Dear Music Insiders,
In this space, I often talk about KCRW + Community and how community is the secret sauce that powers us. The other day, I had a conversation with KCRW DJ Tyler Boudreaux about a holiday visit to New Orleans. There, she visited the hallowed halls of WWOZ, the New Orleans jazz and Heritage station. It is listener-supported and volunteer-programmed radio.
I loved her story so much about WWOZ that I asked her to share it here with you, all of us brothers and sisters in the mission of public and community-powered radio!
From Tyler:
Even though my last name is Boudreaux and my Creole bloodline descends from New Orleans, I had never experienced the essence of The Big Easy until last January when I visited for my 30th birthday. I wanted to celebrate this milestone by strengthening my connection to my family roots, enriching my passion for American music history (all music leads back to New Orleans), and, of course, eating well, drinking heavily, and dancing merrily.
I became infused with the spirit of New Orleans. For most of the year, all I listened to were The Meters, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, and whatever jazz, funk, or blues was broadcasting on 90.7 WWOZ — the New Orleans listener-supported public radio station.
I couldn’t wait to get back for my next trip in December. Just as the excitement geared up a week before takeoff, I received an email from a listener named Don Paul who wanted to share his Louisiana Stories compilation CD. At the end, Don mentioned that his wife, Maryse Philippe DeJean, is head of Community Engagement and Volunteers at WWOZ and a Jazz show host on Mondays. What timing! What serendipity! “I hope that you can somehow collaborate,” Don wrote. “Community Radio is a gigantic force and an even more giant possibility!”
I swiftly replied, geeking out about how I was the Volunteer & Outreach Manager at KCRW before becoming an on-air DJ. I mentioned that I would be traveling to NOLA soon, and I went for the big ask, “Could I possibly meet you at the station and get a tour of WWOZ?” She enthusiastically agreed, and we scheduled a time.
I was so excited on December 30th when I met up with Maryse at the base of Jax Brewery, a 1890s historic building in the French Quarter. Maryse immediately felt like a kindred spirit. She took us up to the top floor of the building, and we stepped inside the sacred radio threshold of WWOZ.
Maryse explained how this studio space became the new permanent location of ‘O-Z (as it’s lovingly referred), after its operations were displaced following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She escorted us to an outdoor patio where they hold events, with a cityscape that stretched from the Central Business District to Jackson Square. We walked down hallways lined with art gifted by members or portraits of icons like Big Chief Monk Boudreaux or old posters of their famed Piano Night series or JazzFest and Mardi Gras relics. We sauntered to another outdoor space with a view of the Mississippi River and even noticed little mobile radios on the wall that you can take outside to not miss a beat. She showed me around their live session space, and then we entered their master control. O, that great room breathing music into the air!
We gathered by a long table where volunteers stuff mailers and work on other projects, and Maryse and I bonded over starting out as volunteers and the importance of volunteering as a hands-on way for the community to get involved with the station.
I met some key members of the team and even saw one of Allen Toussaint’s handmade suits his family gave to ‘OZ for fundraising. It was amazing to learn about the many ways ‘OZ broadcasts the heritage and spirit of New Orleans. “Guardians of the groove…”
A lot reminded me of KCRW. They saved a door from their previous location with all of the stickers on it, and it reminded me how we saved the bench from our previous location in the basement. In every great music city, there’s a public radio station amplifying its heartbeat to the world. It’s this principle that guides the work we do here at KCRW and what I witnessed at ‘OZ. Community radio is a light in these dark times, guiding us to one another.
I want to thank Maryse and the WWOZ staff for welcoming me into their incredible space. My visit filled my cup with inspiration, motivation, and excitement for another year of servicing my community with good music on 89.9 KCRW.
-Tyler B.
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