Interview: Capital Public Radio

Audio File
For those who are interested, an audio file of my interview on Capital Public Radio is now available here. (To listen, click on the link, scroll halfway down on that page, and click on the "Listen" button. My interview starts about one-third of the way into the program and lasts about 15 minutes.)

Behind-the-Scenes
It was a privilege to be interviewed by Jeffrey Callison on "Insight" and to be able to talk about Rainbow Over Hell. I don't think I've ever stepped into a radio studio before. As such, the production side of it was fascinating to me. Here are some behind-the-scenes tidbits:

-The "Insight" studio was a small sound-proof room with a table in the center and mics on the table. The host, Jeffrey Callison, sat on one side of the table, facing me and a window into the next room, where the producers were overseeing the show.

-Before the program, Mark Jones, technical director, and James Scott, associate producer for that day's program, gave me directions as far as where to sit, what excerpt I would be reading, and how close I should be to the table mics. (The mics have the size, shape, and color of healthy eggplants, I might add. Very large and purple.)

-The first few minutes of the program consisted of a pre-recorded segment and the news, and Jeffrey wasn't even in the studio yet. About six minutes into the show, he came breezing down the hallway and stepped into the studio to pick up when the pre-recorded segment ended.

-While waiting to be called into the studio, I sat in the waiting room and listened to the show as it was being broadcast on the radio. Interestingly, since there's an 18-second delay, and you can hear the radio broadcast and the muffled sounds from the studio across the hall at the same time, and they don't match.

-Between the first segment and my interview, there was a 60-second break, during which the associate producer whisked me from the waiting room into the studio. Within seconds, the producers ran a sound-check, Jeffrey greeted me, we were told to stand by, and then we were on-air.

-Jeffrey prefers not to meet his guests before the program, in order to reserve the freshness of first conversations for air time, and so I literally met him seconds before we were on-air. Although Jeffrey appeared to have some notes or questions in front of him, I wasn't provided with a list of questions prior to the interview, and our conversation was fairly unscripted.

-When my interview was completed, there was a 90-second break, during which I was whisked out of the studio.

It was absolutely fascinating to see how live radio is produced. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to talk about Rainbow Over Hell on "Insight" and to meet some of the hardworking people who put this show together each weekday.

Favorite Moment
I think my favorite moment was being introduced as a Sacramento writer. It's nice to feel like you belong to a place and that this place claims you as its own.