Tag Archives: Interview-Steve

Interview conducted by Steve Mays

Michael Spooner

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A Google search led Mike Spooner (he goes by Michael these day) to this blog. I grew up with Mike, er, Michael, in Kennett, Missouri. He moved to Flint, Michigan, in 1964, did “some” college before getting drafted in 1969. Not a good year to get drafted. Following service he attended art college in Los Angeles and stayed for 28 years. From Michael’s bio:

“Michael Spooner has worked in the animation industry for twenty-five years with such notable studios as Walt Disney, Warner Brothers and DreamWorks. Michael’s professional career in art began in 1976, when he was invited to join the faculty at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, after graduating with distinction.  He taught for twelve years, simultaneously working as a freelance illustrator for clients that included the Public Broadcasting System, Zondervan Publishing House, Masda Motors, the National Football League, NBC Television, Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.”

This sounds like a Brush with Near Greatness to me and I’ve asked Michael for an interview. Stay tuned.

He got lost for a couple of hours in our Flickr photostream and shares some photos from his stash. A couple of his Cub Scout pack; one of the KHS swim team; and one of the KHS junior high track team.

The swim team photo brought back fond memories of Diane West (far left). We dated a few times. She was 16 –and could drive– and I was still 15. She lived at the municipal swimming pool and exuded the intoxicating fragrance of chlorine.

It’s nice to hear from Mike and see a few long, lost photos from my youth.

Concrete Art

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Clarence Lee Shirrell is one of those lucky people who seem to really love his work. He has a “lawn ornament farm” on Interstate 55 just north of Cape Girardeau, MO. I stopped by this week because I happened to notice Miss C, Clarence’s camel (“You can pet her. She won’t spit at you.”)

I can’t explain my fascination with concrete art (if I may use that word). I think it has more to do with the subjects chosen than the process. Which I assume involves pouring concrete into a mold. I think Clarence Lee said he buys the pieces already cast, so is there a big lawn ornament outfit somewhere and how do they decide what pieces will sell? And who came up with the 8 foot polar bear throwing a snowball?

I had a dozen questions for Clarence Lee but didn’t have time to ask them. For example, which is the better seller: the life-size (whatever that might be) demon or the Virgin Mary. And where would you put the demon?

How did he find Crista Meyer, the lady who paints some of his pieces. And do painted pieces sell better than unpainted? And what prompted the loin cloth on the buff young (Greek?) man. Did someone complain about his tiny concrete pecker and balls (yes, I peeked)?

Perhaps the most interesting thing I found at Concrete Castings was the cryptic message on the back of Clarence Lee’s business card: “Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of many years.”

I think that might be up there with “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?”

Interview: Jason Rodgers, Fez-o-rama

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RogersWith one of his custom designed fezzes sitting comfortably on my head, I got Jason Rodgers on the Skype horn today to find out the story behind the fezmonger and Fez-o-rama.

Some are born to the fez, others are called. I believe Jason falls into the latter group. I was surprised –don’t ask me why– to learn that Jason is trained in fashion design and might have written a text book or two.

I asked him about celebrity clients, his favorite designs, The Cult of the Eye, his fictional partner, “Joe,” and ukuleles.

AUDIO: Interview with Jason Rogers 11 min MP3

Jason is the newest member of The Royal and Exalted Order of the Fez.

Monkey Fez

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The Order of the Fez now has enough members to play ping pong doubles. Please rise and join me in recognizing David Brazeal, Order of the Fez #4:

“Hereby is submitted my application to the Order of the Fez. Thanks to ebay, I have obtained a fez from a monkey trainer in Tel Aviv.  It belonged to his dear, beloved macaque, Ahmed, who was recently crushed to death in a fruit stand accident.”

iPhone Confessions: George Kopp (Week One)

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George is a serious Techno Boy. He has a geek job with the state for his day job (all Windows) and moonlights on Macs (and some PC’s) for love (and a little money).

George knew he’d eventually own an iPhone but thought he could wait awhile. He made the mistake of stopping by the AT&T store (Day Two) for a look-see and wound up springing for the 8 gig model.

George’s love-of-all-things-Mac is tempered by his no-bullshit-geek-o-rocity. By that I mean, he expects much from his techno-toys. But once he got the iPhone in his sweaty little hands, it was prom night. I got caught up in that as we talked and had to edit our chat more than I intended. Sorry, George.

Listen/Download: 5:30 MP3

iPhone Confessions: Dave Morris (Week One)

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Dave MorrisDave Morris is the voice of great radio stations and television stations, film studios, syndicated shows and more. World wide. I know this because it says so on his website. He’s also a blogger (a good one). And a gadget junkie.

He was one of those crazies standing in line the day the iPhone went on sale, so we called him up for a report on Week One.

Unlike some of the others we’ve chatted with for this series, Dave is not a Mac guy. Windows all the way. But he’s only slightly less “gushy” about Apple’s latest creation.

Download/Listen: 12 min MP3

iPhone Confessions: Tom Piper (Week One)

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If the hype surrounding the iPhone hasn’t subsided yet, it will soon. Then what? Once the new has worn off this Next New Thing, will users still love ’em, or will they –like your mom’s cooking– be taken for granted. Or, worse yet, will the shortcomings (so well chronicled) become annoying and tiresome?

Tom PiperThose are some of the questions I hope to answer with a series of  interviews I’m calling The iPhone Confessions. Brief visits with a few friends who took the iPhone plunge. Are they still gushing at the end of Week One? Or grumbling?

We’ll start with a visit with Tom Piper, a looonnnggg time Mac enthusiast and Early Adopter (LTMEEA). He was there when the iPhone was announced and in line to buy one of the first batch. The interview runs about 12 minutes.

Download/Listen: 12 min MP3

Interview with Dave Shepherd

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Dave Shepherd Fifty years ago, Jerrell Shepherd mastered a form of broadcasting alchemy that turned small town radio lead into gold. It wasn’t much of a secret, however, since he readily shared it with countless radio station owners and managers who made the pilgrimage to Moberly, Missouri, in hopes of bringing some of Shepherd’s sales and programming magic back to their stations.

While most small market broadcasters were content to get “their fair share” of local advertising budgets (the bulk went to the local newspaper), Shepherd’s sales reps were trained to ask for it all and believed in their hearts they deserved it.

Mr. Shepherd’s approach to programming his stations was deceptively simple: report anything and everything that happened in each of the communities covered by his stations’ signals. The KWIX and KRES “Red Rovers” showed up just about every high school football game, junior high choral concert and chamber of commerce ribbon-cutting. And the Shepherd stations put it all on the air. Always with local sponsors. Lots of local sponsors.

Dave Shepherd grew up in the radio business and built on his father’s success, growing The Shepherd Group to 16 stations before selling them to a Florida-based company called GoodRadio.TV, for $30 million earlier this year.

I got Dave on the phone for a little chat and he talked about where small market radio has been… and where it’s going. He shared some thoughts on the Internet, iPods, HD, satellite and Google Radio.

He says he decided to sell because it just wasn’t as much fun as it used to be. And, in the next breath, he wondered if some of his father’s small town magic might work in The Big City.

AUDIO: Interview with Dave Shepherd 25 min MP3

Sheryl Crow Yard Sale

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What’s a pop star do with clothing and costumes she can no longer wear? Goodwill? Salvation Army? Sheryl Crow sends hers home to Kennett where they wind up in a tiny room on the second floor of what was once the Cotton Exchange Bank. It’s now “The Bank,” an antique shop run by Mary Jo Byrd. She sells Ms. Crow’s duds and the proceeds go to the Delta Children’s Home. I did make a purchase and will post on that later.