00:00.00
jeffwatson
All right dazzled throng of the inspired minds audience I have the incredible fortune of speaking now to the lovely and talented Randy Don Randy say hello to the inspired minds dazzled throng.
00:12.20
Randee Dawn
Hello to the inspired mind's dazzled throng. It's nice to meet you.
00:15.46
jeffwatson
Oh that was good. I was pretty impressive off off to bat ladies and gentlemen. This could be a could be None the best ones yet take thank you so much for taking your time to do this I am greatly looking forward to it. But. Way I like to start off every singlear interview is the following question same one and it is when you were young. What was the none thing that you can remember that it's truly inspired you when you were a kid was it a song or was it a book or a movie. Go.
00:47.26
Randee Dawn
Wow. Um, wow that's ah, that's one I haven't necessarily thought about the None thing. Um it probably was music because as much of a reader as I am music sort of gets under my skin and inspires me in a way that. Just a story or a book hasn't necessarily done um, music is just this magic language that I just feel very much in tune with I don't make it I don't sing it I don't I can play it but I don't play it well I just am somebody who absorbs it and I was. Making up stories based on songs. Um, before we even had music videos I mean I would close my eyes and go to sleep with music and would just make up little music videos or little stories in my head and those eventually became the stories that I would sit down and write. But ah. It was definitely its it started with music I kind of think I could put myself into sort of a halfdream state. What do they call it I don't know if hypnagogic is the right phrase but um, that kind of state and I could feel my my my thoughts just getting looser when I could do that I was sort of halfway between away halfway between a street.
01:51.70
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:02.61
Randee Dawn
Ah, sleep and then the right song would come on the radio because of course we didn't have Ipods I would have to I went to sleep with the big big headphones on my on my ears but there was a radio and if a big and I liked the randomness of the song coming on the radio and if the right one hit at the right time I just.
02:06.65
jeffwatson
Um, sure. Yes, yes.
02:20.75
Randee Dawn
Creative juices just got flowing. so um so I would probably say it's music any 1 particular song I don't know I mean you know when I was young we had the soundtrack to grease so I had I was like oh high school's going to be interesting and of course that was that was not the case. Yeah.
02:32.49
jeffwatson
Ah. Um, ah, now we're on. We's Sea Travolta where's Aunt tivolta.
02:40.33
Randee Dawn
Is not high school but I love right I mean in some dream world I was like oh I'm Goingnna go and we're gonna be like I watched fame I watched Greece I'm like oh we're gonna be dancing in the hallways making up songs in the cafeteria and since that didn't happen in real.
02:48.92
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:55.37
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:57.92
Randee Dawn
Life I would just do it in my head you know I would just go home and at night before I fell asleep. Ah, they'd put on I grew up in the DC area and they had you know the the nightly top 5 or the top 5 songs of the night on a local rock radio station and I would just listen to those and I would plop in my ah my school as the location.
03:01.90
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
03:16.82
Randee Dawn
And just make up my own videos in my head I envy Bos Lerman just because he found a way to take those kind of stories and just plug in songs. You know Moulin Rouge let's just pick songs from the 70 s yeah we can have disco music so I'm I'm kind of envious with what he did so.
03:26.40
jeffwatson
He did you right? yeah.
03:36.71
Randee Dawn
Yeah I mean it would've been in the songs of my youth but a lot of songs and that really was what just got me started thinking in terms of long term stories because I would thread together songs and characters and come up with a musical version that I then would put down on paper as a as a nonmusical version.
03:53.46
jeffwatson
Yeah, so I like how you were saying kind of like an early music video so you'd hear a song and then what would you do in your head you would create a story around that in your head like let's say but some man. Um yeah God ahead. Well like.
03:57.78
Randee Dawn
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, like yeah like you? No no, no go ahead God I'm sorry yeah I was gonna say I would yeah oh no I was just going to say yeah I would sit down and I would.
04:12.37
jeffwatson
You None
04:16.68
Randee Dawn
Like I could choreograph it in my head I mean I do not know how to dance is it not like I could say oh do the such and such move or whatever but I could chore I would choreograph it in my head I knew what was happening based on the beats based on the bridge based on the verses and. Um, you know I just had a whole It was all very melodramatic and often pegged to romance because that's the kind of songs you often get on the radio. Um, but yeah I could I can still do that with some songs today I got to do that with None song actually because when I was in college.
04:40.86
jeffwatson
E.
04:52.44
Randee Dawn
A friend of mine for his final project in his film class needed to come up with a video some sort of short video that would be six eight minutes long and I said well actually there there's a song by by the Alan Parsons project called silence and I and.
05:01.41
jeffwatson
Yeah.
05:08.20
jeffwatson
Um.
05:10.36
Randee Dawn
I had a video in my head for this The song is about I don't know it's over 6 minutes long and I said to him look if you want to do a music video I got a story that will go with this song and I could get you can do that just you know give me a credit as the writer or something a writer of the video anyway and he made it. So I actually have 1 represent. He filmed you had to film it on sixteen Millimeter either super None or sixteen millimeter and you had to use None ah None sound inputs and he basically came you took my idea improved on it in a couple of places. And I have a copy of that actually I have a copy of a music video that started in my head. So yeah.
05:45.33
jeffwatson
Ah, wow, That's wonderful and the reason I ask asking the reason I like asking this question is because it creates a through line always at least for creatives right? because clearly whatever that moment was for you was at the.
05:56.22
Randee Dawn
Ah, brother.
06:03.30
jeffwatson
Whatever song it was or whatever moment it was and that impelled you impelled you to kind of go down this path is that a fair statement that impel that impalation is that that right they say it right in implement it. But there you go Yeah butus.
06:08.44
Randee Dawn
Yeah. Ah, impelment. Um, yeah, Impetus Impetus Yeah Impetus I think is what we're looking for but and but impelment is kind of a fun word when you think about it. Um, yeah I mean I think that there are people who you know may have been if if you if I had been more.
06:22.64
jeffwatson
Thank you. It is.
06:33.41
Randee Dawn
Um, if I had been more interested in sort of creating the visual or sticking with making films I might have not gone to books and gone and tried to make more of these films and actually now that we're talking about it I have I've completely forgot I made some of my own music videos just for the fun of it. Um.
06:44.75
jeffwatson
You.
06:50.46
jeffwatson
What.
06:52.99
Randee Dawn
Here's yeah, here's totally old school for you. This is completely tangential. But when I was in college I was studying broadcast journalism so I was learning how to edit on videotape and they and when I went home for my None from from like my first year from college.
07:04.58
jeffwatson
Wow wow.
07:12.21
Randee Dawn
I rented um a video because we had already had a video cassette player but I rented you could rent a video camera which had basically another Vhs deck in it. You remember those they were like these giant things and it was a video camera but you you know so you'd have to develop anything you just.
07:22.88
jeffwatson
Oh yeah, yeah.
07:29.72
Randee Dawn
Videoed and since we had a None video at home I learned how to hardwire the connections in the back with the Rca cables so I was able to edit from my raw footage with my second vcr and then I learned how to pour in just the audio. So I was able to lay in a layer of audio.
07:38.14
jeffwatson
Wow Wow! wow.
07:48.93
Randee Dawn
On top of the video which apparently you can do with 2 vhsex so I have I had 2 different videos that I made with my friends in them I basically was like let me have you for the day I'm gonna make you run around a lot and we're gonna act out stuff in this video and I went home and I edited them so I have 2 of those. 1 of which is for an Amy Grant song believe it or not and one of which is for a Tommy Keane song the often the often forgotten. Great guitarist Tommy Keene from the Dc area which is where I grew up. Um.
08:08.26
jeffwatson
Wow, who. Right? I know? yeah.
08:21.58
Randee Dawn
Right? So anyway. So I have I actually did 2 videos with those and I have copies of those and um I thought that I might get into music videos when I was doing my study abroad in London during college I interned at a music video firm I got to meet some directors I worked in a couple of music videos. But. I think I was too intimidated by the whole groupness of creating a movie or groupness of creating a video I was very much a solitary person I just wanted to do it solo and writing is the thing you can do in your solo. You do not need a team until you want to get it published. You can just sit down with your little words and write it out. So.
08:47.54
jeffwatson
And.
09:00.59
Randee Dawn
I think going back to your original question if other people other people might have said oh I'm going to devote myself to making movies and short films and you get a Bos Lerman or whoever from that and then there are people like me who just want the more of the solitary experience and and stick with the words instead of creating. Create create the visuals with words as a crow as opposed to with video tape or film.
09:21.50
jeffwatson
It But nevertheless it was there was still obviously a moment of inspiration for you that then I would assume and it makes sense because then you kind of figure it out wait a minute. There's a group idea here I'm not too big. A fan of that I want to go be a writer is that kind of how it worked.
09:36.62
Randee Dawn
Yeah I think it it. It helped me um I don't like to say narrow because that sounds like you were that I that I was not focusing on other things. But I think it helped me hone my my my pencil it helped me hone my my knife so that I could aim better at the Target i. That worked best for me. Um, you know I yeah.
09:56.00
jeffwatson
Um, sure that makes sense and so I want to get into that now you write a lot my god I was coming through some of the things that you were and it's like new story I think there were like three stories in one day. It's just constant constant constant writing. This writing machine for today. Nbc News kind of variety the l a times, emmy etc, etc and then on top of it then you write these what you call I've noticed ah the word that you use is speculative fiction and I I find that interesting so i.
10:21.19
Randee Dawn
Right.
10:30.47
Randee Dawn
Sure.
10:35.43
jeffwatson
If I'm if I'm reading this right that kind of talks about some of the things because obviously you know you had written I believe it was some books ah specifically around. Um, oh now I'm drawing a blank on the name of the Tv show. Oh it was. It's like ah I'm so sorry law and order I'm a terrible interviewer obviously.
10:46.66
Randee Dawn
Oh law and order.
10:52.52
Randee Dawn
That's okay, that's okay.
10:54.50
jeffwatson
Um, law he has law and order and what I ah kind of want to move this conversation to because I find this kind of stuff really fascinating Fandom ah fandom I am so so convinced of the beauty and the power of fandom now at my previous job when I was at Warner Brother's records my job was to.
11:00.20
Randee Dawn
Ah.
11:07.10
Randee Dawn
Um.
11:13.48
jeffwatson
Digital marketing which really meant kind of create fan groups fan find the fans get them that was kind of the idea and you'd find these pockets of just incredibly devoted fans who will do absolutely anything hell or high water for the particular artists that they love and in doing so it really did obviously create this kind of community.
11:15.30
Randee Dawn
Um, Brian um.
11:33.23
jeffwatson
Beautiful community and I think that is so so lacking in this country. The idea of just a connection a tribe almost to me I think a way to tribalize on so many levels but when it comes to just pure fandom and that passion involved with it.
11:33.38
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah.
11:47.40
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah.
11:49.25
jeffwatson
Thought that was fantastic. So I thought that perhaps as somebody who does a speculative a fiction type world. Maybe you can kind of get into that a little bit.
11:55.21
Randee Dawn
Well yeah I mean you know you're talking about the fandom of speculative fiction or you're talking about the fandom of music because and I've had experience with both right? Um, well as I said you know the thing is with music I think that it.
12:03.62
jeffwatson
We're both both both actually yes and.
12:11.78
Randee Dawn
Music is is this special category that is slightly different than any other creative endeavor in my opinion and in terms of creating a community around that music just speaks to without getting too airy fairy. It. It speaks to part of our souls that I don't think other creative Works. Do in quite the same way because it's just this thing that gets into your head people don't really have earworms from Paintings. You know what? I mean?? Um, so in terms of in terms of the fandom for that the kind of people that you meet you're meeting them the the commonalities in your mind that you have with them.
12:37.52
jeffwatson
Um, right right.
12:50.10
Randee Dawn
Are on a different level than people who say oh I Really like this director's films or I Really like this author's books and I did run actually I did run a fan group for a while for a band called Ivy they.
13:04.32
jeffwatson
Um, who Eyesley you said oh right? yeah was that what the driving fountains of Wayne. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:07.61
Randee Dawn
Ah, did you have you ever heard of them. No ivy as in like climbing trellis vines that kind of thing and 1 precisely. Yeah, it was before fountains of way Adam Schlesinger the late great Adam Schlesinger I'm I'm still mourning for him.
13:24.26
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, meet me too.
13:26.56
Randee Dawn
He yeah, it was him and Andy Chase and Dominique Durand and they were they were Trio Andy and Dominique were a married couple and they had this wonderful sort of dream pop sound. She was french she still is french but she has that accent so that was like an interesting different sound anyway, I interviewed them and. When after the interview I went on at this point we had to use news groups because of course it was early internet and I found people were asking a lot of questions about them but nobody knew anything so I started answering questions and that developed into well I'm answering the same questions for everybody I'm just going to make a mailing list and you can join this mailing list and you can talk to the.
13:49.88
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
14:04.30
Randee Dawn
People on the mailing list and that was called the ivy vine and that lasted for about 20 years I mean I think it started in the 90 s and then it ended when yahoo groups shut down which I think was the last place it was located so it was about 20 year old this and people became friends people got to meet each other.
14:14.64
jeffwatson
Um, wow.
14:20.58
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
14:22.43
Randee Dawn
We saw each other at concerts you know so that kind of fan community is really a very special thing and it endures to this day in terms of what speculative fiction is in case, anybody out there isn't quite sure. Speculative fiction is kind of this nice umbrella. That encompasses things that aren't literary fiction if it's it's it's got a lot of and it tends to have a quote unquote speculative element. So your science fiction your fantasy your horror magical realism anything that tends to include a little bit of the uncanny. Will fit in the umbrella of speculative fiction and also when you say speculative fiction people don't immediately go ooh I don't read science fiction or o fantasy people get very hoidy-toidy about some which is bizarre because I think that in the in recent years genre of science fiction fantasy and horror has just. Taken over I mean it's everywhere now. Um, so the the idea that people are hoidy-toyy about it is hilarious. Um, but yeah, so speculative fiction. What? what? that whole fan community is interesting because speculative fiction things that are science fiction fantasy sometimes are.
15:16.00
jeffwatson
Of course.
15:34.84
Randee Dawn
Often come out in in multiple volumes, you'll get. It's not just a standalone book. You'll get you know the Harry Potter series 7 or 8 books. You'll get the song of ice and fire which became but game of thrones you know 7 books and counting and that invites people into.
15:47.85
jeffwatson
Is blue.
15:53.22
Randee Dawn
A creative experience that for many for many of them makes them want to explore it further even further than the author has explored it so you end up getting things like fan fiction and they will write their own stories that are just exist within this world and I think that's marvelous. Think it's terrific I can't say I have never written fan fiction for something I love that that creates a community of its own because people who wouldn't necessarily write or want to get their stuff published can borrow these characters or these these scenarios. And create their own works now if they're trying to make money with it. That's where the law will get involved and things get hairy, but it also creates a certain amount of ownership over the property and that extends to for example, people who are really into the Marvel universe or the dc universe. It's so immersive and it's so it's so permissive of the kind of storytelling that it's that it creates people begin to feel like it's partially mine as well. even if I'm not paid for it or even if I'm not in the credits and I think that does expand the notion of what fandom is. Who owns the creative property who owns the rights to be able to tell this creative property. Um, and then you start getting into conversations about well what about copyright well copyright has gone insane in the past twenty or 30 years. It's very hard to get things into the public domain. And when people don't have enough creative things to bounce themselves off of or it's the same creative things over and over again I mean do we need to see another star another um spider-man movie. For example, do we need to see another Sherlock Holmes retelling you know Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain. Spiderman is not but the reason we keep seeing those films being made is that they want to hold onto that copyright if they make a new one. They make a different one. They get the copyright again extended? Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, so.
17:49.53
jeffwatson
Ah, ah had no idea I had no idea interesting.
17:55.33
Randee Dawn
Again you you, you're and you're asking great questions I'm just digressing all over the place. So if you need to rein me in please go right ahead.
17:57.77
jeffwatson
No no this entire this entire look this entire show was one big fucking tangent. Don't don't worry about it. Don't you worry about that.
18:04.66
Randee Dawn
Ah, good I can tangent with the best of them I can co tangent to but.
18:09.62
jeffwatson
Oh ah, oh good code tangent I love it. So but you know I will say this too actually I saw that fan fiction world fact I saw the fan world None really up close because there was a band that I had the honor of working with called my chemical romance back in the days like yeah.
18:20.12
Randee Dawn
Um, oh sure. Yeah, ah.
18:27.62
jeffwatson
And they were my guys. They still are. It's just the most truly wonderful human beings in the world without a doubt I mean just all of them are wonderful people and they are they they preach messages of empowerment and love I mean they're fantastic, but. Because of that because they engender such such a positive connection. Their fans are off the chain and I became famous based on my association with the band I was like a marketing guy like some record global idiot and yet the fans to this day I still talk to them I still talk to him to this day.
18:49.70
Randee Dawn
Ah, yeah.
19:00.86
Randee Dawn
Right? right? sure.
19:02.57
jeffwatson
That was ten fifteen years ago and it was that same reason because it was a tribe. It was a tribe of good people if that's the best way to put it. You know I mean granted there were of course there were some terrible people I'm sure in that tribe but not really not from what I saw because they were just disenfranchised kids and they saw something that was beautiful and powerful in front of them.
19:07.65
Randee Dawn
Um.
19:22.39
jeffwatson
So they wanted to become a part of it and it was so pure. You know you go to those shows you go to any show like for god's sakes I went to a Bruce Springsteen show you know ten years ago or whatever it was and there was that feeling of just absolute community. It was that feeling of almost a binding agent the binding agent of Bruce Springsteen let's say that night that
19:22.65
Randee Dawn
Oh yeah.
19:28.68
Randee Dawn
Ah.
19:37.96
Randee Dawn
Right.
19:40.28
jeffwatson
20000 people were whatever it was and you're all singing born to run right? like I don't I don't care what you look like I don't care. We're all singing born to run right now and we are this lattice work with this lattice work of connection and that's what I find in fandom and I want to go backwards for our heartbeat now because you did say that.
19:49.17
Randee Dawn
Right? exactly.
19:59.21
jeffwatson
Music is this connection and the way I've always looked at it. Music is my ladder to God and I've been very fortunate to have that line right? because when I meditate I don't meditate I Meditat I listen to the two pet sounds by the beach poised. That's why that's my thing you know, but I think that it's just so absolutely incredible and I.
20:02.57
Randee Dawn
Are. Um, okay, yeah, yeah.
20:18.87
Randee Dawn
I do and it's interesting that you talk about it being your line to God I mean I'm not I'm not a religious person but I know what you mean in terms of the spirituality of the connection I don't know if you like literally mean it's that kind of thing. But um.
20:19.30
jeffwatson
I Know you knew what I'm talking about.
20:29.31
jeffwatson
Um, no, that's no no I mean I mean the spirituality connection. Yes.
20:34.79
Randee Dawn
Yeah, exactly and it's funny because when you were mentioning that what this reminded me of is back when I was about 16 Um, there was a friend of mine who I'd been pen pals with since we were like in kindergarten or something she moved away. We became kindergarten you know the earliest kind of pen pals and.
20:48.17
jeffwatson
Um, sure.
20:51.54
Randee Dawn
While you know when we were all separated. She got much more religious. She became sort of evangelical and meanwhile I just kind of was who I was and I was remaining with and I met friends and I had one really good friend who was he wasn't out of the closet but he was gay and. Her family invited me out to go visit her across the country when I was 16 so I went. We had a lovely time had a great experience and then she and I went out walking we were just talking about stuff and I was telling her about my friend and how I feel sympathetic that he doesn't feel like he can be out of the closet and kind of have a crush on him. You know it was all this you know stuff that you talk about when you're None
21:22.39
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
21:27.32
Randee Dawn
And that was fine. Everything went well and then when I got home. She wrote me a letter essentially saying I don't think we can be friends anymore. We're too different and then she started quoting all sorts of bible passes passages to me I know my friend's going to go to hell and all that sort of thing and my response after being very hurt and very angry was.
21:38.51
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
21:46.93
Randee Dawn
To find music lyrics that I could send back to her to show how she needed to open her mind a little bit more and that's what I did I wrote her back a letter you know with all the fury that I had and I included a whole bunch of music lyrics because it wasn't until years later that I thought of it this way. But it's like this is me quoting my bible. You're going to quote your scriptures to me.
22:02.81
jeffwatson
Um, yeah, yeah.
22:06.96
Randee Dawn
I'm going to go and find the passages that make sense that help me make sense of the world and I'm gonna send them to you? Um, so yeah, absolutely when I find a lyric that hits me I I have to share it with the world I do evangelize when I got the very None trash pan s andopas album.
22:21.68
jeffwatson
Wait wait stop. You did not just say that I wait nobody knows who the fucking trash cancer noters are hold my my mind is my mind is blown right now. Ladies wait ladies and gentlemen.
22:26.24
Randee Dawn
But I did oh oh yes, we do? Oh yes, we do? Oh Jeff you're but you you're my soulmate and I didn't know this.
22:39.90
jeffwatson
Ladies and gentlemen ladies and gentlemen of the audience. None of all, you've now heard people falling in love second of all the trash can to noters with this band from the 90 s from england and they put out maybe 2 records I think I don't know but all we know was that they had that one that was like obscurity knocks I mean go.
22:53.40
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah, all right? So so with with with all due respect Scott Scottish they will hunt you down if you don't fix the scottish thing. So first of all, they're scottish um that but they actually are still putting out music. They are still together. They are still putting out music and they're doing it from like.
22:59.70
jeffwatson
But you're right? You're right? sorry.
23:07.53
jeffwatson
Really.
23:12.10
Randee Dawn
3 different points of the globe because the main 3 guys 1 lives in Scotland 1 lives in California and 1 lives in Washington state. So but they are still getting together. Actually they actually just I think released a new song I'm on their Patreon account.
23:27.92
jeffwatson
Oh.
23:30.73
Randee Dawn
So they have a new song and a new video coming out but a full official albums I think they have at least 4 or 5 but but yeah, yeah they're still they're still out there if you liked their stuff I personally am the biggest fan of the first album I think after that album things.
23:35.36
jeffwatson
Wow.
23:43.90
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
23:46.75
Randee Dawn
You know they they're finding their finding their feet and there's a whole story behind their their origin which I won't go into here but that None album just hit me in such a way that I I basically played it for everybody. It was as if I had made the album and I was just like you have to listen to this.
24:00.70
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
24:04.31
Randee Dawn
And I think I sold many copies to many people. Everybody knows that I'm the trashcan snatras fan. Um, and you know one of the great joys in my life was I used to say when I was younger I was like oh you know I really wish that I I had all the money in the world. So I could be just like make me an album boys here's 100000
24:05.30
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
24:24.10
Randee Dawn
Colors and while I will not say I'm at that stage in any way shape or form. Um, when they did um they did an album a couple of years ago and they did one of those indie go-gos to raise money for it and I had just.
24:34.41
jeffwatson
Sure.
24:38.63
Randee Dawn
I had just sold the apartment that I was living in because my husband and I were moving to a different place so I actually had like money in the bank for a None time and they needed money to help finish the album and I'm just like here boys make me an executive producer and so yeah I got an executive producer credit I mean like you know, high points in life.
24:54.80
jeffwatson
Wow Congratulations to you.
24:57.84
Randee Dawn
Yeah, oh well I did nothing I just I'm you know I'm I'm literally a patreon here I'm I'm happy to be the ah the money machine if they need it because I like their music so much.
25:01.66
jeffwatson
Now. I Think that is at but I'm stunned I am absolutely stunned anybody knows who the Goddam trash cancer noters are well yeah.
25:15.60
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah, they are wonderful. They and they're the nicest people honest to God Actually here's here's what you'll get a kick about I know you'll get around to talking about my book. They let me use a quote from one of their songs at in the front of the book. Yeah, yeah, it's in the very front of the book. It's from Ah, it's from through penny tears.
25:22.98
jeffwatson
Yeah, really wow.
25:33.75
Randee Dawn
And it refers to soap operas and that's part of the part of the subject of the book. So yeah I just had to write them.
25:34.77
jeffwatson
Wow. Well what a what a great say I could do the entire I could do the 9 episodes on the goddam show on the trans cans and noters and yet I cannot so we must move either that either better teenage fan club.
25:49.55
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah oh my God Yes sure I still have I still have a t-shirt that says teenage fucking Fan club on it. So I'm I'm ah oh yes.
25:53.35
jeffwatson
Either one I could do for yeah I knew you would say that um I saw that coming a mile away. So ah, do you really? Ah God Good like my new Bf f already. Um, okay so great Seg now.
26:09.90
Randee Dawn
Say I used to be like that too I'm like seg and segue are those 2 different words. Yeah.
26:10.26
jeffwatson
Se now I'm talking like I really so tune in tomorrow I cannot wait. So this thing's coming to August Sixteenth it is a book it is but they it seems that it's alternate alternate reality television is kind of a phrase that I saw. Tell me what tell me about this thing because first of all I'm an old school reality tv nut I mean we're talking real. We're talking real world but you wanted to get into it a second as well. But because that's that's my thing and I've watched it evolve right? And what's interesting too. Is you know reality television as I understand it kind of kicked off of all things with the show. Cops.
26:32.94
Randee Dawn
Okay, oh sure. Right.
26:49.00
jeffwatson
Solely because there was a writer's strike back then so no one had any money to pay the writers or they went I got some found footage over here and that's when the I Pretty sure that's when the whole thing kind of kicked off.
26:58.66
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah, you know the thing is there obviously there there was some reality Tv before that. Um, what I have a tendency to do is think of reality Tv as being as getting a a kick in the butt and really getting to be what it is today when the real world came on.
27:15.10
jeffwatson
True. Yeah.
27:17.48
Randee Dawn
Um, cops and then this and the writers strike I think happened later than that to me the real world was like that's the early 90 s and although we'd had some documentary programs like Pbs did an american family where they followed around the loud family.
27:20.44
jeffwatson
Oh.
27:29.92
jeffwatson
Correct loud family. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:35.20
Randee Dawn
And we had a character who came out on camera and everything So there'd been versions of that. But with the with the with the fracture Fractureization fracture fracturing fracture It Yeah, exactly as good as impalement or whatever we said earlier. But.
27:44.97
jeffwatson
That works that works too. Yeah.
27:54.50
Randee Dawn
Yeah, with with with everything becoming much more niche as cable took over I think reality tv was considered less expensive and easier for channels like say Mtv which which heretofore had been about music videos but they weren't making any money off of music videos. It was a way for them to create original programming relatively on the cheap and then it really just took off so for me Jonathan Murray ah buna murray at that time creating that show that really put it into the modern modern context and then of course you get all of the shows that come after that everything from game shows to.
28:29.96
jeffwatson
Um, course.
28:32.13
Randee Dawn
Big brothers to that kind of thing that became reality Tv so um, the the truth with tune in tomorrow such go tune in tomorrow just so you know or your audience knows is. It's a fantastic It's a humorous fantastical book that looks behind the scenes of um. A reality Tv show that is created by mythical creatures for mythical creatures. But starring humans and the idea behind that was kind of. We love these fantasy movies. We love sci-fi movies. We are always like oh show me the castle with the dragons and the unicorns and.
28:58.34
jeffwatson
Um.
29:10.75
Randee Dawn
And the elfs and and the portals and all that kind of stuff and I thought well what? Ah what do they like to watch of us I think they like like that stuff is very mundane to them I think they'd be very excited with our silly little mundane things in our life. So I have a character who's one of the writers for the show who talks about the idea that.
29:23.40
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
29:29.72
Randee Dawn
Oh tell me more about embezzlement Adultery you know these are fascinating concepts to me. Um, and you know kidnapping do tell me more so they're making a show that looks a lot like a soap Opera Slash Reality Tv show think of shows like.
29:49.39
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
29:49.44
Randee Dawn
Selling sunset for example where it's it's it's real people and they're at their real job. But everything's very heightened and it's got a soap opera quality to it. But we call it reality Tv so the the mythical creatures who watch the show tune in tomorrow believe that this is reality or at least it's real enough.
29:59.10
jeffwatson
Youth.
30:09.25
Randee Dawn
For them. So they think that these are real characters. You want to talk about fans when they see these actors they go up to them and they're like how dare you dump him? you know they act as though it's really the act as it though this is a real character. Not a not just human with a separate personality. Um.
30:09.48
jeffwatson
Ah.
30:24.35
jeffwatson
Sure.
30:27.54
Randee Dawn
So anyway, that's kind of the that's the setting for this book and and I do so much entertainment Journalism that I wanted to work in all of my backstage stuff my crazy actor shenanigans. Um what it's like to have to deal with a network. There's.
30:38.10
jeffwatson
Yeah.
30:44.57
Randee Dawn
The network that runs this Tv program is very capricious and is run by fairy creatures and they're kind of like oh you know you could do this and you and and and and it's very much um, you know you never want to get executives involved in your Tv show but they're yet involved. So I'm trying. You know, riff on the things that I've been watching and learning and listening to and speaking about all these years in this fantastical kind of construct because it's just it's it's fun I get to play with the idea of fandom I get to play with the idea of being a new actor on a show and how you fit in and ah. Crazy diva who's like having an all about eve moment where she wants to she doesn't want her own role to be taken away by this whippersnapper. Um and then buried in that also is a slightly more serious discussion about the nature of immortality because on this show. Have an awards program. There's more than one of these shows out there. But we're only looking at the one and they have an awards program and the None award if you win an award for your performance on this show the first award you get is that they freeze your age in place. You will no longer age as long as you are working for this show and yeah.
31:53.68
jeffwatson
Ah.
31:56.76
Randee Dawn
You know that comes from the idea that there are people who have worked on soap operas for 30 or forty years I mean there's people this is their life. This is this show is their life and I like the idea that the the mythical creatures would say well we want to have this show going for hundreds of years if you'll stick around you could be on for hundreds of years but
32:13.41
jeffwatson
Yeah.
32:16.27
Randee Dawn
Then what we have is we had characters who have been doing it for decades who talk about what it's like when the world moves on but moves on without you. You know you're constantly on this on this show but all your friends are getting older or dying or disappearing or whatever and you are staying in place. And meanwhile the world becomes stranger and stranger and stranger and they almost never go back to the real world because it just gets you know if imagine if you were sort of stuck in 1950? How weird today would look and you know we don't have a long It's not a long extended so serious discussion but it was something I wanted to explore. There's often this discussion people have oh I wish I could live forever. You know I'd love to live for hundreds of years it'd be great I could I could really invest money I could see all the things but the fact is that nobody really wants that I don't think anybody really wants immortality they want they want to be able to choose their I think.
33:05.80
jeffwatson
No no.
33:12.61
Randee Dawn
People would like to be able to know when they'd like to be able to say when they want to pass on like you know I want to have all my marbles and I want to be perfectly healthy and the minute that starts to slip is when I'm I'm okay with the idea of going away. But if people could choose that sort of thing it would they would feel different about it. But. Immortality itself I think would be boring I think it'd be really just boring and and lonely and sad because everybody else around you would move on and so so anyway, so so the book allows me to discuss all of these things to be completely goofy and plenty and lots of.
33:42.57
jeffwatson
You're gone.
33:50.46
Randee Dawn
Goofy jokes and and silliness and then also have this occasional consideration of what it would be like to to have the world on move on without you and I think you had a yeah you had a question in there and I don't remember what it was but there we are. Ah.
33:57.62
jeffwatson
Um, a goof. Oh no, no no I Really I really didn't I that was just you that was just setting up for you to talk about it but I will have have a comment and I really do love the I Just thinking about this I Love the idea of aliens and eating entertainment.
34:13.99
Randee Dawn
Yes, exactly. Um.
34:17.40
jeffwatson
Because you don't think of that no one ever talks about I can't I'm just going through my head right now if any film I can think of I'm sure there's maybe some out there. But the idea of aliens going oh like like why do you think we invaded you in the None place to watch you.
34:28.62
Randee Dawn
Right? Well I know that like for example, there is a book and I'm not going to be able to come up with it. My husband knows this book where um, aliens come to our earth specifically because we make music and they can't do it. Um, then there was a book that came out about a year or two ago by Catherine Valenti called space opera.
34:41.42
jeffwatson
Huh.
34:48.12
Randee Dawn
Not about opera per se but it's about like it's it's like a Eurovision contest but for but for different planets in space and I also flash on the very bad vogon poetry of hithikers guide to the galaxy. But I don't think that we.
34:51.26
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:02.80
jeffwatson
Ah.
35:07.47
Randee Dawn
We do think about that very much we sort of imagine aliens as being you know, either dividing and conquering or creating great technology but surely they are as passionate about their music about their creative expressions as we are.
35:18.46
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah.
35:24.59
Randee Dawn
Um, and when I say aliens I think fantastical creatures count as aliens too. They're just as Alien as as you know as as as a Martian you know, um, and and they're just about as visible. You know what? I mean it's like it's not and we've seen both about as men about as many times. Um.
35:28.55
jeffwatson
Course course of course.
35:40.88
jeffwatson
It's true. That's it's it's funny. You know i' something else just cross my mind like what if the aliens like some let's say Pluto has like okay, come quats like not not the best come quats on pluto.
35:42.49
Randee Dawn
So yeah, that's that's actually a really good point.
35:54.37
jeffwatson
But the Plutonians decide you know what we're going down to Earth is there Ku Bots fucking rule. Apparently you know I kind of do it's It's a fun word who doesn't come quiet, come quiet. Okay, so.
35:59.43
Randee Dawn
That's right, Ah, you just like saying come Quad I think yeah yeah, it is. It is a great work. Ah.
36:12.50
jeffwatson
You did mention selling sunset and I kind of wanted to bring this up. It's interesting. You said that because I saw that ah the producer Adam Devilleilla he had this quote. It was really interesting said people see themselves in these shows and it escapism from the day to day it' easy to digest and fun to watch. It's like candy.
36:14.42
Randee Dawn
The. The. Yeah.
36:28.76
jeffwatson
People know that it's not a documentary and it's not sold as such the question is do they.
36:31.17
Randee Dawn
Um, you know, ah this this is something that I was also pondering on in my book because the book was mostly soap opera and the editors who wanted to buy the book said we love this Can you make it a little more reality Tv that's a bit more up to date. So I ended up grafting the None together but in the course of that I discovered the idea that there is these docu soaps out there where it's it's it's both soap. It's ah it's it's got soapy beets but it's got this reality tinge to it. Soapy beats. Yes.
36:55.74
jeffwatson
Ah.
37:02.40
jeffwatson
Um, Soapy beats. That's our time out time out timeout. That's actually our new band that we're going to form the Soapy beats.
37:07.57
Randee Dawn
That's my that's my rap name I'll be Soapy beats.
37:15.13
Randee Dawn
Beats. Yeah, yeah, exactly it it sounds both modern and like it could have come out in the 1960 s actually um.
37:20.30
jeffwatson
Totally Yeah, absolutely please both come those so be beats ladies and gentlemen.
37:28.59
Randee Dawn
Um, So yeah, it I think that I have a character in the book who so my main character is Star. She's the new actor and she runs into a fan who is a centaur and he acts as though she's her character. Later on though she likes him and she she wants to make sure that he understands there is a difference. She's not supposed to tell him that it's all made up but she feels like she should tell him and she she starts to tell him that he says you know what? it's real enough. It's real enough for us. So I think that people do recognize that there's some artifice. And some pushing around of stories on reality shows I mean every yeah every reality show Producer I spoke to. They're all like we're not scripted but everybody behind the scenes I speak to says there's definitely some scripting going on. So It's kind of like the audience I think.
38:17.75
jeffwatson
Of course they are. Yeah yeah.
38:24.17
Randee Dawn
The audience knows with a capital k that it's not literal reality but it's real enough that they can escape into it like Adam was saying um it it's It gives you a lot of these reality shows that are really popular with the real housewives selling sunset a lot of these other ones. They're very focused on bling and power and money and big cars and big hair and.
38:49.24
jeffwatson
M.
38:55.64
Randee Dawn
If you really want to talk about a reality show. You'd take it to a different place and um, yeah, this is this is heightened reality. It reminds me of what people were saying about I hope it's okay to get political slightly but it reminds me of what people were saying about our our forty fifth ah None president
39:06.31
jeffwatson
And.
39:13.80
Randee Dawn
You know it's He's a he's a guy who he's a rich. He's a guy who who acts like he thinks rich people should be. You know what? I mean like this is you know the gold toilets the the marble everywhere. It's like oh that's what a rich person would do therefore I will do that and I yeah I just and I just feel like.
39:22.70
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, yeah to exactly that's so yeah, it. Yeah yeah.
39:33.84
Randee Dawn
That's kind of what you see on a lot of these shows These are people who may may actually be rich but don't have any real idea of what you know taste or class is necessarily like.
39:42.26
jeffwatson
Um, well right? You would just hit the nail on the head with the word class because it's this is class fantasy just like better home like better homes and gardens the magazine for you know forever. That's class fantasy. There's so many of those things that come down to vogue is you could that could be seen as class fantasy. There's that's been a tradition for like.
39:48.82
Randee Dawn
Yeah, it is. Right? right.
40:02.80
jeffwatson
You know centuries and in America and in Europe but what I what I think is interesting though is when it comes specifically to these docu soaps or acu soaps as I saw we mentioned great line but and but those things are I wonder though if people actually really do know those are fake.
40:09.97
Randee Dawn
Yes, oh yes, acusopes that was another one. Ah.
40:20.98
jeffwatson
I shouldn't say fake but I wonder if they don't know that they're threaded through a particular narrative.
40:26.70
Randee Dawn
Um, well, you know what anybody knows about anything I think is something you can't generalize on. We have a lot of people. You know that this is another thing that fascinates me about writing about reality Tv is. That I feel like we're all very much immersed in this world of truthiness to quote Stephen Colbert um truthiness has kind of become our way of life facts are not facts anymore people pick their facts. They pick their truths.
40:47.10
jeffwatson
Yeah.
40:55.79
jeffwatson
Nope Yep yep.
40:58.70
Randee Dawn
They pick the things they want to believe to make themselves feel like they have they have an understanding of the world and that they fit into that particular part of the world and I'm not saying I'm immune to that either. We all live in Silos We. All think we're being very open to other viewpoints. But we we we. A hue to the things that make us feel most comfortable most of us do not want to kick outside of our out of our um, comfort zones. Um, and it's harder as you mentioned early to find the kind of community you want. So when you find it. That's where you want to Fit. You're like oh I fit here I can I can work with this. So um, what people know and what they know with a Capital K and what they want to know I think that there's plenty of people who watch these shows and don't take it any deeper than that they just watch the show because it's eye candy because it's a show that they can probably have their phone. They can you they can be on their phone.
41:48.80
jeffwatson
Ah.
41:55.59
jeffwatson
Sure yeah.
41:56.28
Randee Dawn
You know, tapping away at the same time they have that they have it on. Um, ah you know it's it's it's underestimated how many Tv shows succeed out there because they are a thing that don't require you to have your full brain attached. You know so many so many people sit in front of the Tv set and you know play a video game or.
42:07.85
jeffwatson
Yeah.
42:15.49
Randee Dawn
Tweet or have a conversation about the actual show in front of them and there's plenty of shows that work because of that combination factor shows that require you to read the screen because they're because they're all subtitled or are are deep and complex and require you to know what happened last week to understand this week those shows succeed as well. But they're not asking you to um, put they're asking you to put more things into it than say a show like sun selling sunset. So I think well not.
42:44.30
jeffwatson
And 1 and one of those things I'm gonna interrupt you for a None one of those things is don't have much time I want to keep ah very good about your schedule but passions I gotta talk about passions in Timmy because I went right? So ladies and gentlemen of the audience. So doe my research as I do and she had this wonderful.
42:52.10
Randee Dawn
Okay.
43:02.62
jeffwatson
Article about kind of some of the the key points in the history of soap operas and there was this fucking crazy show called passions that went on for like a Millennia and it had the big thing was it had this talking doll that turned into a doll that turned into a kid and timmy and it was the most.
43:07.48
Randee Dawn
Oh yeah.
43:16.90
Randee Dawn
Listen.
43:20.91
jeffwatson
Bonker show I've ever seen in my entire life when I was in college a bunch of friends of my own when I would get super drunk on Jack Daniels and high and watch that show and that was our ritual every single episode he would watch timmy so exhibit so explain to me explain to me passions.
43:27.90
Randee Dawn
Um, ah, nice Tim. Ah oh I don't know if we have enough time in the universe to explain passions. Honestly, um.
43:38.40
jeffwatson
Please for the audience probably don't ah.
43:44.20
Randee Dawn
You know if passions was a soap opera and it was one of the latter-day soap operas you know a lot of the soap operas that used to be on they would they started either as early as oh it used to be a radio drama and then it moved to television when there was a television and they were on for decades. Passions came along I believe in the 1990 s
43:58.21
jeffwatson
Ah.
44:00.75
Randee Dawn
So it was it was it was sort of a more modern version which meant that they could have a slightly more winking approach to it than if it was this ah old fashioned very much foundational kind of soap opera like a like a general hospital or one life to live. Um.
44:15.55
jeffwatson
Sure.
44:18.76
Randee Dawn
But it was also run by a guy named Jim Riley who had done wacky stories on other soaps and came over and created this show just so he could do these incredibly off thewall wacky stories and um, you know there were the natural soap things that went on. But he seated this town of this town with just these characters who were meant to go above and beyond there was ah there was ah an actress named Juliet Mills who played Tabitha and Tabitha was an actual witch. Okay, she had which powers in this universe.
44:51.22
jeffwatson
Um, ah, ah, ah to be oh yeah, oh totally.
44:56.47
Randee Dawn
Witchiness existed and she's the one who created timmy and and Timma and South Park must have riffed on that. Ah, and yeah, and and. So timmy was kind of meant to be her. You know she was just going to tell him it was a way for her to explain all of her evil things to somebody in the room and she did things like poison people she created this doll she created a separate a separate witch who was a little girl who was who like a but even more powerful witch than she was. There was she had backstories that we would flash back to where she survived the sinking of the Titanic you know that kind of stuff I mean it was like I don't know what it was like to be in that writers room or to be in Jim Riley's head but I can just imagine how much they must have had a hell a lot of fun coming up with just.
45:33.97
jeffwatson
Of course, of course.
45:46.12
jeffwatson
Oh yeah.
45:49.23
Randee Dawn
Because they could do anything. They didn't have to worry about sticking to something that might even vaguely be realistic. Lots of soaps and this is what the article was all about was just different weird fantasy stories and and horror stories and sci-fi stories in the soaps over the years and and and timmy was one part of that.
45:51.78
jeffwatson
No no.
46:06.62
Randee Dawn
A lot of these soaps would occasionally veer off course from their normal sort of quote unquote normal stuff and have a oh look. There's a magical underground world called Eterna or you know Marlena has been possessed by the devil you know they would occasionally do those things but passions was really kind of.
46:14.88
jeffwatson
Right.
46:21.74
jeffwatson
Sure.
46:26.33
Randee Dawn
Born and bred and dyed in the wool and whatever other cliches you got to be as off the wall and weird as you could because and by the late 90 s you know soaps were not doing so great. You had to color in some other you had to use some other colors to get people to notice them and this was the kind of thing that people would talk about. And if people talked about it. They would watch the show. So yeah, it was sort of brilliant crazy evil genius and I loved it.
46:50.88
jeffwatson
That show was so bonkers that part of me thinks that maybe even the writers room for passions was just like 79 monkeys and a bunch of typewriters just go.
46:59.58
Randee Dawn
Yeah, you yeah because they could those yeah that many monkeys could not have come up with some of the weird stuff honest to god it was like was above and beyond even the monkeys I think yeah, ah Jeff you've been terrific. Thank you.
47:05.38
jeffwatson
You know, even the monkeys couldn't handle it. Well listen what an absolute delight you are absolute oh well. Listen here's what I like to do I like to do a little ah little tradition here. I'm Goingnna pretend to say goodbye we're gonna do a little acting as I always say you're goingnna pretend to say goodbye you're going to do a little acting. We're gonna do a little acting off I'm gonna pretend to hang up and then we're gonna do a little post chat deal all right here we go ladies and gentlemen of the inspiredd mode audience congratulations fa finishing this podcast you win a prize what that is I don't know.
47:31.30
Randee Dawn
Okay, no problem.
47:41.67
jeffwatson
But the you feel good. Maybe helpfully, that's what did it I am extremely I've had a great time talking to you. My new friend Randy and our new band soapy what was it soapy soy beat says.
47:50.53
Randee Dawn
So to beat so be beats.
47:56.75
jeffwatson
Look for the album coming soon. It'll be amazing and now thank you for your time your turn Randy.
47:57.10
Randee Dawn
Um, oh yes, go 1 one 1 la la I'm blowing kisses do you all? Thank you so much for listening Jeff you've been an amazing interview interviewer and I should take lessons from you. Thank you all so much for listening and.
48:10.74
jeffwatson
Please? Oh and but real quick. Actually I should have said this in the very beginning you actually do owe me money now for teaching you. It's one hundred and fifty bucks my therapy session fee but I should have.
48:15.96
Randee Dawn
By the book.
48:22.71
Randee Dawn
Oh I see I see I see very good. Yes.
48:27.16
jeffwatson
But then know we'll figure it out after well yell at each other after I pretend to say goodbye deal. Okay and 3 2 and click.
48:29.60
Randee Dawn
Okay, sounds good.
jeffwatson
All right dazzled throng of the inspired minds audience I have the incredible fortune of speaking now to the lovely and talented Randy Don Randy say hello to the inspired minds dazzled throng.
00:12.20
Randee Dawn
Hello to the inspired mind's dazzled throng. It's nice to meet you.
00:15.46
jeffwatson
Oh that was good. I was pretty impressive off off to bat ladies and gentlemen. This could be a could be None the best ones yet take thank you so much for taking your time to do this I am greatly looking forward to it. But. Way I like to start off every singlear interview is the following question same one and it is when you were young. What was the none thing that you can remember that it's truly inspired you when you were a kid was it a song or was it a book or a movie. Go.
00:47.26
Randee Dawn
Wow. Um, wow that's ah, that's one I haven't necessarily thought about the None thing. Um it probably was music because as much of a reader as I am music sort of gets under my skin and inspires me in a way that. Just a story or a book hasn't necessarily done um, music is just this magic language that I just feel very much in tune with I don't make it I don't sing it I don't I can play it but I don't play it well I just am somebody who absorbs it and I was. Making up stories based on songs. Um, before we even had music videos I mean I would close my eyes and go to sleep with music and would just make up little music videos or little stories in my head and those eventually became the stories that I would sit down and write. But ah. It was definitely its it started with music I kind of think I could put myself into sort of a halfdream state. What do they call it I don't know if hypnagogic is the right phrase but um, that kind of state and I could feel my my my thoughts just getting looser when I could do that I was sort of halfway between away halfway between a street.
01:51.70
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:02.61
Randee Dawn
Ah, sleep and then the right song would come on the radio because of course we didn't have Ipods I would have to I went to sleep with the big big headphones on my on my ears but there was a radio and if a big and I liked the randomness of the song coming on the radio and if the right one hit at the right time I just.
02:06.65
jeffwatson
Um, sure. Yes, yes.
02:20.75
Randee Dawn
Creative juices just got flowing. so um so I would probably say it's music any 1 particular song I don't know I mean you know when I was young we had the soundtrack to grease so I had I was like oh high school's going to be interesting and of course that was that was not the case. Yeah.
02:32.49
jeffwatson
Ah. Um, ah, now we're on. We's Sea Travolta where's Aunt tivolta.
02:40.33
Randee Dawn
Is not high school but I love right I mean in some dream world I was like oh I'm Goingnna go and we're gonna be like I watched fame I watched Greece I'm like oh we're gonna be dancing in the hallways making up songs in the cafeteria and since that didn't happen in real.
02:48.92
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:55.37
jeffwatson
Ah.
02:57.92
Randee Dawn
Life I would just do it in my head you know I would just go home and at night before I fell asleep. Ah, they'd put on I grew up in the DC area and they had you know the the nightly top 5 or the top 5 songs of the night on a local rock radio station and I would just listen to those and I would plop in my ah my school as the location.
03:01.90
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
03:16.82
Randee Dawn
And just make up my own videos in my head I envy Bos Lerman just because he found a way to take those kind of stories and just plug in songs. You know Moulin Rouge let's just pick songs from the 70 s yeah we can have disco music so I'm I'm kind of envious with what he did so.
03:26.40
jeffwatson
He did you right? yeah.
03:36.71
Randee Dawn
Yeah I mean it would've been in the songs of my youth but a lot of songs and that really was what just got me started thinking in terms of long term stories because I would thread together songs and characters and come up with a musical version that I then would put down on paper as a as a nonmusical version.
03:53.46
jeffwatson
Yeah, so I like how you were saying kind of like an early music video so you'd hear a song and then what would you do in your head you would create a story around that in your head like let's say but some man. Um yeah God ahead. Well like.
03:57.78
Randee Dawn
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, like yeah like you? No no, no go ahead God I'm sorry yeah I was gonna say I would yeah oh no I was just going to say yeah I would sit down and I would.
04:12.37
jeffwatson
You None
04:16.68
Randee Dawn
Like I could choreograph it in my head I mean I do not know how to dance is it not like I could say oh do the such and such move or whatever but I could chore I would choreograph it in my head I knew what was happening based on the beats based on the bridge based on the verses and. Um, you know I just had a whole It was all very melodramatic and often pegged to romance because that's the kind of songs you often get on the radio. Um, but yeah I could I can still do that with some songs today I got to do that with None song actually because when I was in college.
04:40.86
jeffwatson
E.
04:52.44
Randee Dawn
A friend of mine for his final project in his film class needed to come up with a video some sort of short video that would be six eight minutes long and I said well actually there there's a song by by the Alan Parsons project called silence and I and.
05:01.41
jeffwatson
Yeah.
05:08.20
jeffwatson
Um.
05:10.36
Randee Dawn
I had a video in my head for this The song is about I don't know it's over 6 minutes long and I said to him look if you want to do a music video I got a story that will go with this song and I could get you can do that just you know give me a credit as the writer or something a writer of the video anyway and he made it. So I actually have 1 represent. He filmed you had to film it on sixteen Millimeter either super None or sixteen millimeter and you had to use None ah None sound inputs and he basically came you took my idea improved on it in a couple of places. And I have a copy of that actually I have a copy of a music video that started in my head. So yeah.
05:45.33
jeffwatson
Ah, wow, That's wonderful and the reason I ask asking the reason I like asking this question is because it creates a through line always at least for creatives right? because clearly whatever that moment was for you was at the.
05:56.22
Randee Dawn
Ah, brother.
06:03.30
jeffwatson
Whatever song it was or whatever moment it was and that impelled you impelled you to kind of go down this path is that a fair statement that impel that impalation is that that right they say it right in implement it. But there you go Yeah butus.
06:08.44
Randee Dawn
Yeah. Ah, impelment. Um, yeah, Impetus Impetus Yeah Impetus I think is what we're looking for but and but impelment is kind of a fun word when you think about it. Um, yeah I mean I think that there are people who you know may have been if if you if I had been more.
06:22.64
jeffwatson
Thank you. It is.
06:33.41
Randee Dawn
Um, if I had been more interested in sort of creating the visual or sticking with making films I might have not gone to books and gone and tried to make more of these films and actually now that we're talking about it I have I've completely forgot I made some of my own music videos just for the fun of it. Um.
06:44.75
jeffwatson
You.
06:50.46
jeffwatson
What.
06:52.99
Randee Dawn
Here's yeah, here's totally old school for you. This is completely tangential. But when I was in college I was studying broadcast journalism so I was learning how to edit on videotape and they and when I went home for my None from from like my first year from college.
07:04.58
jeffwatson
Wow wow.
07:12.21
Randee Dawn
I rented um a video because we had already had a video cassette player but I rented you could rent a video camera which had basically another Vhs deck in it. You remember those they were like these giant things and it was a video camera but you you know so you'd have to develop anything you just.
07:22.88
jeffwatson
Oh yeah, yeah.
07:29.72
Randee Dawn
Videoed and since we had a None video at home I learned how to hardwire the connections in the back with the Rca cables so I was able to edit from my raw footage with my second vcr and then I learned how to pour in just the audio. So I was able to lay in a layer of audio.
07:38.14
jeffwatson
Wow Wow! wow.
07:48.93
Randee Dawn
On top of the video which apparently you can do with 2 vhsex so I have I had 2 different videos that I made with my friends in them I basically was like let me have you for the day I'm gonna make you run around a lot and we're gonna act out stuff in this video and I went home and I edited them so I have 2 of those. 1 of which is for an Amy Grant song believe it or not and one of which is for a Tommy Keane song the often the often forgotten. Great guitarist Tommy Keene from the Dc area which is where I grew up. Um.
08:08.26
jeffwatson
Wow, who. Right? I know? yeah.
08:21.58
Randee Dawn
Right? So anyway. So I have I actually did 2 videos with those and I have copies of those and um I thought that I might get into music videos when I was doing my study abroad in London during college I interned at a music video firm I got to meet some directors I worked in a couple of music videos. But. I think I was too intimidated by the whole groupness of creating a movie or groupness of creating a video I was very much a solitary person I just wanted to do it solo and writing is the thing you can do in your solo. You do not need a team until you want to get it published. You can just sit down with your little words and write it out. So.
08:47.54
jeffwatson
And.
09:00.59
Randee Dawn
I think going back to your original question if other people other people might have said oh I'm going to devote myself to making movies and short films and you get a Bos Lerman or whoever from that and then there are people like me who just want the more of the solitary experience and and stick with the words instead of creating. Create create the visuals with words as a crow as opposed to with video tape or film.
09:21.50
jeffwatson
It But nevertheless it was there was still obviously a moment of inspiration for you that then I would assume and it makes sense because then you kind of figure it out wait a minute. There's a group idea here I'm not too big. A fan of that I want to go be a writer is that kind of how it worked.
09:36.62
Randee Dawn
Yeah I think it it. It helped me um I don't like to say narrow because that sounds like you were that I that I was not focusing on other things. But I think it helped me hone my my my pencil it helped me hone my my knife so that I could aim better at the Target i. That worked best for me. Um, you know I yeah.
09:56.00
jeffwatson
Um, sure that makes sense and so I want to get into that now you write a lot my god I was coming through some of the things that you were and it's like new story I think there were like three stories in one day. It's just constant constant constant writing. This writing machine for today. Nbc News kind of variety the l a times, emmy etc, etc and then on top of it then you write these what you call I've noticed ah the word that you use is speculative fiction and I I find that interesting so i.
10:21.19
Randee Dawn
Right.
10:30.47
Randee Dawn
Sure.
10:35.43
jeffwatson
If I'm if I'm reading this right that kind of talks about some of the things because obviously you know you had written I believe it was some books ah specifically around. Um, oh now I'm drawing a blank on the name of the Tv show. Oh it was. It's like ah I'm so sorry law and order I'm a terrible interviewer obviously.
10:46.66
Randee Dawn
Oh law and order.
10:52.52
Randee Dawn
That's okay, that's okay.
10:54.50
jeffwatson
Um, law he has law and order and what I ah kind of want to move this conversation to because I find this kind of stuff really fascinating Fandom ah fandom I am so so convinced of the beauty and the power of fandom now at my previous job when I was at Warner Brother's records my job was to.
11:00.20
Randee Dawn
Ah.
11:07.10
Randee Dawn
Um.
11:13.48
jeffwatson
Digital marketing which really meant kind of create fan groups fan find the fans get them that was kind of the idea and you'd find these pockets of just incredibly devoted fans who will do absolutely anything hell or high water for the particular artists that they love and in doing so it really did obviously create this kind of community.
11:15.30
Randee Dawn
Um, Brian um.
11:33.23
jeffwatson
Beautiful community and I think that is so so lacking in this country. The idea of just a connection a tribe almost to me I think a way to tribalize on so many levels but when it comes to just pure fandom and that passion involved with it.
11:33.38
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah.
11:47.40
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah.
11:49.25
jeffwatson
Thought that was fantastic. So I thought that perhaps as somebody who does a speculative a fiction type world. Maybe you can kind of get into that a little bit.
11:55.21
Randee Dawn
Well yeah I mean you know you're talking about the fandom of speculative fiction or you're talking about the fandom of music because and I've had experience with both right? Um, well as I said you know the thing is with music I think that it.
12:03.62
jeffwatson
We're both both both actually yes and.
12:11.78
Randee Dawn
Music is is this special category that is slightly different than any other creative endeavor in my opinion and in terms of creating a community around that music just speaks to without getting too airy fairy. It. It speaks to part of our souls that I don't think other creative Works. Do in quite the same way because it's just this thing that gets into your head people don't really have earworms from Paintings. You know what? I mean?? Um, so in terms of in terms of the fandom for that the kind of people that you meet you're meeting them the the commonalities in your mind that you have with them.
12:37.52
jeffwatson
Um, right right.
12:50.10
Randee Dawn
Are on a different level than people who say oh I Really like this director's films or I Really like this author's books and I did run actually I did run a fan group for a while for a band called Ivy they.
13:04.32
jeffwatson
Um, who Eyesley you said oh right? yeah was that what the driving fountains of Wayne. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:07.61
Randee Dawn
Ah, did you have you ever heard of them. No ivy as in like climbing trellis vines that kind of thing and 1 precisely. Yeah, it was before fountains of way Adam Schlesinger the late great Adam Schlesinger I'm I'm still mourning for him.
13:24.26
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, meet me too.
13:26.56
Randee Dawn
He yeah, it was him and Andy Chase and Dominique Durand and they were they were Trio Andy and Dominique were a married couple and they had this wonderful sort of dream pop sound. She was french she still is french but she has that accent so that was like an interesting different sound anyway, I interviewed them and. When after the interview I went on at this point we had to use news groups because of course it was early internet and I found people were asking a lot of questions about them but nobody knew anything so I started answering questions and that developed into well I'm answering the same questions for everybody I'm just going to make a mailing list and you can join this mailing list and you can talk to the.
13:49.88
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
14:04.30
Randee Dawn
People on the mailing list and that was called the ivy vine and that lasted for about 20 years I mean I think it started in the 90 s and then it ended when yahoo groups shut down which I think was the last place it was located so it was about 20 year old this and people became friends people got to meet each other.
14:14.64
jeffwatson
Um, wow.
14:20.58
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
14:22.43
Randee Dawn
We saw each other at concerts you know so that kind of fan community is really a very special thing and it endures to this day in terms of what speculative fiction is in case, anybody out there isn't quite sure. Speculative fiction is kind of this nice umbrella. That encompasses things that aren't literary fiction if it's it's it's got a lot of and it tends to have a quote unquote speculative element. So your science fiction your fantasy your horror magical realism anything that tends to include a little bit of the uncanny. Will fit in the umbrella of speculative fiction and also when you say speculative fiction people don't immediately go ooh I don't read science fiction or o fantasy people get very hoidy-toidy about some which is bizarre because I think that in the in recent years genre of science fiction fantasy and horror has just. Taken over I mean it's everywhere now. Um, so the the idea that people are hoidy-toyy about it is hilarious. Um, but yeah, so speculative fiction. What? what? that whole fan community is interesting because speculative fiction things that are science fiction fantasy sometimes are.
15:16.00
jeffwatson
Of course.
15:34.84
Randee Dawn
Often come out in in multiple volumes, you'll get. It's not just a standalone book. You'll get you know the Harry Potter series 7 or 8 books. You'll get the song of ice and fire which became but game of thrones you know 7 books and counting and that invites people into.
15:47.85
jeffwatson
Is blue.
15:53.22
Randee Dawn
A creative experience that for many for many of them makes them want to explore it further even further than the author has explored it so you end up getting things like fan fiction and they will write their own stories that are just exist within this world and I think that's marvelous. Think it's terrific I can't say I have never written fan fiction for something I love that that creates a community of its own because people who wouldn't necessarily write or want to get their stuff published can borrow these characters or these these scenarios. And create their own works now if they're trying to make money with it. That's where the law will get involved and things get hairy, but it also creates a certain amount of ownership over the property and that extends to for example, people who are really into the Marvel universe or the dc universe. It's so immersive and it's so it's so permissive of the kind of storytelling that it's that it creates people begin to feel like it's partially mine as well. even if I'm not paid for it or even if I'm not in the credits and I think that does expand the notion of what fandom is. Who owns the creative property who owns the rights to be able to tell this creative property. Um, and then you start getting into conversations about well what about copyright well copyright has gone insane in the past twenty or 30 years. It's very hard to get things into the public domain. And when people don't have enough creative things to bounce themselves off of or it's the same creative things over and over again I mean do we need to see another star another um spider-man movie. For example, do we need to see another Sherlock Holmes retelling you know Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain. Spiderman is not but the reason we keep seeing those films being made is that they want to hold onto that copyright if they make a new one. They make a different one. They get the copyright again extended? Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, so.
17:49.53
jeffwatson
Ah, ah had no idea I had no idea interesting.
17:55.33
Randee Dawn
Again you you, you're and you're asking great questions I'm just digressing all over the place. So if you need to rein me in please go right ahead.
17:57.77
jeffwatson
No no this entire this entire look this entire show was one big fucking tangent. Don't don't worry about it. Don't you worry about that.
18:04.66
Randee Dawn
Ah, good I can tangent with the best of them I can co tangent to but.
18:09.62
jeffwatson
Oh ah, oh good code tangent I love it. So but you know I will say this too actually I saw that fan fiction world fact I saw the fan world None really up close because there was a band that I had the honor of working with called my chemical romance back in the days like yeah.
18:20.12
Randee Dawn
Um, oh sure. Yeah, ah.
18:27.62
jeffwatson
And they were my guys. They still are. It's just the most truly wonderful human beings in the world without a doubt I mean just all of them are wonderful people and they are they they preach messages of empowerment and love I mean they're fantastic, but. Because of that because they engender such such a positive connection. Their fans are off the chain and I became famous based on my association with the band I was like a marketing guy like some record global idiot and yet the fans to this day I still talk to them I still talk to him to this day.
18:49.70
Randee Dawn
Ah, yeah.
19:00.86
Randee Dawn
Right? right? sure.
19:02.57
jeffwatson
That was ten fifteen years ago and it was that same reason because it was a tribe. It was a tribe of good people if that's the best way to put it. You know I mean granted there were of course there were some terrible people I'm sure in that tribe but not really not from what I saw because they were just disenfranchised kids and they saw something that was beautiful and powerful in front of them.
19:07.65
Randee Dawn
Um.
19:22.39
jeffwatson
So they wanted to become a part of it and it was so pure. You know you go to those shows you go to any show like for god's sakes I went to a Bruce Springsteen show you know ten years ago or whatever it was and there was that feeling of just absolute community. It was that feeling of almost a binding agent the binding agent of Bruce Springsteen let's say that night that
19:22.65
Randee Dawn
Oh yeah.
19:28.68
Randee Dawn
Ah.
19:37.96
Randee Dawn
Right.
19:40.28
jeffwatson
20000 people were whatever it was and you're all singing born to run right? like I don't I don't care what you look like I don't care. We're all singing born to run right now and we are this lattice work with this lattice work of connection and that's what I find in fandom and I want to go backwards for our heartbeat now because you did say that.
19:49.17
Randee Dawn
Right? exactly.
19:59.21
jeffwatson
Music is this connection and the way I've always looked at it. Music is my ladder to God and I've been very fortunate to have that line right? because when I meditate I don't meditate I Meditat I listen to the two pet sounds by the beach poised. That's why that's my thing you know, but I think that it's just so absolutely incredible and I.
20:02.57
Randee Dawn
Are. Um, okay, yeah, yeah.
20:18.87
Randee Dawn
I do and it's interesting that you talk about it being your line to God I mean I'm not I'm not a religious person but I know what you mean in terms of the spirituality of the connection I don't know if you like literally mean it's that kind of thing. But um.
20:19.30
jeffwatson
I Know you knew what I'm talking about.
20:29.31
jeffwatson
Um, no, that's no no I mean I mean the spirituality connection. Yes.
20:34.79
Randee Dawn
Yeah, exactly and it's funny because when you were mentioning that what this reminded me of is back when I was about 16 Um, there was a friend of mine who I'd been pen pals with since we were like in kindergarten or something she moved away. We became kindergarten you know the earliest kind of pen pals and.
20:48.17
jeffwatson
Um, sure.
20:51.54
Randee Dawn
While you know when we were all separated. She got much more religious. She became sort of evangelical and meanwhile I just kind of was who I was and I was remaining with and I met friends and I had one really good friend who was he wasn't out of the closet but he was gay and. Her family invited me out to go visit her across the country when I was 16 so I went. We had a lovely time had a great experience and then she and I went out walking we were just talking about stuff and I was telling her about my friend and how I feel sympathetic that he doesn't feel like he can be out of the closet and kind of have a crush on him. You know it was all this you know stuff that you talk about when you're None
21:22.39
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
21:27.32
Randee Dawn
And that was fine. Everything went well and then when I got home. She wrote me a letter essentially saying I don't think we can be friends anymore. We're too different and then she started quoting all sorts of bible passes passages to me I know my friend's going to go to hell and all that sort of thing and my response after being very hurt and very angry was.
21:38.51
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
21:46.93
Randee Dawn
To find music lyrics that I could send back to her to show how she needed to open her mind a little bit more and that's what I did I wrote her back a letter you know with all the fury that I had and I included a whole bunch of music lyrics because it wasn't until years later that I thought of it this way. But it's like this is me quoting my bible. You're going to quote your scriptures to me.
22:02.81
jeffwatson
Um, yeah, yeah.
22:06.96
Randee Dawn
I'm going to go and find the passages that make sense that help me make sense of the world and I'm gonna send them to you? Um, so yeah, absolutely when I find a lyric that hits me I I have to share it with the world I do evangelize when I got the very None trash pan s andopas album.
22:21.68
jeffwatson
Wait wait stop. You did not just say that I wait nobody knows who the fucking trash cancer noters are hold my my mind is my mind is blown right now. Ladies wait ladies and gentlemen.
22:26.24
Randee Dawn
But I did oh oh yes, we do? Oh yes, we do? Oh Jeff you're but you you're my soulmate and I didn't know this.
22:39.90
jeffwatson
Ladies and gentlemen ladies and gentlemen of the audience. None of all, you've now heard people falling in love second of all the trash can to noters with this band from the 90 s from england and they put out maybe 2 records I think I don't know but all we know was that they had that one that was like obscurity knocks I mean go.
22:53.40
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah, all right? So so with with with all due respect Scott Scottish they will hunt you down if you don't fix the scottish thing. So first of all, they're scottish um that but they actually are still putting out music. They are still together. They are still putting out music and they're doing it from like.
22:59.70
jeffwatson
But you're right? You're right? sorry.
23:07.53
jeffwatson
Really.
23:12.10
Randee Dawn
3 different points of the globe because the main 3 guys 1 lives in Scotland 1 lives in California and 1 lives in Washington state. So but they are still getting together. Actually they actually just I think released a new song I'm on their Patreon account.
23:27.92
jeffwatson
Oh.
23:30.73
Randee Dawn
So they have a new song and a new video coming out but a full official albums I think they have at least 4 or 5 but but yeah, yeah they're still they're still out there if you liked their stuff I personally am the biggest fan of the first album I think after that album things.
23:35.36
jeffwatson
Wow.
23:43.90
jeffwatson
Um, yeah.
23:46.75
Randee Dawn
You know they they're finding their finding their feet and there's a whole story behind their their origin which I won't go into here but that None album just hit me in such a way that I I basically played it for everybody. It was as if I had made the album and I was just like you have to listen to this.
24:00.70
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
24:04.31
Randee Dawn
And I think I sold many copies to many people. Everybody knows that I'm the trashcan snatras fan. Um, and you know one of the great joys in my life was I used to say when I was younger I was like oh you know I really wish that I I had all the money in the world. So I could be just like make me an album boys here's 100000
24:05.30
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
24:24.10
Randee Dawn
Colors and while I will not say I'm at that stage in any way shape or form. Um, when they did um they did an album a couple of years ago and they did one of those indie go-gos to raise money for it and I had just.
24:34.41
jeffwatson
Sure.
24:38.63
Randee Dawn
I had just sold the apartment that I was living in because my husband and I were moving to a different place so I actually had like money in the bank for a None time and they needed money to help finish the album and I'm just like here boys make me an executive producer and so yeah I got an executive producer credit I mean like you know, high points in life.
24:54.80
jeffwatson
Wow Congratulations to you.
24:57.84
Randee Dawn
Yeah, oh well I did nothing I just I'm you know I'm I'm literally a patreon here I'm I'm happy to be the ah the money machine if they need it because I like their music so much.
25:01.66
jeffwatson
Now. I Think that is at but I'm stunned I am absolutely stunned anybody knows who the Goddam trash cancer noters are well yeah.
25:15.60
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah, they are wonderful. They and they're the nicest people honest to God Actually here's here's what you'll get a kick about I know you'll get around to talking about my book. They let me use a quote from one of their songs at in the front of the book. Yeah, yeah, it's in the very front of the book. It's from Ah, it's from through penny tears.
25:22.98
jeffwatson
Yeah, really wow.
25:33.75
Randee Dawn
And it refers to soap operas and that's part of the part of the subject of the book. So yeah I just had to write them.
25:34.77
jeffwatson
Wow. Well what a what a great say I could do the entire I could do the 9 episodes on the goddam show on the trans cans and noters and yet I cannot so we must move either that either better teenage fan club.
25:49.55
Randee Dawn
Ah, ah oh my God Yes sure I still have I still have a t-shirt that says teenage fucking Fan club on it. So I'm I'm ah oh yes.
25:53.35
jeffwatson
Either one I could do for yeah I knew you would say that um I saw that coming a mile away. So ah, do you really? Ah God Good like my new Bf f already. Um, okay so great Seg now.
26:09.90
Randee Dawn
Say I used to be like that too I'm like seg and segue are those 2 different words. Yeah.
26:10.26
jeffwatson
Se now I'm talking like I really so tune in tomorrow I cannot wait. So this thing's coming to August Sixteenth it is a book it is but they it seems that it's alternate alternate reality television is kind of a phrase that I saw. Tell me what tell me about this thing because first of all I'm an old school reality tv nut I mean we're talking real. We're talking real world but you wanted to get into it a second as well. But because that's that's my thing and I've watched it evolve right? And what's interesting too. Is you know reality television as I understand it kind of kicked off of all things with the show. Cops.
26:32.94
Randee Dawn
Okay, oh sure. Right.
26:49.00
jeffwatson
Solely because there was a writer's strike back then so no one had any money to pay the writers or they went I got some found footage over here and that's when the I Pretty sure that's when the whole thing kind of kicked off.
26:58.66
Randee Dawn
Um, yeah, you know the thing is there obviously there there was some reality Tv before that. Um, what I have a tendency to do is think of reality Tv as being as getting a a kick in the butt and really getting to be what it is today when the real world came on.
27:15.10
jeffwatson
True. Yeah.
27:17.48
Randee Dawn
Um, cops and then this and the writers strike I think happened later than that to me the real world was like that's the early 90 s and although we'd had some documentary programs like Pbs did an american family where they followed around the loud family.
27:20.44
jeffwatson
Oh.
27:29.92
jeffwatson
Correct loud family. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:35.20
Randee Dawn
And we had a character who came out on camera and everything So there'd been versions of that. But with the with the with the fracture Fractureization fracture fracturing fracture It Yeah, exactly as good as impalement or whatever we said earlier. But.
27:44.97
jeffwatson
That works that works too. Yeah.
27:54.50
Randee Dawn
Yeah, with with with everything becoming much more niche as cable took over I think reality tv was considered less expensive and easier for channels like say Mtv which which heretofore had been about music videos but they weren't making any money off of music videos. It was a way for them to create original programming relatively on the cheap and then it really just took off so for me Jonathan Murray ah buna murray at that time creating that show that really put it into the modern modern context and then of course you get all of the shows that come after that everything from game shows to.
28:29.96
jeffwatson
Um, course.
28:32.13
Randee Dawn
Big brothers to that kind of thing that became reality Tv so um, the the truth with tune in tomorrow such go tune in tomorrow just so you know or your audience knows is. It's a fantastic It's a humorous fantastical book that looks behind the scenes of um. A reality Tv show that is created by mythical creatures for mythical creatures. But starring humans and the idea behind that was kind of. We love these fantasy movies. We love sci-fi movies. We are always like oh show me the castle with the dragons and the unicorns and.
28:58.34
jeffwatson
Um.
29:10.75
Randee Dawn
And the elfs and and the portals and all that kind of stuff and I thought well what? Ah what do they like to watch of us I think they like like that stuff is very mundane to them I think they'd be very excited with our silly little mundane things in our life. So I have a character who's one of the writers for the show who talks about the idea that.
29:23.40
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
29:29.72
Randee Dawn
Oh tell me more about embezzlement Adultery you know these are fascinating concepts to me. Um, and you know kidnapping do tell me more so they're making a show that looks a lot like a soap Opera Slash Reality Tv show think of shows like.
29:49.39
jeffwatson
Um, ah.
29:49.44
Randee Dawn
Selling sunset for example where it's it's it's real people and they're at their real job. But everything's very heightened and it's got a soap opera quality to it. But we call it reality Tv so the the mythical creatures who watch the show tune in tomorrow believe that this is reality or at least it's real enough.
29:59.10
jeffwatson
Youth.
30:09.25
Randee Dawn
For them. So they think that these are real characters. You want to talk about fans when they see these actors they go up to them and they're like how dare you dump him? you know they act as though it's really the act as it though this is a real character. Not a not just human with a separate personality. Um.
30:09.48
jeffwatson
Ah.
30:24.35
jeffwatson
Sure.
30:27.54
Randee Dawn
So anyway, that's kind of the that's the setting for this book and and I do so much entertainment Journalism that I wanted to work in all of my backstage stuff my crazy actor shenanigans. Um what it's like to have to deal with a network. There's.
30:38.10
jeffwatson
Yeah.
30:44.57
Randee Dawn
The network that runs this Tv program is very capricious and is run by fairy creatures and they're kind of like oh you know you could do this and you and and and and it's very much um, you know you never want to get executives involved in your Tv show but they're yet involved. So I'm trying. You know, riff on the things that I've been watching and learning and listening to and speaking about all these years in this fantastical kind of construct because it's just it's it's fun I get to play with the idea of fandom I get to play with the idea of being a new actor on a show and how you fit in and ah. Crazy diva who's like having an all about eve moment where she wants to she doesn't want her own role to be taken away by this whippersnapper. Um and then buried in that also is a slightly more serious discussion about the nature of immortality because on this show. Have an awards program. There's more than one of these shows out there. But we're only looking at the one and they have an awards program and the None award if you win an award for your performance on this show the first award you get is that they freeze your age in place. You will no longer age as long as you are working for this show and yeah.
31:53.68
jeffwatson
Ah.
31:56.76
Randee Dawn
You know that comes from the idea that there are people who have worked on soap operas for 30 or forty years I mean there's people this is their life. This is this show is their life and I like the idea that the the mythical creatures would say well we want to have this show going for hundreds of years if you'll stick around you could be on for hundreds of years but
32:13.41
jeffwatson
Yeah.
32:16.27
Randee Dawn
Then what we have is we had characters who have been doing it for decades who talk about what it's like when the world moves on but moves on without you. You know you're constantly on this on this show but all your friends are getting older or dying or disappearing or whatever and you are staying in place. And meanwhile the world becomes stranger and stranger and stranger and they almost never go back to the real world because it just gets you know if imagine if you were sort of stuck in 1950? How weird today would look and you know we don't have a long It's not a long extended so serious discussion but it was something I wanted to explore. There's often this discussion people have oh I wish I could live forever. You know I'd love to live for hundreds of years it'd be great I could I could really invest money I could see all the things but the fact is that nobody really wants that I don't think anybody really wants immortality they want they want to be able to choose their I think.
33:05.80
jeffwatson
No no.
33:12.61
Randee Dawn
People would like to be able to know when they'd like to be able to say when they want to pass on like you know I want to have all my marbles and I want to be perfectly healthy and the minute that starts to slip is when I'm I'm okay with the idea of going away. But if people could choose that sort of thing it would they would feel different about it. But. Immortality itself I think would be boring I think it'd be really just boring and and lonely and sad because everybody else around you would move on and so so anyway, so so the book allows me to discuss all of these things to be completely goofy and plenty and lots of.
33:42.57
jeffwatson
You're gone.
33:50.46
Randee Dawn
Goofy jokes and and silliness and then also have this occasional consideration of what it would be like to to have the world on move on without you and I think you had a yeah you had a question in there and I don't remember what it was but there we are. Ah.
33:57.62
jeffwatson
Um, a goof. Oh no, no no I Really I really didn't I that was just you that was just setting up for you to talk about it but I will have have a comment and I really do love the I Just thinking about this I Love the idea of aliens and eating entertainment.
34:13.99
Randee Dawn
Yes, exactly. Um.
34:17.40
jeffwatson
Because you don't think of that no one ever talks about I can't I'm just going through my head right now if any film I can think of I'm sure there's maybe some out there. But the idea of aliens going oh like like why do you think we invaded you in the None place to watch you.
34:28.62
Randee Dawn
Right? Well I know that like for example, there is a book and I'm not going to be able to come up with it. My husband knows this book where um, aliens come to our earth specifically because we make music and they can't do it. Um, then there was a book that came out about a year or two ago by Catherine Valenti called space opera.
34:41.42
jeffwatson
Huh.
34:48.12
Randee Dawn
Not about opera per se but it's about like it's it's like a Eurovision contest but for but for different planets in space and I also flash on the very bad vogon poetry of hithikers guide to the galaxy. But I don't think that we.
34:51.26
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:02.80
jeffwatson
Ah.
35:07.47
Randee Dawn
We do think about that very much we sort of imagine aliens as being you know, either dividing and conquering or creating great technology but surely they are as passionate about their music about their creative expressions as we are.
35:18.46
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah.
35:24.59
Randee Dawn
Um, and when I say aliens I think fantastical creatures count as aliens too. They're just as Alien as as you know as as as a Martian you know, um, and and they're just about as visible. You know what? I mean it's like it's not and we've seen both about as men about as many times. Um.
35:28.55
jeffwatson
Course course of course.
35:40.88
jeffwatson
It's true. That's it's it's funny. You know i' something else just cross my mind like what if the aliens like some let's say Pluto has like okay, come quats like not not the best come quats on pluto.
35:42.49
Randee Dawn
So yeah, that's that's actually a really good point.
35:54.37
jeffwatson
But the Plutonians decide you know what we're going down to Earth is there Ku Bots fucking rule. Apparently you know I kind of do it's It's a fun word who doesn't come quiet, come quiet. Okay, so.
35:59.43
Randee Dawn
That's right, Ah, you just like saying come Quad I think yeah yeah, it is. It is a great work. Ah.
36:12.50
jeffwatson
You did mention selling sunset and I kind of wanted to bring this up. It's interesting. You said that because I saw that ah the producer Adam Devilleilla he had this quote. It was really interesting said people see themselves in these shows and it escapism from the day to day it' easy to digest and fun to watch. It's like candy.
36:14.42
Randee Dawn
The. The. Yeah.
36:28.76
jeffwatson
People know that it's not a documentary and it's not sold as such the question is do they.
36:31.17
Randee Dawn
Um, you know, ah this this is something that I was also pondering on in my book because the book was mostly soap opera and the editors who wanted to buy the book said we love this Can you make it a little more reality Tv that's a bit more up to date. So I ended up grafting the None together but in the course of that I discovered the idea that there is these docu soaps out there where it's it's it's both soap. It's ah it's it's got soapy beets but it's got this reality tinge to it. Soapy beats. Yes.
36:55.74
jeffwatson
Ah.
37:02.40
jeffwatson
Um, Soapy beats. That's our time out time out timeout. That's actually our new band that we're going to form the Soapy beats.
37:07.57
Randee Dawn
That's my that's my rap name I'll be Soapy beats.
37:15.13
Randee Dawn
Beats. Yeah, yeah, exactly it it sounds both modern and like it could have come out in the 1960 s actually um.
37:20.30
jeffwatson
Totally Yeah, absolutely please both come those so be beats ladies and gentlemen.
37:28.59
Randee Dawn
Um, So yeah, it I think that I have a character in the book who so my main character is Star. She's the new actor and she runs into a fan who is a centaur and he acts as though she's her character. Later on though she likes him and she she wants to make sure that he understands there is a difference. She's not supposed to tell him that it's all made up but she feels like she should tell him and she she starts to tell him that he says you know what? it's real enough. It's real enough for us. So I think that people do recognize that there's some artifice. And some pushing around of stories on reality shows I mean every yeah every reality show Producer I spoke to. They're all like we're not scripted but everybody behind the scenes I speak to says there's definitely some scripting going on. So It's kind of like the audience I think.
38:17.75
jeffwatson
Of course they are. Yeah yeah.
38:24.17
Randee Dawn
The audience knows with a capital k that it's not literal reality but it's real enough that they can escape into it like Adam was saying um it it's It gives you a lot of these reality shows that are really popular with the real housewives selling sunset a lot of these other ones. They're very focused on bling and power and money and big cars and big hair and.
38:49.24
jeffwatson
M.
38:55.64
Randee Dawn
If you really want to talk about a reality show. You'd take it to a different place and um, yeah, this is this is heightened reality. It reminds me of what people were saying about I hope it's okay to get political slightly but it reminds me of what people were saying about our our forty fifth ah None president
39:06.31
jeffwatson
And.
39:13.80
Randee Dawn
You know it's He's a he's a guy who he's a rich. He's a guy who who acts like he thinks rich people should be. You know what? I mean like this is you know the gold toilets the the marble everywhere. It's like oh that's what a rich person would do therefore I will do that and I yeah I just and I just feel like.
39:22.70
jeffwatson
Yeah, yeah, yeah to exactly that's so yeah, it. Yeah yeah.
39:33.84
Randee Dawn
That's kind of what you see on a lot of these shows These are people who may may actually be rich but don't have any real idea of what you know taste or class is necessarily like.
39:42.26
jeffwatson
Um, well right? You would just hit the nail on the head with the word class because it's this is class fantasy just like better home like better homes and gardens the magazine for you know forever. That's class fantasy. There's so many of those things that come down to vogue is you could that could be seen as class fantasy. There's that's been a tradition for like.
39:48.82
Randee Dawn
Yeah, it is. Right? right.
40:02.80
jeffwatson
You know centuries and in America and in Europe but what I what I think is interesting though is when it comes specifically to these docu soaps or acu soaps as I saw we mentioned great line but and but those things are I wonder though if people actually really do know those are fake.
40:09.97
Randee Dawn
Yes, oh yes, acusopes that was another one. Ah.
40:20.98
jeffwatson
I shouldn't say fake but I wonder if they don't know that they're threaded through a particular narrative.
40:26.70
Randee Dawn
Um, well, you know what anybody knows about anything I think is something you can't generalize on. We have a lot of people. You know that this is another thing that fascinates me about writing about reality Tv is. That I feel like we're all very much immersed in this world of truthiness to quote Stephen Colbert um truthiness has kind of become our way of life facts are not facts anymore people pick their facts. They pick their truths.
40:47.10
jeffwatson
Yeah.
40:55.79
jeffwatson
Nope Yep yep.
40:58.70
Randee Dawn
They pick the things they want to believe to make themselves feel like they have they have an understanding of the world and that they fit into that particular part of the world and I'm not saying I'm immune to that either. We all live in Silos We. All think we're being very open to other viewpoints. But we we we. A hue to the things that make us feel most comfortable most of us do not want to kick outside of our out of our um, comfort zones. Um, and it's harder as you mentioned early to find the kind of community you want. So when you find it. That's where you want to Fit. You're like oh I fit here I can I can work with this. So um, what people know and what they know with a Capital K and what they want to know I think that there's plenty of people who watch these shows and don't take it any deeper than that they just watch the show because it's eye candy because it's a show that they can probably have their phone. They can you they can be on their phone.
41:48.80
jeffwatson
Ah.
41:55.59
jeffwatson
Sure yeah.
41:56.28
Randee Dawn
You know, tapping away at the same time they have that they have it on. Um, ah you know it's it's it's underestimated how many Tv shows succeed out there because they are a thing that don't require you to have your full brain attached. You know so many so many people sit in front of the Tv set and you know play a video game or.
42:07.85
jeffwatson
Yeah.
42:15.49
Randee Dawn
Tweet or have a conversation about the actual show in front of them and there's plenty of shows that work because of that combination factor shows that require you to read the screen because they're because they're all subtitled or are are deep and complex and require you to know what happened last week to understand this week those shows succeed as well. But they're not asking you to um, put they're asking you to put more things into it than say a show like sun selling sunset. So I think well not.
42:44.30
jeffwatson
And 1 and one of those things I'm gonna interrupt you for a None one of those things is don't have much time I want to keep ah very good about your schedule but passions I gotta talk about passions in Timmy because I went right? So ladies and gentlemen of the audience. So doe my research as I do and she had this wonderful.
42:52.10
Randee Dawn
Okay.
43:02.62
jeffwatson
Article about kind of some of the the key points in the history of soap operas and there was this fucking crazy show called passions that went on for like a Millennia and it had the big thing was it had this talking doll that turned into a doll that turned into a kid and timmy and it was the most.
43:07.48
Randee Dawn
Oh yeah.
43:16.90
Randee Dawn
Listen.
43:20.91
jeffwatson
Bonker show I've ever seen in my entire life when I was in college a bunch of friends of my own when I would get super drunk on Jack Daniels and high and watch that show and that was our ritual every single episode he would watch timmy so exhibit so explain to me explain to me passions.
43:27.90
Randee Dawn
Um, ah, nice Tim. Ah oh I don't know if we have enough time in the universe to explain passions. Honestly, um.
43:38.40
jeffwatson
Please for the audience probably don't ah.
43:44.20
Randee Dawn
You know if passions was a soap opera and it was one of the latter-day soap operas you know a lot of the soap operas that used to be on they would they started either as early as oh it used to be a radio drama and then it moved to television when there was a television and they were on for decades. Passions came along I believe in the 1990 s
43:58.21
jeffwatson
Ah.
44:00.75
Randee Dawn
So it was it was it was sort of a more modern version which meant that they could have a slightly more winking approach to it than if it was this ah old fashioned very much foundational kind of soap opera like a like a general hospital or one life to live. Um.
44:15.55
jeffwatson
Sure.
44:18.76
Randee Dawn
But it was also run by a guy named Jim Riley who had done wacky stories on other soaps and came over and created this show just so he could do these incredibly off thewall wacky stories and um, you know there were the natural soap things that went on. But he seated this town of this town with just these characters who were meant to go above and beyond there was ah there was ah an actress named Juliet Mills who played Tabitha and Tabitha was an actual witch. Okay, she had which powers in this universe.
44:51.22
jeffwatson
Um, ah, ah, ah to be oh yeah, oh totally.
44:56.47
Randee Dawn
Witchiness existed and she's the one who created timmy and and Timma and South Park must have riffed on that. Ah, and yeah, and and. So timmy was kind of meant to be her. You know she was just going to tell him it was a way for her to explain all of her evil things to somebody in the room and she did things like poison people she created this doll she created a separate a separate witch who was a little girl who was who like a but even more powerful witch than she was. There was she had backstories that we would flash back to where she survived the sinking of the Titanic you know that kind of stuff I mean it was like I don't know what it was like to be in that writers room or to be in Jim Riley's head but I can just imagine how much they must have had a hell a lot of fun coming up with just.
45:33.97
jeffwatson
Of course, of course.
45:46.12
jeffwatson
Oh yeah.
45:49.23
Randee Dawn
Because they could do anything. They didn't have to worry about sticking to something that might even vaguely be realistic. Lots of soaps and this is what the article was all about was just different weird fantasy stories and and horror stories and sci-fi stories in the soaps over the years and and and timmy was one part of that.
45:51.78
jeffwatson
No no.
46:06.62
Randee Dawn
A lot of these soaps would occasionally veer off course from their normal sort of quote unquote normal stuff and have a oh look. There's a magical underground world called Eterna or you know Marlena has been possessed by the devil you know they would occasionally do those things but passions was really kind of.
46:14.88
jeffwatson
Right.
46:21.74
jeffwatson
Sure.
46:26.33
Randee Dawn
Born and bred and dyed in the wool and whatever other cliches you got to be as off the wall and weird as you could because and by the late 90 s you know soaps were not doing so great. You had to color in some other you had to use some other colors to get people to notice them and this was the kind of thing that people would talk about. And if people talked about it. They would watch the show. So yeah, it was sort of brilliant crazy evil genius and I loved it.
46:50.88
jeffwatson
That show was so bonkers that part of me thinks that maybe even the writers room for passions was just like 79 monkeys and a bunch of typewriters just go.
46:59.58
Randee Dawn
Yeah, you yeah because they could those yeah that many monkeys could not have come up with some of the weird stuff honest to god it was like was above and beyond even the monkeys I think yeah, ah Jeff you've been terrific. Thank you.
47:05.38
jeffwatson
You know, even the monkeys couldn't handle it. Well listen what an absolute delight you are absolute oh well. Listen here's what I like to do I like to do a little ah little tradition here. I'm Goingnna pretend to say goodbye we're gonna do a little acting as I always say you're goingnna pretend to say goodbye you're going to do a little acting. We're gonna do a little acting off I'm gonna pretend to hang up and then we're gonna do a little post chat deal all right here we go ladies and gentlemen of the inspiredd mode audience congratulations fa finishing this podcast you win a prize what that is I don't know.
47:31.30
Randee Dawn
Okay, no problem.
47:41.67
jeffwatson
But the you feel good. Maybe helpfully, that's what did it I am extremely I've had a great time talking to you. My new friend Randy and our new band soapy what was it soapy soy beat says.
47:50.53
Randee Dawn
So to beat so be beats.
47:56.75
jeffwatson
Look for the album coming soon. It'll be amazing and now thank you for your time your turn Randy.
47:57.10
Randee Dawn
Um, oh yes, go 1 one 1 la la I'm blowing kisses do you all? Thank you so much for listening Jeff you've been an amazing interview interviewer and I should take lessons from you. Thank you all so much for listening and.
48:10.74
jeffwatson
Please? Oh and but real quick. Actually I should have said this in the very beginning you actually do owe me money now for teaching you. It's one hundred and fifty bucks my therapy session fee but I should have.
48:15.96
Randee Dawn
By the book.
48:22.71
Randee Dawn
Oh I see I see I see very good. Yes.
48:27.16
jeffwatson
But then know we'll figure it out after well yell at each other after I pretend to say goodbye deal. Okay and 3 2 and click.
48:29.60
Randee Dawn
Okay, sounds good.
