40 Watts from Nowhere

This video is no longer available

40 Watts from Nowhere

Director: Sue Carpenter
Producer: Sue Carpenter,Brandon Jay
Premiere Status: World Premiere
Screenwriter: Sue Carpenter
Cinematographer: Robert Sullivan
Cast: Mike Watt, Don Bolles, Keith Morris, Bob Forrest, Tom Morello, Stephen Dunifer, Camille Rose Garcia, Sue Carpenter
Release Year: 2025
Language: English (United States)
Subtitle: English (United States)
Country: United States

Synopsis

(THIS FILM WAS PART OF OUR 2025 FESTIVAL LINEUP AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON THE SLAMDANCE CHANNEL) "40 Watts from Nowhere" is a documentary about Los Angeles pirate radio station KBLT and the 1990s low-power FM movement in the U.S. It is based around vintage footage shot in 1998 that shows KBLT operating 24/7 out of an apartment closet in Silver Lake with DJs running the gamut from Keith Morris (Circle Jerks), Mike Watt (Minutemen) and Don Bolles (Germs) to garden-variety music fans playing everything from jungle and punk to vintage country and French pop. Sue Carpenter started the 40-watt FM station in 1995, exploiting a legal case that allowed hundreds of low-power illegal radio operators to proliferate throughout the country and gave birth to the legal LPFM movement. Carpenter was 28 years old, a secretary and an aspiring journalist when she first set up KBLT and invited strangers into her house to spin whatever the hell they wanted. It soon took on a life of its own, drawing Mazzy Star to headline a benefit concert and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to play live in her living room.