Another DJ interview! Stephanie of Dancing Barefoot

So, I’m sitting here in a small padded room with Stephanie Callas, DJ of the KZSC Radio juggernaut known as Dancing Barefoot.  (The girl, not the dude in the slug suit)  Let’s start with some questions about Patti Smith.  

What’s your favorite Patti Smith cover photograph?

Definitely Horses, because she looks the hottest in it.  

What about the armpit shot on the cover of Easter?

1.  I knew you were going to ask me that.  2.  No matter how hard I try, I’ve never gotten my armpit hair that long.

Who’s your Robert Mapplethorpe?

I’m not going to answer that question.

Fair enough.  How long have you been at KZSC?

I took the broadcasting class in fall of 2007, so I guess my first quarter on the air was winter 2008.  

Why do you like being here? Do you even like being here?

Yes, I do! I do it for the fans.  When I play Tom Waits, and they call in and ask for more Tom Waits, I always go search for more Tom Waits.  They always want to hear Bone Machine.

Isn’t that a Pixies song?

I guess it’s a Tom Waits album as well.  I’d let him be my bone machine.

Who else would you let be your ‘bone machine?’

Jack Black.  Definitely High Fidelity Jack Black.  Tropic Thunder Jack Black wasn’t that hot.

What other Tom Waits questions can I ask? Who does Tom Wait for?

Godot.  Though, I am pretty sure my true calling in life is to star in a Tom Waits biopic as Tom Waits.  I think I could do it.

What era Tom Waits would you want to be the most?

Rain Dogs.  That’s the voice I’m best at.

Besides our man Tom, what else do you listen to?

Like any other college student, I love Bob Dylan.  Any other Santa Cruz college student, that is.  I think that I could also be the lead singer of a Violent Femmes cover band, note for note.

Yeah, “Kiss Off” is one of my favorite jukebox songs of all time.  What era Dylan would you want to be?

Blonde on Blonde.  Even Bob Dylan would tell you that he wants to be Bob Dylan from that era.  I think Patti Smith wanted to be that Bob, too.  

There’s really no other Dylan to want to be.  I’m glad you didn’t say “Saved!”  Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not that era Bob Dylan.

If I have a daughter, I will definitely teach her the words to Patti’s Gloria so she sings “Jesus died…” in front of her kindergarten classroom.  

What was the first song you ever played on the radio?

I know that while I was mentoring under Max Elman, he was playing music that I’d never heard of, but on the second week he let me choose – so I came up with “Straight to Hell” by the Clash and “Soul Love” by Bowie, of course.  He didn’t let me choose again.

What gets you excited?

The ShamWOW infomercials

What are those?

Can we get some volume on this thing? Go to Youtube.

Wow.  That was pretty mindblowing.  Too bad I’m a poor, underpaid music director.

It costs money because it saves money, Scott.

Well. I think that about wraps up our interview.  To learn more about Stephanie, listen to Dancing Barefoot on wednesday nights from 8:30 until 10:30.  There’s no food for thought ending to these interviews.  Just you and your computer screen, a little confused, a little worried.  

It’s the KZSC blog, and it comes at you all the time every week.  Right here on the internet.

Published April 8th, 2009 in Interviews

About the author

Music Director - Our music director takes more dance classes than academic classes, collects noisemakers, sups on soup in the wintertime, and still finds time to read Susan Stryker's "Transgender History" to KZSC's pet seahorse.