Katy Krassner interviews radio host/journalist Lori Majewski about getting her start in the industry and “Fierce Women in Music”. Lori describes the trajectory of her career and her hopes to inspire others to embark on musical journeys of their own.
Meet Journalist/Sirius XM Host Lori Majewski
Lori Majewski loves music. The journalist (check out her Kacey Musgraves piece here)/ Sirius XM host has made a career out of knowing something about everything, so Katy grabbed her for a quick chat about how she got started, why she put Gwen Stefani on a magazine cover and why Fierce Women rule. Speaking of, you can catch Lori on SiriusXM’s First Wave (channel 33) hosting the TMI news briefs, which air 4X weekdays and hosting Lust For Lists show which airs on Saturdays at 9 a.m. eastern and Mondays at 11 p.m. eastern and you don’t want to miss her celebrity fueled sit-downs on Fierce: Women In Music – just search the word FIERCE in the SXM app!
Put your hands into the big sky
I was born in Bayonne, NJ (like Clem Burke of Blondie), and grew up in Weehawken, NJ, where I went to Weehawken High School (like Kate Pierson of the B-52s). Weehawken was one of the first places in the country to have cable TV, so we had MTV from Day One (that would be: August 1, 1981). That was my first step toward becoming Me. I found myself drawn to the videos made by the more “alternative” acts: Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,” Gary Numan’s “Cars,” Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth,” A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran.” At some point, being left of center became part of my identity.
Something more than dreams
I went to Fordham University, the Manhattan campus, so I’d be in midtown and close to internship opportunities. I interned at SPIN magazine — a Gen X bible at the time that was much cooler than Rolling Stone — and at Sassy (ed. Note: if you don’t know what Sassy is, please google). I networked and worked alongside writers and editors like Jane Pratt and Liz Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love). I love working from home these days — I am mom to an almost-6-year-old; but back then, being in the offices was so inspiring and so cool! And when editors didn’t want to go to an event or a gig, they sent you.
I also ran a Duran Duran fanzine in college with absolutely no experience how to put together such a thing. Living so close to New York City, I got to see the band reasonably often, and I had Duranie friends in other cities (LA, London) who could help keep tabs on them too. Since I wanted to be an entertainment journalist, and my college paper had all I needed to put together a decent ‘zine (which were so popular at the time). I started one and it really took off: the band not only gave us interviews but thanked us in liner notes – and some independent record stores carried it. It was called TMI: Too Much Information and now I have a news feature weekdays on SiriusXM’s First Wave channel called TMI — a full-circle moment!
We go round together
My first magazine job was at YM (Young Miss, which evolved into Young & Modern), where actresses and no-name models graced most of the covers. I was in my early twenties, and, having just been a teenager, I pushed for music stars to cover the magazine. I made my name on a Gwen Stefani cover that hit just at the right time: Our shoot was on the day No Doubt’s album, “Tragic Kingdom,” hit number one. From there, I went over to Time Inc. to start Teen People, and mostly put music stars on the covers: Puff Daddy (okay, that didn’t age well), Destiny’s Child, Pink’s and Christina Aguilera’s first covers, of course Britney Spears… We had two launch parties — one in LA, one in New York — and here’s who played them: Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and an unknown group named ‘NSYNC! The event was hosted by Jennifer Love Hewitt, who of course also made her own album. That’s where the public appetite for music started to become equal with music and television stars. One piece of advice I could give to up-and-coming artists now is to be kind to the girl fans, because if you are, they’ll stay with you forever.
In 2014 I was the co–writer of the book Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs that Defined the 1980s. The amazing thing about the new wave era — which we now think of as classic alternative — is that it was a time when the underground went overground, a drag queen could be a pop star (Boy George), and nobody gave a crap about macho things like 10-minute-long guitar solos. There was a certain amount of freedom at the time to be who you wanted to be. Women in LA’s punk scene will tell you that no one cared that they were women — and that’s how we got the Go-Go’s and Berlin and the Motels and Exene
The music’s between us
In 2016 I transitioned in to doing radio at SiriusXM. One of the shows I currently host is called “Fierce Women in Music,” and it is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. I speak mostly one-on-one with women of all ages and backgrounds, and from all genres of music. I’m up to almost 100 episodes recorded over 7 years, and I learn something from every single woman I talk to. From Rock and Roll Hall of Famers like Annie Lennox, Debbie Harry and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart (they were separate episodes!) to incredible musicians like Sheila E and Cindy Blackman Santana to country superstars like Shania Twain and Tanya Tucker to women who are changing the world, like Brandi Carlile and Michele Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, I want to tell their stories and inspire other women to come into music in their wakes.
There are more women in every area of the (music) industry now. I was always “that fangirl who loves music” to publicists, managers, the musicians themselves. Because so many of the guy journalists felt the need to CRITICIZE to be taken seriously. Lisa Robinson did it before me, and there’s so many women writers in music now. Too bad it doesn’t pay better — that’s a big change. I tell college students who ask me about going into music writing that it must be a CALLING. It may even have to be a hobby!