Sheena Metal :: Queen Of your Night Time World
Sheena Metal is a Los Angeles entertainment icon, lighting up radio, television and film. Sheena has anchored numerous radio shows for over ten years in Los Angeles. Her untouchable wit, unforgettable voice and unflinching fan base have proven Sheena to be an undeniable radio presence.
Promoting shows since 1991, Sheena currently promotes more than ten live music shows a month throughout many prestige’s Los Angeles clubs, including the upscale Knitting Factory in Hollywood. In 2003, Sheena Metal founded an independent music organization, Music Highway, a free international resource for musicians. In 2004, Sheena began an independent radio show of the same name, which now boasts over 1000 affiliates and more than 126 milliuon listeners worldwide. In 2006, Sheena Metal started a syndicated column, Music Highway, as a companion to the radio show, which now encompasses nearly 30 print and online magazines, including All Access magazine.
From her eccentric beginnings as a cable access TV cult figure, to LA music industry icon, mainstream talk radio host, indie film character actress, headlining stand-up comic, New York stage actress, and in-demand journalist. Sheena Metal has truly earned the title Queen of the Nighttime World.
AAM: First I would like to thank you Sheena for joining us at this years All Access Magazine Music awards show on Saturday November 4th at the Knitting Factory. Can you tell our readers what they might expect to see or do you have any surprises in store for us?
SM: Thank you SO much. I am thrilled and honored to be this year’s host. I hope that the audience feels comfortable with me onstage, so that they relax and have a terrific time. The best emcee’s are the ones that appear to the audience as a familiar presence guiding them through the night….and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope my emcee banter make the audience laugh just a little. Nobody wants to sit through hours of pure seriousness. Surprises? I’ve been asked to sing, so bring earplugs.
AAM: Growing up, did you plan to be a part of the entertainment world?
SM: Oh yeah. I was born at Yale University and was all set to be a doctor until, when I was five, I heard my mother’s Gilbert & Sullivan boxed set and then I traded in my stethoscope for a guitar.
AAM: Was your family also involved in the entertainment world?
SM: Not at all. I’m the only one. Now retired, my mom was a brilliant teacher and scholar and my dad is an engineer/inventor. Very artistic and creative, my mom has always been a huge patron of the arts, however, so I grew up seeing movies, plays, operas, concerts, symphonies, art exhibits…you name it.
AAM: You certainly have done it all. From radio host, comedian, promoter, actress and journalist. What is it you love most about everything to do?
SM: Fans. I love entertaining people and making them laugh, no matter what genre or endeavor. This industry can really be exasperating, and it’s the fans that make it all worth it. Plus, I love the creative world and working within an artistic community. If I had to work in an office, seriously, I’d never stop screaming.
AAM: What’s the funniest thing you can remember during your career in the entertainment biz?
AAM: Do you perform any musical instruments?
SM: Yes, but not very well. I started with guitar just shy of five. By the time I was 13, I played piano, drums and clarinet, as well. Then I discovered musical theatre and my playing fell by the wayside. I keep threatening to take it all up again, but first I need to invent more hours in the day. In the meantime, I sing and write lyrics for my band, Beer Bong.
AAM: Have you ever thought about writing a book?
SM: I never really had until this year. Now, it seems that everyone I run into asks me to write a book. Lately, I’ve been thinking of turning my Music Highway installments into a self-help book for unsigned musicians that would make the reader laugh instead of putting them to sleep.
AAM: Ever been asked to host a TV show?
SM: Oddly, I started with a cable show entitled, “Sheena Metal’s Freakin’ Rock Review” which I taped for five years and loved. It was scripted and had other actors playing roles, so it was more of a Sitcom than a talk show. I did a pilot for a rock talk show in 2001, was in development for awhile for a network half-hour comedy show based on my radio career, and almost did a reality women’s stand-up comedy show a couple of years back. I think the timing just hasn’t been there yet but I sure would love to somewhere down the line. Strangely, I’m part of a paranormal investigative pilot that’s shooting after the first of the year sometime. Maybe I’ll be the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll radio ghosthunter?
AAM: So what’s in the future for Sheena Metal or where do you see yourself in say 5 years?
SM: My plans for 2007? I’d love to syndicate Music Highway radio to one of the major satellite companies. I think that satellite radio is a fascinating untapped new region in radio that I find truly exciting. I’m also hoping to finish Beer Bong’s first CD, “The Funnel Of Love” early in the year and get the band up and running live again. There are so many good bands in Los Angeles that I’d love to share the stage with. In five years? I hope to still be rockin’, still entertaining, and still helping musical artists on their road to success. And secretly, I hope to have a few of my own bars/clubs by then which will, of course, be live music venues.
AAM: How’s the best way to for our readers, your fans to keep in touch with you?
AAM wishes to “Thank YOU” for sharing with our readers a little about your adventures in the entertainment world. You are the, “Queen Of The Night Time World.” For more information, press references and photos of Sheena Metal, visit her website at: www.sheena-metal.com.
SM: Again, thank you very much. I hope to see everyone in November at the All Access Awards show.
Story and Interview by Debra Stocker
