Joe Burns is in his backyard recording studio chatting with Les Paul, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Rik Emmett of the Canadian rock band Triumph.
Then Burns wakes up. Yes, it’s all been a dream, but dreams are good, right?
As Burns and his co-host/wife Tammy Burns surpass 900 “Rock School” radio shows, the Southeastern Louisiana University department head still has a dream list of interviewees rattling around his rock ‘n’ roll brain. No mind that all these electric guitar masters have passed on, save for 72-year-old Emmett — it’s a dream, remember?
Joe and Tammy Burns record ‘Rock School’ in their backyard studio in Hammond.
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Back to reality, former disc jockey and longtime guitarist Joe Burns has created 60-minute nuggets of music and talk featuring musicians, authors and more so entertaining and informative that “Rock School” is now part of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, a project of the Library of Congress and WGBH in Boston.
The goal is to preserve for posterity the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60 years.
“We’re one of the featured shows, which is mind-boggling,” Joe Burns said after settling into his comfy living room couch after a day at the office last week.
Joe Burns says music on ‘Rock School’ covers many genres, as long as it correlates to the topic of the hour.
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
He explained that each of his shows had to be converted into a very specific audio format and uploaded to the archive. Visit americanarchive.org, click on “special collections” and there you’ll find “Rock School.”
In addition to its home station, the university’s KSLU (also known as 90.9 The Lion), “Rock School’ is picked up by 30 other public radio stations worldwide, among them stations in Colorado, Alaska, California, the UK, Spain, and yes, Joe Burns’ alma mater, Westminster College.Â
In session since 2007, “Rock School” was recorded at KSLU until a few years ago.Â
Respecting each other’s talking space is vital to a good radio show, the Burnses say.
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
A show is born
A self-professed “radio rat,” Joe Burns gave those running an on-air fundraiser at KSLU in 2007Â an ultimatum: If he were to be on air for an hour as requested, he’d put together his own playlist and talking points.
“So I went in and just off the top of my head, said a bunch of stuff, and apparently we raised more money than any other hour,” Joe Burns said. “And we did it twice in a row. That’s when we said, ‘I think there’s a show here.'”
The teacher and one of his master’s degree students, Chad Pierce, who collaborated in the show’s early days, are fuzzy on who should take credit for “Rock School’s” name.
“Because ‘School of Rock’ was taken. And I think it was just as simple as ‘School of Rock’ is a movie. Well, let’s go with ‘Rock School.’ There we go, now we have it,” Joe Burns recalled.
Joe Burns has at least 10 national and international awards recognizing his longtime radio show, ‘Rock School.’
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
But don’t bother thinking it’s just an hour of him spinning his favs.
“It starts with rock,” he said. “But the point is a lecture for an hour each week about some rock topic.”
The genre of tunes that listeners hear correlates to the subject of the hour.
Take these, for instance:
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“There is no wall that we won’t cross. We play jazz from the early 1900s if it fits the topic. I’ve played stuff from ‘Porgy and Bess.’ I’ve played stuff from ‘Showboat,'” he said. “We have beaten Taylor Swift to death. It’s just, she breaks records and breaks records.”
Tammy Burns is ready at the mic when she co-hosts ‘Rock School,’ surprised as the listeners about the week’s topic.
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Prep, prep, prep Â
Burns and Burns say they’ve gotten production of the weekly show down to an art.
“We do shows in bursts, meaning one weekend we’ll blow out four and then we won’t do another one for two weekends,” he explained. “One of the concerns is it being a topical show. We don’t want to get too far out in front. But on the same aspect, something has to happen for a show to occur.”
In addition to overseeing the Department of Communication and Media Studies and his teaching duties, he scours entertainment websites, email subscriptions and news of the day in search of subject matter.
Timewise, each show generally takes four hours to put together, with at least two hours of that being research. A script is written, song list compiled, and then around an hour to record it, followed by a half-hour for editing.
Tammy Burns joins in when it’s time to head out to the cozy studio, which her husband has decked out with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Blues Brothers posters, alongside one of Hank Williams. Collectible figures and other music tchotchkes decorate a wooden table holding the soundboard and keyboard. Mic stands, lighting, a wall-mounted monitor and Joe Burns’ guitar collection complete the scene.
“I am the dumb person walking in,” his wife says with a grin. “I don’t want to know the topic because what I don’t know makes me ask questions and be surprised. I don’t want to go in knowing anything.”
“She’s the audience member. The point of being a good sidekick is understanding that it’s two people talking, but they can’t talk at the same time,” Joe Burns said.Â
They’ve been doing the radio show together for years, and they trust each other, the couple agreed.
Joe and Tammy Burns show off a Communicator Award ‘Rock School’ received in 2017. This award is often described as the radio/podcast equivalent of a TV Emmy.
PHOTO BY RANDY BERGERON/UNIVERSITY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
It takes twoÂ
Although the couple met while working at an Alabama radio station soon after college, Tammy Burns eventually moved on to a career in pharmaceutical sales. Her husband returned to school for his master’s and doctorate degrees, trading the disc jockey life for an academic one. Nevertheless, they share a love of rock music, and aficionado Joe Burns emphasized that doing the show solo isn’t an option for him. Â
“He’s just got to have somebody standing there with him, you know, to look at and I disagree or say yes, no, yeah, nay,” Tammy Burns said. “Most of the time it’s stuff I don’t know anyway, so it’s not like it’s an argument.”
The 10 national and international Communicator Awards (often described as the radio/podcast equivalent of a TV Emmy) honoring the show, which are found throughout the home, and the Library of Congress recognition seem to contradict Burns’ modest self-assessment.
On the bright side, there’s always teaching.
“I’m never happier than when I’m in front of a class,” he said.
Or possibly in front of his wife and a mic.
“Rock School” airs on 90.9 The Lion at 5 p.m. Thursdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. It is also available on the station’s website, https://www2.southeastern.edu/kslu/rock_school/, the Public Radio Exchange network (PRX) and at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.