The documentary 40 Watts From Nowhere begins streaming on Amazon Prime on Tuesday. Jack Black served as executive producer for the film, which first premiered at Slamdance in February.
Sue Carpenter, a journalist and music lover, founded the pirate radio station KBLT in Silver Lake, California. Stephen Dunifer taught Carpenter how to launch the low-power station, which operated on a 24/7 schedule.
Carpenter used a pseudonym to start KBLT, learning about a "legal bubble" that allowed for starting stations without costly FCC licenses. The station played a variety of genres including French pop, blues, jazz, prog rock, punk, funk and techno.
Notable DJs such as Mike Watt, Don Bolles and Keith Morris featured on KBLT, which also hosted a live set by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in its hallway. FCC officials shut down KBLT less than 3 years after it began operations.
Robert Sullivan shot footage of KBLT for a documentary he never completed, eventually offering the tapes to Carpenter. The documentary includes music from Bikini Kill, Rage Against the Machine, Elliott Smith, Mudhoney and Fugazi, alongside interviews with Tom Morello.
Brandon Jay joined the project as a co-producer. Carpenter, who also became a motorcycle columnist for the L.A. Times and a radio and TV journalist, wrote a book about KBLT.
