Florangela Davila talks with creator/performer Frank Boyd at KPLU:

Frank Boyd admits he is neither a jazzhead nor a jazznerd. He’s a newcomer to appreciating the music — music that he says has a public perception problem.

“People think it’s dead or boring, or that it’s background,” he says. “The music that I started getting into and that I’m playing in the show is explosive.”

The show – his show – is "The Holler Sessions," a new one-man production for the theater actor that’s premiering at On The Boards. Boyd plays an irreverent, cigar-smoking, towel-around-the-neck jazz radio DJ named Ray.

“He’s kind of inspired by 1970s-era George Carlin. Also a huge inspiration is a sports guy, Christopher 'Mad Dog' Russo,” Boyd explains.

And nothing would make Ray happier than turning each and everyone of us into a jazz aficionado. 

Ray the DJ is combustible and fast-thinking. Boyd the actor carries a more restrained exuberance. But like the fictional character he's written, Boyd these days can be floored emotionally by a piece of jazz music.

Read or listen to the rest of the interview at KPLU.