Genie | Killing Flies
4 March 2009 Host Spotlight
by: Mari Frank
Genie Luzwick is KUCI’s production director. She is doing a fabulous job putting together workshops, creating public service announcements, helping with promos, station IDs, and collaborating with the KUCI team.
MARI: Tell us how you came to KUCI?
GENIE: I’m not immaculately sure; I believe it was a booth during one of the fairs. Crowds of people always get me disoriented, so I was wandering about like an aimless duck and fell upon the KUCI booth. I did not really want to converse with anyone so I hoarded their paraphernalia and left abruptly. All the other booths had inaccuracies: bad color choices, food smells — the food smell of one booth combined with the one next to it and created a shield cloud of offensive odors. The KUCI booth was just chillin’, minding its own business. I liked that.
MARI: What’s the name of your show and how did you decide on that name?
GENIE: I have had four names for my show since its birth two years ago; it’s hard to not change it up. The show started out as Miff Mufferred Moof, a type of fabric from Dr. Seuss’ Lorax. I felt the name was confusing. I changed it to Non Sequitur after a comic I read. Too many people kept asking me the meaning of the name so it changed to “Take the Cannoli,” which is a line from the Godfather… “Take the cannoli, leave the gun.” I played a lot of popular culture quotes in my show so I thought it made sense; however, people kept thinking I played Italian music. Now my show name is “Killing Flies” from a documentary of a really crude and blunt diner owner.
MARI: How long have you had your show?
GENIE: Around two years; it started at a graveyard slot and then next quarter, it became 6am to 8am on Wednesdays and stayed such.
MARI: Tell us about the music you play on your show
GENIE: There is no “bad” music; you cannot help what you like. I try playing as many genres as possible (world, rpm, mash ups, children’s, jazz, blues, movie scores, TV themes, what not) but a lot of it depends on my mood; sometimes, I’ll make a themed show. My favorite themed show was pairing songs from The Simpsons with the original songs that influenced those Simpson’s parodies (e.g.: The Garbage Man Can vs. The Candy Man (Willy Wonka) or See My Vest vs. Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)). Another show was the cat themed show, everything cats… quotes, meow mix house music… what a mistake.
MARI: Describe the format of your show.
GENIE: When there is no theme, I like to play a quote every other song or so; however, there really is no specific order besides pairing songs in a humorous way sometimes… “I’ll Love You Forever” before “I Hope You Die and Fall on a Spork”
MARI:Who is your ideal listener?
GENIE: 45% Wilderbeast; 23% human; 9% Brontosaurus; 23% David Lynch & Don Hertzfeldt
MARI: You’ve taken on the role of Productions Director. What does that entail?
GENIE: The status quo description is managing (making, deleting, choosing) PSAs, Station IDs, and Promos. I’m on conducting workshops and creating online guides so people can venture out into the night to make their own IDs & PSAs & Promos (if they do know how to already). I’d rather staff be comfortable in making their own drops instead of relying on one or two people to make and manage all of the system. I can only offer one personality to the mix, and the great thing about KUCI is that it is a chaotic assortment of characters, and I’d like the PSAs/IDs to represent that.
MARI: What do you like best about that position and being involved in KUCI?
GENIE: Finding quirky PSAs to put on the system to show the Public Service Announcements can still be recreational.
MARI: What did you have to learn to be in that position?
GENIE: It’s pretty simple. I read a book about Adobe Audition on a plane trip, and than Jack and Jake taught me more about Cartworks… why I should take candy from strangers. The rest of it is learned through repetition and just playing around with the system. As well, a lot of KUCI’s staff is very crafty with Adobe Audition, more so than I, and I have learned much from the spicy KUCI folk.
MARI: What’s most challenging about being Productions Director?
GENIE: There is a high amount of, mostly, community members that, “Dear Genie, here are three pages on this organization I like. Can you make this into a PSA? Thanks, Bob.”
MARI: What effect do you think your music has on the KUCI community?
GENIE: My show aligns to KUCI’s expectations… it’s early, so I would think most of my listeners are going to work or listening abroad. I like to creep out the work drivers sometimes… when the next heavy fog rolls in, I’m going to play an hour of eerie scores with loud abrupt sounds and imminent danger.
MARI: What effect do you want to have on KUCI as a manager?
GENIE: Leaving PSAs in the system reminds me of how Bush got all those Supreme Court judges in the system before he left.
MARI: You are wonderful to help me present my weekly segment of Orange County News and Safety tips-you upload and make it happen, What other kinds of Public Service Announcements are you looking for?
GENIE: Currently, I was hoping to get more PSAs made about local events (free festivals, or music/art events, school lectures, reading, discussions).
MARI: What would you like to see happen in the future at KUCI?
GENIE: Wider broadcasting range. It’s expensive, so I guess I’d want KUCI to win the Lotto or trip over a really big diamond so it could pay its way to higher wattage.
MARI: What are your dreams for your future career?
GENIE: I can barely plan out my next day let alone my future career, which is silly to have just one. I know that I want traveling to be a part of my life. Maybe I’ll go to graduate school for anthropology or management, but I’m going to take a year off first to figure it out. There are these strangers that come up to me almost everytime I’m wandering about outside; many have told me to take my time, do not rush my life, things will fall into place, don’t marry early… I’m not going to worry, it’s pointless. I think I’ll go teach abroad for a year (get my TEFL). You never know… I could be hit by a car tomorrow.
MARI: How has KUCI affected your life?
GENIE: The medleys of people have shown me so many different options for life. KUCI seems to have a healthy amount of variation. There are pockets of people tucked away in each community in this world; people just has to scavenge the area hard enough to find the pocket that is right for them… inding Penne in a community of spaghetti.
MARI: What else do you want the UCI community and our listeners to know?
GENIE: You can furnish your home with almost-new furniture by going to Irvine dumpsters before trash day; what people throw away here amazes me. KUCI needs a house plant.
— March 4, 2009
Mari Frank is a local attorney and the host of Privacy Piracy, which airs every Wednesday from 5-6 PM on KUCI. She also presents the weekly public service announcements called “Orange County News and Safety Tips” sharing important safety reminders from our local Orange County sheriff.