work?SG:I have a theatrical family. My grandfather ran a summer theatre camp my whole entire life. Every summer I would go to the theatre and I would prompt the actors with their lines. They also did lots of musicals too. Everyone in my family can sing and or play musical instruments I didn’t play a teacher because I didn’t like the teacher. I just started off on the wrong foot. My brother and I took guitar lessons. My brother was the one who stuck with it. . One of my aunts did a show in Iowa on Iowa public TV. She did this for several years. This is where she started doing voice over work. I think she inspired me to start voice over work. I do voice over work for Rocky Mountain PBS. I do voice overs for Channel 12 which is another PBS station. Usually those are under writing spots or spots for up-coming programs. Right now I am working on a documentary about the woman painters. The exhibit came to Denver a couple of years ago. It was at the museum. Joshua Hassell down stairs at Channel 12is putting a documentary together of these painters. I am voicing that documentary and I am also picking out the music for itJL: What would be your advice for someone wanting to get into voice overs and radio?SG: Having a pleasant voice that people like to listen to is important. Knowing the music is important as well. Do a lot of research about the station that you would like to work for. Listen to the station and make a demo tape. If you are wanting to get into voice over, you might need to get an agent. Public radio is different than regular radio. Here at KUVO radio some of our hosts have been volunteering for 33 years. Jack Mudry, Dan Feinberg and Geoff Anderson have been here for a long time. When people get a gig in radio they keep it for a long time. Also with voice overs you need to practice reading scripts and then you need to make a demo tape. When I do voice overs I don’t like to do different voices. I just like to use my voice. You must decide whether you need to use your voice, or some people do different characters. Also practice timing yourself. Practice reading the scripts and time yourself. Some of the spots that are on KUVO are 20-25 seconds. You can write public service announcements and then practice treading them and time yourself and shoot for 20-30 seconds.I really appreciate Susan sharing her knowledge with me. I look forward to checking out her brother’s musical, as well as the other jazz artists that she mentioned soon.Thanks for tuning in.