WXPN’s “Kids Corner” is made up of three distinct but equal voices. There are the children who contribute to the process as interactive listeners and interlocutors as the music and conversation revolve around them. There is program host and creator Kathy O’Connell, who makes childrens’ concerns her own. Then there is O’Connell’s producer and co-conspirator, Robert Drake. Known too as a man who DJs new-wave records, live and on the radio, and co-creates events such as “Zombie Prom Night” and “Bowie Week,” Drake is his own brand.
Thirty years after their start at WXPN, O’Connell and Drake will celebrate “Kids Corner” with a live concert event at World Cafe Live on April 22 featuring the hero of all novelty music, Dr. Demento. Drake was forthright as always in discussing love, life, music and why he loves working with children.
PGN: Reconnoiter if you will the connection between the Robert who produces a children’s show and the DJ of Sex Dwarf playing fabulously sleazy new wave — what are the differences and the similarities?
RD: The differences are clear: One has booze and the other doesn’t [laughs]. The similarities are amazing too. With “Kids Corner,” I produce something that allows those involved to embrace their youth and celebrate the good times, their memories and their life. The same is true with Sex Dwarf.
PGN: Neither you nor O’Connell wanted to be placid, passive babysitters, or to speak through other artists’ characters. Why?
RD: Kathy came to “Kids Corner” with several years of experience talking with kids on the radio under her belt. Our desire to simply talk with kids stems from her history, both with the nationally syndicated Kids America radio show on public radio and, prior to that, Small Things Considered, a local kids’ radio show on WNYC.
PGN: You have been with your partner for a minute now. Have you ever considered children?
RD: John and I have been together for 11 years and we have our own version of children: I have the longtime Sex Dwarf family that I’ve watched grow over the past 15 years, and John has his regulars at Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar where he bartends — many he’s known for years, going back to when he owned Spaceboy Records on South Street. Plus, we have a dog named Nomi — named for Klaus, obviously — who was born the day we met. So she’s been a major part of our family life ever since.
PGN: You got to O’Connell, the show and WXPN the day after she did. How did that even happen?
RD: When WXPN added a new 90-minute national kids’ show to its format in 1987, I tuned in and listened. I quickly fell in love with the format, the texture of the show, and the fact that it was targeted to a demographic that had no disposable income. It was pure. When Kathy came to WXPN in January 1988 to start a local version of that, then-cancelled national show, she put out a call for anyone to come volunteer. I took it as an opportunity to chase my lifelong dream and showed up on the XPN doorsteps the next night to volunteer in any way. I even quit my job (third shift at a Wawa) so I could volunteer more often. The station management found a way to toss me a little money (travel money mostly) and, thanks to a grant from the William Penn Foundation, they were able to hire me and the rest is history.
PGN: What do you dig most about kids?
RD: What I like most about kids are their limitless imagination and ability to accept people for who they are.
PGN: Thirty years is a long time to do any show, let alone one with children. Do you and O’Connell have an escape hatch, or would you love continuing on with this for another 30 years?
RD: Kathy has gone on record as saying the only way she’s leaving XPN is in a body bag. I’ll second that for me. I love what I do — both with Kids Corner and also being able to host Land of the Lost and, of course, my 24-hour annual special The Night Before on XPN. Being able to connect one-to-one with listeners truly makes me happy and I think it makes them happy too.
PGN: Is it fair to say that all your success and acclaim and acceptance stem from that WXPN show? And what does that say?
RD: I’d push back and say much of it stems from “Kids Corner,” but not all. I was lucky enough to help launch a weekly newspaper in Philly back in 1982 and help run that for four years, which really helped build my personal contacts, friends and such. Adding WXPN to the mix and being in one place in local media for 30 years have solidified those contacts and helped me with everything else I’ve been blessed to produce. What I’ve learned as I inch closer to 55 is, as much as I love radio, my dream role is producing. Be it radio shows, dance parties, zombie proms or other community events, I love the feeling of bringing people together in some form or fashion, no matter their age.
PGN: With all that is going on politically in this country and through this administration, how do you see Kids Corner and its role?
RD: Kids Corner has been, and continues to be, a safe space for kids to turn to when the world is a bit out of sorts. We don’t shy away from current events, but instead of discussing specifics, we talk about the emotional process. How to handle, what to do and most importantly, that it’s not just OK, but important, to talk to an adult you trust about how you’re feeling. That’s a plank in the Kids Corner platform that’s been in place since our first show. n