Questions for Andrea "SuperDre" Wallace, DJ/producer.

Electronic music seems to be blowing up nationally and, here's a surprise, even here in West Michigan. What started your interest in the genre?

Every time someone asks me that, I'm never really sure how to answer. I've got a lot of family in Detroit, and I don't know if you know the history of electronic music in Detroit, but that's where it kind of all started — like the techno scene in the late ‘80s. So I've always known about it, but I can't say that I've honestly cared that much about it until I was in high school. And I'd listen to it, but it's a lot different listening to it versus making it, and then DJing it out is very different. But that kind of how I got used to it.

When you started creating music and playing in front of audiences, what was the most intimidating factor?

As much as I hate to admit it, was being a girl. Because there aren't very many of us, and sometimes when you look around, it would be nice to see someone ... who looked like you. I always tell people it's a double-edged sword. It's cool in the sense that you tend to be noticed more because you do stand out, but at the same time you're also held to a lot more scrutiny. We can't half-ass things. If we're going to come, we're going to come with it all the way and be better than the average guy, because people are already like, ‘Oh, she's a girl.'

For those unfamiliar with electronic music, how do you create your music?

A variety of ways. I sample a lot of drum sounds, sometimes I'll sample stuff from hip-hop — especially bass tones ... I kind of pick and choose from a bunch of different things. Sometimes I'll hear a bass line from a hip-hop song and go, ‘Oh, I can use that.' I may not use that, but I may use what the pattern is, I might make something completely different. I'd love to be able to explain it, but it's really hard to explain. You just have to pick bits and pieces from different things.

Describe what one of your average shows is like.

It kind of depends on the show. I guess an ideal show is where we have complete creative freedom — sometimes that isn't always the case. Usually, for the most part, especially for out of town gigs — they book you because they like you and they like your stuff, so they're not going to tell you ‘no' ... An ideal gig has great sound ... halfway decent equipment when you get there, and just a crowd that cares. And every crowd is different, every place I've ever DJed at has their own little feel.

Where is your favorite place to perform?

It's a tossup. I love doing outdoor festivals, but as far as a venue, probably The Works in Detroit ... I think it's because the Detroit scene is very different from everywhere else.

What's your goal as a musician?

I would like my music to be heard worldwide is what it all comes down to. I just really like music and I make a lot of music and I just want it to be heard. It's fun to watch people actually enjoy themselves ... That's basically what our job is; to make people have a good time.

Your hair is huge! How do you get your hair to be so amazing?

I get questions on this daily. I wish I could say I did something spectacular, but I really don't. I pretty much wake up every day and it just looks like this. I have a little regimen after I wash it — put products in it and everything — but it does this on its own.

For more on SuperDre and electronic music in West Michigan, check out REVUE's electronic music feature here.

Photo by Tim Motley

Questions for Bob Fish, Biggby founder and social media guy

There are 112 Biggby stores and you're going to open 35-40 more in the next few years. Do you have a concern that coffee shops might become the next passing fad in the quick-serve industry?

No. We have a better product than anyone else. We have a highly addictive, legal product that people like to drink.

You worked in a flapjack restaurant in college and after you graduated. What did you learn slinging eggs and flipping hotcakes that translates to the coffee business?

Everything. The first day I walked in there, they explained to me that the customer was king. Believe me, 10 years of serving two eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns and toast for $1.99 teaches you to how to be smart in terms of customer service and getting people to come back.

Is that the "Biggby Way" as it's called in your bio materials?

There is no such thing.

Huh? I think you need to talk to your marketing guys.

The fact that you know about the Biggby Way means I don't have to talk to my marketing guys. I ask people - customers, staff, owners - to describe, in their own words, what the Biggby Way is. What comes out of those conversations is what we teach. The Biggby Way is any good experience that happens in our stores. It's whatever you want it to be.

So it's not written down on parchment paper and hung on the walls of every Biggby franchise, then?

I can't imagine anything as trite as writing down what the Biggby Way is. We do have our cultural values: Be happy. Have fun. Make friends. Love people. Drink great coffee. If you do that everyday, you'll be ok.

What if I don't drink coffee?

I know some people don't drink coffee, but I don't really understand it. I have to teach people - and this is my other mission in life - that with coffee, anything is possible.

Let's talk about social media.

Sure. I'm in a natural business for it, but I'm an unlikely person for it.

Why?

I'm not that hip. I'm unlikely in one way, but in another way, it's an absolute extension of everything we do here. As CEO, I'm kind of removed from what goes on behind the counter, but Twitter lets me have the same kind of dialogue that I would have with a customer that just came into a store.

You've got like 3,000 followers on Twitter. What's more important with Twitter - talking or listening?

There's no "more important" there. It's a leg of the media like outdoor billboards and radio. Twitter has some real advantages in terms of output and I can do it with a lot of frequency.

Isn't that the problem with Twitter and social media - that it all becomes clutter and noise?

It's only noise if it's irrelevant or boring or trite or just corporate crap. It has to come with personality and tell a great story and not be what you'd expect everyday. So it's a little tricky when you're trying to maintain the output level. I'm not going to get up and post, "Hey I just brushed my teeth." And I'm not just sending out coupons either.

You send out coupons on Twitter?

Absolutely. We have a program called E-wards that have tags on the bottom. We send it out and people can forward it. So we're talking about total proliferation of a coupon.

What's with the frogs in your stores? They seem like a non sequitur to me.

Frogs are happy. Have you ever seen a sad frog?

Did you do some focus group or market study on that?

Market study...are you kidding me?

So you probably didn't do an extensive review to select Lansing's legendary funny-folk-rocker Wally Pleasant as Biggby's jingle guy and pitchman. Why is he the right spokesperson for Biggby?

I don't know the answer to that, but he's perfect. I called him up and said, "I don't know you, you don't know me, but your sh-t is funny. I want you to make up a song for me." He came up with a song called "Biggby Coffee is My Happy Place." He set it to a beat and a rhythm that are different than everything else on the radio. So when his Biggby song plays, you hear it.

Is Biggby Coffee your happy place?
Absolutely.

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED AND EDITED BY BRIAN EDWARDS, PHOTO: COURTNEY BAKER

Wally Pleasant's Biggby jingle:

Questions for Emily Richett, early riser and entertainment reporter for FOX-17

Let me start by breaking a rule of polite society. How old are you?

Twenty-five. What an age. I liked it much better saying 24. Now, I'm five years from 30.

What's wrong with being 30?

Well, nothing. By the time I'm 28, I'll say there's absolutely nothing wrong with being 30. I just have a lot of things I want to do and five years from 30 doesn't leave me a lot of time.

A lot things to do before you turn 30 or before you leave the planet? What things?

It's just the journey of figuring out everything you want to do. Just the simple things everyone wants to do like travel and see the world, and the things I want to do with my career and relationships.

Sounds like a midlife crisis. And you're only five years from 30.

You only get so much time. So that's why I'm all about birthdays and New Years. A lot of people don't think much about the New Year. It could be your last year, could be the best year of a your life.

Do you do resolutions?

Not specific resolutions. I don't write a list and say, "I can't eat bread in 2010." And birthdays, I don't make a big fuss. It's just internally it's a big deal, because I'm all about reinventing myself.

How did you reinvent yourself in 2009?

In 2009, it was about finding the right balance between my work life, my social life and what was left over.

How do you even have a social life when you have to be up so early?

I won't go to bed at 7 in the evening just because I have to be up at 3 a.m. I still want to meet people and live out my 20s and go to fun events, so it's hard to be eating well and sleeping well when you're burning the candle at both ends.

Did you gain weight or lose weight last year?

Gained. I refused to buy bigger clothes, though. I just kept saying: "I will get back into these jeans!"

Going to break another social rule, here: How much weight did you gain?

Here's the thing that threw me off when I finally stepped on the scale: It was only like 3 pounds. I think the muscle mass I had gained turned into mush. I just kind of embraced being curvy. But I am excited that I fit in the skinny jeans again.

What's the reinvention on FOX-TV going to look like in 2010 versus 2009?

Last year was a lot of change because they had us create something that's not been done, and it was a journey to figure out what I was supposed to be doing and what kind of role I'm supposed to have and how that works in the community. In 2010, I don't think there will be as much change. I think we've found our rhythm and pace.

You don't always act the part of the typical reporter, like when you're on camera throwing snowballs or filling your mouth with whip cream.

What we're doing each day is really not that deep. We're just there, telling people what's going on.

Do you get criticism because you're not doing the "serious journalist" thing?

I really don't care what people think.

What about your thousands of fans and friends on Twitter and Facebook? Do you care what they have to say, even if they're being critical?

I'm flattered they're even writing to me or about me. We got an email into the station recently, and the first thing it said was, "You should pay Emily more so she can get her nose fixed."

What's wrong with your nose?

I don't know. The thing is that there's nothing in my life that I'm too insecure about. I love that line by Tina Fey: "I thank my parents for giving me confidence that is disproportionate to my looks and talent."

I think your nose looks fine.

At the end of the day, I laugh that people took the time out of their day to write about me. I consumed part of their day.

Now you just need to figure out how to monetize that.

Yeah, right. Maybe I can get a Google ad page or something like that.

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED AND EDITED BY BRIAN EDWARDS. PHOTO BY BRIAN KELLY.